Article: the woodland wife

Reclaim

A very fresh and welcoming cover!
I’m interested in both looking and feeling good, the environment, and the planet, so reading about how to create beauty recipes while ensuring the environment is being cared for makes a lot of sense to me.
Included are fifty ‘zero-waste’ recipes for skin and hair. Most will need a trip to the shops for the ingredients, but some recipes are ready to go with what you’ve already got in your cupboards or garden.
Each recipe comes with an ‘Emelie’s tip’ too which helps to extra-personalise the recipe.
A useful – and original – find!

For the Love of Books

As featured in

Mollie Makes

Featured on Rachael Jess Blog

Rachael Jess Blog

This was a great book and I will definitely be using it on a daily basis. I think this is definitely a book that everyone should have in their houses.

NetGalley, Kaitlyn Waller

An easy-to-follow guide to making your own beauty products. Emilie shows you only need a few ingredients to get started and offers alternatives for each recipe (based on taste and skin type where appropriate). This book demystifies the process and provides a really helpful list of stockists. The photos used are helpful, informative and pretty to look at.

NetGalley, Symmone Cupidore

If you are interested in making your own skincare products then this book is an ideal starting point. It is full of beautiful and useful photographs, so you can see what you are going to be working with and what it should look like at the end.

Emilie patiently talks us through what ingredients you need and why they are used. She explains what they do in the process such as Vitamin E - which Emilie describes as '... the nectar of the gods when it comes to skin care!' (p.15).

None of the recipes are complicated and some are very very straightforward such as the fizzy lavender and lemon foot soak (p.79). Some recipes are to calm and restore you, some are cosmetics such as the berry lip and cheek tint. There is a core of ingredients that appear in many of the recipes and just like you stock a store cupboard with things you cook with often, once you have gathered together a few core ingredients then you are set up to explore through the book at will. Essential oils are used frequently, as is shea butter and sweet almond oil. You soon get to grips with what you need to buy.

Emilie writes calmly and inspiringly. I really like this book and if you have an interest in wanting to start to make your own skincare products then this book is for you.

Read the full review here

Blackberry Garden

I loved this book and the recipe's. Hopefully I will be putting them into practice very soon.

NetGalley, Wendy M Rhodes

How green is your make up bag? Mollie Makes fave Emilie Woodger-Smith has written her first book on the subject, making it easier than ever to go natural with your cosmetics.
Shop Simply Sustainable Beauty for easy to follow recipes and advice on zero waste life.

Mollie Makes Magazine June 2021

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

This is a great book for those who would like to DIY their beauty products to make them healthier and more sustainable. I loved the recipes and I thought there was a lot of valuable and informative info in this book!

NetGalley, Kate Z

A fantastic recipe book for every beauty product addict out there. Filled with many easy-to-follow recipes to create natural beauty products! Well worth reading and full of inspirational ideas to start replacing all those expensive beauty products with a more affordable natural alternative. Recipes are arranged thematically: face, body, & hair and have their ingredients listed in an easy-to-follow style.

The book is an easy and enjoyable read. The steps are easy to follow and understand.
Highly recommended.

NetGalley, Pearly Williams

I was eager to read this book as I’ve been making my own soap and solid shampoo for a year now and wanted to see what else I could make to my own needs and likes taking into account my allergies. Making your own products has the added bonus of less plastic and cardboard packaging too. I was delighted to find I already had stocks of many of the oils and butters needed for the recipes in the book due to my previous soap and shampoo makes.

As I’m allergic to lavender essential oil and it is a very popular oil in these recipes, I had to be prepared to make substitutions for oils I can tolerate such as mandarin and lemon. I wanted to make Honey Face Wash, Fizzy Lavender & Lemon Foot Soak (I tried rose essential oil in place of lavender) and Whipped Sweet Orange Body Butter straight away. My favourite make is Peppermint & Lime Foot Salt Scrub.

What lovely photography throughout the book and clear step by step instructions. A wholehearted five stars.

