No spa is a true spa without a facial, am I right? There are many options based on your skin types and what you feel like, but since it's the middle of winter and my skin has a tendency to dry out, I used a mask for dry skin and a lip exfoliant to keep my lips from drying out. Afterwards, I also used a pore reducer, just for fun.
Avocado Mask: Mash one ripened avocado and mix it with half a teaspoon of lemon juice, and one egg white. Then I applied the paste to my face and waited for it to dry and rinsed it with cool water. Many of the recipes I found also included honey, so you can add a tablespoon or two if you want to experiment.
Lip Exfoliant: The instructions read to have one part brown sugar to one part honey to one part olive oil. I used 1/4 Tablespoon of each and it made a good amount for using one time. You could also use 2 Tablespoons of each, keep it in a small jar, and use it in the future.
Pore Reducer: Whip one egg white and 1 tsp. of cornstarch and apply the froth to your face. Let it sit for 20 minutes, or until it's dry, then rinse off with cool water. I wouldn't recommend this face mask because I didn't see any reduction in the size of my pores, and it seemed to dry out my skin back to the point of where it had been before the avocado mask.
Monday, February 10, 2014
At Home Spa Part One
Every girl loves to pampered, but we can't go to an elite spa every week, and sometimes when you're having a bad day and need to relax, its nice to be able to whip up some soothing remedies in the comfort of your own home. It's even better when all of the ingredients are things that you can find in your own home. In this section of my At Home Spas we'll be looking at mixtures to exfoliate for your feet and legs, and in my next post we'll be focusing on pampering your face.
First, Feet: I found two highly recommended recipes for exfoliating feet, both of which involved Listerine, which I had never heard of using, but decided to try anyway. Since I couldn't decide which recipe to use, I decided to put one on each foot and then compare them when I was done.
The first recipe I used included 1/4 cup Listerine, 1/4 cup vinegar, and 1/2 cup warm water. After I had mixed all the ingredients together, I realized that it wasn't nearly enough to cover my entire foot, so I tripled the amounts. After soaking my feet in it for 15 minutes, I was supposed to be able to wipe the dead skin off my foot with a towel. Instead, It seemed only slightly softer than before the soak, and after another half hour my feet were just as dry as before I started. All-in-all, this was a dud, and I wouldn't recommend doing it on your next in home spa day.
My other foot recipe was more complicated, but worked much better as well. I started by making a mixture of half a cup of Listerine and half a cup of water. Then cover your foot in shaving cream. Take a hand towel an dampen it with the Listerine/water mixture and wrap it around your foot. After 30 minutes take the towel off and rinse off the shaving cream. My feet were much softer and while my dead skin didn't immediately wipe off, after a couple minutes and a pumice stone, my feet were much softer. While this foot scrub worked better, I think it didn't work as well as the classic "smother your foot with lotion, put on a sock, and go to bed".
After working on my feet, I moved on to my favorite part of spas, exfoliating my legs. I found two different recipes again, and decided to try one on each leg to compare them. Both of them were fairly simple: involving sugar, citrus juice, olive oil, and honey.
The first used 2 cups of brown sugar, 1/2 a cup of olive oil, and 1/4 of cup of honey. The mixture was fairly dry, so when I scrubbed the mixture into my legs, I had to scrub lightly or else it would hurt my leg. Using these amounts gave me enough to exfoliate my skins 2 or 3 times, so I put it in a plastic container to use later. If you don't want to have any leftovers, you should make only a third of the recipe.
The second leg mixture used half a cup of oil (it said any kind but I used olive), 3 tablespoon citrus juice, and 1 1/4 cups of sugar. was very wet and almost soupy, so make sure to rub it over your legs in a shower or tub because it drips easily.
Both of the leg recipes were amazing, and my legs felt silky hours after I had washed them off. If I had to pick one, I would say the second, with citrus juice, was my favorite. The other left my leg feeling a little sticky, but if you only have the ingredients for the first, I would still highly suggest it. I haven't been able to stop rubbing my legs together since I tried them! Make sure to check my next blog for DIY Spa ideas for facials.
First, Feet: I found two highly recommended recipes for exfoliating feet, both of which involved Listerine, which I had never heard of using, but decided to try anyway. Since I couldn't decide which recipe to use, I decided to put one on each foot and then compare them when I was done.
