Carolyn J. Braden • 3 Minute Read
5 Minute DIY Country Apple -ish Inspired Body Butter Recipe
One day my husband and I were talking about the first time we fell in love with a scent. Scent memory is strong (read all about it at the Harvard Medicine Magazine here, which is from the Harvard Medical School) and our conversation took me back to a time when I first smelled Country Apple lotion by Bath & Body Works when I was in high school.
Two ingredient DIY body butter
I smelled it at a summer poolside birthday party when a friend gifted it to the birthday girl. We all passed around that bottle and I knew I had to have my own bottle at some point. That was a good memory of summer spent with friends that lead me to make my own Country Apple -ish scented body butter. Here’s my story and my best Country Apple -ish recipe.
I added some fragrance a little at a time until I got the scent level I wanted
My First Favorite Scents
I couldn’t afford a bottle of Country Apple lotion when I first smelled it around age 14, but someone on my cheer squad always seemed to have a bottle in their cheer bag, so I could always have a chance to smell it. I don’t think I actually bought my own bottle until I started working at a deli at age 15. I bought Country Apple at Bath & Body Works and Pear Glace lotion from Victoria Secret. The deli was in a mall, so I would have someone drop me off early sometimes just so I could smell all the smells within the stores.
Make my easy 3 ingredient lemon sugar scrub, one I often use to get super soft skin! See the video below or via my YouTube channel @carolynjbraden:
Why I Stopped Using Bath & Body Works
I stopped using Bath and Body Works years ago when I went on a mission to use as many cruelty free products as possible. Bath & Body Works’ status on being cruelty free as of 2024 is unclear (their bottles currently say “not tested on animals” but this doesn’t mean it’s cruelty free, as some of the ingredients could be tested on animals), so the brand had to go, for now. Read more about their cruelty free status on Cruelty Free Kitty’s website here.
These two ingredients make a yummy scented body butter
Saying Goodbye to B&BW
It’s hard when you have to say goodbye to a brand that you did like, especially when a good memory is connected to it like my Country Apple one. After the conversation with my husband, I did some research and learned that Bath & Body Works discontinued Country Apple and many other scents. So, even if I still used the brand, I could only get any leftovers that are still sold at high prices on eBay, Poshmark and at other resale retailers.
IP Law and Scents
In knowing you cannot copyright a scent (I learned this from an IP or an Intellectual Property lawyer, and he told me you couldn’t copyright a recipe either), I wondered if anyone made an oil or something that resembled the Country Apple scent. I found one on Amazon, but of course and decided to try making my own version.
Other Dupe Scent Brands we LOVE:
ALT Fragrance (Their version of Baccarat Rouge 540 called Crystal No. 23 is amazing and my husband wears it every day and gets lots of compliments)
Wicked Good Perfume (We love their Lush Skinny Dip and more and Aveda Shampure dupes!)
If you don’t feel like making your own, here is a dupe I found on Amazon: Country Apple Mist . Bath & Body Works does own the copyright to the name “Country Apple” (because they do bring it back sometimes), so you may have to search for other terms like “Apple scents” to find a similar scent.
Other oil scents to try:
Nature’s Oil Gardenia (Amazon)
You can use any fragrance to make your own body butter scents
5 Minute Country Apple -ish Body Butter Recipe
For this easy 5-minute Country Apple -ish (I say “ish” because I don’t want to infringe on their name copyright, though what I created is almost a perfect dupe scent), I purchased the following:
Country Apple Fragrance Oil (Amazon, if you use ANY OTHER OIL, make sure it is skin safe, as some oils are not skin safe and could cause rashes, burns and more)
Trader Joe’s Fragrance Free Body Butter (If you don’t have a Trader Joe’s near you, you can find many fragrance free lotions and body butters like this one on Amazon that would work too, but you may have to adjust the amount of oil you add to yours)
Spatula or something clean and dedicated to skincare for stirring…I use a spatula in my Face Mask Mixing Bowl set I got on Amazon here. You can also get them on Temu and if you do, use my discount code afe55197 or my link to get 30% off (for new app users only)
Important Note: If you find Trader Joe’s products on Amazon or Walmart like I found in my research, they are usually bought at the store price (mine was $5.99 in store) by an individual and resold at a higher price on Amazon….just thought that was important to write so you don’t overpay.
Mix your DIY body butter well
See our 30 second video tutorial below or via our YouTube channel @carolynjbraden:
How-To:
I added 40 drops (I worked in segments of adding 10 drops at a time until I got it to the scent level I wanted) to the fragrance-free body butter.
I stirred it until it was smooth, as the oil does make it slightly “curdle” at first. I did think the oil changed the consistency of the body butter a bit, but after using it for about a month, it never irritated my skin (and I have sensitive skin) and the consistency change did not disrupt the product’s effectiveness. It smelled just like Bath & Body Works Country Apple and I love it.
Yes, you can add pretty much any scented oils to a fragrance-free lotion or body butter to create your own scents. As I said earlier though, make sure the oil is formulated and safe for skin.
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Carolyn J. (C.J.) Braden is the owner of Carolyn’s Blooming Creations is a regular contributor and editor for CBC. She has been featured in numerous media publications such as InStyle Magazine, on HGTV, on Bustle.com, and more. She is the author of the books Georgia McMasters in Amethyst Lake Cemetery, How To Be Yourself: 3 Ways To Help You Being You, and the illustrator for the children’s book Bridging Connections. She is a former classroom teacher that now dedicates her life to educating others on how to live their most healthy, creative and happy life. Learn more about her visiting our About Us page.