Homemade Aftershaves as Christmas Gifts
As Christmas approached, my wife and I found ourselves cash-strapped as usual, so we decided to make the best of it and do some homemade gifts this year. We'd been ordering and tinkering around with some essential oils, so my wife made body butter for the ladies, and I whipped up several different aftershaves for the men. The king of the bunch is the bay rum on the left-just an intoxicating, heady and spicy brew that is just perfect for the holidays. But as I was given the recipe at gunpoint, while blindfolded in an alley, I would have to kill you if I told you the recipe.
http://i767.photobucket.com/albums/x...pswhvg8a9c.jpg
The other three I dreamed up after reading quite a bit on the subject, and experimenting with different essential oil combinations to see which worked well together. I'm posting the recipes and comments below:
“Jade” Oriental-very sweet, exotic and spicy
15 drops glycerin
10 drops Sweet Orange EO
10 Cedarwood
20 Vetiver
20 Patchouli
10 Sandalwood
3 oz. witch hazel
Fill to 15 oz. with cheap vodka
Mix ingredients well-makes 3 4 oz. bottles.
“Mojito” Lime Ice
10 drops glycerin
20 drops menthol
20 drops lime EO
2 oz. witch hazel
6 oz. Nephew and Wray White Rum
Mix ingredients, stirring well and adding lime and menthol to suit-makes 2 4 oz. bottles
“Dirty Hippie”-Named in honor of my good friend Kevin/Hidestoart, who hates patchouli because it reminds him of its namesake. Personally, I can't get enough of the patchouli/vetiver comination-such a grassy/earthy, sweet and sultry combination
10 drops glycerin
1.5 oz. witch hazel
Patchouli and vetiver EO’s to suit (about 40 drops each)
Fill to 8 oz. with cheap vodka
Mix ingredients well-makes 2 4 oz. bottles
A few notes:
-The precise number of drops can vary depending on how strong (or not) and in what proportions you want each scent to be.
-And it's real easy to overdo it on the sweeter EO's like Sweet Orange, Sandalwood, and Cedarwood (at least the expressions I got from various internet suppliers).
-The 4oz. cobalt bottles I ordered from Amazon; they work great and are just the right size.
Comments and critiques are welcome. Let me know if anybody tries making one of these or a similar recipe.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Aaron/SHD
