If you make your own cosmetics, sooner or later you start asking yourself the same question:

Where can I buy really good DIY cosmetic ingredients?

It is one of the questions I receive most often, both from people taking their very first steps in this beautiful world and from more experienced DIY cosmetics formulators who want to explore new options and find a shop where they can source quality ingredients, interesting actives and inspiring raw materials all in one place.

And honestly, I understand why.

Over the years, I have explored many websites looking for DIY cosmetic ingredients in Europe, and I know from experience that it is not always easy to find a place that really brings together good quality, wide choice, fair prices and all those special ingredients that make formulation feel exciting.

In my own WonderLab, I want the essentials that should never be missing in a formulator’s cupboard, but I am also always searching for something more: unusual ingredients, sensorial treasures, rare butters, beautiful CO2 extracts and those more advanced raw materials that you often see in the INCI of the best natural cosmetics but that are not always easy to find in a raw ingredient shop.

Why Handymade immediately caught my attention

That is exactly why Handymade felt so interesting to me.

While exploring their website, I found both a very wide range of cosmetic ingredients and the kind of materials I am always hoping to discover: creative, unusual, inspiring ingredients (and tools!) that can make a formula feel more precious, more sensorial… and magic!

Some were ingredients I had wanted to try for a very long time but are quite difficult to find, while others instantly felt so Lily in WonderLab that I knew they had to come home with me… little hidden gems that can really make a difference in natural DIY cosmetics formulation.

I loved this discovery so much that I chose to begin my collaboration with Handymade through these ingredients, because they feel so beautifully aligned with my WonderLab philosophy and with the kind of unusual, inspiring materials I love to explore. I deeply feel it can bring inspiration, creativity and also a lot of knowledge both to my WonderLab and to all of you. 

What you’ll find in this Handymade ingredients review

For my personal review, I personally selected more than 50 ingredients that I am now exploring for you and that you will soon meet again in my future recipes, posts and formulation ideas.

In this guide, I want to take you through them side by side, looking at what each ingredient is, what it brings to a formula, how it can be used and also the details that make it especially interesting from a sensorial and creative point of view. I’ll share with you their characteristics, usage and the reasons why they caught my attention in the first place.

Some are ingredients that felt like little treasures from the very first moment, some are functional actives that can do beautiful work in a formula, some feel like little sensorial luxuries and some are the kind of rare discoveries you may never have heard about before, but once you do, you may find yourself wanting to keep them in your mind, and perhaps in your WonderLab too, for a very long time. 

A place full of essentials… and hidden treasures

One thing I really appreciated while exploring Handymade is that it is not only a place for rare or unusual ingredients, even if, yes, there are some truly exciting discoveries there, and in just a moment we’re going to open that little cabinet of treasures together…

What makes it even more interesting is that, alongside those special finds, the shop also offers a broad and beautifully well-rounded selection of the ingredients many DIY formulators need more regularly, which makes it both inspiring and useful.

I also appreciated finding more professional raw materials that are not always easy to source for DIY cosmetics, the kind of ingredients you often recognize when reading the INCI lists of well-formulated natural cosmetics, but do not always find available for home formulators.

And this is something I value so much, because when a store brings together good quality, very competitive prices, and a wide choice of ingredients, it becomes much easier to return to it again and again, not only for the unusual little gems, but also for the ingredients that form the heart of so many formulas. The fact that they also deliver across Europe, including the UK, makes everything feel even more accessible for those of us who are always looking for a reliable place to explore and restock.

Another detail that really surprised me was the care in the packaging.

Everything arrived deeply protected and carefully packed to avoid spills, which is something I always appreciate so much. In the past, with other suppliers, I have sometimes received bottles that had leaked during transport, so I immediately notice when a shop takes this part seriously.

The ingredients were packed with attention and many of them came in glass bottles, which I love because they can be washed and reused later for our own cosmetics. Powders and solid ingredients, such as waxes, come in small flat bags, which are very practical for storage. They take up less space than bulky containers and are easy to organize in a drawer or ingredient box, especially when you have a growing collection of raw materials in your little lab. 

Their labels are simple but smart and practical. Each one includes the ingredient name and INCI, but there is also a barcode/QR code that takes you directly to the product page. This makes it easy to check the full information, recommended dosage and technical details whenever you need them, without having to search for the ingredient again manually.

A little gift, if you feel inspired to explore too

If, while reading this article, you also start feeling curious about these ingredients and want to explore Handymade yourself, I also have a little gift for you.

You can use my affiliate code WONDERLAB for a 7% off, valid until the end of July 2026. 

Ready to discover the ingredients I chose?

So now, let’s open the box properly and begin exploring this selection together. Among the ingredients I chose, there are beautiful floral waters, unusual CO₂ extracts, precious butters, functional actives, sensorial ingredients and some little formulation treasures that I am so excited to show you more closely. Some will charm you immediately, some may surprise you, and a few, I think, could easily become the kind of discoveries you won’t forget, perhaps even your next ingredient obsession!

