Lotion-Making Fun: My First Class

Magalie Naturals, Chicago

Sunday afternoon, I had the pleasure of taking my first real, lotion-making class at Magalie Naturals, a French handmade cosmetics boutique in Chicago. The class was called “DIY Natural Protective Wild Verbena Lotion!” and it was taught by the CEO and owner of the boutique, Magalie D. According to her website, she has been making natural, handmade cosmetics since she was a 12 year old girl in France. She offers several classes on an ongoing basis that range from learning how to make “Shiny Smooth Conditioner” to “Sweet Chocolate Night Scrub.”

I must say that I enjoyed the class and learned a lot, especially about different kinds of ingredients and when to use a certain kind. In addition to being extremely informative, the class was also pretty laid back. It’s BYOB so you can bring liquor and Magalie is super-friendly and has an adorably thick French accent that I’m sure you will love.

During my small class of 4 (the class usually has up to 15 people I believe), we made Wild Verbena Lotion as the title of the class suggests. Here are the ingredients we used:

Natural Protective Wild Verbena Lotion Ingredients from Magalie Naturals

The set-up and all of the supplies looked extra professional and clean.

For the Aqua Phase

–   Aloe Vera Juice
–   White Verbena Floral Water
–   Floral Water infused with Dried Grapefruit
–   Caffeine Powder
-for toning (must be added in the aqua phase to release benefits)*

For the Oil Phase

–   Avocado Oil
-great for a moisturizing body lotion*
–   Rice Bran Oil
-10x more antioxidants than Vitamin E oil and less expensive*
-good for fine lines and for under the eyes*
–   Karanja Oil (with Urucu Macerate Seeds steeped inside)
-the urucu macerate seed has more beta-carotene than carrots, has antioxidants, and offers UV protection*
–   Emulsifying Wax
–   Soy Lecithin
-not mandatory but helps make lotion creamier*

Additives added to the Oil & Water Mixture

–   Honey Powder
–   Guar Gum
-thickening agent*
–   Benzyl Alcohol & Cedarwood Essential Oil
-to help extend shelf life*

The * means “according to Magalie.” Magalie was great about explaining the benefits of all of the ingredients and the role each one played in the final outcome of the lotion.

The final product.

While I have no doubt of the hydrating and other benefits of the ingredients used, I wasn’t crazy about the scent of the lotion after all was said and done. At first I really liked the scent, but after applying the lotion at home over the last few days, I ‘m definitely not crazy about it. It reminded me of green peas and smelled earthy in a not-so-good way. Despite the fact that the scent didn’t mesh well with my naturally sexy and poppin’ scent, I wouldn’t change a thing as far as signing up for the class. Different strokes for different folks; what smells good on you may not smell good on me and vice versa.

The Wild Verbena Lotion is very moisturizing and a little bit goes a long way, despite the fact that it is a little thinner than the Lavender Shea Butter Lotion I made Memorial Day weekend. Another difference is the Wild Verbena Lotion may only have a shelf life of 1-2.5 months since no chemical preservative was used. I don’t see that being a problem since I’ve already used about a quarter of the bottle a mere 2 days after the class. I can’t wait to use everything I’ve learned from Magalie’s class to experiment more on my own.

I’m going to leave you all with some general tips and insight from the class in case you want to try making lotion or for when you’re out checking product labels on lotion you’re about to buy at the store.

Tips from “DIY Natural Protective Wild Verbena Lotion!” Class at Magalie Naturals

• Grapefruit is good for toning skin.
• Quality floral water should require refrigeration.
• Floral water can be used in place of a toner and it’s usually much cheaper
• Know the difference between a dry oil and a regular oil.
• Regular oils don’t penetrate the skin well on their own and should be mixed with a dry oil.
• Dry oils can be applied on the skin as a moisturizer without adding anything to them.
• It’s good to use a regular oil when making lotion. If using a dry oil, mix 50/50 with a regular oil.
• Some dry oils are coconut, hazelnut, sesame, and macadamia nut oils.
• Some regular oils are olive and avocado oils.
• Hazelnut oil is good for oily/combination skin (like mine!) because it balances sebum production.
• Add the oil phase to the water phase when making night creams and other products designed to penetrate and nourish the skin–for denser products.
• Add the water phase to the oil phase when making a protective lotion like the one discussed in this post.
• It’s best to mix the oil and water phases when both of them are at 70 degrees Celsius.

Have any of you taken a DIY cosmetic class? If so, what was it and what did you think? Let me know in the comments or on Facebook. And as always, keep it poppin’ 😉