Soap Making, Oils and Recipes
Every January is the same, we get inundated with requests for Healthy recipes, DIY detox’s and natural ways to lose weight. We are starting the week off, how we like to start our morning off, With a big glass of Lemon water. Some could argue warm water is better than cold but see what works for you. DIY Lemon Water Healthy Drink.
Halloween gifts do not have to involve another bucket of sweets, plastic spiders or tiny toys that mysteriously appear under the sofa until Easter. This DIY Witch’s Brew Gift Pack contains three handmade bath and body treats designed for a properly relaxing night in.
Inside the cauldron, you will find:
The three recipes are beginner-friendly, inexpensive to make in batches and small enough to tuck inside a miniature plastic cauldron. It is a lovely non-candy Halloween gift for friends, teachers, neighbours, teenagers, coworkers or anyone who deserves a little seasonal pampering.
You could also make several at once for Halloween party favours, craft stalls or “you’ve been booed” doorstep surprises.
I love a themed gift, but I love it even more when the recipient can genuinely use what is inside.
Rather than filling this Halloween pamper basket with decorative potions that collect dust, each handmade item solves a familiar seasonal problem. The sugar scrub helps remove rough, flaky skin, the bath salts provide a soothing soak after a long day, and the lip balm protects lips that are beginning to feel the effects of cooler, drier weather.
They also share a coordinated orange-and-vanilla fragrance, so the finished set smells warm and seasonal without hitting the recipient over the head with an entire pumpkin spice cupboard.
For more spooky bath-time inspiration, take a look at these DIY Halloween bubble bars. Their black-and-orange swirls would make a fun fourth item if you are creating a larger Halloween hamper.
Mini cosmetic jars, lip balm tins and small black cauldrons are readily available from craft suppliers and online marketplaces. A set of matching jars makes the gift look polished, although cleaned and completely dry recycled jars work perfectly well too. We are crafters; saving a good jar is practically part of the job description.
Only use colourants, fragrances and flavour oils specifically approved for cosmetic use. Craft glitter, candle fragrance and food flavouring do not belong in bath and body recipes, no matter how convincingly the label says “magical.”
This orange-and-black Witch’s Brew Sugar Scrub gently exfoliates rough skin while the oil helps leave it feeling soft and moisturised.
You can keep the scrub orange, divide it into orange and black layers, or add just a tiny swirl of black mica for a bubbling-cauldron effect.
This quantity fills approximately two 4-ounce jars, depending on how firmly the scrub is packed.
Place the sugar in a clean, dry mixing bowl.
Add the carrier oil gradually, stirring as you go. You may not need every last drop. The finished scrub should resemble damp sand and hold together when pressed without leaving a pool of oil in the bottom of the bowl.
Add the orange essential oil and vanilla fragrance oil. Mix thoroughly so the fragrance is evenly distributed.
Stir in the orange mica a tiny amount at a time.
For a black-and-orange cauldron effect, transfer a few spoonfuls of scrub to a second bowl and colour that portion with the smallest pinch of black mica. Alternate the two colours as you spoon the scrub into the jar.
Wipe the rim of the jar and secure the lid tightly.
Add a label reading:
Witch’s Brew Body Polish
Massage gently onto damp skin, then rinse. Do not use on the face, irritated skin or freshly shaved skin. Take care, as oils may make the bath or shower slippery.
There is already a full Witch’s Brew Halloween body scrub on CraftGossip featuring activated charcoal and a darker, moodier fragrance blend. Use that version when you want your gift pack to look as though it has been scooped directly from a bubbling black cauldron.
These simple Halloween bath salts are the relaxing part of the gift set. Epsom salts make them ideal for a long bath or foot soak after decorating the house, walking around a Halloween festival or following children from door to door while carrying everyone’s discarded costume accessories.
The baking soda softens the bath water, while fine sea salt adds texture to the blend.
This recipe fills approximately two 4-ounce jars.
Combine the Epsom salts, fine sea salt and baking soda in a clean, dry bowl.
In a separate small dish, combine the fragrance with the carrier oil or polysorbate 80. This helps disperse the fragrance more evenly through the salts.
Drizzle the scented mixture over the dry ingredients while stirring continuously.
Add the orange mica sparingly and mix until the salts are evenly coloured. More colour is not necessarily better; you want Halloween bath water, not a permanently orange bathtub.
Spread the salts onto a tray lined with baking paper and leave them uncovered for several hours so any excess moisture can evaporate.
Transfer the completely dry salts to an airtight jar.
