Lavender Face Cream with Lilacs & Violets {3 recipes!}

I originally made this lovely homemade lavender face cream for my mom for Mother’s Day and she loved it!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

fresh lilacs and violets with a small pottery bowl filled with handmade face cream

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.

handmade pottery bowl with violets and lilac flowers

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! :)

lilac flowers and violets drying on a white paper towel

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 course designed especially for home hobbyists.

jar of handmade cream with fresh lilac flowers and violet flowers

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.

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50 Comments

    1. Hello this is actually a question about the dandelion salve. Would like to whip some up for my Bridesmaids (my Wedding is tomorrow) and two of them are vegan. I don’t have time now to order online, nowhere sells locally and I only have emulsifying wax in my stock. Could I use this as a vegan replacement?

      1. Hi Becca, Congratulations on your wedding! Sorry I didn’t get to see this in time! I haven’t tried using e-wax instead of beeswax in salve, so I’m not exactly sure how it would work.
        If I had seen this in time, I’d suggest maybe a pretty little dandelion lotion instead, something like:
        30 g dandelion-infused oil
        7 g emulsifying wax NF
        60 ml water
        15 ml aloe vera (or more water in a pinch)
        2 to 3 drops lavender essential oil (optional)
        preservative (if none on hand, have them refrigerate & use within 1 week or so)
        Melt oil & wax in one container and heat water & aloe in another.
        Combine and mix well, or alternatively, place in a jar and shake, shake, shake.
        Setting the jar in ice water for a bit, stirring frequently, will speed things up too.
        Hope your wedding was lovely & congrats again!

  1. Jan,
    I have no idea how I landed on your website but I am ever so glad I landed here!!! I absolutely adore lavender and never thought of the possibility of making my own as I stopped using the toxic stuff a few years ago. This scent would be lovely! Where would I find mango butter? Never even heard of it to be frank- brilliant!

    Thanks so much for your post- I am on board.

    1. Hi there Astrid! If you click on the words ‘mango butter’ above, in the recipe, it’s a link to Mountain Rose Herbs. You can also buy some from soap making supply places like http://www.BrambleBerry.com. It’s lovely stuff to work with – I like it better than even shea butter!

      1. Great!

        I think I’d like that better than Shea butter as well- thanks will look into the links :)

      2. Thank you for all your wonderful recipes. I am starting a lavender business and need a very good natural base cream to add the scents. Do you have any suggestions as I really don’t have the room to make this cream in bulk. Also, please make it known that you should only use pure lavender, not lavendin which is sold as organic lavender. For cuts and bruises, the lavendin could make them worse.

        1. Hi Anonymous! I’m afraid I’m not very familiar with ready made natural base creams or where to buy them. I *think* brambleberry.com might have some?? Good luck in your lavender business!! :)

  2. Wondering about the almond oil. I am allergic to almonds and I was wondering, can it be removed completely without effecting the out come, or can something else be used instead?

      1. Thank you. I’ll take a look at the other post!
        Your website has been a big help to me.
        I’m new to the infused oils, I usually just study but a lot of things have started to put soy (which I am also allergic to) in their products, even the herbal and organic products, so I figured I better make my own.

        1. Yes, soy is very difficult to avoid & can be quite troublesome for so many people! That was one of the biggest issues for my son – topically: it made his skin red and irritated; when he had it internally: he’d get brilliant red cheeks and turn aggressive. He’s pretty much free of most allergies now, but soy caused us so much grief, it’s still sort of a bad word in my house. ;)

  3. I just got all of my ingredients to make this in the post today – SO excited!! I will be picking my lilacs & stopping by the florist to get a couple of roses & hopefully, peonies – to add to the mix since my violets haven’t come up yet. I expect to make this on Saturday. I will be keeping a bit of it for me, then the rest will go as gifts to my mom, my sister, my friend, & my future mother-in-law for being witnesses in our civil wedding ceremony here in France June 28th. Very excited to make this & try it! Thank you so much for your posts! (Oh, I just made some Lilac syrup, & Lilac sugar the other day too – both came out amazing! Today, I’m making Lilac jelly & Lilac liqueur) :-)

