A New Season Begins, in 7 steps

September feels like a quiet breath after the busy rhythm of summer. The days are still warm, but in the evening we start to feel that soft end-of-summer breeze… and everything seems to whisper: it’s time to begin again!

I’ve always loved September. Its coming back to routine, its fresh starts, its empty sheet ready to be written on. It smells like the brand-new school notebooks I had as a child, the crisp sound of its untouched pages, smooth under my fingers… and the sweet whim of a strawberry-flavoured eraser I couldn’t wait to use.

Don’t get me wrong, I adore summer too. It makes me so happy! I love the sun’s kiss on my skin, the joy of traveling, the places that light up my soul during holidays. But nothing is as comforting as coming back home. That moment of sinking into your sofa, sipping rose tea from your favourite cup, feeling safe and grounded again after weeks of wandering.

And for us, those who love creating, mixing, and dreaming in our little wonder labs, September is the perfect month. A moment to slow down, to prepare, and to imagine what we want for the rest of the year. The heat that made us lazy and kept us from standing too long over the bain-marie is gone. Our minds feel fresh again. Our hands can’t wait to play with oils, clays, and butters, ready to bring new wonders to life.

So let’s walk together through gentle steps that make September the sweetest of beginnings: preparing infused oils, tidying our spaces, bringing back old rituals, inventing new ones, and planning recipes that will carry us joyfully into autumn and winter.

Follow me, let yourself be inspired! 

1. Make Your Own Ingredients – Infused Oils and Extracts

Imagine a glass jar resting quietly on your window sill. Inside, golden oil holds floating petals of calendula, or maybe soft chamomile blossoms. The sun kisses it during the day and slowly, gently, the plant releases its soul into the oil.

September is the perfect moment to prepare these jars. The last rays of summer light support the process, and by the time cold days arrive, you’ll have rich, healing oils waiting for you! And if you want to go further, extracts are just as simple to create, and just as rewarding!

Here are a few ideas to inspire you (click on the links for the recipes):

• Calendula for calm and comforted skin.
  
  
• Centella Asiatica (Gotu Kola) to support collagen and skin renewal.
  
  
• Wild Pansy for long-lasting hydration and soothing.
  
  
• Butterfly Pea Flower to tint your creations with dreamy shades of blue or purple.
  
  
• Honeybush for its gentle, anti-aging properties.
  
  

Choose the plants that call to you most and prepare the ones you know you’ll use in the coming months. Making your own ingredients is simple, satisfying and deeply grounding: you’re bottling a piece of nature, ready to bring into your formulas whenever you wish.

2. Organize Your Ingredients – A Drawer of Treasures

Let’s open that drawer. You know the one. Bottles lying sideways, jars half-used, powders spilling ever so slightly, tools hiding at the back. It happens to all of us. September is the month to bring order to this little world.

Take everything out and look at it with new eyes, like a chest of treasures you forgot you had. Then begin:

• Group your oils together.
  
  
• Keep butters in one place.
  
  
• Gather your powders and clays.
  
  
• Put liposoluble ingredients together and choose another box for the hydrosoluble ones.
  
  
• Give tools their own little home.
  
  

Use boxes, jars, or simple containers, and label them clearly. Future-you will thank present-you!

Once done, you’ll feel lighter. The mess clears not only your drawer, but also your mind. Suddenly, formulating feels easier, smoother, like a clear path in a forest, ready to walk.
You’ll also rediscover forgotten gems, maybe a cocoa butter chunk waiting for winter balm, or a bottle of rose hydrosol asking to be used.

And don’t forget: you can download the free Ingredients Tracker I made for you. It helps you keep everything in order, reminds you which ingredients are close to expiring, and shows you exactly what you need to restock.

3. Return to Rituals You Left in Summer

Summer is playful and wild, and sometimes our little rituals slip away. That’s okay. September is here to invite them back, softly.