Add a label reading:
Spellbound Bath Salts
Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup to warm running bath water and stir to dissolve. For a foot soak, add 2 tablespoons to a basin of warm water. External use only.
You can also use black and orange layers inspired by these Halloween bath bombs from CraftBits. Just be conservative with dark colourants, particularly when gifting the salts to someone with a beautiful white bathtub and a low tolerance for scrubbing.
For a more crystal-like potion ingredient, the chunky bath gems tutorial can be adapted using purple, green or orange cosmetic colourants.
This moisturising lip balm rounds out the gift pack and gives the recipient something they can use long after Halloween night.
Shea butter and sweet almond oil soften dry lips, while beeswax helps create a protective balm. A lip-safe flavour oil gives it a gentle orange-vanilla scent without using irritating spices such as cinnamon or clove.
This recipe makes approximately three small lip balm tins or tubes, depending on their size.
Place the beeswax, shea butter and carrier oil in a heatproof pouring jug.
Set the jug in a small saucepan containing a few centimetres of gently simmering water. Make sure no water splashes into the balm mixture.
Stir occasionally until the ingredients have completely melted.
Remove the jug from the heat and allow the mixture to cool for about one minute.
Stir in the lip-safe flavour oil, vitamin E and lip-safe mica, if using.
Pour immediately into clean, dry lip balm tins or tubes.
Leave the containers uncovered until the balm has cooled and hardened completely. Add the lids once the balm is firm.
Label each container:
Witch’s Kiss Lip Balm
Apply to lips as needed. External use only.
Do not substitute ordinary fragrance oil or essential oil unless the supplier specifically states that it is lip-safe and provides an approved usage rate. Cinnamon and clove may smell gloriously Halloween-like, but they can be irritating on the lips and are best left in the spice cupboard.
Line a miniature black cauldron, basket or gift box with black, purple or orange tissue paper.
Place the three handmade bath and body products inside, with the labels facing forward. Nestle a small wooden spoon beside the scrub or bath salts if you have one.
Add a few decorative items around the jars. Good choices include:
Keep loose glitter, plastic confetti and decorative botanicals outside the actual products. They may look pretty in photographs, but nobody wants to fish a plastic bat out of the bath drain.
Tie the entire gift in clear cellophane or place it inside a Halloween gift bag.
Use one of these messages on your handmade Halloween gift tag:
A Witch’s Brew Just For You
A scrub, a soak and a magical little balm for a spellbinding night of self-care.
You’ve Been Booed
No tricks here—just three handmade treats for a relaxing Halloween night.
Something Wickedly Relaxing This Way Comes
Brew a bath, polish your skin and seal it with a witch’s kiss.
For The Good Witch Who Does Everything
Take one bath, ignore the doorbell and allow no one to disturb you.
That last one may be less traditional, but possibly the most useful spell in the entire gift basket.
Keep the fragrance blend consistent across the scrub and bath salts so the three products feel like a coordinated collection.
Use a skin-safe pumpkin fragrance oil with vanilla. Avoid adding ground cinnamon, nutmeg or cloves directly to products intended for the skin.
Choose a skin-safe blend of cedarwood and steam-distilled sweet orange. Keep the total fragrance concentration within the supplier’s recommended usage rate.
Use a skin-safe green apple fragrance oil with a little vanilla. Colour the scrub and salts pale green or purple.
Choose a skin-safe candy or berry fragrance and use pink, purple and black packaging. This is particularly fun for teenagers, but label the products clearly so nobody mistakes the scrub for something edible.
Leave out all fragrance and colour. Use white jars, ghost-shaped tags and black ribbon to maintain the Halloween theme. This is a thoughtful option when you do not know the recipient’s fragrance preferences.
When prepared with fresh ingredients and stored correctly:
Discard any product that changes in colour, fragrance or texture.
For a bigger Halloween spa gift, add a handmade washcloth, candle, eye mask or one of these spooky Halloween bath bombs.
A black washcloth tied with orange ribbon is both useful and inexpensive. You could also include fuzzy socks, herbal tea or a small packet of chocolates. After all, there is no rule saying a non-candy gift must be completely chocolate-free.
The finished Witch’s Brew Gift Pack is spooky enough for Halloween but practical enough that every item should actually be used. It is quick to assemble, easy to customise and ideal for making in batches when you need several affordable handmade Halloween gifts.
And, unlike most Halloween potions, this one is far more likely to result in soft skin and an early night than accidental transformation into a toad.
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