I have been dealing with a hormonal imbalance, thanks to endometriosis and hypothyroidism, for most of my life, so when I found out that damania is helpful for hormonal imbalances, I immediately added that herb to my pile. Damiana is also an aphrodisiac, and good for depression and anxiety. Jasmine is also a libido booster, and another anti-anxiety, as well as helps with insomnia. Lavender is good for relieving headaches and anti-anxiety/stress reliever. I suspended all three herbs in 1/3 olive oil and 2/3 sweet almond oil. I would have preferred to do all sweet almond oil, but I ran out of oil. I have the whole herbal infusion sitting on my counter just soaking and releasing all that goodness from those herbs.

The second oil I made, I combined herbs specifically with the purpose of calming, anti-anxiety, anti-inflammatory herbs. This one turned out a little differently because of the oil I used. I used coconut oil and it basically turned solid within 3 hours of mixing up the herbs and adding the oil. Honestly though, I’m actually okay with how this oil is going because I’m planning on using the oil to make an anti-inflammatory salve or even my own homemade lotion once it’s done infusing.

I’m calling this oil Calm & Peaceful. I have four different herbs in this oil; Calendula, Lavender, Dandelion root, Motherwort. Calendula is an anti-inflammatory, calms muscle spasms and aches, and is even thought to be anti-microbial. Lavender again, relieves headaches, anti-stress/anxiety, and can even help with insomnia. Dandelion root is another good anti-inflammatory herb too. I wasn’t sure about Motherwort, but I felt like I needed to add it in. Motherwort is often used after a mother has given birth as it’s a good herb for re-toning and strengthening the uterus and healing the body post-birth. But Motherwort is also good for calming anxiety, regulating a rapid heartbeat (I assume associated with anxiety?) and is good for heart and nerve health. Because of the nerve pain I get from my fibromyalgia, and the pain I get from my endometriosis, I figured this really was a good herb to add in.

I am really looking forward to both of these oils being done! Still have to wait another 4 weeks, but I am just so excited about started to use the oils and reaping the health benefits of them!

I used some of the other herbs and flowers I got to start my own facial toner. I have been using pure rose water as a toner for the past few months, but that stuff can get pricey! So I decided to actually go ahead and make my own. But, I added a little twist to mine; I added jasmine and lavender to the toner. The other ingredients were the dried rose buds, obviously, then distilled water and witch hazel. I mixed these all in a small canning jar, and then let it sit for 2 weeks. I need to figure out how to get the flowers to stay below the surface of the liquid though. Just about ran in to trouble with the whole top layer of herbs molding. But that’s a problem for the next batch!

I strained out the herbs yesterday and I love the slightly cinnamon-y scent the toner has! I think it’s from the lavender and jasmine. I had more toner than I had jars for, so I made little ice cubes that will be nice to have when I have a bad acne flare up and need to calm my skin down!

I am keeping my toner in the fridge in an effort to make it last for as long as I can! My plan is to make another batch in two weeks, which means that I should have a new batch ready just as I run out of the current batch.

Another thing I decided to make was a good sized jar of bath salts. I used a base of Epsom Salts and Pink Himalayan Salts and used lavender and geranium essential oils. The herbs I used are Chamomile, Rose Buds, Passionflower, and Lavender. All of the herbs are dried herbs/flowers. I am still looking for muslin tea bags so use for when I want to take a bath. The goal is to put about 2 tablespoons in a tea bag and let the salts absorb into the bath water, leaving behind the herbs to soak in the warm water.

I usually use about 1 1/2 cups of epsom salt when taking a bath, so only having about 2 tbsps of salts in the water seems off to me. But the first bath I took with the bath salts was really relaxing and enjoyable.

Quick comment about Passionflower – I learned about passionflower as an herb a few years ago, and have used it off and on for nerve pain, insomnia, and anxiety. I kicked myself because it is such a powerful herb for nerve pain in particular. Taking it as a capsulated herb did make me feel a bit wound up, but using it as a dried herb in a bath or even an herbal infused oil has been a lot calmer. The Chamomile is so calming and relaxing that I felt like I had to use it!

I am slowly moving towards creating my own lotions and also makeup. I am gathering supplies to try my hand at mascara and eyeliner. I am really excited to be stepping towards doing ceremonial or ritual makeup for priestesses. That’s my goal. I really want to get to the point where I can show up at a gathering, and do my fellow priestesses’ makeup for doing ceremonies or rituals.