I just so happen to have a bottle of my favorite turn-of-the century cure-all on my desk. Absorbine horse liniment ftw! It's labelled for sore muscles and arthritis.
Here's the ingredients, out of order and grouped according to type:

Menthol
Absinthum oil
Calendula
Echinacea
Wormwood
Thymol

Chloroxylenol Chloroxylenol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Iodine
Potassium iodide
Food coloring

Acetone
Water

I'm going to assume acetone to be the major carrier. Certainly it works well; I would be tempted to use it as a model upon which to base a homebrewed skin treatment.