Welcome to the home of SwiftCraftyMonkey Formulating Inc.! Join Susan as she obsesses about cosmetic chemistry and other things (some possibly related to monkeys)! Here you’ll find over 5,000 posts and formulas written over the past 16 years for everything from lotions, creams, and body butters to hair care products to fancy facial products filled with actives and cosmeceuticals! Enjoy the site without distractions – no ads, pop ups, sponsored posts, affiliate links, “one weird tricks” – all supported by readers like you.
For more than 10 years, I’ve been saying that my first attempts with Olivem 1000 (INCI: Cetearyl Olivate (and) Sorbitan Olivate) were fails, that it’s a super picky emulsifier, that I wasn’t a fan until a few years ago. I found this as I was looking through Photos to illustrate a post I’m writing on … Read more
I’ve been seeing people commenting on Facebook groups, my page, and here along with messages to me on Facebook that they find this blog hard to navigate. If I can be honest, I’m perplexed as we’ve been working hard to make it easy to find what you want, but every single day someone suggests that … Read more
I always wait until the new year to talk about the previous one. As a mid-to-late December baby, it makes me sad when everyone starts reviewing the year at the start of the month, as if nothing important could possibly happen in the best month of the year. (Four years ago, Lemmy of Motorhead died … Read more
Welcome to the world of tomorrow! There’s something really science fiction-y about the year 2020…and something very optical, too! (Cue the “2020 vision” jokes!) Santa Raymond is starting the year by grumping about the house that he still doesn’t have a personal spaceship a la Battlestar Galactica. I start taking stock of the previous year … Read more
Oh wow! The Boxing Day fairy* visited the blog and left us the most amazing gift – Our new formula directory! It’s still a work in progress as she adds more every day. So far, we have all the formulas listed for 2009 to 2013, and loads from 2014 to 2019. If you’re a $3 or...