Homemade Earl Grey Bath Set
Tea, Earl Grey, Hot... Bath! If you love the smell of Earl Grey, you'll love this Homemade London Fog Milk Bath and Earl Grey Bath Salt Set!
As you may know by now, I have a *completely* healthy obsession with citrus fruits.
I’ve gone on a maybe-slightly-unhinged quest for Christmas oranges, and written about it here.
I’ve created recipes featuring clementines - one of my favourite orange varieties... Clementine Marmalade and Clementine Mead.
I completely *lost it* at my “discovery” of calamansi at Seafood City a while back... amazingly, that’s only resulted in one recipe here, my Dairy Free Calamansi Coconut Panna Cotta (AIP!).
To be fair, though, I’m using Calamansi juice in pretty much anything I’ve previously specified lemon juice as an ingredient in, these days. Cannot. Get. Enough. Calamansi.
Sumos Season IS a bigger deal than Christmas in my world, and I definitely spend more on Sumos than on the holidays, LOL.
And, of course, my favourite teas are Orange Pekoe and Earl Grey.
Shockingly, the only recipe I have up here featuring either one is my Gluten-Free Earl Grey Cream Pie.
(Though, really, that Earl Grey Pie has literally brought a grown man to tears, so I think THAT makes up for the fact that it’s historically been the lone Earl Grey recipe here, right?)
Anyway, when I started making bath products for myself and for gifting... obviously I was going to need to do something in that neigbourhood!
So here it is: My DIY Earl Grey Bath set: London Fog Milk Bath, and Earl Grey Sugar Scrub! Super easy to make, a great gift to give - or receive - and just really nice to treat yourself to.
The tea and bergamot combination makes a lovely sugar scrub, and the addition of whole milk powder makes for a gorgeously scented, relaxing bath.
Earl Grey Soap
Now, I’m going to admit: There was originally an Earl Grey Goats Milk Soap in here. It was super pretty... until we used it.
Massive fail, visually.
The tea started steeping into - and off of - the soap with use. The soap discoloured, and left rusty looking drips down the side of the sink.
So... yeah. Don’t add tea leaves to soap. There’s some good life advice, LOL!
Gifting This Earl Grey Bath Set
Earl Grey isn’t something I’ve seen a lot of (or at all, really!) when it comes to home spa products, so this is a unique gift idea for the Earl Grey lovers in your life!
You can make one or both of the items, or make a BIG batch of one of the items (The Earl Grey Milk Bath, 100%!), and pack it in a big sack.
You can pack them up as part of a custom gift basket, maybe adding some related items - actual Earl Grey tea, baked Earl Grey goods, tea related accessories, etc.
Gift basket or not, I love decorating the items in this Earl Grey set for the occasion. Craft stores and dollar stores have all kinds of pretty options when it comes to ribbons and accessories, especially this time of year.
I like going with purples for Earl Grey, though I have no idea why. There’s not really anything inherently purple about the flavour or aroma of it, after all.
I DID consider colouring the Milk bath in red and black and trying to layer the colours in the bottle in such a way as to suggest a TNG Starfleet uniform, but laziness won the battle that day!
When gifting homemade bath items, I do recommend labeling the items with the ingredients used, either as a sticker on the bottom/back of your jar or packaging, or printed out on a bit of cardstock and tied on. It’s important for the giftee to be able to see what’s in it, and be able to make sure those ingredients will be safe for them.
Just remember, “treat yoself” is also a thing!
Disclaimers:
Whenever you’re trying out something new on your skin - especially if you have sensitive skin - you should test it out on a small match of skin, to see if you have any reactions. If you have any problems, discontinue use.
If you are pregnant, nursing, or on any medications that may be affected by any of the ingredients in these products, you should talk to your physician before using them.
This is especially important when essential oils are involved.
This site is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for the site to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites. While I’ll only ever link to items that I, personally, wholeheartedly recommend, I do need to put that disclosure out there!
Looking for More Homemade Gift Ideas?
We have a few DIY gift tutorials, with even more coming! For now, be sure to check out:
Booze Bouquet Tutorial.
Crocheted 1 Up Mushroom Baby Hat
DIY Citrus and Cedar Bath Set
DIY Cutting Board Tutorial - Colourful Squares
DIY Mustard Bath Gift Set
Homemade Chai Latte Bath Set
Homemade Cutting Board Tutorial - Log Cabin
Homemade Hop Spa Bath Set
Homemade Peppermint Eucalyptus Spa Set
Homemade Spiced Oatmeal Cookie Bath Set
How to Sew A Cute Makeup / Toiletry Bag Travel Set
Mop Doll Air Freshener Covers
Pumpkin Spice Latte Bath Set
DIY Ugly Christmas Sweater Masks
Share the Love!
Before you give away your set, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you instagram it, be sure to tag me - @OverlordMarie - or post it to My Facebook Page - so I can cheer you on!
