DIY Lemon-Sugar Exfoliating Lip Scrub

Hope you are staying warm Sparklers!

In keeping with my month of Valentines Day themed posts, my last post in February is my favorite sugary sweet lip scrub recipe (as promised in my post on my favorite lip balms for kissable lips!).

Chapped lips in the winter (or year round if you are me), you might need to exfoliate away dead skin from your lips more often.  If you want to buy a lip exfoliator product, they can cost $10 for less than 1oz of product!  This is a super cheap and easy recipe that uses items that most people have lying around their kitchen--which is good, because you wouldn't want to put things that are not edible on your lips right?  Bonus, this lip scrub tastes a bit like lemonade. Lastly, if you can get organic/food grade/minimally processed ingredients it is always better.

Ingredients:

-1 tablespoon sugar (brown, white, or raw sugar are my preferred sugars for this recipe. I find raw sugar granules are too large and coarse for my lips and better for body scrubs). Mini-tip: size up this recipe and use as a body scrub as well!

-2 teaspoons oilve or coconut oil (or just enough to create a paste with the sugar).

-1 teaspoon lemon juice

-Bowl and Stirring Spoon

Instructions:
1) Add sugar to a bowl.  The sugar is the physical exfoliator that removes dead skin cells.
2) Add the oil to the bowl.  This recipe is so hard right?  Just kidding.  The oil is your moisturizing ingredient.  Both types of recommended oils are great for adding moisture to your lips.  Add about two teaspoons of oil to the sugar, or until the mixture is a toothpaste-like consistency.
3) After mixing the oil and sugar, add the lemon juice.  The lemon juice is the chemical exfoliator.  It will also naturally help cleanse and brighten the skin.

How to Use:
1) Apply scrub to lips.
2) Massage scrub into lips for about 30 seconds to 1 minute (depending on how much you want to physically exfoliate).
3) Leave scrub on lips for another minute.
4) Rinse away scrub. Mini-Tip: Apply your favorite lipbalm afterwards.  You can see my latest favorite lip balms in my...you guessed it...Favorite Lip Balms post.

Hope you liked this quick and easy DIY recipe.

As always,

Shine & Sparkle


*I am not paid or contacted by any of the companies mentioned in this post.  These are my honest feelings and opinions. Also, like all my images, I'll gladly give someone credit for their image used in this post or take it down if someone throws a hissy fit.

DIY To Make Your Lotion More Moisturizing!

Hi Shine and Sparkle Readers,

Thank you so much for tuning into this week's quick tip!  Do you have a lotion for your body or face that you wish would hydrate your skin more?  Did you buy a lotion that just doesn't seem to do much?  Here is my life changing tip to get the most benefit out of your lotions/moisturizers:

Add A Few Drops Of Your Favorite Pure Oil!
Depending on the dryness and how large an area you want to moisturize, experiment with adding a few drops of oil to your lotions.  This also works with hair serums! The most important thing is to make sure the oil has preferably only one ingredient--oil. Organic and fragrance free are best.  However, if you can't find certain oils fragrance free or organic, this will still work.

Also, start with only 1-2 drops of oil and see how you like the results.  You may want to add more or less depending on you skin type and condition.

Quick Warning:  If you plan to use make-up over your moisturizer, you might want to skip this tip because oils break down make-up.  This could lead to your make-up easily smudging or reacting strangely.

Suggested Oils:

• Argan Oil (My favorite!)
• Coconut Oil (My second favorite!)
• Olive Oil
• Almond Oil
• Avocado Oil
• Vitamin E Oil (This is often vitamin E suspended in soybean oil, so it's not my first choice, but it does work).

Hooray! Now you have a little tip on how to quickly make your skin that much more moisturized.


As Always,

Shine & Sparkle!

Emergency/DIY Deodorant

Hi Shine and Sparkle Report Readers!

I just wanted to give you a quick tip in case you find yourself without deodorant for some reason.  Let's face it, sometimes you need to stop smelling but don't have any real deodorant with you.  So what are your emergency options?

1) Anti-bacterial hand Sanitizer.  In a pinch, put some of this under your arms.  The alcohol will help kill the bacteria that cause underarm odor.  It's not a very long lasting solution, but in a pinch, it will serve you well.  If you don't carry hand sanitizer, lots of places have free hand sanitizer these days (grocery stores, drug stores, pet stores etc...)  so hunt around and you might just find some near by.

2) Lemon.  Starting to smell at the restaurant?  Grab a lemon slice from the bar or your ice-tea and sneak it into the bathroom.  Rub the lemon under your arms.  The juice will naturally cleanse and deodorize.  Plus, you will smell lemony fresh! I have never tried this with limes, but I assume it would work as well.

3) Alcohol.  So you might not have any lemons, you might not have any hand sanitizer.  Maybe you have vodka?  Or rubbing alcohol.  Either of these items should work to combat smelly arm pits.

4) Facial Toner.  Last but not least, if you use a toner in your skin care routine, it could also be used in a pinch as deodorant.  You also may be surprised to see how much your general smelly-ness level can decrease if you periodically use facial toner on your under arms after you get out of the shower.

