From the press to the pit.
The harvest kitchen test: one weekend, one bucket of marc, a few test sticks. It tells you whether it stains, how it feels and how it smells — before a cent goes to a chemist.
Collect
Ask for le marc. White grapes first, stems out, nothing moldy.
Dry
Thin layer, ~60°C / 140°F with the oven door ajar. Done when brittle.
Grind
Spice grinder, then a fine sieve. Seed grit scratches.
Melt & mix
Waterless balm over a double boiler. Powder goes in off the heat.
Set & test
Pour, set in the fridge, patch test before wearing it.
How far a bucket goes
Collect
- Ask for le marc — the skins and seeds left in the press.
- White grapes first: red skins stain skin and clothes.
- Same day as pressing. Skip anything moldy, slimy or vinegary.
- Pick out the stems — woody and bitter.
- Optional quick cold rinse to lift vineyard spray residue.
Dry
- Spread thin on parchment-lined trays.
- Oven at ~60°C / 140°F, door ajar, stirring hourly — or a dehydrator at ~55°C / 130°F for 8–12 hours.
- Done when the skins are brittle and snap. Moisture left in means mold later.
- Low heat protects the polyphenols.
Grind
- Coffee or spice grinder, in short bursts.
- Sift through a fine mesh strainer — seed fragments scratch.
- Regrind what doesn't pass, or discard it.
- Airtight jar, dark cupboard: about a year, kept dry.
The balm — waterless, so it keeps
By volume. The marc is the smallest part of the stick.
Optional · Vitamin E — a few drops, slows the oils going rancid
Optional · Scent — a Brett or Clementine blend below, about 12 drops (≈1%); leave it out for sensitive skin
Method
- 1Melt the wax, shea and coconut oil in a bowl over simmering water.
- 2Off the heat, sift in the arrowroot and grape powder, whisking out lumps.
- 3Let it cool a minute, then stir in the vitamin E and the scent blend.
- 4Pour into an empty deodorant tube or a small jar.
- 5Cool at room temperature, then 30 minutes in the fridge to set.
No wax gives a soft jar balm instead of a stick. Coconut oil melts around 24°C, so add a little extra wax in warm weather.
Scent blends — Brett and Clementine
Stir one blend in at method step 3. Run the same base with each blend so the test log compares scent, not recipe.
Edition 01 · The guy edition
Brett
The yeast behind barnyard and leather — and a guy's name.
Inspired by
A funky Loire Cabernet Franc: green pepper and a little barnyard.
Kitchen blend · 7-tbsp batch
- Vetiver5 drops
- Cedarwood4 drops
- Black pepper3 drops
- Birch tar, rectified · optional, a trace1 drop
Skins of producer TBC · Harvest 2026
Edition 02 · The girl edition
Clementine
A citrus fruit — and a girl's name.
Inspired by
A skin-contact white: dried apricot and orange peel.
Kitchen blend · 7-tbsp batch
- Mandarin6 drops
- Bergamot, bergaptene-free (FCF)4 drops
- Neroli2 drops
- Osmanthus absolute · optional, the apricot1 drop
Skins of producer TBC · Harvest 2026
- About 1% of the balm: 12–13 drops in total for a 7-tablespoon batch.
- Bergaptene-free (FCF) bergamot only — regular cold-pressed citrus oils irritate more.
- Birch tar: rectified grade and one drop at most. Crude birch tar is restricted in perfumery.
- Patch test every new blend for 48 hours, even if the base balm already passed.
- Selling later means listing fragrance allergens such as limonene and linalool on EU labels.
Kitchen test log
Record every batch. Three batches that pass on staining, texture, scent and skin are the signal to pay a cosmetic chemist. The producer and grape column becomes the edition label.
| Batch | Producer · grape | Blend | Drying | Powder / stick | Stain test | Texture | Scent | Skin at 48 h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 02 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 03 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Stain test: wear it under a white T-shirt for a full day.
- Patch test on the inner elbow and wait 24–48 hours first.
- Not straight after shaving, and never on broken skin.
- Start at 1 tsp of powder; add more only if it doesn't stain.
- Clean, completely dry tools. Never add water — water is what grows mold.
- About 6 months of life. Bin it if it smells stale or spots appear.
- No baking soda — the most common cause of DIY underarm rashes.
Three clean batches in the log, then: a trademark search on the name, a cosmetic chemist for the real formula and stability testing, co-packer quotes, and regulatory listing. That order spends money only once the cheap tests say it's worth it.