    1. Hi Marjorie! Yay! I hope you have lots of fun making your cream! Your lilac projects sound wonderful and oh, so lovely! Let me know if you run into any questions on the recipe! :)

      1. Thanks Jan! I hit a snag today – so I didn’t make this yet. (It took me forever to pluck the blossoms off this time!) Just wondering, the recipe doesn’t say how much cream it makes nor how many blossoms to use… Can you clarify for me please? Thank you!

        ~ Marjorie

        1. Hi Marjorie!

          I believe it filled 3 or maybe 4, of the two ounce jars. I based it off of the rose cream recipe and that fills around four jars, so it should be very close.

          It really depends on how many blossoms you have. Many cream recipes just call for water, so any infusion that you have is a bonus. If you can fill your jar pretty full of flowers before pouring water over, then that’s great. But, if you only have a small amount of blossoms, you can still use that and get benefits.

  4. Accidental stop over but just loved your site;
    I sure look forward to making this Cream for m y Mum who is a big Addict of Lavender products
    Thank you..

  5. Just made this right now and it came out just wonderful, I cant wait to try it on my face and body. I smells great as well!

    Thank you so much, please share more recipes.

  6. Love it! I have just ordered beeswax from a bee farm so I could make this stuff…. I had some lavender and violet in my garden but there’s no lilacs in where I live (Indonesia) any idea what I should use???

    1. Hi Alma! You could leave out the lilacs completely or use more lavender or violets instead or you could even use something like rose petals, lemon balm, dandelion flowers, or calendula if you have any on hand. It’s a very flexible recipe!

  7. I am looking for a recipe for lavender lemon pepper. I used to buy it locally and loved it on steaks, fish, chicken…..but cannot find it. Loved the flavor and no salt!

  8. I just love your site! Thank you very much for sharing with us your ideas!
    I am quite new in this field..I love to do homemade products, so for me this site is a real inspiration :)

    God bless you! xx

  9. Hey Jan!
    I just had to tell you how much I enjoy your site. I have always dreamed of doing some of the things you do here. My mom was big with edible flowers and we had them in meals all the time. She candied violets also. She passed this past March and would have just loved this cream. I plan to make this and give it to my sisters and nieces as gifts in memory of our mom/grandmother. Thank you for sharing your creativity, knowledge and love with the world – you may not realize it but your are doing an incredible service!
    Really, thank you again. You ROCK!

    1. Hi Roxanne, Thank you for the kind words! I’m so sorry to hear about your mom. She sounds like a wonderful lady and I know you miss her so much. I hope your sisters and nieces love the cream!

  10. Hello! Such a beautiful blog, thank you for taking the time :0)
    Are violets the same as “Johnny Jump Up”? Those tiny flowers that pop up in a cluster everywhere? They look the same, but I wasn’t sure.
    Again, thank you!
    Kimberley

  11. Hi Jan I love this site I have a question . If I wanted to add a natural color say like lavender or pink to a cream is there a way to add this without using mica or unhealthy products?
    I really love and enjoy your site thanks so much :-)

  12. A big hi from Germany. I totally love your recipes. Made this cream last week but I noticed it is not sooo great for my rather oily big pored skin. Do you have any recipes for that kind of skin type?
    Would be super happy if you answered.

    1. Hi Yasmin! You’re right – this cream is rich and heavy, so your skin will be happier something lighter. You could use the base of this Basil Cream:
      https://thenerdyfarmwife.com/basil-anti-aging-face-cream/
      Instead of using avocado butter though, you could use a light oil.

