It seems like people are of two minds when it comes to vanilla. One camp sees vanilla as plain and uninspiring, while the other sees it as rich and wonderful.
I’ve been on both sides of that thinking, but today I’m going to make a vanilla lotion that I hope will fall squarely into the rich and wonderful camp.
Rather than a fragrance oil, I will scent this lotion with Natural Vanilla Oil.
This ingredient is generally used as a flavor rather than a fragrance, but I’m going to give it a try in a lotion. I don’t expect a really heavy scent, so I will use it at 2% rather than the usual 0.5% we use for a fragrance. There also may be a little discoloration as the Vanilla Oil can have a yellow tint.
Join me in the workroom as I craft this lotion.
What You’ll Need
SuppliesDistilled Water |
EquipmentScale |
Formula73.5% Distilled Water |
100-gram Test Batch73.5 grams Distilled Water |
Instructions
Weigh all ingredients but the Natural Vanilla Oil and Liquid Germall Plus into a microwave-safe container. Heat gently using 30-second bursts of time, stirring after each heating, until mixture is fully melted.
 Ingredients weighed before melting. |
 Pouring finished lotion into bottles. |
Stick blend until an emulsion is formed. Check the temperature and set aside to cool below 120ºF.
Once mixture has cooled below 120ºF, add Natural Vanilla Oil and Liquid Germall Plus, mixing well to combine.
Pour into bottles and allow to cool completely before capping.
Label and enjoy!
Notes
I’m bummed! The Natural Vanilla Oil didn’t scent this lotion nearly as strongly as I’d hoped. I have to say this experiment did not really work as planned. I think a better choice for fragrance would have been our Vanilla Oleoresin, but I didn’t happen to have any of that in my workshop. Next time I get some supplies, I’ll ask the team to send me a bottle of the Vanilla Oleoresin, and I will repeat this lotion.
Not a failure, though! I learned something, and no day is wasted in which you learned something.