Why do these emergency deodorant solutions work?  Did you know sweat is generally odorless? However, body odor results from bacteria that gather in specific types of sweat called "fatty" sweat that is found in areas such as your underarms.  When naturally occurring bacteria from your body starts breaking down the sweat, it produces body odor.  Anti-antiperspirants in deodorant stop you from sweating so that there is nothing for the bacteria to break down and produce smell. My emergency options pretty much combat any surface bacteria that is present at the time of application and dry up/remove existing sweat.  Because my options don't stop you from sweating all together, they are more emergency solutions rather than long lasting solutions.        

As Always,

Shine & Sparkle!

Re-growing Lettuce, Celery, and Green Onions DIY

Howdy Shine and Sparkle Report Readers!

I found a great use for old containers (like cleaned out Bath and Bodyworks Candle Jars).  It is very simple and cuts down on the cost of feeding Squiggles his fresh veggies (or your kids. Or yourself). 

All you will need is the following:

• Lower stub (normally discarded) of romaine lettuce, Celery, or Green Onion
• Water tight vessel that allows light to pass through it
• Water
• Place to put it where it gets some light (like a window)

Steps:

1. Put lower part of plants in about 1/2 an inch of water
2. Wait
3. Change water every day or so
4. Watch plant re-grow from the center of the plant stub.

Amazing right?!  This DIY is so much fun to do.  It also makes a little green plant for minimal money and effort.  Kids (or easily amused adults) will love watching it grow.

Shine & Sparkle!

How to Clean Out Bath and Bodyworks (or any) Candle Jars DIY

Hi Shine and Sparkle Report Readers!

Today I want to tell you how I clean out my candle jars.  I noticed when I first became obsessed with Bath and Body Works candles, that it was a HUGE waste to just throw out such nice glass containers.  You can use them for all kinds of fun things.

So without a long winded intro, lets get into how I clean them out:

Step 1: Freeze It- I take off the top of the candle jar and stick it in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.  This causes the wax to become brittle and shrink a bit away from the glass.

Step 2: Pop Wax Out-  Carefully (ask an adult if you are a kid, or just really clumsy), use a sturdy dull knife (butter knife works great, I only had this regular dining knife) to pop out the wax.  The pressure should crack it into easily removed pieces.

Step 3: Soak in Hot Soapy Water-  There might be glue or little metal pieces with the wicks still attached to the bottom.  Soaking the candle in hot soapy water will make the glue pliable and the metal easy to remove.  This will also loosen all the labels attached to the jar.  The bottom sticker should remove easily with a bit of scrubbing with a rough sponge.  The outer label will peel off pretty easy.

Step 4: Remove Sticky Reside-  This is the most annoying part for me.  If you have a product like "Googone" that will help.  Otherwise, I find that pure acetone (which I have around for removing nail polish) on a cotton ball works pretty well.  You might have some time (and lots of cotton balls) getting the glass perfectly clear of goo.

Step 5: Rewash the container-  After the sticky stuff is gone, I re-wash the container to remover any  residual chemicals on the glass.

Step 6: Reuse-  I will be doing a more detailed post on how I reuse candle jars, but generally speaking, I like using them for storing small items (cotton balls/Q-tips/cotton rounds), as make up brush holders, gift containers for DIY bathsalts/sugar scrubs, terrariums, and to regrow/root plants and veggies.  Quick Tip: If you are feeling really creative, you can invest in some glass paint and paint labels or art on the glass. I love to cut out stencils out of paper, stick them on the jars, then sponge paint over the stencil to create perfect designs.

I hope you found this helpful and it encourages you to reuse those great candle containers!


Shine & Sparkle

Best Dry Shampoos (and DIY Dry Shampoo Options)

Hi Shine and Sparkle Report Readers!

I love dry shampoo.  It really makes life so much easier! I adore dry shampoo because:

• De-greases hair so you can go more days without washing it (which strips your hair of natural oils, fades color, and can stress/break hair because it is weaker when wet.)

• Adds volume and texture to your hair because it's adding product around each strand making it take up a bit more space--thus looking fuller.

Squiggles is making a full come back into this blog.  He looks so cute in Microsoft Paint outfits (despite his protests).

How do you use dry shampoo?
For spay dry shampoos, I section my hair off into about 2-3 inch sections and spray it at my roots.  Then I massage it with my fingers and brush out any extra.  For non-spray dry shampoo, I put some powder on my hands, pat my hands together a bit, then massage it into my roots.  Again, brush to get out any extra powder.

My Top Dry Shampoos:

Batiste Dry Shampoo*:  This is my #1 favorite dry shampoo.  The spray is very convenient.  It comes in many scents as well as colored versions (blonde and brunette) if you worried about it leaving a white cast on your hair (though I never find this to be a problem and I have dark hair).  It is also very affordable at around $7.  My favorite scent is "Blush" which is very floral.  Spray shampoos are the most convenient but they do contain varying levels of alcohol that can dry out your hair.  I find that this does not have as much alcohol and doesn't leave my hair dry.



