4 Simple Essential Oil Beauty Formulas + Tips for Storing Them

I’m frequently a little late to the game when it comes to the latest health and beauty trends, not necessarily because I haven’t heard about them the minute they gain their fame, but more often because I tend to be a bit skeptical at first. I prefer to wait it out, giving it a few months (or years), to see whether or not whatever fad it may be is still going strong. If it is, then I’m more likely to jump on board and give it a go.

Take, for example, essential oils. They’ve been around for centuries, of course, but have really become the “it” thing in the health and wellness industry over the past several years. I only started trying them out over the course of the last year and, friends, I’m hooked. Why, why didn’t I dive in sooner?!

I haven’t gone so far as to start swapping all of my health and beauty products with essential oil alternatives, but they’ve definitely made their way into my everyday routines. I constantly have a diffuser going, they’re a staple in my household cleaning products, and more recently, I’ve begun adding them into my beauty regimens.

It can be quite overwhelming at first, diving into the world of essential oils, because while it’s fun to experiment and discover your own personal ways to use and mix them, it’s important to have a starting point (formula), know which are beneficial for what reasons, and which blend together the best.

Essential Oil Basics

I found these resources to be incredibly helpful in starting my own essential oil journey early on, and still frequently continue to reference them:

Essential Oil Dictionary // Each situation calls for a different essential oil. Whether you’re looking to promote sleep, rid a headache, clean the air, boost your energy, or anything in between, learn about the properties and benefits of, and history behind, each oil.
Blending Guide // Find out which oils complement each other the best – both in scent and in purpose.
On Ingesting Essential Oils // Not all oils, or brands of oil, are safe to ingest. In fact, it’s rather controversial at the moment, whether or not they should even be ingested at all. At the very least, make sure you double check for FDA approval before adding a few drops of oil to your capsules, tea, smoothies, and more.

I plan on sharing some of my own adventures in essential oil-ing in future posts, but today, I wanted to focus on something that I hadn’t considered much early on: the importance of properly storing your essential oils and the mixtures you make with them.

Storing Essential Oils + Beauty Products

When I first started brewing up beauty products with the likes of lavender and tea tree and other, stronger smelling oils, I was always convinced of their strength and ability to work their magic based on the strong scent of whatever potion it is I had whipped up. I began to find, though, that after a few days, and especially after a few weeks, my lotions and sprays tended to lose nearly all of their fragrance. And thus, I wondered if their ability to perform 100% had weakened, too.

Anyone who knows me, knows how much I crave natural sunlight. There’s not a corner in our home that isn’t flooded with it at some point in the day, every day. If my jars and bottles of essential oils and beauty products made with them aren’t basking in the sunlight on my vanity or dresser or nightstand (totally guilty of not storing them properly!), then they’re constantly heating up and cooling down and overdosing on moisture in the bathroom. And battling those elements day after day makes it really difficult for essential oils to maintain their potency.

That’s why it’s crucial to not only store your essential oils in a cool, dry space, you should also house them in proper containers, ideally options that are airtight and UV-protected. I’m in love with the line of products at Infinity Jars for this reason!

Their jars come in all of the sizes and styles you need for your beauty products (and kitchen staples and more), and they’re made with high quality, European glass, expertly crafted to filter UV light. Plus, they’re airtight and watertight. Unlike other jars, Infinity Jars can keep dried goods fresh for up to six months, and in some cases, years! You can learn more about how they work here.

Glass cosmetic jar and bottles c/o Infinity Jars.

I love the sleek, modern look of these containers, too!

I typically store my concoctions in amber bottles, but definitely notice that they tend to dry out and lose their fragrance rather quickly, even when keeping them in a dark, dry space. I put Infinity Jars to the test, using less potent essential oils, to see if they trapped in the scents and helped to maintain quality – and I was blown away.

Rose oil, while it smells lovely, is rather faint by comparison to other oils from the get-go. Infinity Jars definitely locked in the fragrance and helped to keep the products from drying out. Each time I pump, spray, drip, or dip out my homemade products from these bottles and jars, they seem as fresh as – and sometimes better – than the day I made them!

One more thing to note about these containers is that, while I frequently run into issues with other spray, dropper, and roller bottles jamming up or releasing the product messily, I haven’t run into that issue at all with Infinity Jars. They’re definitely worth investing in, not only for the higher quality glass that aids in better preservation, but for the well-crafted tops and release mechanisms, too!

4 Simple Essential Oil Beauty Formulas

Wanting to try your hand at homemade essential oil beauty products? Here are some of my favorite, easy-to-follow formulas.

Since it’s the month of love and all things romantic (ha!), I decided to whip up rose-infused everything, using Rose Absolute oil, but feel free to experiment with your own favorite scents! This is a great chart to reference for blending.

Sugar Scrub

Sugar scrub is the perfect winter shower staple. Gently slough off that dry skin and deeply moisturize all in one go!

For Rose Sugar Scrub // I whisked together one cup white sugar, 1/2 cup melted coconut oil, 20 drops Rose Absolute, 1 tbsp. Vitamin E oil, and 1/4 cup dried rose petals in a bowl, and stored the final product in this 250 ml glass screw top jar.

Note: If you have problem skin or tend to break out easily when using heavy oils, try adding in a few teaspoons tea tree oil to your scrub.

Lotion

I have a travel-size lotion in just about every space of our home (and in my car, and in my desk at work, and in my purse), especially this time of year.

For Rose Lotion // I whisked together 15 drops Rose Absolute and about twenty pumps of unscented lotion (I like this one) in a small bowl until well combined, then transferred into this 15 ml glass push pump bottle.

Perfume Oil

I love oil-based perfumes because, at least on my skin, they tend to linger a little longer than regular perfume. I also frequently rub a few drops between my hands and run them through my hair for a mid-day moisture and fragrance boost.

For Rose Perfume Oil // I combined 5 drops Eucalyptus, 20 drops Rose Absolute, and 5 drops Frankincense into this 15 ml pipette dropper bottle (a roller bottle would work beautifully, too), then filled the rest with sweet almond oil.

Multi-Purpose Spray

This spray can be used for just about anything – as a body mist, a few spritzes in your hair or in the air, to freshen furniture or your car, a spray on your pillow before bed, and so on.

For Rose Multi-Purpose Spray // I added 10 drops Rose Absolute and a pinch of salt into this 15 ml fine mist glass spray bottle, filling the rest with vodka, then shook well. This would be lovely with a few drops of lavender added in, too!