The first recipe I used included 1/4 cup Listerine, 1/4 cup vinegar, and 1/2 cup warm water. After I had mixed all the ingredients together, I realized that it wasn't nearly enough to cover my entire foot, so I tripled the amounts. After soaking my feet in it for 15 minutes, I was supposed to be able to wipe the dead skin off my foot with a towel. Instead, It seemed only slightly softer than before the soak, and after another half hour my feet were just as dry as before I started. All-in-all, this was a dud, and I wouldn't recommend doing it on your next in home spa day.
My other foot recipe was more complicated, but worked much better as well. I started by making a mixture of half a cup of Listerine and half a cup of water. Then cover your foot in shaving cream. Take a hand towel an dampen it with the Listerine/water mixture and wrap it around your foot. After 30 minutes take the towel off and rinse off the shaving cream. My feet were much softer and while my dead skin didn't immediately wipe off, after a couple minutes and a pumice stone, my feet were much softer. While this foot scrub worked better, I think it didn't work as well as the classic "smother your foot with lotion, put on a sock, and go to bed".
After working on my feet, I moved on to my favorite part of spas, exfoliating my legs. I found two different recipes again, and decided to try one on each leg to compare them. Both of them were fairly simple: involving sugar, citrus juice, olive oil, and honey.
The first used 2 cups of brown sugar, 1/2 a cup of olive oil, and 1/4 of cup of honey. The mixture was fairly dry, so when I scrubbed the mixture into my legs, I had to scrub lightly or else it would hurt my leg. Using these amounts gave me enough to exfoliate my skins 2 or 3 times, so I put it in a plastic container to use later. If you don't want to have any leftovers, you should make only a third of the recipe.
The second leg mixture used half a cup of oil (it said any kind but I used olive), 3 tablespoon citrus juice, and 1 1/4 cups of sugar. was very wet and almost soupy, so make sure to rub it over your legs in a shower or tub because it drips easily.
Both of the leg recipes were amazing, and my legs felt silky hours after I had washed them off. If I had to pick one, I would say the second, with citrus juice, was my favorite. The other left my leg feeling a little sticky, but if you only have the ingredients for the first, I would still highly suggest it. I haven't been able to stop rubbing my legs together since I tried them! Make sure to check my next blog for DIY Spa ideas for facials.
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Harry Potter Butterbeer
It's time you learned the truth about me. I am a Harry Potter Junkie. The last book came out in 2007, and the last movie was released in 2011 ( I can't believe its been almost 3 years), but it is still close to my heart. One of my friends even has a Harry Potter blog, called Harry Blotter, which you can find here, if you too are part of the Harry Potter fandom.
In the Harry Potter series, there is a favorite drink for the students of Hogwarts called Butterbeer (non-alcoholic) that they are often found drinking on their trips to Hogsmeade. If you aren't part of the wizarding community, you can also find it at Potterworld in Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Unfortunately, I live in the middle of the United States and do not have a private plane that I can hop on and to head to Florida whenever I want, but I can make this easy home recipe. All you need is cream soda, Coke, butterscotch syrup, and whipped cream. This recipe is for making one glass, but you can apply it to however much you want.
Fill the cup 2/3 of the way with cream soda, then fill it almost the rest of the way with Coke. Put however much whip cream and butterscotch syrup you would like in your drink in another cup in equal proportions and mix them together. Pour the whipped cream and butterscotch syrup mixture into the glass with cream soda and Coke, and you'll magically be transported to the World of Harry Potter! Not really, but it tastes pretty good.
In the Harry Potter series, there is a favorite drink for the students of Hogwarts called Butterbeer (non-alcoholic) that they are often found drinking on their trips to Hogsmeade. If you aren't part of the wizarding community, you can also find it at Potterworld in Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Unfortunately, I live in the middle of the United States and do not have a private plane that I can hop on and to head to Florida whenever I want, but I can make this easy home recipe. All you need is cream soda, Coke, butterscotch syrup, and whipped cream. This recipe is for making one glass, but you can apply it to however much you want.
Fill the cup 2/3 of the way with cream soda, then fill it almost the rest of the way with Coke. Put however much whip cream and butterscotch syrup you would like in your drink in another cup in equal proportions and mix them together. Pour the whipped cream and butterscotch syrup mixture into the glass with cream soda and Coke, and you'll magically be transported to the World of Harry Potter! Not really, but it tastes pretty good.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)