While I love organic beauty potions, infused with essential oils, I realized earlier this year that I was going through my favorite whipped shea butter far too quickly. I was sharing it with my daughters and we were going through one at least every two months. I was looking for places to cut back in my budget and this was an obvious place to start.

I had tried another brand of straight shea butter before and was not fond of the smell or texture, but I decided to try another. This time I tried Inesscents Organic Fair Trade Shea Butter. While it is not whipped, it smells good and quickly melts into the skin. While it lacks the light vanilla scent and essential oils found in my old favorite, I daresay it works just as well. At $1.19 an ounce (I purchased mine at Natural Grocers for $18.99), it costs nearly fifteen times less than my old favorite, which is currently priced at $17.63 an ounce. I purchased the sixteen-ounce tub in April and I still have tons, our whole family using it as their main moisturizer.

A few months ago, I also used up my Evanhealy Rose Cleansing Milk. I loved the product, but, again, I wanted to cut back on spending. So, I decided to not spend anything more and use organic coconut oil from my kitchen cupboard, inspired by Evanhealy’s Coconut Cream Cleanser, which I tried and liked in the past. Again, while straight coconut oil lacks the citrus infusion that the Evanhealy product has, it has the same affect on my skin. Seventy-five cents an ounce versus $8.13 an ounce for Rose Cleansing Milk or $11.84 an ounce for Coconut Cream Cleanser!

I decanted some shea butter and some coconut oil into two two-ounce jars which previously held my Evanhealy products. I love using oils for cleansing and moisturizing in the winter, when extra moisture is always welcome. To cleanse my face at night, I rub coconut oil into my skin (after I rinse off my mascara with water), rinse repeatedly with warm water, and then dry with a clean towel. I then moisturize with a small amount of shea butter. In the morning, I rinse my face with warm water and then moisturize with shea butter before applying makeup. Sometimes, I like to put a little coconut oil under my eyes, for extra shimmer, too.

For lips, through the winter and all year round, I still love Evanhealy’s Whipped Shea Butter for Lips. Nothing compares! If I feel compelled to wear sunscreen, MyChelle’s Sun Shield Unscented is still my favorite. I’m also currently using up a facial scrub I bought last year, but it isn’t necessarily a favorite.

For a bit of scented luxury, I like to blend a few drops of Marble & Milkweed’s winter nourishing body oil (which I purchased last winter) with a dab of shea butter, for a Narnia-scented moisturizer for arms and hands.

In summary, my winter skincare essentials are:

• coconut oil cleanser
• shea butter moisturizer
• shea butter lip balm

I’ve been enjoying this simple routine and I think my skin is happy with it, too!

What about you? Do you favor kitchen essentials over luxurious natural beauty products or do you enjoy the occasional splurge on skincare? Do you have a favorite natural facial scrub? I would love to hear in the comments below! 

P.S. I would love to try this recipe for homemade body lotion, but just haven’t gotten around to it, yet!