Lavender Face Cream with Lilacs & Violets {3 recipes} (2024)

I originally made this lovely homemade lavender face cream for my mom for Mother’s Day and she loved it!

Since that time, I’ve made a few more versions of it that I wanted to share with you today!

My mom loves lilacs, so I use those flowers, plus fresh violet blossoms to infuse the water portion of the cream. Unfortunately, lilacs are one of those flowers, along with gardenias, whose scent is unable to be captured for long, so the scent doesn’t stick around in the finished cream.

However, lilac infusion is still an old fashioned home remedy for clear skin so I include it anyway, along with violets which are a helpful treatment for chapped, irritated, or dry skin. Sometimes I add other flowers too, such as lavender, chamomile, elderflower – depending on what I have available.

A few drops of lavender oil, plus a drop of frankincense round out the ingredient list and add a hint of natural lavender fragrance, but you could also leave it unscented if you’d like.

If you don’t have violets and lilacs on hand, no problem! You can just leave them out and still make a nice face cream, or try another flower such as calendula in their place.

Below, you’ll find 3 different versions of this cream.

First up, is an easy version made with emulsifying wax. I always use the vegetable based emulsifying wax sold at Mountain Rose Herbs; it’s incredibly reliable and consistent. If you use another type of emulsifying wax, you may need to slightly adjust the amount up or down, depending on how your recipe turns out.

The second version features Bio-Mulsion Wax, which is Bramble Berry’s version of Olivem 1000, which is Ecocert, hypoallergenic, olive oil based, PEG-free, and makes a very light cream. It’s a tad more finicky than emulsifying wax, but generally well-behaved if you follow directions for use.

The third version is the original recipe that I made for my mom several years ago. It uses beeswax and the old-fashioned cold cream method. I would consider this the most challenging version, because beeswax isn’t really an emulsifier on its own and separation problems can happen. Still, beeswax based cold creams are perfect for purists and they can be very nice when done right!

I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I enjoyed making and gifting them! :)

Before making your cream, you’ll first need to make an oil and/or a water infusion. You can use one or both in your recipe.

Lilac & Violet Oil Infusion

1. Gather a handful of lilac and violet flowers.
2. Spread them out on a paper towel or dish towel and allow to air dry for several days.
3. Fill a small canning jar about 1/4 to 1/2 with dried flowers.
4. Cover with about twice as much as your favorite carrier oil, or to the top of the jar. (I often use apricot kernel, sweet almond, or rice bran.)
5. For a quick infusion: Set the uncovered jar down into a small saucepan filled with a few inches of water. Heat over a low burner for a few hours, keeping a close eye that the water doesn’t evaporate out.
6. For a slower, more traditional infusion: Cap the jar of dried flowers and oil and tuck away in a cabinet for around 4 to 6 weeks, shaking occasionally as you remember to.
7. Once sufficiently infused, strain and use the amount required in the recipe of your choice.

Lilac & Violet Tea or Water Infusion

1. Gather a handful of lilac and violet flowers.
2. Place them in a small canning jar.
3. Heat 3 to 4 oz (85 to 113 g) distilled water to a simmer and pour into the jar.
4. Let steep for 20 to 30 minutes
5. Strain and use in the cream recipe of your choice.

Note About Preservatives

These recipes assume that you’re using 4% of a nature derived preservative, such as Leucidal SF Complete, or a combination of Leucidal SF Max + AMTicide Coconut. These mild natural preservatives usually give me a shelf life of about 3 to 4 months, if the lotion/cream is carefully made and stored in a cool dry place. (A bathroom is not a great place to store your natural handmade creams.)

If you’d like a much longer shelf life, I recommend using Optiphen Plus instead. It’s formaldehyde free and paraben free, though not considered natural, but your lotion would still be 99% natural if you use it.

For years, I made lotions and creams without any preservatives, but then ran some home microbial tests as an experiment, and changed my mind. You can read more about those tests at my article: Natural Preservatives for Homemade Lotion {An Experiment}. I have even more in-depth information about 19 preservative choices (most are natural), plus oils, butters, essential oils, herbs, flowers, and so much more in my Handmade Lotions & Creams coursedesigned especially for home hobbyists.

