It's finally here! Renee's blend has been a batch in the making, and I'm so happy to share it with you guys. Today on the blog, I wanted to take you through how we made this F.A.C.E cream for the brand, with an in depth look of every step of the way.
First we meet with Renee, our fabulous ethician, and took a trip to Sephora. I know that's not what you're expecting to hear, but it's an intricate part of this process! Renee loved the Sun Bum Cream scent that Sol makes, (who doesn't am I wrong?) so I needed to smell it to get a feel for the fragrance. Plus, your girl loves a good shopping trip.
Notes in the Rio scent are Salted Carmel, Pistachio, and Vanilla which is difficult to make "clean". So, I used my sniffer to create some great vanilla type scents with extract and essential oils, I had Renee come back to the lab later that evening, and we started to dissect the scents.
She had 3 or 4 versions to pick from, with a heavy sniff of coffee beans in-between so we dont mix up our noses. Ultimately she opted for an amazing blend of Coconut with a twisted tropical blend of pineapple, vanilla and sandalwood. We also used Vanilla Bean in our version that made it super warm and exotic. We also added a touch of Dragon Root which is a mild sweet but spicy scent that’s a blend of nag champa, patchouli, and cranberry. Ylang Ylang gives it almost a warm carmel-type vibe.
Once we decided what we wanted her to smell like, it was time to get to work. I busted out Big Bertha and started whipping up a new batch. Doesn't everyone call their new kitchen-aid mixer that when they get it? <3
This blend is a Shea and Mango Butter base with clean plant based ingredients, most of everything that we get to create our bases are vegan- friendly. There are parts of the recipe that are not vegan, so we don't market it as a vegan cream, more-so because I don't know enough about the vegan guidelines to say 100%.
Mango butter contains vitamin A, an antioxidant that stimulates the skin's natural renewal process. It encourages the skin to produce new, healthy skin cells, improves the skin's texture and elasticity, and protects the skin against damage caused by UV radiation.
We also piled in the skincare with all the essential oils that we used to make the scent smell as yummy as it does, all of those plant based essential oils do wonders for the skin. Like Thyme for example, its a wonderful anti-bacterial that helps the skin heal faster from traumas. Ylang- Ylang can help fight off the free radicals that are responsible for premature aging; therefore, reducing the appearance of wrinkles and giving you a youthful glow.
After our creation is whipped to life, we throw it into a lotion hopper, much like this one.... well, actually it is this one!
This little guy allows us to get the cream into the packaging evenly, without contamination, in premeasured amounts. Isn't it beautiful? When I started this brand years ago, I used to use a icing piping cloth....
Voila! Here she is folks in all her pink beauty, Renee's blend is here for the summer. We were only able to make a limited batch so there's only a few left! Make sure you get yours, before you get FOMO.
Thanks for coming along in this little journey with us! I hope you enjoyed all the photos documenting our little cream coming to life <3
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