Make a Lilac & Lavender Night Oil

My cousin gifted me some lovely dried lilac from her garden the other week. She’s a mama of two and I knew that I wanted to use the lilac to make her something that will add a little self-care to her day. I decided to make a bedtime face oil using a blend of light oils that absorb quickly. This face oil won’t stain your pillow when you rest your head at night!

Lilac is high in antioxidant and astringent compounds, which help tone and improve the appearance of the skin. Since this is a bedtime face oil, I just had to add in some lavender as well. Whenever I have trouble sleeping, I like to diffuse some lavender essential oil and listen to the Blue Gold bedtime story on the Calm app. Stephen Fry talking about lavender fields in Provence lulls me to sleep within minutes.

Let’s get started

The ingredients

Lavender and lilac infused sunflower oil

The star of the show! I was going to create the infusion using my slow cooker overnight, but when I saw they were calling for a warm and sunny weekend, I jumped at the chance to use the folk herbalism method:

1. Fill the bottom of a mason jar with dried lilac and lavender and immerse the herbs with sunflower oil. This recipe calls for 22 grams of the infused oil, so you’ll want to include a generous amount as some of it will get absorbed into the herbs.

2. Add a few drops of vitamin E to help preserve the herbs and oil during the infusion process.

3. Place the sealed jar in a brown paper bag and leave it outside, in direct sunlight, to gently warm the oil over 6-8 hours. You can shake the jar every few hours.

4. Strain the oil using a paper coffee filter and funnel it into a bottle.

I liked this method because of how quick and easy the process was. The down side is that, in Canada, there are very few days during the year where this process will work.

Grape seed oil

I chose to include grape seed oil because it’s one of the lightest and most easily absorbed carrier oils. I also like that it allows the scent of the lilac and lavender to come through completely. Grape seed oil has a high content of phenolic compounds, resveratrol, and vitamin E, making it a great antioxidant. It tones and hydrates the skin, without clogging pores.

Essential oils

I wanted to choose essential oils that would complement and heighten the existing scent of this night oil. I chose to add just three drops of essential oil – 2 drops or sweet orange and 1 drop of lavender.

The measurements

For a 1 oz bottle of night oil, you will need:

• Lilac & lavender infused sunflower oil – 22 g

• Grape seed oil – 6 g

• Vitamin E – 1.5 g

• Sweet orange essential oil: 2 drops

• Lavender essential oil: 1 drop

The steps

1. Prepare the lilac & lavender infused sunflower oil (using steps above).

2. Using a funnel, add the oils directly into a 1 oz bottle and shake.

3. Add the vitamin E and essential oils to the bottle. Shake and voila!

4. Do a patch test on your wrist 24 hours before applying the night oil to your face.

Did you make this recipe? Let me know what you think on Instagram.