1. Lilac & Violet Face Cream with Emulsifying Wax

Ingredients:

• 64 g violet & lilac tea (or distilled water)
• 15 g violet & lilac infused oil (or plain oil)
• 10 g mango (or shea) butter
• 7 g emulsifying wax
• 2 to 3 drops lavender essential oil, optional
• 1 drop frankincense essential oil, optional
• 4 g nature derived preservative*

Directions to Make:

1. Weigh out the tea in a small jelly/canning jar and cover lightly with a lid, to keep the water from evaporating as it heats.
2. Weigh the infused oil, shea butter, and vegetable emulsifying wax in a separate jar.
3. Place both jars down into a saucepan containing an inch or so of water, forming a double boiler of sorts.
4. Turn the burner to medium low and heat until the wax and butter are fully melted – about 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Pour the hot tea and melted wax/butter/oil together into a clean jar and stir, stir, stir with a fork.
6. Stir frequently until the lotion starts to thicken as it cools.
7. I place the container down into a bowl of ice water to help speed this step up and to make sure the shea butter cools quickly, to reduce the chance of grittiness.
8. Once cool enough for your preservative of choice, stir that in, then add the essential oils, if using, and mix well.
9. This cream will start off thinner and more lotion-like, but it will thicken into a lovely cream after several hours or overnight.
10. Pour into lotion containers or jars.

* Use either 4 g Leucidal Liquid Complete or 3 g Leucidal SF Max + 1 g AMTicide Coconut for a natural option. If using Optiphen Plus as your preservative, decrease the amount to 1 gram, and increase the water amount to 67 grams.

2. Lilac & Violet Face Cream with Bio-Mulsion Wax (or Olivem 1000)

Ingredients:

• 142 g violet & lilac tea (or distilled water)
• 25 g violet & lilac infused oil
• 5 g cucumber seed oil (or more infused oil)
• 10 g mango (or shea) butter
• 10 g Bio-Mulsion Wax (or Olivem 1000)
• 4 to 5 drops lavender essential oil, optional
• 1 drop frankincense essential oil, optional
• 8 g nature derived preservative*

Directions to Make:

1. Combine the infused oil, cucumber seed oil, and Bio-Mulsion Wax in a wide mouth canning jar, or deep heatproof glass measuring container that a stick blender can easily fit into.
2. Add the violet & lilac tea in a second jar, and cover lightly with a lid to keep it from evaporating while heating.
3. Place both jars in a saucepan with a few inches of water, forming a makeshift double boiler.
4. Heat on medium low to 158 to 176° F (70 to 80° C), or until wax is melted, about 20 minutes.
5. Pour the hot tea into the oils/butter/wax mixture.
6. Mix with a stick blender for several minutes.
7. Add preservative and essential oils.
8. Stir frequently with a fork as it further cools.
9. To speed up the process, place the container down in a bowl of ice water to cool it down faster.
10. Pour or spoon into containers once thickened.

* Use either 8 g Leucidal Liquid Complete or 6 g Leucidal SF Max + 2 g AMTicide Coconut for a natural option. If using Optiphen Plus as your preservative, decrease the amount of preservative to 2 grams, and increase the water amount to 148 grams.

3. Lilac & Violet Face Cream with Beeswax

Ingredients:

• 4 oz (85 g) violet & lilac tea (or distilled water)
• 2.5 oz (71 g) violet & lilac infused oil
• 0.5 oz (14 g) jojoba oil, or more infused oil
• 1.5 oz (43 g) mango (or shea) butter
• 0.5 oz (14 g) beeswax pastilled
• 2 tablespoons stearic acid (natural thickening agent)
• 5 or 6 drops lavender essential oil (optional)
• 1 drop frankincense essential oil (optional)
• 11 g nature derived preservative*

Directions to Make:

1. Weigh the infused oil, jojoba oil, mango butter, beeswax, and stearic acid into a 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup.
2. Set the cup down into a pan filled with a few inches of water and heat on medium-low heat until everything is melted.
3. Remove from the pan and let cool to body temperature.
4. Strain the violet and lilac tea and measure out four ounces of liquid, adding more distilled water if you don’t have quite enough for the recipe.
5. If needed, gently heat the tea to body temperature.
6. It’s very important that the oil/butter/beeswax/stearic acid mixture is the same temperature as the tea, or within 5 degrees of each other. It will make mixing success much more likely.
7. Using a hand mixer, turn the beaters on low and slowly drizzle the tea into the oils mixture.
8. As the oils start to thicken, increase the speed to high.
9. Beat on high for 15 minutes, until the mixture is thick and creamy.
10. Add the preservative and essential oils, then mix about 30 seconds longer, or until completely incorporated.
11. Spoon the cream into jars.

* Use either 11 g Leucidal Liquid Complete, or 8 g Leucidal SF Max + 3 g AMTicide Coconut for a natural option. If using Optiphen Plus as your preservative, decrease the amount of preservative to 3 grams, and increase the water amount to 93 grams.