Welcome to the home of SwiftCraftyMonkey Formulating Inc.! Join Susan as she obsesses about cosmetic chemistry and other things (some possibly related to monkeys)! Here you’ll find over 5,000 posts and formulas written over the past 16 years for everything from lotions, creams, and body butters to hair care products to fancy facial products filled with actives and cosmeceuticals! Enjoy the site without distractions – no ads, pop ups, sponsored posts, affiliate links, “one weird tricks” – all supported by readers like you.
You’ll see a lot of extracts, infusions, hydrosols, and botanical extracts in commercial products, and a question I’m asked all the time is “how do they do that?” (especially when it comes to Lush’s claims of using “fresh” this or the other. Read parts one and part two of a post on Lush’s claims). The...
There’s been an ongoing debate about the everlasting flower absolute in the Lush Afterlife moisturizer. It’s not helichrysum but this wonderful plant, the marsh cudweed. After quite a bit of research, I found some reasons why this plant might be found in a moisturizer. It contains caffeic acid, which is a powerful anti-oxidant, a great...
As you’ll see in my recipes, I tend to use a lot of extracts. Most of them are powdered extracts (like this chamomile extract from Voyageur Soap & Candle), and I will indicate if they are liquid (like the liquid green tea extract I get from the Personal Formulator). To use a powdered extract, I...
I do love my toners (do a search and you’ll be a little overwhelmed), primarily because I use it as both a toner and a moisturizer as my oily, rosacea prone skin really doesn’t like oil based lotions or sera! So I decided to get into the workshop and see just how many interesting things...
As I mentioned yesterday, I’m on a quest to make some lovely products to help my best friend’s foot heal after surgery. So I’m turning to three oils I’ve heard might help – arnica, calendula, and comfrey. I’ve written about comfrey extract in the past, so let’s just go for a summary here. Comfrey oil...