I have been doing pretty well with keeping up with my workouts lately, but was inspired by my friend Jen's post on having a little reward system by way of pampering. And by pampering, I mean heading to the kitchen to make stuff, because I have nothing.  I need to get a second job at Lush, four reels.  Anywho, I decided to do what everyone else does and browse Pinterest for DIY beauty ideas, and came across a lot of face masks, and tried out a bunch of them this week. Face masks, scrubs, and hair treatments. I have felt so girly this week, it has been awesome. 

Anyways, my favorite has been the "Burning Face Mask" (it came up a dozen times), because it is super easy, left my face feeling smooth, and it smells like Christmas, dammit. 

All you need is: 

1/2 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 tablespoon cloves

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Mix it all up in a small bowl, then just rub all over your face, until it is evenly covered. It will feel tingly for about 4-5 min, hence the "burning" name, but then it is fine. It is SUPER sticky, so make sure that your hair is pinned back from your face. Let it sit on your face for 30 minutes, then wash off. 

Toothpaste! I actually made a batch of this a few years ago and really liked it, but for some reason never made it again. So here it is with some minor adjustments, and now it is even better!

Get

1 cup of baking soda

1 lime to zest (or lemon, or orange)

Peppermint essential oil

Citrus essential oil

First, zest your lime (I used a cheese greater). You are going to have to let it dry out, it usually takes a few hours, but you can just leave it over night to be safe. If the zest is still too big, you can use a mort and pestle to grind it up smaller. Next, put all of the ingredients in a jar, and shake it up. I did not use a lot of essential oil, because I find that their aroma tends to strengthen as the product sits, but, you can always add more if you feel that it needs it. Store in a container with a lid, and voila! You've got tooth paste!

I just scoop a little out with the toothbrush, then add a small drop of water and brush, but you can use a small spoon or something if you wish. It is also worth noting that baking soda does not taste like regular toothpaste. It does foam a little, and has a salty taste to it, which is expected, but it might take some getting used to. I really love it, I feel like my teeth are super clean, and my mouth tends to not be as dry as when I use regular toothpaste. I also use a tablespoon of baking soda in a jar with water to soak my retainers in during the day (sexy!), because it cleans them off very well. Baking soda you guys, it's the bee's knees. 

I have been enjoying learning how to make my own beauty products the past few months, mostly because it always excites me when I make something and it actually comes out really well. I am one who is addicted to lotion, but I always had a hard time finding one that I really liked. The organic ones without all of the weird chemicals and additives were super expensive, and the cheaper ones contained basically plastic, which I am sure in small amounts won't kill you, but I found myself needing to use more and more of it.  I really wanted to try making my own, but it also had to be affordable, and simple enough so that I wouldn't screw it up. 

This one was perfect! I had all of the ingredients, except for the Shea butter. I am not entirely sure what the cost breakdown was in the end, but because I use the other ingredients for other things, as well as having plenty of Shea butter left over for another batch, I think it came out pretty cheap. 

Get

1 cup organic Shea butter

1/2 cup organic olive oil (almond oil, or jojoba oil will work too)

1/2 cup organic cold-pressed coconut oil

Essential oils of your choice (I used lavender). 

In a small pot, mix the Shea butter, and the coconut oil over a medium heat until they melt completely. Stir in the olive oil, and then add the essential oil. I used 2 cap fulls, but you can add as little or as much as you prefer. Remove from heat and let it sit in the fridge until it firms, but is not completely solid (took a little over an hour for me). Next, whip the mixture together until it is really light (I did this by hand with an egg beater, but you can use a blender/hand beater if you want). Scoop out of pot and store in jars at room temperature. 

I mentioned in a previous post that I have been working on making cleaning products and beauty treatments at home, so I thought I would share a really simple one today. I found a lot of recipes based off of used coffee grounds, and since I am a coffee fiend, I figured I would give it a shot. I posted the mix on Instagram, and my friend Dave suggested I try adding cocoa and  sugar to the mix. I don't know how it is possible, but we ran out of sugar, so I left it at coffee grounds and cocoa. 

Get

1 tablespoon coffee grounds

1 tablespoon cocoa (unsweetened)

1 tablespoon water or oil, such as cold-pressed coconut oil, olive oil, etc. 

I tried this with both finely ground, and coarse grounds, and I would strongly recommend the finer grounds. You can add more or less water/oil depending on your thickness preference. I just used water, because I used argan oil as a moisturiser after, but you can skip adding a moisturizer if you mix oil in. I also obviously used way more than a tablespoon in that picture because I was sharing it with Kyle. I could not get him to let me document it though. Sadness.