Making your own soaps and candles

Making your own soap is a bit of a messy job, but it's well worth the trouble. Not only are you ensured of using the purest of ingredients on your skin, and of having the exact fragrance you want, but with all the permutations there are in terms of ingredients and shape, you can be sure of having a unique product for your efforts.

Which essential oils you use to fragrance the soap is up to you, and you can have a lot of fun making blends. Here are three formulas you might like to try; they each contain enough essential oil for 250g of grated soap:

Use as your base grated, one hundred per cent pure soap. Excellent additions would be oatmeal, almond meal, avocado oil, olive oil, jojoba or carrot oil. Bring to the boil an amount of water that is half the volume of the grated soap you intend to use. Put this in a bowl over a pot of boiling water on the stove, or in a Bain Marie if you have one, and add the grated soap. 

Stir until the soap is fully melted (it becomes quite sticky and sloppy). Take it off the heat and leave until it is starting to set, then add your chosen essential oils. Mix again very well. You can scoop out the soap and mould it by hand to the shape you want or put it into pre-prepared moulds.

You can use old soap boxes for the traditional shape of soap or any small carton or container of your choice, so long as they are well oiled or lined with greaseproof paper. Leave until well set and then turn out the soap. If the soaps are intended as presents, wrap them in colored tissue paper before they go in the wrapping paper.

Making your own candles

Making candles is a hobby many people enjoy, and with the advent of candle-making kits it is relatively easy to do. To perfume the candles all you have to do is add 30-60 drops of essential oil to 225g of candle wax and follow the instructions with your kit. Even if you don't want to go to the trouble of making your own candles, a good effect can still be made by placing 3 drops of essential oil on the wax by the wick just as the candle has been lit and is beginning to melt the wax.

Choose which essential oil to use not only for its fragrance but for its other effects. Use relaxing essential oils for that special evening a deux, stimulating ones to get the conversation going during the pre-dinner drinks, and soothing ones with the after-dinner brandy. Later still, you might want to bring out the aromatic candles...

All the essential oil candles have a very subtle effect and are not overpowering like chemical candle fragrances. The ultimate in hostess attentiveness must be coordinating the fragrance of your candles with the color of your candles and decor, and when you really get the hang of it, you can match the oils with the personalities of your guests - try putting a relaxing candle next to the person who always hogs the conversation and a stimulating one next to the introverted guest.