Frugal February: Beauty on a Budget - pt. 2 DIY Beauty Fixes

Two blog posts back to back?! What is going on here; is it an alternate universe where I have more free time on my hands? As promised here is part two of yesterdays Beauty on a Budget post, I hope you all enjoyed some of my beauty bargain finds and if you try any of them out let me know in the comments below, I'd love to hear what you think about them! On a side note it is indeed true that I have more time on my hands right now so I will be committing myself to two posts a week so watch for new content every Monday and Friday, I have some blog ideas scribbled down in my journal but if there is anything you guys would particularly like to see please let me know! 

Top 5 DIY Beauty Fixes

1. Macaroon Lip Scrub 

1tbsp Coconut Oil

1 tbsp Brown Sugar

1/2 tsp Cacao Powder (or just regular cocoa powder if that's all you have on hand)

Scoop some coconut oil into a microwave safe container and heat for approx. 15 seconds, stir until completely melted if there are any solid bits left. Mix in cacao powder until smooth. Now you want to make sure the coconut oil has cooled enough that the brown sugar won't melt when added but remember the coconut oil will solidify when it's completely cooled off so don't forget about it! And then I scooped this into some empty tester cups I had left from MAC kicking around because lord knows I love me some testers!

I've tried numerous DIY lip scrubs using olive oil, honey, etc. and I found that they either taste disgusting when you get them in your mouth, and you will get them in your mouth, or they're not moisturizing enough and this one covers both those bases so scrub away dearies and if you get some in your mouth fret not because it tastes pretty damn great too! One last note on this lip scrub concoction; the coconut oil will return to it's solid state so you will have to warm the scrub up with your finger before you can apply it, I also like to let the scrub sit on my lips for a couple minutes after scrubbing to let the coconut oil do it's moisturizing business before wiping it away with a damp cloth (or just licking it off...). 

2. Deep Cleansing Shampoo 

First, before you say anything, I realize that Snow Fairy by Lush is a shower gel but when I first started buying it years ago it was marketed as a shower gel and shampoo and I will always use it that way no matter what anyone says! On a completely unrelated note if you use snow fairy as shampoo with American Cream Conditioner also by Lush your hair smells like Strawberry Shortcake, just saying....

ANYWAYS! I touched on the fact that I wash my hair like a cave man aka almost never in my last post but when I do wash my hair there is a lot of grease, dry shampoo, hair spray, etc. build up that has to go so that my locks are soft and boucy again. Once a week I add baking soda to my shampoo, 1:2 ratio of baking soda to shampoo, give it a good scrub making sure I really massage it into my scalp to get all the gunk out, I usually leave it to sit while I go about scrubbing the rest of my body and then rinse it out. This is usually followed by a lovely hair mask like the Coconut Oil one I mentioned in yesterdays post.

3. Breakfast for Your Face Mask

I love oatmeal so why shouldn't my face? This is a simple to make face mask that's very moisturizing, calming and super easy to make.

1/4 ground oatmeal (just throw your oatmeal into your Magic Bullet or other food processing gadget and lightly pulse)

2 tsp Honey

1/4 cup warm water

Stir all ingredients up in a bowl adding water as needed until you get a nice thin paste and then smear all over a freshly cleansed face. Leave on for 15 minutes, approximately the time it will take you to make a bowl of oatmeal and devour it, and then rinse with warm water and pat to dry.

4. Aromatherapy Soak at Home 

Life is hectic and we all need to unwind some time other wise we get sick, grumpy and our relationships, health and overall life suffers. I'm an avid bath taker, we're talking at least 3-4 nights a week. Nothing beats sinking into the hot water and letting your worries melt away while you sit back and relax with a book and a cup of tea. 

As you fill your tub with hot water swirl a handful of epsom salts into the water, add 10 drops of lavender essential oil and 1/2 cup of baking soda. Hop into your tub and enjoy a spa like experience in the comfort of your own home with no spa price tag attached to your happiness!

The epsom salts and baking soda are supposed to draw impurities out of your body while the lavender soothes you both mentally and physically, whether or not there's any toxins departing my body I couldn't tell you but it's such a relaxing soak and leaves me feeling pampered and serene.

5. Rice Paper Sheet Mask

I love Michelle Phan's YouTube channel and when she posted this video I immediately tried it out and had great results. She uses green tea in her mask but you could also just use warm water with a couple drops of whatever essential oils you like! 

And if that wasn't enough to satiate your DIY beauty fix click here for 30 things you can make at home; happy DIY-ing!

Ambiguous Asian Bath Salts...

So I'm pretty much a permanent figure in TNT's beauty aisle; chances are if you can't find me and I'm not at work or the gym that's where I am. I've walked passed these I don't know how many times and the complete lack of English on the packaging and the picture of a girl sweating profusely has both engaged and terrified me every time I've passed them, I finally decided to take the plunge and give them a go, I went for the most pleasant looking package with yellow and gold on it as opposed to the more intimidating red and black of some of the others.

After some googling I discovered that these Bath Addictives (additives? I've seen them spelled both ways numerous times across the interwebs) are supposed to encourage profuse sweating in the bath tub (don't think about it too much or it's super gross) to help promote circulation and detoxification. I grabbed the Royal Honey Milk variety as it turns out; it contains rose hip essence, rose extract, hot-spring mineral, hyaluronic acid and collagen. Its a fine pink powder with some crystals in that sound like pop rocks when they mix with the water, once dissolved in the water the water will turn a sort of milky white colour. The water was insanely soft and moisturizing, it felt like I was sitting in a giant tub of milky lotion, which I kinda was... One of the only downsides to this product was the scent, it had a gorgeous, soft luxurious, subtly floral scent when you opened the package but when mixed with the water the scent was so soft I barely noticed it anymore.

And a final note on this glorious bath addictive (I'm sticking by this description because I've already placed an order on Sasa for a bunch of scent's TNT doesn't carry) in terms of the sweat producing effects I found this one fairly mild, some blogs I've read on other scents talked of profuse sweating during the ginger or chilli varieties but I think this guy was a good starter sweat bath. I was definitely sweating more than in a regular bath but nothing too crazy, I really only noticed it when my bath water had gone cold (I sit in the tub until I've shriveled up) and I was still sweating. As with anything that makes you sweat make sure to drink lots of water to stay hydrated or you may feel ill and have to forsake the tub before the full moisturizing benefits sink it! If you take nearly as many baths as I do these need to join your bubble bath/ bath bomb collection, I found them for $4 at my local TNT Supermarket, I have seen them on eBay but they're twice the price, if you can't find them at a local asian supermarket check out Sasa for a large selection for a decent price but I would recommend stocking up because shipping can be pretty pricy!   

Stay tuned - review on Nuxe's RÊVE DE MIEL®ULTRA COMFORTABLE FACE CREAM should be up on friday!