Naturally Scented Treasures for DIY Cosmetics 

Let’s start with my absolute favorites, the ingredients that can make a formula feel a little more magical with their natural scent.

As you may already know, I am always looking for something different, unusual and full of character. I love those rare raw materials that feel like small treasures, ingredients that also bring their own natural scent to a cosmetic formula.

These are some of my favorite discoveries because they can gently perfume a product in a natural way, without always needing to add an extra fragrance. As I explained in this blog post, some ingredients have their own aromatic personality and when we learn how to use them well, they can become part of the sensory soul of the formula.

Raspberry and Other Aromatic Hydrosols 

Let’s begin with one that I’m sure will surprise many of you: raspberry fruit water.

Yes, you read that correctly. It is a real aromatic water obtained by the distillation of raspberries. When I first saw it, I immediately thought: what could be more Lily in WonderLab than this?

Raspberry fruit water has gentle hydrating, toning and softening properties, but what made me fall in love with it is its natural scent. Imagine creating a hydrating body mist with a completely natural raspberry-scented base: fresh, delicate, fruity and joyful. I am already working on a recipe with it, and I will share it with you soon. It's a special distillated obtained from raspberry fruits in aloe vera and has soothing, softening and hydrating properties.

It is beautiful on its own, but it also blends wonderfully with other hydrosols, like rose hydrosol.

And speaking of rose, I chose two different varieties: Rosa damascena hydrosol and Rosa alba hydrosol.

They both smell beautiful, but in different ways. Rosa damascena hydrosol has that classic character: floral, rich, velvety and unmistakably rosy. Rosa alba hydrosol, on the other hand, is softer and more delicate. It is perfect when you want a rose note that feels gentle, pale and refined, without becoming too loud in the formula.

I would also like to mention that Handymade hydrosols contain a preservative. I am quite picky about this, because while a preservative adds an extra level of safety and helps the hydrosol last longer, it can sometimes interfere with the natural scent, especially in delicate aromatic waters. So, when I received them, they were the very first ingredients I smelled. And I was pleasantly reassured… the preservative note is very subtle and does not cover the natural aroma of the hydrosols, allowing their botanical scent to shine beautifully.

They also have another uncommon hydrosol that is very worth recommending: cucumber hydrosol.
It has a very fresh, clean and true cucumber scent that instantly makes a formula feel more refreshing. I find it especially lovely for a morning toner, when you want something crisp and awakening on the skin.
It can also be used to replace the water phase in an eye cream.
Cucumber hydrosol is interesting for oily and combination skin, because it brings a fresh feeling and a very gentle astringent touch.

Natural Gourmand Notes: Cocoa, Hazelnut, Vanilla and Coffee 

Now, let’s move to another discovery that gourmand scent lovers will especially appreciate.

Imagine a luxurious body cream that smells like real chocolate, with a hint of hazelnut and soft vanilla notes. Many DIY cosmetics are scented this way with synthetic fragrances, but what if we could create this feeling with natural aromatic ingredients?

This option is rare because natural gourmand raw materials are not always easy to find and people end up using the synthetic ones, but I found two very special natural ingredients: Cocoa CO₂-se extract and Hazelnut CO₂-se extract.

CO₂ selective extracts are obtained using carbon dioxide under specific conditions to capture aromatic and lipophilic compounds from the natural source.This technique can create a very concentrated and true-to-nature extract, often with a scent that feels incredibly close to the original ingredient.

And these two are really beautiful.

Cocoa CO₂-se extract does not smell like the faint buttery note of cocoa butter and is closer to a real chocolate tablet. The classic cocoa butter can be lovely as a base, but its scent is usually softer and rounder.

Hazelnut CO₂-se extract is really delicious and instantly makes me think of a hazelnut praline.

For skincare formulas, a good starting point is to use them at around 0.1–0.5%, depending on the product and the intensity you want. 

You can make this gourmand accord warmer and softer with vanilla extract, which is beautiful in both creams and water-based products. I also find it lovely with rose, raspberry fruit water and raspberry hydrosol, where it adds a creamy and comforting softness.

For a more sensual direction, you can add Coffea arabica seed oil, another hidden natural gem that is not always easy to find. And no, it does not smell like an ordinary cup of coffee, but has a more complex warm, aromatic and smoky scent that adds depth and character, with a touch of elegance.

Essential Oils: Rare Notes, Citrus Brightness and Powdery Rose Accords

To continue our aromatic exploration, I want to share the essential oils I selected from Handymade. And, of course, I could not resist choosing a few uncommon ones, because this is always the part I enjoy the most: discovering aromatic notes that can bring something more personal and unexpected to a formula.

Let’s start with Yuzu essential oil.

