DIY Life

Do you like Lush? The famous UK retailer has expanded their US business a lot in the last few years, but knockoff products preceded the company's wares onto American shelves: we were familiar with bath bombs long before we could easily purchase a Tisty-Tosty or Avobath.

Two of the major draws of Lush's products, aside from their fabulous scents, are their natural ingredients and the fact that they're handmade. Fans of the company know that their wares aren't exactly cheap, but think they're worth every penny.

But if you like handmade natural bath and body products, it's simple to make your own, or at least to add your own custom scent blends to basic lotions, oils, and soaps. And once you've paid more than $5 for an admittedly divine single-use bath item, you may become even more interested in the concept.

Learn more about it after the break! You'll find links to some great recipes, as well as suggested sources for any supplies you might need. There's still plenty of time to make something for everyone on your holiday gift list.

This is where Bath and Body Recipes comes in. It's an impressive collection of... well, exactly what it sounds like. 59 bath bomb recipes live alongside 62 bath salt recipes, 37 melt-and-pour soap recipes, 81 hair care recipes, 91 massage oil recipes, and much more. You can even rate them.

Be warned that some of the things you can make need to set for a week or so before use: you'll probably want to get started now, rather than on December 20th.

Here are just a few of the recipes that seem to be worth trying:

• Rose Petal Bath Bomb sounds a lot like Lush's Tisty-Tosty to me.
• Sleepytime Bath Bomb has relaxing lavender and chamomile.
• Aphrodite's Passion Bath Bomb has the bombshell scent of roses, ylang ylang, sandalwood, and patchouli.
• Cold Relief Bath Bomb, full of eucalyptus and lavender, would be much appreciated by the congested.
• Dog-gone Good Bath Bomb... yes, there's even a bath bomb recipe or two for Rover, meant to help with skin problems. It has lavender, geranium, and chamomile.
• Lavender Citrus Soap is a simple melt & pour recipe with added botanicals and Vitamin E.
• Honey Bee Soap is easy to make; honey and beeswax makes it nice for your skin.
• Apricot Butter Cream will protect and moisturize skin while smelling wonderful, and is simple to make.
• Simple Bubble Bath is the basis for your own herbal concoction.
• Wet-Your-Whistle Lip Balm is moisturizing and lets you choose your own flavoring.
• Creamy Lip Balm also lets you choose a flavor, and is a lip-protection powerhouse, with cocoa, almond, shea, and mango butters in the mix.
• Smooch-A-Roo Lip Balm has a root beer and cream soda flavor, and lots of oils that will keep your lips smooth.

If you invest in some nice jars from a retailer like The Container Store, you're sure to find recipes that will make wonderful holiday gifts for friends and family... or just a nice little gift for yourself, when you need to relax after all that shopping.

Check natural foods stores like Whole Foods and Wild Oats for ingredients like aromatic essential oils and plain lotions and oils, and also try craft stores for things like soap molds, melt and pour soap, empty containers, and blended fragrances.

If you aren't making any of this stuff for Christmas, and have a little more time to order supplies, Brambleberry is a popular retailer of scents and soap molds. (Simple soap molds can be used for bath bombs, too: just press the pieces together back-to-back.) Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab doesn't mind if you make bath products with their popular scents for personal use, though they don't want you to sell them.

And if you could use a little help putting a bath bomb together, you'll want to see the following sites: How to Make Bath Bombs and Not Martha's Bath Bombs (Megan recommends scenting your bombs with essential oils only). You might also need some sources for citric acid.