I left the peppermint leaves tincture in the cupboard for approximately two weeks, while I did notice that the liquid turned a dark green color fairly quickly the leaves did not break down and change in color as fast as the rosebuds. After the two weeks I felt the process was complete. The liquid portion, or peppermint leaves tincture, turned out to be a very dark forest green color. This is a great color and will be fun to use in some foot bath recipes. I thought the odor of the tincture would smell like peppermint, but it really smells more like wet leaves. So remember that some plants my give up color, odor or both, they are not guaranteed to give up what you desire. Think about the times you want to add botanicals but not necessarily the fragrance, tinctures may be the answer!
Now I am going to show you a variety of uses in your recipes, here are some suggestions.
* use as an extract in your lotion recipes, limit to 1 or 2% of the total formulation.
* added to your soap recipes, this will allow you to add colors, scents and botanicals to your soaps.
* spray the tincture instead of water when making bath fizzy powder or bath bombs.
* toners – you could use several tinctures together to get the toner that you like, for example use 1 part rosebuds tincture, 2 parts vanilla tincture, and 7 parts water to dilute to 30%.
* add to foot baths, this would make a nice relaxing foot soak; add directly to the bath water.
Swirling jar to show the beautiful green hues
Swirling jar to show the beautiful green hues
Peppermint gives up the peppermint scent better in an oil infusion.