12 Gifts for Women Who Love to Travel

A version of this post was originally published on 12/6/15 by SheKnows Media

12 Gifts for Women Who Love to Travel

Ah, the holidays! The warmth, the togetherness, the food, the good cheer, and the quest to find the perfect gifts to give the special people in our lives.

With only a few weeks left, it's time to intensify the search and make your final purchases.

If one of those special people in your life is an independent wanderluster who seems to have been everywhere and done everything, boy do I have some great gift ideas for you!

What do you get the wanderlust-smitten woman who lives to travel the world?

How about an Encircled Chrysalis Cardi! This soft, eco-friendly garment, ethically made in Canada can be worn EIGHT different ways (without the need of pins and straps), making it a top choice for anyone on the go. You can dress your cardi up or down without weighing your suitcase down. It's ingenious, comfortable and classic!

Below are some examples of how you can wear the chrysalis cardi. I packed mine for an autumn weekend getaway. I had so much extra room in my single carry-on purse and getting dressed couldn't have been easier or more fun!

For more details, inspiration and access to their amazing look book click on the Encircled ad below.

For other great gift ideas-

Here are 12 Gifts for Women Who Love to Travel!

(photos from Amazon.com)

Whichever wonderful winter holiday you are celebrating this year, I hope the season is filled with love and peace!

*Disclosure- this post contains affiliate links :)

How to Melt Wax to Make Bath and Beauty Products!

How to Melt Wax to Make Bath and Beauty Products!

Apparently I've been on a tutorial kick.

Last week, after getting a ton of emails from people asking me to clarify how to melt shea butter properly I posted a super thorough and simplified tutorial for melting shea butter.

Today, I'm going to extend that tutorial to demonstrate an effective way to melt wax.

Waxes are used often in bath and beauty products, particularly body butters and lip balms because they're fantastic emulsifiers and contribute to a lovely texture.

When I make my products, I prefer to use carnauba wax and beeswax although there are many forms of wax safe for cosmetic use.

Wax can be purchased in many forms from large solid bars to tiny pellets. I prefer to buy pellets whenever possible because they're easy to measure and melt.

If you don't have pellets, grating a large bar of wax and measuring the portions can be extremely labor intensive. Pellets are definitely easiest to work with though bars are usually cheaper.

How to Melt Wax to Make Bath and Beauty Products!

When you're melting wax, you want to place the pellets (or shavings from a block) into your oil base.

For the purposes of this post, I'm going to ask you to refer to my shea butter base. This could of course be any base your recipe calls for from olive oil to jojoba.

Steps Simplified:

Once my oil base, in this case (shea butter) is melted, I'm ready to add my wax pellets. You want to do this while your oil is still hot even though it is no longer on the stove. (This step picks up exactly where the shea butter tutorial left off!)

Depending on the needs of your recipe, add the pellets by the teaspoon, whisking briskly to encourage dissolving without clumping. If you don't whisk your wax, it can clump.

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Once the first teaspoon has dissolved down to a cloud of foam, I add the next until I've added all I will need.

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Finally, I take a hand blender and blend the mixture on the highest speed. This ensures that my wax dissolves fully and results in a smooth texture for my balms and butters.

Ta-Da!

Practice makes perfect. Once you get the hang of it, you'll be able to melt wax in your sleep.

Have you ever made your own bath and beauty products?

For more DIY natural skin care ideas, check out my latest book Natural Beauty from the Outside In, where you’ll find 70 Ayurveda inspired hair and skin care recipes.