Yuzu is that beautiful citrus fruit used so much in Japanese cuisine, and whenever I see a dessert with yuzu, I always have to try it. In perfumery, it is also very special. It has a citrus character, but with a rounder, sweeter and almost pastry-like nuance that makes it feel different from the usual citrus notes.
Think of a fragrant custard with a bright citrus touch: creamy and gourmand.

I also selected another citrus very appreciated in perfumery: Bergamot essential oil.

Bergamot is one of the most classic and elegant citrus notes. Compared with yuzu, it’s more floral, with that luminous freshness that makes perfumes feel elegant.
One of the reasons I chose this particular Bergamot essential oil is that on Handymade they have the furocoumarin-free version, which is something I always appreciate and is not always easy to find. Citrus oils can be photosensitizing and should be avoided in summer, but a furocoumarin-free bergamot doesn’t have this side effect.

Since I love exploring different rose varieties, I also fell in love with Rosa centifolia essential oil.

Compared with Damask rose, I find Rosa centifolia softer, sweeter and especially suitable for the kind of perfumes I love: powdery, feminine and delicate.

I already have some powdery blends in mind with it, and I also find Rosa centifolia essential oil beautiful with strawberry hydrosol, for a scent that feels juicy, playful but refined. Of course, if you use an essential oil together with a hydrosol or any water-based phase, you will need a suitable solubilizer to disperse it correctly and should go for a low dosage to avoid covering it.

A little note about this Rosa centifolia essential oil: the one I chose is already diluted at 10% and, as explained in this blog post, for DIY cosmetics this is actually a great advantage. Rose is precious, powerful and often limited to very small percentages in cosmetic formulas. Depending on the exact composition, the IFRA limits for rose can be very strict, especially in leave-on face products. This means that, in a 100 g face product, the allowed amount can sometimes be less than one drop of pure rose essential oil or absolute.
And when we make small DIY batches, like a 10 or 20 ml face oil, it becomes almost impossible to dose pure rose material accurately, because you cannot really divide a drop with precision. Many DIY cosmetics formulators are not aware of this and may easily use too much, but natural materials still need to respect IFRA limits. This is why I always dilute pure rose at 10% before using it. A 10% dilution makes them easier to weigh, easier to test, more economical and much more suitable for small-batch formulation. So, finding Rosa centifolia already diluted at 10% is very practical: ready to use, easier to dose and much better adapted to the way we usually create DIY cosmetics and small perfume trials at home.
I want to highlight this because sometimes people see a dilution as a sign of lower quality. It’s true that we should always choose pure essential oils, but rose is one of the exceptions where a professional 10% dilution is more suitable for home use. It makes dosing easier and safer, especially in small DIY batches, where using pure rose by drops can easily lead to using too much without realizing it and this is a common and unsafe mistake that many people make. 

Talking about botanical varieties, lavender can also smell very different depending on its origin and profile and I always like to test new ones.

I tried the Bulgarian lavender essential oil, and I find it wonderfully sweet, soft and elegant. It feels especially suitable for powdery accords, so I will definitely try it with Rosa centifolia. I think they could create a very beautiful delicate floral blend, with that soft vintage feeling I love so much.

Then, I selected Frankincense essential oil, a note I know many of you adore.

Frankincense brings that earthy, resinous and woody character that can make a blend deeper, more meditative and more professional. It’s one of those essential oils that can instantly add atmosphere to a composition.

I also chose Ho Wood essential oil, which is woody too, but in a very different way.

Ho Wood is softer, sweeter and more floral, with a gentle woody character that I find very easy to blend. It is one of my favorite choices, together with cedarwood, when I want to create a soft masculine scent.

And to complete this selection, I got Eucalyptus citriodora essential oil.

This is probably the most practical one of this group, but I find it much more pleasant than classic eucalyptus because this one has a vibrant lemony character. It feels fresh, sharp and clean and is very useful, especially as we move toward summer. I selected it because Eucalyptus citriodora is the most effective essential oil against mosquitos. Its scent is not as refined as rose, yuzu or bergamot, of course, but it has a very practical role and can still be used beautifully when blended with other oils in natural mosquito repellents.

More Handymade Discoveries Are Coming Soon... in Part 2!

These are some of my favorite naturally scented ingredients from Handymade, DIY Cosmetics raw materials that bring scent, mood and a little spark of surprise to a formula.

And this is only the beginning. This first part was dedicated mostly to the aromatic treasures that immediately inspired me, but I still have many more ingredients to share with you. In Part 2, I continue with my review of other raw materials from Handymade and show you more discoveries for natural DIY cosmetics.

If you would like to explore the shop, don’t forget that you can use my discount code WONDERLAB to receive 7% off your order.

My WonderLab is full of little discoveries waiting to be opened… and I can’t wait to share the next ones with you. Stay tuned for Part 2!