Summer Strawberries For the Nose

In the dead of winter it is often a real mood lifter to recreate a bit of summer in the lab. Right now I’m working on a few infusions and this one popped right up on my to do list when I came across organic slow-dried strawberries.

To make it a real challenge, these were popped into a jar of vinegar. Stay tuned to the main blog (LisaLiseBlog.com) to see the outcome.

Afterburn Lip Balm

When I tested this lip balm with my own handcrafted chili-infused oil for the first time, I expected to feel like my lips were on fire, but there was no immediate heat.

Instead, it crept up quite slowly and increased in strength until there was no question in my mind: this lip balm was destined to be named Afterburn.

This lip balm is 100% plant-based - even the color - which is the result of a combination of oils infused with Turkish Paprika and Chili Peppers.

Are you signed up for my newsletter? Cool, cuz then you can look forward to an adaptable balm formula with chili-infused oil. Want to sign up? Excellent! Visit this page to join the upcoming chili-balm fun!

Coffee Scrub Ingredients

Coffee beans can quickly become a great addition to an exfoliating scrub by simply grinding the roasted (unused) beans and adding them to your body scrub.

Pair the grounds with salt, sugar or another dissolving exfoliating ingredient to keep staining at a minimum.

Pictured here: a paste of coffee grounds and sweet almond oil. This is the remains of an infusion I made to make a decadently scented coffee and brown sugar exfoliating body scrub as an extra little gift for a steady client.

Do you formulate with food? What are your favorite ingredients?

Preservative Free Aqueous Lip Stain

Here’s a fun little exercise in Hurdle Technology that has turned out quite successfully in the first few batches: a plant-based aqueous lip stain with adequate color that is preservative free.

If you can recognize the dried plants at the top, are, you’ll know what one of the components are.

Testing is still ongoing, but I will reveal this: not only does this lip stain moisturize well, it even tastes good.

Follow my main blog for more detailed articles on my work and research.

Red Lip Gloss - A Work in Progress

Here’s a peek at a work in progress: lip gloss.

This is part of an ongoing project: to create a series of plant-based make-up products. The pictured gloss has been performing quite well, but the plant colorants in this product have been mixed with a few mineral based colorants to punch up the color.

The color is not quite as bright red when applied, but then, this was meant to be a tint. Getting a red this ‘punchy’ with pure plant colorants is possible, but not in every type of make-up product,

Meantime, somebody’s having fun testing makeup.

Want to stay up to the minute about what I’m working on? Follow me on Instagram.

Plant Pigments in Shades of Red

Here is a selection of hand-mixed plant pigments in different combinations. I have been stability testing these during the past few months.

Some of these colors are stable, and some morph into an unrecognizable shade of boring as soon as they are applied to skin - or after they have been applied to skin and water (such as sweat) is introduced to the mix.