Happy Sheep Body Balm

Well, in the end it came down to only a few main ingredients needed. They are:

Rosewater
Beeswax
Oil (olive, sweet almond, or oil of your choice)
Honey
Lanolin

Pretty much what I'd wanted in a recipe, right? For all the batches, I heat all the ingredients but the water until the beeswax is melted, removed from heat, added the water and stirred the everloving bejeesus out of it until it was completely cool. It ends up a gold-y whitish color, with the more solid batches a deeper gold. Here's how it threw down:

Batch I:

1/3 cup sweet almond/olive oil (ran out of almond oil)
1 tbs beeswax
honey
1/3 cup rosewater

Result I:

This is a nearly buttercream color, very liquid lotion. Very liquid. A little goes a long way, it sinks into skin well and leaves no residue (unless you use too much, which you do the first time because you have no way of knowing). Feels so watery that you think you need more than you do, but it is lying. Subtle but definite rose scent, not overpowering or cloying at all. Personally, my favorite.

Batch II:

2 tbsp beeswax
2 tbsp lanolin
honey
1/2 cup olive oil
3-ish tbsp rosewater

Result II:

Slightly darker color, more of a firmer, "body butter" consistancy. Lightly greasy feel, leaves light residue consistant with commercial body lotions. Is it the lanolin, or the extra oil? So far, seems best for TwinSister. Smells less strongly of rosewaterbut still pleasant.

Batch III (originally an attempt to replicate Batch II):

2 tbs beeswax
1.5 tbsp cocoa butter
2 tbsp coconut oil
honey
1/3 cup olive/peanut oil (ran out of olive)
2 tbsp rosewater

Confound: Before you start this, go and make sure you have enough oil. Seriously. I started adding the cocoa butter and coconut & peanut oils in a desperate attempt to not make a 2 oz jar of solid wax.

Result III:

Between the two in color, actually a little browner. I'm thinking now the color may be due more to my choice of oils (or the inclusion of the cocoa butter, even though it was white). I'll definitely be sticking with the sweet almond or olive from now on, I think. This one smells faintest of all, and in consistancy is between Batches I and II, more like a commercial lotion instead of a butter. I think I like the consistancy of Batch II the best, and the smell of Batch I. Ah well. That's what future batches are for, right? I'm thinking next time, 2-3 tbsp of the wax, 4 of the rosewater, 2 tbsp lanolin, and 1/2 cup sweet almond oil. I expect to do that one tomorrow, after rat lab. Maybe I'll swing by work with Batches I and II to show my boss - I am, after all, a praise-powered organism.