Pucker up for spring!
a delightfully easy DIY sugar lip scrub that will totally distract you from slightly above freezing temperatures
FLOWERS, BUNNIES, SUNSHINE, GARDENS. SPRING! WEEEE!
But, no.
Sadly, here in New England, March and its official start of spring has brought with it the cold winds of January. Ew. You can’t sit with us.
This is also the time of year that I try to surround myself with as much colorful things as possible to make up for nature’s drab palette of all things brown and grey. Bring on the florals prints, the pastel nail polish, and peachy lipsticks!
But these horrible winds and cold temperatures this winter have left my lips feeling rough, cracked, and constantly dry. I haven’t been totally neglectful of lip care! I’ve experimented with a handful of scrubs and balms this season, though I haven’t found anything that I would repurchase.
I’ve had decent results from Lush’s Bubblegum lip scrub, cult favorite of much of the internet beauty community. I find Lush’s scrub to be slightly drying and I always have to apply loads of lip balm afterwards. What I really needed was a hearty exfoliate that moisturizes and soothes.
As Dr. Seuss writes in my favorite children's book, “If I can’t find one, I’ll make one instead!”
In the mood for an afternoon project and determined to celebrate the (supposed) arrival of spring, I popped over to my local holistic haven for some supplies.
I’ve been obsessing over rose beauty products in the last year. I blame my discovery of this bottle of skin care gold. Rose based beauty products don’t just smell great, but have anti-inflammatory and calming properties when used on the skin. Combined with coconut oil, the DIY beauty darling, and gentle sugar granules, this homemade scrub left my lips smooth and soft. The best part? It’s super duper easy and can be whipped up in only a few minutes. You probably have a lot of these ingredients in your fridge and pantry already!
Coconut Rose Sugar Scrub
white cane sugar
organic cold pressed & unrefined coconut oil
rosewater concentrate (or rose oil, though it is very expensive!)
a Meyer lemon
a pink rose (optional)
some little tins or a clear jar (airtight)
cute washi tape or fabric tape
First determine how much scrub you want to make. If you’re planning on only using this on your lips then a small amount, think a few table spoons, will be plenty. If you want to give this to friends (last minute b-day gift?) like I did or even make a big batch to use as a body exfoliate in the shower I would make about a cup to a cup and a half.
Once you’ve decided on your amount, lightly fold together a 1:1 ratio of sugar and room temperature coconut oil in a mix bowl. Be careful not to stir too much or the oil will start to liquify! Then add a few drops of rosewater concentrate and use a micro-plane to add a bit of fresh lemon zest for flavor. I gently ripped up a few rose petals and added them in for color and spooned the scrub into little tins!
Put a little bit onto your finger, rub it all over your lips for a few seconds and wipe (or lick!) off.
Now go forth into spring with kissable rosy lips!
