Beauty Blog
Carlsbad Plaza Spa and Wellness Hotel
DIY Coconut Oil Shea Butter Body Whip
DIY Strawberry Peppermint Foot Scrub
- 2 cups pureed strawberries
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons of granulated white sugar
- 4 drops peppermint essential oil
To Make:
Mix all the ingredients well and put into a pretty jar. It’s great to use strawberries in this recipe because they are rich in salicylic acid which helps dead skin shed more easily. The sugar granules also help to exfoliate skin, but are super gentle on delicate skin. You can also keep this recipe in the fridge for up to one week. To use your scrub, simply rub your feet gently in a circular motion, rinse with warm water, and enjoy the results! Just try not to eat it! Subscribe to A Girl’s Gotta Spa! beauty blog. Watch our reviews on YouTube, see our pins on Pinterest and check us out on Instagram and G+. Got a Kindle? We’re on Kindle too! *Disclosure: affiliate linkIT Cosmetics Cushion Compact Review
Foods That Stain and Whiten Your Teeth
The Perfect Pink Lipsticks and Lip Glosses for Dark Skin
Colors, top, left to right: Cotton Candy, Bubble Gum, Sun Burst and Zinnia. Colors, bottom, left to right: Autumn Sun, Natural, Petal Pink and Fiesta.
These are swatches of the top colors.
And these are swatches of the bottom colors.
I've always been a fan of NARS Cosmetics so getting some goodies from them was lovely! I've never been disappointed using their Lip Pencils and the Satin Lip Pencil ($25.00), I received lives up to its name. The intense color combined with a long wearing, moisturizing, vitamin enriched formula is everything you've been wanting in a lip pencil! It goes on satiny smooth, has a great finish and the compliments you receive will be well worth the splurge. The color, Yu, looks a bit intimidating at first, but once I saw how great it looked on my lips, I wanted to wear this every day. These lip pencils can be used as a liner, all over color or paired with other colors to create an intense, Instagram worthy pout.NARS lipsticks: On the left Michiyo and right is Claudia.
The Lip Gloss ($26.00), Priscilla is a shocking fuchsia pink and Angelika is a cotton candy color with gold flecks. Both are enriched with vitamin E and are moisturizing and long wearing. I found that Angelika was a bit too light for my skin tone, but works good over a darker or brighter lip stain or lipstick. I absolutely love Priscilla! With this lip gloss, the only other makeup I needed was some mascara and light blush. The pop of color on my face instantly brightened it and it's not sticky or heavy, it feels creamy and moisturizing. The applicator for the gloss is soft and glides on smoothly. Although this formula is meant to be long lasting, if you eat or drink while wearing, reapplication is a must. Which is fine as it gives me another chance to look at my pretty Priscilla decked out lips! Last but not least, I also got to try a couple of NARS Audacious Lipsticks ($32.00). The colors, Claudia and Michiyo, these babies are bold! I love both colors, but Claudia like Angelika was too light for me. It's a cool pink that looked more lavender on me. I didn't like how chalky it made my lips look. Michiyo is a shocking pink that reminded me of the lip pencil Yu. They're pretty close in color so this one I really liked. The texture for these lipsticks is soft and smooth, almost satiny and it has amazing staying powers! I love the pigmentation and my lips didn't feel dry. Just one swipe is all you need, but a couple more wouldn't hurt! I drink a lot of liquids throughout the day and just needed a little touch up after lunch and that lasted until I got home that evening and washed my face. I've also dabbed a bit on my lips when I didn't feel like going all "glamour" and applied some gloss on top for a low maintenance look.Left NARS gloss Priscilla, middle gloss Angelika and right Satin Lip Pencil in Yu.
Now, seeing as this was my first time trying the brand, Uslu Airlines ($25.00), I wasn't sure what to expect. Boy was I surprised! The colors TEM and HAV are both flattering to my skin tone. These can go full coverage or sheer, feels like a lip balm, smooth texture, moisturizing and long lasting. All of their lipsticks have vitamin E and are NOT tested on animals. HAV looks like a dark red, but does have pink undertones; this shade can go from a girls night out to a weekend play date, it's that versatile. TEM is more of a dark coral, but oh so pretty! Perfect for everyday wear, this little number can also work as a sheer coral just by dabbing a little bit on your lips. These lipsticks are light and oh so hydrating! Did not need to use a gloss or lip balm while wearing them. Perfect for the most drying time of the year!Uslu Airlines lipstick swatches: left is TEM and right HAV
To sum it up, my favorite color would have to be Yu by NARS. The vibrant pink works so well with my skin tone and it's so versatile. Plus I love that this lip pencil can pretty much fit anywhere. I just adore the hydration of the Uslu Airlines lipsticks and the colors. As much as I would love to carry the Mehron Day Palette with me at all times, alas, my daughter's "things she has to have," pretty much takes up all the space in my purse. It was fun trying a new lip color everyday for about two weeks and I'm glad I was able to use different shades of pinks to find out which one would be perfect. Lucky for me almost all of them did the job and all are now my perfect pink! Have you tried any of these? Subscribe to A Girl’s Gotta Spa! beauty blog. Watch our reviews on YouTube, see our pins on Pinterest and check us out on Instagram and G+. Got a Kindle? We’re on Kindle too! *Disclosure: press samplesDIY Coffee Grounds, Baking Soda, Lemon Body Scrub
This past Saturday night all I wanted to do was stay in and have an at-home spa night. Spa as in facial, hair masks, mani and pedi as well as total body exfoliation.
Luckily, I had most of the ingredients for my perfect at home spa night with the exception of a body scrub. Since there was no way I was leaving the house in the midst of my at-home spa experience to go out and buy a scrub, I decided I would try to whip something up with whatever I had in my kitchen....which was not a lot since I was overdue for a grocery run.
What I did have was coffee grounds, baking soda and lemons. I have used baking soda and lemons before as a face scrub/mask and teeth whitener and have also used coffee grounds with other ingredients as a body scrub, but I have never used all three together.
Not only did they work well to gently exfoliate my skin, but my skin also felt extremely clean, thanks to the cleansing power of baking soda. My skin was also glowing due to the brightening power of lemon and baking soda together.
The exfoliation benefits of all three natural ingredients made the dry skin melt away revealing softer skin. (Don't forget to apply body lotion right after for maximum hydration.)
This scrub is so incredibly easy to create, just combine coffee grounds, baking soda and lemon juice together and mix until it forms a paste then apply to skin and gently massage.
After exfoliating, I left the scrub on my skin for about ten minutes to let the ingredients do the work on their own, then rinsed.
Be warned that this scrub is really messy in the shower, but rinses away very easily and is completely worth the mess.
No time to DIY it? Try A Girl's Gotta Spa! Energizing Citrus Body Scrub. It is a mix of uplifting grapefruit, orange, lemon and lime essential oils and Dead Sea Salt.
DIY Beauty Treatment for Softer Skin
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5 Beauty Mistakes You May Be Making http://t.co/CDfdEH7pDh
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— A Girl's Gotta Spa! (@agirlsgottaspa) January 11, 2015