Read the full review here

Amazon Customer, Jayne

This is an exuberant and well written guide to spa and beauty products done just a little bit more sustainably and with less waste. The author is adept at explaining the selection of different ingredients and what functions they perform in each recipe. Recipes are arranged roughly thematically: face, body, & hair and have their ingredients listed bullet style in sidebars. Ingredient measures are given for the most part in US standard measures (teaspoon, tablespoon, etc) with some larger measurements given by weight in grams. Most of the ingredients will be readily available at larger health-food stores or online. The tutorials are clearly written in easy-to-follow language and the photography is plentiful and in color. Extra tips and alternative preparations are provided in text boxes with each recipe. For the more difficult to source ingredients, the author has included a resource/retailer guide and short directory to suppliers. The sources are slanted to readers in the UK, but readers elsewhere shouldn't have much trouble finding ingredients for most of the recipes.

There are a number of recipes here which I've never seen in any other DIY beauty products book. There are recipes for tinted eyebrow wax, self browning tanning cream (she promises no "oompa loompa" results), and several skin peels. The recipes use natural ingredients are non-toxic and family friendly.

In fact many of these tutorials would be appropriate activities with younger family members, maker's groups, scouting groups, and similar. It would also make a good selection for library acquisition or home use for DIY/self-sufficiency folks who aren't ready to give up their skincare products but want more earth-friendly and sustainable alternatives.

NetGalley, Annie Buchanan

This is such a cool book! I've extremely into natural and sustainable beauty so this book was perfect for me. I've always tried to make my own products and having everything in one place is so convenient. She lays out the ingredients, supplies, etc. to get started and make it as easy as possible. If you're into natural products that you can make with minimal ingredients, this is the book for you!

NetGalley, Georjenna Gatto

Simply Sustainable Beauty is a easy to follow recipe book to make your own beauty products using easily affordable ingredients.
Each of the recipes in this book has very similar and consistent ingredients making it easy to invest in cosy wise.
The book starts off with ingredients and equipment needed to make the recipes in it.
The book is then divided into Bath, body and hair sections.
I received a digital ARC so I've screen shot afew recipes to try out over the summer which I'm really excited about doing!

NetGalley, Natalie Horman

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I was so pleased to get a copy of this as it has been a real pleasure to read through this book. The recipes are easy to follow and the range of products well thought through.
Most importantly I have not just read about how to make my own products I have made some and they were so good I will continue to make them. So a real eye opener to sustainable beauty products that inspires the reader to create their own and enjoy the process whilst also limiting their carbon footprint!

NetGalley, Gisele Johnson

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars


Emily has amazing ideas to make all kinds of wonderful organic beauty products. Every product looks easy to make and I know some will be staples in our house. I especially love the spiced muscle rub and the orange body butter. As a fitness enthusiast, I rely on muscle relief and having a homemade muscle rub on hand rather than spending an arm and a leg on ICY Hot products will be more cost effective and function either just as well if not, better. I also will know that all of the ingredients are organic and will definitely not have to worry about what ingredients will be on my skin. I know we have a lot of people in our library community that love shopping organic and they will be thrilled to learn how to make it themselves.

We will consider adding this title to our R Non-Fiction collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

NetGalley, Meghan Soderholm

This is one of my favorite DIY beauty books because it does provide recipes and instructions for good homemade hair and skin care products with little to no waste.

NetGalley, Claire Winternheimer

Containing recipes for face, hair, and body, this book provides easy-to-make recipes for creating your own cosmetics & beauty supplies with little difficulty. One very nice feature of the book is 'Emily's Tips" at the end of each recipe with great ideas.

NetGalley, Janet Perry

Simply Sustainable Beauty by Emilie Woodger-Smith is a beautiful book full of recipes for homemade beauty products. These were simple enough with basic ingredients that they are actually doable, and also very interesting at the same time. There are three parts to this book: face, body, and hair. All these have many recipes with beautiful photos, and many of them I would like to try. All in all, I really like this book for its simple recipes with ingredients that actually don't cost a fortune.

NetGalley, Ronja S

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I have a drawer (and more) full of rejected beauty items. They all have a huge list of ingredients attached to them, and as each comes in and out of fashion, I have, over the years abandoned the use of many and I have no idea what to do with the part used creams and lotions etc etc
Using the guidance in this book it is possible to put together natural ingredients which are equally effective, recyclable, and I’m guessing, better for the skin on a long-term basis. The quantities are controllable so that there is no waste.
I’ve put together a few of the recipes to date, and have been very please with the results. This will be my new beauty regime! An excellent book and a great resource!

