So over the course of the last decade or so I have gotten really into being the best me I can be and that has included taking care of my skin, on my body and face. This wasn’t always the case when I was younger and I am sure my days of laying in the sun wearing oils to get tanned down by the lake didn’t help in the aging process of my skin but that it will resonate with some. I now know why my mother used to always remind me to put the sunscreen on and make sure to moisturize, they say wisdom comes with age and boy howdy are they right. Now I take care to make sure I use all the tools in my arsenal to help my skin stay healthy and hydrated.
- My favorite bodyscrub is by far the easiest to make… It is just COCONUT OIL, RAW COARSE SEA SALT (or COARSE KOSHER SALT is a good alternative) and whatever essential oil smells you feel like. My favorite year round recipe includes ROSE OIL… the smell!! I melt the coconut oil on the stove, and the amount just varies as to how much scrub you want. Just remember whatever amount of scrub you want buy double that in salt because some of the salt will be instantly absorbed into the coconut oil. I mix my melted coconut oil with my essential oil and I love to smell like my body scrub so I go heavy on the essential but you can or not add up to the 20 (teehee I know) ROSE OIL drops salt (whichever you have), once the coconut has been pulled off the heat for a few minutes. Then I add the SEA SALT (or whatever you have) until I get the consistency of scrub I want. I jar all of it and keep it in the shower for every shower…Because let’s be real I’m a mom of three kids and two very demanding dogs and only shower every other day if I am lucky…I have found that using this and other sea salt scrubs regularly has helped reduce the appearance of my cellulite…no joke, those little fat wrinkles and tiny pockets are disappearing. So, I use this all over my face, my feet and extra in those areas that I think have gullies of wrinkles you know aka cellulite. (ps: This works great to get rid of sticky tricky cannabis bud residue on hands and clothes.) My Favorite BodyScrub Seasonal Smells: Winter- It has to be crisp and so I will usually stick with a mint. Spring- Now this always has to some sort of citrus, and I like the amount that is in the PURIFICATION blend from @YoungLiving, as well as any other citrus but I also feel like the PURIFICATION is great for spring as in purifying a new. Summer is a great time to have all those FLORAL SMELLS going. Whatever is your favorite go for it, I love ROSE and LAVENDAR. Fall is always the CINNAMON and NUTMEG time for me…and beginning of the Holiday Season I switch to VANILLA EXTRACT & RAW SUGAR with COCONUT OIL, it will make you smell like cookies! SIDE NOTE: If you use the RAW SEA SALT the scrub will come out kind of rough, not a smooth scrub more for serious exfoliating. Good side is this one can also be used as a bath soak. If you use the COARSE KOSHER SALT that you find in any grocery store, then it will come out more smooth in texture. It will still exfoliate but it will be a more mild exfoliant then the other.
- HERBIVORE!!! If you haven’t yet heard of this company you are seriously missing out. They make an array of products to help your skin and mind feeling it’s best. I stumbled upon them while trying out FabFitFun (more on them in Health and Exercise) and have been hooked ever since. They are a Seattle based company that has some of the BEST customer service I have ever encountered. I personally have used just about every product they carry and have some personal favorites I would highly recommend. Their Rose Hibiscus hydrating facial spray is a must!! I have one in the home and one always in my purse. Next to the facial spray in my purse I alternate between their Rose or Jasmine hair perfume sprays. I can’t stand strong perfumes so their hair perfumes are just the ticket for me. I also alternate between all their facial oils Phoenix (smells like strong tea but gives face a nice sun kissed glow), Lapis (I find smells very energizing and leaves me feeling refreshed) and Orchid (by far my favorite, the smell is heavenly and I feel my best wearing it) because I feel each oil smells different and gives me a different energy, so depending on what I need depends on what I use. I try to use my Rose Quartz facial roller (they have a Jasmine one as well) after I have applied my facial oil to get it to fully sink into my skin as well as give my face a good rolling. The Rose bodyscrub that they have is actually where I got the idea for my own version (see Health in Recipes #2) and it is amazing. I recently tried their PRISM exfoliating serum and man or man you wouldn’t think it could do what it does, without any exfoliating beads or anything rough. I could continue to go on about almost every product but you should just do yourself a favor and check them out…. https://www.herbivorebotanicals.com/
FACE & EYE MASKS: I know there are literally millions of different types of facial masks from charcoal to sheet to mud and beyond but I have a preference as a mom of multiples and a super busy life. I prefer my face masks to be no mess, so the creams and such that you put on your face although they do what they are intended to do I find the clean up not so fun. So I like to exfoliate before I use my masks and I will either use my own scrub (same as bodyscrub see Health in Recipes #2) or I will use Herbivore’s PRISM but either way after exfoliating is when I prefer to use my face masks. And I have tried a lot of different types of sheet masks and found this DERMAL variety pack to be my favorite. You can get a great deal on them on AMAZON https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B074VN3RD8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I have also tried quite a few under eye patches to help with bags and dark circles but none of them seemed to do the trick. Then I thought I would give PUREDERM Collagen Eye Zone masks a go and boy they are different. I swear I can feel the skin tightening under my eyes when I use them. They are a game changer if you haven’t tried them. They are great for a long night of the kids waking you up or if you lucked out and had a date night, good for any kid of late nights you might think of. https://smile.amazon.com/Collagen-Purederm-Anti-aging-Properties-Puffiness/dp/B00CTQ0EUY/ref=sr_1_4_s_it?s=beauty&ie=UTF8&qid=1550179734&sr=1-4&keywords=purederm%2Beye%2Bmask&th=1
FACE CREAMS: I am not one to venture out in the world of facial creams too much yet but thankfully with a trial of IPSY (more on them in Self Care) I was able to sample a few different sample sized facial moisturizing creams. Then FabFitFun (more on them in Self Care) got me into the cream world a little deeper and I was able to try full size skin cream products until I found two products I love. Dew It ALL is a total eye cream made by FARMACY and when I use it regularly I can definitely see a difference in my under eyes and my eye overall brightness I feel. https://www.amazon.com/Farmacy-Dew-All-Total-Cream/dp/B07CV4Z9D9 I also was able to try a facial cream and during the day when my face is feeling a little dry and I don’t necessarily need my facial oils I like to put some Grown Alchemist’s Hydra-Repair Day Cream. It is very lightweight so once it absorbs into the skin your face just feels hydrated not clogged or greasy or anything like that. You don’t need a ton to get your entire face covered either. Love! https://www.amazon.com/Grown-Alchemist-Hydra-Repair-Camellia-Geranium/dp/B00OYB9ZOI/ref=sr_1_3_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1550180598&sr=8-3&keywords=grown+alchemist
Brimama 