Our Best Posts From 2012

It's that time again, time to reflect on the past twelve months, and start looking forward to the next year.  Here at The Natural Beauty Workshop, we are anticipating a year filled with fresh ingredients, exciting projects, and opportunities to grow our community in new ways.  We hope that you have lots of wonderful things to look forward to in the new year as well. 

Before we begin counting our future blessings, let's take a moment to highlight some of our favorite posts from the past year. We've shared a lot of new recipes, formulation articles, and ingredient profiles this year. These are our favorites.

1. Coconut & Plum Whipped Body Butter – We couldn't be any more in love with our Virgin Plum Kernel Oil or our Organic Virgin Coconut Cream Oil. Bringing those favorite ingredients together in a whipped body butter recipe pretty much made our whole year. If you haven't tried this recipe yet, you are missing out on a serious treat.
2. Arabian Fragrance Oils - We were thrilled to add these exotic Fragrance Oils to our line of aromatic ingredients. Finely crafted with both natural and synthetic components, our Arabian Fragrance Oils are excellent for perfumes, luxury formulations, and soaps.
3. Papaya Smoothie Sugar Scrub – This delicious looking recipe was so popular that we decided to turn it into a Body Care Craft Kit. Packed with luscious Turbinado Sugar, Honey, Coconut, and adorable Jojoba Wax Beads, this sugar scrub quickly became a Natural Beauty Workhsop favorite.
4. The Natural Beauty Workshop's Guide to Using Color Additives – It's really great when we get the chance to answer your questions about formulating handmade products. We get a lot of questions about using Color Additives, so we took that opportunity to put together a guide that covers the basics. 
5. Make Your Own All Natural Facial Toners – Hydrosols are really wonderful ingredients. They allow you to reap the benefits of botanicals with far more mellow properties than Essential Oils or CO2 Extracts. Sometimes less is more. Facial toners are a great example of that sentiment. This post describes how to use natural Hydrosols to create your own all-natural, extra-gentle facial toners. 
6. Chamomile Bath Powder – If you ask me, chamomile is bed-time's best friend. A long soak in a warm tub before bed can make me feel like all is right in the world. Adding chamomile to that experience makes it even more soothing, comforting, and restful. This recipe combines the power of chamomile with a skin-nourishing milk bath, making it better than a lullaby.
7. FNWL on Blythe Raw Live! – Blythe Metz hosts a great show on natural living that focuses on raw food, natural beauty, and sustainable living. We were thrilled to have our ingredients featured on her show last May.
8. Making Healthy Beauty Choices – Who decides what is natural enough, what is healthy enough, or what is good enough?  Only you can choose where and how to draw those lines.  Finding a happy, healthy medium helps making living a healthy lifestyle a lot more enjoyable, and can increase your chances for success.
9. Homemade Hair Whips – This one was for the mixtresses amongst us.  Caring for your hair with natural ingredients is a passion all its own.  It's always challenging, sometimes complicated, but always rewarding.  Whenever we publish a hair care recipe my heart swells with pride.  I think this one will remain a personal favorite. 
10. ABC Beauty Tonic – Of all of this year's posts, this one was the most indulgent for me, personally.  I've become pretty much obsessed with juicing, so I felt compelled to share my story with the readers on Natural Beauty Workshop.  Not only does juicing have me feeling better than ever, it has my hair and skin in amazing shape. Drink up!
11. Ginger Fennel Body Mask – We treat our faces to masks fairly often, but the rest of your epidermus needs love too!  This stimulating body mask can help mobilize toxins and cellulite that build up from head to toe.
12. Neem Oil Solid Shampoo Bars – A nod to our new Natural Pet Care Section on FNWL, this recipe makes a great gift for friends with canine companions.  Commercial pet products can be harsh on skin, packed with suspicious chemicals, and downright yucky.  This natural, homemade alternative combines Neem Oil, Kaolin Clay, and a blend of helpful Essential Oils, making a solid shampoo that you can feel good about.