NetGalley, Inge Fullerlove

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

A fascinating read for every beauty product addict. This book was informative and thought provoking, full of easy to follow ‘recipes’ to create natural beauty products. Well worth reading and full of inspirational ideas to start replacing all those expensive beauty products with a more natural alternative. Highly recommended.

NetGalley, E Rutherford

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

This the THE BOOK I have been looking and waiting for! Emilie Woodget-Smith provides some lovely recipes for homemade beauty products that do not cost an arm and a leg, but are nonetheless effective. Also brilliant for anyone who wants to reduce their impact on the planet.

The book is divided into 3 sections: face, body and hair. In the face section, there are cleansers, toners, exfoliator, serums, cream and masks. My favourite is the lactic acid dermabrasion recipe, which is so easy to make and left my skin feeling really smooth.

The body section has everything you would need to pamper your body. I made the natural deodorant cream, which seems to work quite well on a slightly chilly day. The real test will be once summer hits! I have not tried any recipes from the hair section, but they do look interesting and easy to make.

I really liked the fact that Emilie provides a list of suggested retailers from whom you can buy the raw materials.

These products will make great Christmas gifts, especially for those who want something different to the mass produced beauty products.

NetGalley, Rad Bhatia

This is a nice DIY book for making natural lotions, hair rinses and other skin and beauty products. There are color photos throughout and they actually show the products as opposed to just using stock photos of ingredients or flowers.

NetGalley, Alicia Bayer

This book gives the great and easy recipe to follow!
Being zero waste in my cosmetics for the past year, I found in this book great ideas and new cosmetics to make and try!
The book is clear and nice to read. The steps are easy to follow and understandable.
I think some of the product can be tricky to find if you don't live in a big city but, I guess you can find them on sustainable websites.
I already tried the deodorant (That I loved and recommendend !) and the cinnamon lip scrub.
This book is a good inspiration if you want to change some of the product that you use for something more natural and handmade !

NetGalley, Éléa FOSTIER

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

This book gives great, natural recipes for all sorts of beauty products likes soaps, cleansers, and conditioners. Make your own at lower cost, higher quality, and more sustainably than commercial products.

NetGalley, Markey Olson

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Simply Sustainable Beauty is a wonderful collection of environmentally-friendly beauty recipes to decrease waste and consumption. A huge variety of recipes from face to body to hair are included and the list of ingredients are all recognizable. The photography is beautiful and I loved the tips included.

NetGalley, Mara Lyons

Simply Sustainable Beauty is all about that short introduction to natural beauty products and how you can make them yourself with base ingredients. It is about knowing what it is that you are putting on your skin, and what those ingredients really can do for you. As this is something I’ve researched and tried out extensively for my small business, I would say that this is like the perfect first meeting to some of the base ingredients! In here you get recipes for making your own products (50 in total), that range from simple make up wipes to exfoliation scrubs.

It's accompanied with some amazing pictures and DIY jars for your products, and Smith also talks about how much plastic impacts the beauty world, and how we can try to reduce that by making some products on our own. Even living in a country where we recycle a lot, and almost ALL our plastic drinking bottles are recycled into new ones, we still have a long way to go in order to recycle more of our plastic and making sure that we don't use is where it isn't necessary.

A book I highly recommend to those who want to dive into this DIY natural beauty corner of the world!

NetGalley, Marlene Sjonsti-Bjørnsen

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I am so happy to receive a copy of this book!
It starts with a helpful list of ingredient and equipment essentials. There's some lovely zero waste recommendations and tips, as well as beautiful photos, throughout the whole book.
The 3 main chapters are face, body, and hair; recipes include micellar water, toner, face masks, salt scrubs, shampoos, bath bombs - this list could get very long!
The recipes vary in how technical they are; some are very simple with only two or three ingredients. The instructions are clear and easy to follow.

This would make a fantastic gift for anyone interested in homemade or zero waste skincare!

NetGalley, Jenny Lodge

Confession time. I love a good lotion and potion. So I cannot wait to try these! The ingredients are easy to find (online for some) and easy to follow and for way less than I pay for my current skin care and makeup.

NetGalley, Joni Owens

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

This is a fantastic collection of recipes with stunning photography. I can't wait to give these a try. This is a great resource and guide; one I'll definitely return to again and again.

NetGalley, Jessica Murdock