Homemade Beauty Tip: Brown Sugar and Honey Facial Scrub

Hello folks! I have another homemade beauty tip you are sure to enjoy...Brown Sugar and Honey Facial Scrub. I'll cut to the chase and give you the recipe for it, and tell you my rave review about it after.

In a glass jar, fill it halfway with turbinado raw sugar (I used the one with bigger granules, but if you want a gentler scrub, try the kind with finer granules). Add a teaspoon of jojoba oil, mix it around. Then fill it with honey until it is completely saturated, and mix it around. That is it.

You can make this in single batches (like in a ramekin) or in a jar for continued use. I made a small batch just to try it out, loved the results and made a larger batch for daily use.

This super cheap scrub can be used on the face or the body. People prefer the sugar scrub for the face because it is gentler than the salt or nutshell scrubs. The sugar exfoliates, the honey cleanses and moisturizes, and the jojoba nourishes and moisturizes the skin as well. This scrub is gentler than the store kinds made with ground nutshells, is cheaper and works great. After using this, my skin is radiant, refreshed and glowing. Also, it's best to use it in the shower, that way you can be sure to rinse it off completely. The best part about it is, there are no harmful chemicals, it's cheap, it smells great, and provides excellent results.

Homemade Sea Salt Scrub: Spa Quality at an Affordable Price

As a mother of two boys and a full time college student, I sure need a good pamper session here and there. Recently I attended one of those at-home parties where a consultant shows you a bunch of beauty products to try and buy. Looking through the catalog, the prices for their products were pretty steep. I mean, some people at the party were looking to spend over $300, which is definitely not in my budget. I just can't wrap my head around that one. Spending oodles of dollars on products to defy the aging process. And from the looks of Joan Rivers, it's a losing battle.

One of the products I really liked was the sea salt scrub. Although I purchased it, I couldn't see myself spending that kind of money on a regular basis, even if I think I deserve it. I want it all, to get a spa like treatment without having to pay the overinflated prices. So what do I do?

I take matters in my own hands and make my own homemade version of it.

Over the years I've learned that just because something costs more, it doesn't mean it has a better quality. Oftentimes companies rely more on marketing their product, and when looking at ingredients, they may not have poorer quality and/or in less concentrated amounts.

The company that makes the sea salt scrub I bought won't post a list of their ingredients, just the active botanicals. Sooo...since the only active botanicals on the bottle are sweet almond oil and avocado oil, then I guess the "other stuff" isn't so important for the consumer to know. For all I know they could've put a teaspoon of avocado and sweet almond oil in their product and a ton of vegetable oil. I feel that by making my own batch, I know exactly what I put in it, and how much.

Here's my recipe:

A glass jar with lid
A package of Village Naturals Bath Shoppe Bath Soak (scented sea salt)
Safflower Oil
Sweet Almond Oil
Jojoba Oil
Avocado Oil

Fill the jar 3/4 to the top with sea salt. Pour Safflower oil in until it totally saturates the salt. Add jojoba, sweet almond and avocado oils in your desired amount. Add your oils until there is about a centimeter above the top of the salt. Stir contents around until you feel its completely mixed.

Note: I used safflower oil because the other oils cost more. But if you want to use just those and other specialty oils, feel free to omit the safflower oil. You also can get unscented sea salt and add your own scented oils/fragrances in it. Even though my lavender bath salt was scented, I added a little lavender oil and some french lavendar scented Himalayan salt to it as well.
Oh yeah, DO NOT use mineral oil. It is not good for your skin at all.

I made two batches, a White Tea scent and Lavender scent. I suggest using this stuff before bed, so that it further aids in nourishing and repairing your skin. I took a shower, and let my skin get saturated with water. This helps to lock in moisture from the scrub. Take a small handful of sea salt scrub and massage it on your skin gently. Do not apply pressure, let the weight of your hands and the motion to do the work. In order to get better results, spend more time rubbing gently and lightly. Make sure to focus more on the rough spots, like knees, elbows, feet and hands.

When you are done, there will be a pile of sea salt on the tub floor. I just started a bath and soaked in it for a while. Your body will be covered in a lot of oil, and the sea salt bath helps to detoxify your skin and the soak will rinse away excess oil and dead skin from the exfoliation. When you get out of the bath, pat your skin dry with a towel.

The results were amazing. The sea salt exfoliated while the oils moisturized my skin. The lavender scent relaxed and calmed me. My skin was so soft, supple, smooth and glowing. My husband was so impressed with the results he wanted to try it too.

So, the proof is in the pudding, you don't have to break the bank to get a luxurious spa treatment.

Stickin' it to the Man!

When talking about decluttering/organizing/simplifying one's life, one doesn't think about their finances. I strongly urge you to get your finances under control. I am not a big credit card spender, at all, and only use it for reasonable big purchases that I can pay off in a year or less.

Credit card companies are in the business to make money, and in that, they are not looking out for your best interests. I had a few credit cards that I had great fixed interest rates on, but because of the "financial crisis" the credit card companies decided to change their end of the deal and increase my rate to a "variable rate". This means if they want to charge you 50% in the future, by golly they can.

What really ticks me off is that I've been a responsible customer, paid everything off, and kept my end of the contract, so why can't they keep their end of theirs (the fixed low rate)?

Because its their money and they can make the rules. Honestly, I am not an ideal credit card customer. I pay off stuff before I get charged interest, and if I do get charged interest its not for a long time. They like the faithful minimum payment people who max out credit cards and spend friviously. So they could care less if they get my business. The reasoning behind why I spend the way I do, is that I am afraid of commitment. That is the same reason why I don't have any tattoos as well. Even cutting my hair too short is too big of a commitment for me. (Its a shocker that I am even married in the first place!) But really, is that purchase in the "now" worth paying off for the next several years? Whatever you choose to buy will go out of style within the next 6-12 months tops, so you are stuck paying interest and principle for an item that isn't even cool anyways.

I value my time and living my life within my own standards. I don't want to be a slave to a credit card, working nonstop trying to keep my head above water so I can have a new coach purse to impress my fair weather friends. I want my time spent with my loved ones, enjoying life and being happy. And being seriously in debt is not a "happy" place to be.

What sent me into this rant was researching home equity loans for some energy saving home repairs. Even now, trying to get a home equity loan is ridiculous. They are charging 10% fixed with a penalty for paying off your loans before 5 years (the lowest time frame). So, being that I am a stubborn person and refuse to be a slave to the credit card companies, I have decided to "thin out" my wallet. I closed all my credit card accounts and left one department card open because I get great deals from them anyways (and never charge more than what I can pay off in 1-2 months time).

Thank GOD I have no outstanding balances. It's liberating. I could not imagine what it would be like if I did have balances and had to pay their effed up interest rates.

So the whole point of this post is to say "Screw them, and their effed up interest rates". Close your accounts. Live within your means. And if you are surrounded by materialistic people who judge you on your clothes, car, etc, they are not worth being in your life. I am sorry, but I enjoy my freedom and refuse to be a voluntary slave to a credit card companies just because of the materialistic society we live in. Don't let the banks be your "pimp" any longer.

Maybe I used some harsh language in the paragraph above. But this is not a joking matter. They took our tax money for bailouts and turned around and raised our interest rates, charging penalties for early pay offs, and annual fees (amongst other charges). So they are finding creative ways to nickle and dime us. Well I am not playing their game anymore, and I hope all the other responsible people do the same.

We are their bread and butter. We are their customers and they need to cater to us. Maybe if enough of us say "We quit. We're not playing your stupid game anymore" that they will start giving us decent rates and quit taking advantage of us.

In the meantime, don't give them your business and practice delayed gratification.