Maybe your gua sha tool has been resting in its pouch. Imagine a quiet morning, where you take it in hand and let it glide slowly across your skin, together with the circulation-boosting, de-puffing oil you lovingly prepared. A few minutes, but full of care.

Or facial yoga, or your weekly scrub… Maybe it’s as simple as sipping herbal tea in the evening, or massaging a lovely solid lotion bar on your legs after a shower. These moments are not optional. They are not something you should feel guilty for, as if you were stealing time from being a mother, a wife, or a daughter.

They are needs. Gentle pauses that remind you: I deserve this kindness.

Taking this time doesn’t make you less: it makes you more present, more loving, more yourself. Always remember: caring for you is essential. And when you do, you also become a better mother, a better wife, a better daughter. For them, and most of all, for YOU.

4. Create a New Cozy Ritual

September is not only about coming back, it’s also about creating. Why not invent a little ritual just for you? Something small, something joyful.

Here are a few ideas:

• Mask & Tea Moment: Once a week or every night, apply a sheet mask and sip a warm tea. Let the world pause while your skin and spirit both rest. Deserve a special one for this magical moment, my favorite ones contain the soul of rose, jasmine and violets.
  
  
• Morning Rose Water: Begin your day with a gentle spritz of rose hydrosol. Breathe it in deeply, and maybe whisper a kind word to yourself as the scent settles. And if your hydrosol is food grade, add a spritz to your morning tea or your glass of water: you’ll love the soft, floral poetry it brings to your first sip!
  
  
• Evening Nail Oil: A slow massage of oil into your hands and nails before bed, a way of telling yourself thank you for all you touched today. Find the easy recipe here!
  
  
• Scented Pillow: Before bedtime, mist your pillow with a soft spray made from calming essential oils. It will welcome you into sweet dreams and deep relaxation. You can find my recipe here.
  
  

Rituals don’t have to be long or complicated. Even five minutes can change the way you feel!

5. Plan Your Recipes for Autumn & Winter

This is the most exciting part: deciding what you’ll create next.

Take a notebook and let your imagination wander:

• A naturally scented lip balm to rescue your lips.
  
  
• A lovely creamy emulsion for cozy evenings.
  
  
• A milky bath bomb to relax when it’s cold outside…

Write down the recipes that light you up. Then, check your shelves. What do you already have? What’s running low?

Make a simple list of what’s missing. You’re turning dreams into small, doable plans. And that feels so good!

6. Restock With Care

Before buying new ingredients, take a quiet moment to explore what you already have. Check the dates, open jars, smell the oils. If something is too old, let it go, or, if suitable, recycle it in creative ways. Remember: clearing space is part of the ritual too.

Then, choose with intention. Pick one or two new ingredients that truly excite you. Maybe the naturally fragrant Pequi oil you’ve never tried, or butterfly pea flower to tint your cosmetics with a blue/purple shade.

New ingredients bring fresh ideas, sparking both joy and curiosity. Let them guide you toward new creations… and don’t forget to read my article on ingredient planning and the one about how to avoid to waste ingredients, to help you choose wisely and avoid waste!

7. Walk Slowly, One Step at a Time

September doesn’t ask you to rush. It invites you to move gently.

Maybe today you only prepare a golden infused oil. Tomorrow you tidy one box. The next day, you bring back your gua sha tool. Little by little, step by step, filling the season with the care you deserve.

Each step is enough. Together, they create a rhythm of creativity, peace, and joy that will carry you all the way through autumn and winter.

Which of these steps feels right for you today? Maybe it’s the oils, maybe it’s the drawer, maybe it’s just making tea and breathing deeply.

If you enjoyed this, follow me on Instagram @lilyinwonderlab for more cozy DIY beauty rituals and formulator inspiration.
And wander through my website, where more recipes and guides are waiting for you.
And for daily tips, little secrets, videos and DIY beauty recipes, I’ve created a new WhatsApp channel: I’d love to see you there!