Since I was a teen, I have loved giving homemade gifts. One of my favorite homemade gifts I have given are these lovely no-sew quilted Christmas ornaments. I’ve probably got 25 or 30 friends who have one of those hanging on their Christmas trees each year. For some reason I’ve gotten out of the creative gift-giving mood over the past few years, maybe because mothering, homeschooling, and blogging have taken over my life. But the desire is returning since I fell in love with essential oils.
The joy of giving homemade gifts to my close friends and family is returning because I love using essential oils in natural ways, and many of my close friends do as well. Plus, most every girl loves a sweet-smelling lotion or body spray, right? (how many of those have you given from a store at the mall that doesn’t use natural ingredients?)
When you can make your homemade gifts really special by finding a super cute way to present them, well, that’s just a double win. A couple of months ago, I saw this great idea of repurposing colorful contact lens cases. I began thinking of ways I could use them, and this idea of a lip balm recipe stored in a contact lens case was born.
The recipe is so simple to make, you’ll be making it all the time for yourself and all your friends. You could even put a different flavor on each side. In a peppermint-y mood one day and an orange-y mood the next? No problem. You can have both with you at all times! I personally love mint-y lip balms so I’m sharing my peppermint lip balm recipe today. Make a few. Give some away. Keep one in your purse, at your bedside, in the bathroom, in the kitchen . . . anywhere you spend a lot of time.
Contact Lens Case Peppermint Oil Lip Balm Recipe
(makes enough lip balm to fill 4 contact lens cases on both sides)
Ingredients
3 tablespoons organic coconut oil
1 1/2 tablespoons beeswax pellets
1 tablespoon shea, mango, or cocoa butter
1/2 tablespoon castor oil (optional for a glossier lip balm)
10 drops peppermint essential oil (my favorite sellers include Plant Therapy and Rocky Mountain Oils)
4 contact lens cases
Directions
1. Measure your coconut oil and beeswax pellets and place them in a clean glass measuring cup.
2. Microwave on high for 90 or so seconds, stirring halfway through.
3. Add 5 drops of your peppermint essential oil and stir.
4. Carefully pour your melted lip balm in your contact lens cases and let set at room temperature for about 30 minutes (carefully transfer to the refrigerator for a quicker set time).Does it get any easier than that?
Other essential oils you might enjoy in your lip balm include (and don’t be shy to mix them!):
- sweet orange
- lemon
- grapefruit
- tangerine
- lavender
- cinnamon leaf
- tea tree