      So, something like:
      75 g of water/liquid (you could put some witch hazel in there for astringency)
      17 g oil
      8 g emulsifying wax
      then a preservative, if you’d like it to last longer

      Here’s a good site with the comedogenic listing for types of oils, that might help you pick one:
      https://www.beneficialbotanicals.com/facts-figures/comedogenic-rating.html
      Look for an oil that’s a 0 or 1, maybe a 2. (Grapeseed is a really popular choice for oily skin.)

      I hope that helps! :)

    1. Hi Grace!
      I currently like Leucidal Liquid SF (a probiotic based preservative) at 4%, plus am experimenting with adding AMTcide Coconut to go along with it as well, for an extra boost against mold. (You can find both of these and more at lotioncrafter.com) To figure the amount of Leucidal Liquid SF needed, add up the weight of the ingredients – which are 267 grams in this recipe – then multiply by 4% (.04) to get 10.68 grams needed. (I’d just round to 11 grams in this case.)

  13. I plan on using phenonip as my preservative but am a little stuck on how much to use. would you happen to know?

  14. Jan, I was just watching a video on basic lotion making which I’ve never tried due to it needing an emulsifier, let alone a preservative. I’d heard a lot of people say you can’t make lotion with beeswax but then I heard you can if you also use borax. I wasn’t sure I wanted to use borax as I know it is a bit of a controversial ingredient. Then, I just saw a video of a lady who made a lotion with beeswax but without borax. So, I decided to see if you had anything about this and am delighted to see that you do both here & in your book. I just wanted to say I so appreciate your approach to keeping everything as natural as possible, be it for the emulsion or preservative, but also giving easier options. Since it took me a number of tries before my first body butter set properly I bet I can figure a beeswax lotion out too just to try making a lotion. I think I’ll first try your easy herbal custom lotion I just saw in your book. I don’t think there is another blogger who takes the approach of keeping things so natural and yet safe so keep up the great work! You approach is just my favorite and you seem to know all the best techniques that others even say can’t be done. Thanks!

    1. Hi Linda, Thank you for your kind comments! :) I’ve heard that so many times too, about beeswax not being a true emulsifier, but have happily made lotions with that method for years. They can be a bit trickier though, so I really enjoy using emulsifying wax sometimes too. It’s wonderful that we have such a fantastic array of ingredients to work with, so we can choose what’s just right for us in the moment! Happy lotion making! :)

  15. I am new to soap making and I recently purchased your book on melt and pour soap making. I’m interested in your course on cream and lotion making. Do you have any suggestions on making a goats milk non foaming creamy face wash?

    1. Hi Linda! Thanks for buying the new melt and pour book! :) I don’t have a recipe for a goats milk non foaming creamy face wash, but that does sound so lovely!

    1. Hi Vetta! That’s a great question! Bottled aloe can be used to replace part of the water in a recipe, but fresh aloe is really hard to preserve in lotion, so I’m not sure how well it would last. If you do try it, I would keep it in the fridge, use maximum amount of preservative, and watch carefully for signs of spoiling.

  16. Hi Jan! Long time no chat, hope all is well with you and your family. I noticed that you mentioned in this post that you had trouble extracting gardenias. Totally agree that lilacs are very difficult (along with violets), to extract the scent. About the gardenias, the Natural Perfumer in me had to comment lol. I’ve extracted many different flowers for my perfumes, and Gardenia is one of the easiest to extract and most fragrant of the flowers I grow(besides the tuberose)! But there is a trick to it! Enfleurage! I have many post on my Instagram , @jadeforestco._ ,enfleuraging the gardenias. Check it out , I think it’s definitely some thing you’d be interested trying as I’m sure you have all the materials for enfleurage. Reach out if you need help! Xoxo, Jade

    1. Hi Jade, Thank you for the wonderful information! I just followed you on Instagram – oh my goodness, so much loveliness!! <3 I love that you make natural perfumes! That’s something my daughter & I have long been interested in. Looking forward to following your photos and posts! :)

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