Also, be sure to subscribe to my free monthly email newsletter, so you never miss out on any of my nonsense.
Well, the published nonsense, anyway!
Now, on to those tutorials!
”London Fog” Earl Grey Milk Bath
Milk baths have been a popular beauty and relaxation thing for centuries... toss some tea and bergamot in there, and you’ve not only got an Earl Grey Milk Bath - you’ve got a London Fog bath!
Ingredients
Milk Powder
Ideally, you want to use whole fat milk powder, as it’s the milk fat that makes a milk bath feel so great.
If all you can get is the low fat / fat free milk powder, it’ll work in the sense that it’ll bulk out your mix and make the water look milky... but it won’t feel quite as luxurious.
I use Epsom salt as the default base for all of my milk baths, as it’s readily available, affordable, a neutral colour, and good to soak in.
I’ve also got a LOOOOONG history of using it as a soak for sore muscles, as a result of my figure skating. So, consider me conditioned to view it as the gold standard!
You can substitute Corse Ground Sea Salt or Himalayan Pink Salt for some or all of the Epsom Salt, if you so choose.
I buy loose tea leaves at Bulk Barn, but they should be available in most bulk bin type stores, some grocery stores, and on Amazon.
I prefer to use loose leaf Earl Grey tea, but if that’s not an option, basic black tea leaves - or even Orange Pekoe tea leaves - works also. You’ll be getting most of the scent from the bergamot oil, after all!
I like to include baking soda in my bath salt & bath milk recipes, as it softens and soothes the skin, and makes the water feel silky. It’s just nice on the senses, and really, that’s half the point of fancy bath products, isn’t it?
Equipment
Epsom salt almost always has chunks in it that should be broken down, for a nice looking milk bath. For that reason, I like to make this my Earl Grey Milk Bath in a plastic baggie.
I measure the ingredients into the bag, press most of the air out of the bag, and massage the bag a bit to break up and work out the clumps, properly mixing everything. It’s easier than stirring it in a bowl, and makes far less of a mess!
I’ve been using bath tea bags as a way of containing some of the mess associated with my style of bath soaks. Sometimes it’s dried flowers, other times it’s spices that don’t dissolve all of the way.
In the case of my Earl Grey Bath Set, it’s the addition of tea leaves.
It’s perfectly safe and acceptable to put them all directly in the bath - and kind of pretty, too. You’ll just want to rinse the tub - and yourself! - afterwards. I’m lazy, so I generally prefer the tea bags.
Except, you know, when I’m too lazy to use the bags. 🙂
This is the pack I buy, which is the perfect size for my bath soaks.
Just measure a cup of the Earl Grey Milk Bath into a bath tea bag, pull the strings to gather, and tie a knot close to the gather.
I like to also tightly wrap a couple loops around the bag itself, just under the gather, and knot THAT off. That prevents any of the tea leaves from escaping out of the opening.
Larger Batches
This London Fog Milk Bath recipe can be multiplied to make much larger batches, if so desired. If you’re making more than a double or triple batch, you’ll want to do it in a large bowl.
I like to use gloved hands to physically break up any clumps of Epsom salt in the bowl, before adding the other ingredients. It just makes it a lot easier to get a consistent final product.
Use
These Earl Grey Milk Bath keeps best in an airtight glass container, kept out of the sunlight. With proper storage, this Earl Grey milk bath should be good for about a year.
Use about 1 cup of Earl Grey Milk Bath in a hot bath , rinsing off after use.
If you’re not using a bath tea bag, you’ll want to rinse the tub out after use, to clear out all of the tea leaves.
London Fog Milk Bath
Equipment
- 1 Gallon Zipper Bags
- Bath Tea Bags, optional
Materials
- 1 ½ cups Whole Milk Powder
- 1 cup Epsom Salt
- ½ cup Baking soda
- ¼ cup Loose black tea leaves
- 10 drops Bergamot Essential Oil
- Soap Colour / Dye
Instructions
- Measure all ingredients into your plastic baggie.
- Press most of the air out of the bag, and close the zipper on it.
- Manually crush any clumps in the salt, and work to combine the ingredients.
- Transfer mixture to an airtight container, or measure into bath tea bags. Filled bath tea bags should also be stored in airtight containers.
- To use, measure 1 cup of London Fog Milk Bath - or throw one bath tea bag - into a hot running bath. Rinse after use
Earl Grey Sugar Scrub
This sugar scrub is sweetly scented and is gentle enough to use on your face (though some argue against using sugar on facial skin!), as well as your whole body.
Some notes:
Choice of Oil:
I like to use sweet almond oil, but there are other options as well.
Many people use coconut oil when making homemade scrubs... and many people say to never use coconut oil on the skin, as it clogs pores. Some people use olive oil, some use hemp oil, some others even use vegetable oil.
Baby oil is a cheap and readily available option that’s good on the skin... but it tends to have a very strong “baby oil” smell, which can overpower the Earl Grey goodness.
Go with what works for you.
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