Really cheap, really easy, really good

Calcium liniment is a surprisingly good, non-sticky moisturiser. Actually - it's an awesome moisturiser!

I first read about it on Garance Dore where Norma Kamali described it as a 'very ordinary liniment'. Which must mean, to me at least, that you can make it. More research revealed that it's used by French mothers to clean their babies' bottoms, and that it's available at any French pharmacy (and there are so many of those... every street corner, it seems). That suggested that it should be cheap. I mean, babies' bottoms! They must go through litres of it.

And then I found a recipe: 50% olive oil and 50% limewater. But I couldn't find limewater anywhere.

Again, the internet. Limewater is a saturated solution of calcium hydroxide, also known as slaked lime. And that you can buy at any South African pharmacy (of which there are not so many, sadly).

So, the recipe:

Add 1 teaspoon of slaked lime to 1 litre of distilled water. Shake it up and leave it overnight, then pour off the limewater without disturbing the excess lime that will have collected at the bottom. Fill a smaller, clean bottle halfway with the limewater, then top it up with olive oil, close it, and shake vigorously.

And there you go, calcium liniment. Use it on damp skin for best results. Shake before use if it separates (which is why I suggest a small bottle that won't go flying out of your hands and smash on the bathroom floor).