DIY: Customize Your Body Lotion

I don't know about you but I have a hard time with finding a body lotion that #1) I like the fragrance and #2) provides sufficient moisture. If I do find one that I like the smell of, it doesn't really continue to moisturize throughout the day. If I do find one that really keeps my skin nice and smooth, it generally comes in a standard smell like cocoa butter or shea butter - which - don't get me wrong, smells good, but sometimes you just want that fancy fragrance of a nice perfume. Plus, I don't want to pay tons of money for body lotion because I go through it very fast. Let's face it ladies, when we have to moisturize from head to toe every other day or daily, those costs can rack up. Sometimes those super expensive body lotions are a wee bit over powering as well. I don't want someone to smell my body lotion before I even get in the room.

So, I decided to take my favorite no (or low) fragrance super duper moisturizing lotion and add my own custom fragrance to it.

Here's how I did it so you can create your own if you would like. This could make a very happy gift for a special someone too!

My all time favorite mositurizing lotion is good ole fashion cocoa butter. 

As for the fragrance portion, I first turn to Lavender. Lavender is a staple essential oil, one of my personal favorites and tends to be a smell that lots of other people like as well. I have a small collection of essential oils since I used to be an esthetician a few years ago. Essential oils are not that expensive and can be found at your local organic health food store or even online. You can start out with the basics and then build your collection over time.

Learning to mix and match your oils is pretty easy. Grab a few q-tips and put a different drop of oil on each one. Smell two at a time or three at a time to see which ones integrate the best with each other.

Whenever you decide what fragrances you like together or if you want to create several bottles of single notes (one fragrance) then turn your oil bottle upside down and let 10-15 drops of oil come out. There is no need to shake the bottle. Gravity will do the work.

If you want to create several different types, just squeeze out lotion into several glass bottles and top with a pump attachment (you can find those at the health food store too). You can see a blue bottle in the picture above. I just happen to have the spray attachment on it right now for body spray.

Finally, shake your lotion to evenly distribute your lotion and give it a try! If you desire a stronger fragrance, just drop some more oil in and give it another good shake.

Ta da! Your own customized body lotion built to your nose's liking!