Oscar Blandi Dry Shampoo:  I like this one because sometimes I don't want to use a spray.  I typically use this when I have just colored my hair and it is weaker/dryer than normal. I find it easiest to squirt a small amount of this into my hands, pat my hands together gently, then massage this into my hair in small amounts until all of the oil disappears.  Squirting this directly on my scalp yields patchy results and too much product in certain places.  The product has a light citrus scent that my bf loves.  This is a bit pricier side at around $12 for a bottle.  However, I think it lasts much longer than the Batiste.

DYI Dry Shampoos:

Corn Starch or Baby Powder
While these do work, use them sparingly!  Too much is very heavy and leaves a very white cast to your hair.  This is pretty undesirable unless you are bringing white powder wigs back (see Squiggles above).  Then this is perfect! I do not think they work nearly as well as the more modern versions.  That being said, if you are super into not using chemicals, these are great options to check out!

I hope this guide to dry shampoo is helpful!  Thank you so much for reading.


Shine & Sparkle!

*I am not paid or contacted by any of the companies mentioned in this post.  These are my honest feelings and opinions. Also, like all my images, I'll gladly give someone credit for their image or take it down if someone throws a hissy fit.

DIY Mango Tumeric Face Mask!

Hello Lovely Shine and Sparkle Report Readers!

The beginning of April means spring has sprung.  Flowers are blooming and the warm weather means lighter make-up application and general desire to be glowing looking.  What better way to do this than clearing and brightening up your skin?

The quick mask recipe* I'm about to give you is all natural and really effective.  Your skin absorbs good nutrients in a mask, so why have all the chemicals in a fancy and expensive product when you can be more effective with natural ingredients right?  I have found that making my own masks is far more effective than most masks I can buy.  I used this mango and turmeric mask as my weekly mask and instantly saw a calming of my break outs and a more even skin tone. 

As usual, like my last image, I'll gladly give someone credit for their image or take it down if whoever owns it throws a hissy fit.  Otherwise, please enjoy Squiggles being emasculated with a towel turban (at least I made it blue).

Ingredients:
- 1-2 tbs of ripe fresh mango (organic is best!): Mango fruits have pigments called carotenoids,which can improve color and brighten the skin.  Also rich in antioxidants and pore cleansing properties.  Needless to say, Yey mango!
-2 tsp olive or coconut oil (or both!):  Oils have moisturizing properties, help balance oil production of the skin and are generally great for it!  Both of these oils have anitoxidants (which we know are great to fight aging).  Coconut oil also has some antibacterial properties that can also help fight acne.
-1 tsp turmeric powder:  This powder can help even out hyper-pigmentation of the skin.  It also has anti-bacterial properties that can reduce inflammation and acne.  This might not be a staple in everyone's spice cabinet, but it should be! It's also super healthy to ingest and is used in a lot of Indian foods such as curry.  DO NOT use curry powder...that would burn like crazy...zomg...
Warning: Too much of this can temporarily stain the skin a bit yellow.  To remove staining, use some oil (olive or coconut are my favorites) to cotton pads and gently use to remove the staining.  Alternatively, do the mask on a day you wont be doing much.  A couple washes should take care of it no problem.

Assembly and Application:
1) Mash ingredients together. Want to use a fork? A blender? be my guest.  Whenever you make a mask it's not an exact science.  Just make sure the consistency is thick enough to not fall off your face.  If you have a waterier mask, don't worry, just use a thinner layer or add more dry/thick ingredients.
2) Cleanse and pat dry your face.
3) Apply mask all over your face.
4) Leave the mask on as long as you want (no harsh chemicals here, longer the better!) but I suggest at least 15 minutes.
5) Remove mask with warm water and cleanse again (if you find the turmeric has stained).    
6) Eat the rest of your fresh mango.  It is good for your insides too! 

Optional Ingredients:
Go nuts with your DIY masks.  Make your own.  Here are some other ingredients to consider if they are hanging out in your kitchen.
-Oatmeal: Very soothing and calming to your skin.  Best turned into powder though blending--it's hard to get oatmeal to be a powder with a fork.  Mortar and pestle it if you are old school.  Heck, you can use a mortar and pestle to make all your masks if you get down like that.
 -Plain yogurt: Also very calming, moisturizing, and excels at relieving sunburn. Woo.  Some people say it is anti--bacteriala and anti-fungal which is good to help acne, though make sure the source is hormone free.  Dairy hormones can make it worse =(
-Green Tea: Everyone knows about green tea's anti-oxidant and toning powers, so I'll just let you think about making a cup of tea and adding a bit to your mask.
-Honey: Moisture, acne-fighting, glowing goodness.  
 
 Let me know if you have any favorite mask ingredient combos I should try out.  I'm thinking of trying out a cucumber honey recipe next.

Shine & Sparkle!

* As usual, just note I'm not a doctor or professionally trained.  I just spend a lot of time researching things and experimenting on myself and friends (even though I do have a guinea pig).  Please consult with your doctor, especially if you are taking medications or may/are pregnant.  This is the internet you know.

DIY with the Magical Coconut Oil

Seasons Greetings S+SR Readers!

Two posts in less than a week?!  A miracle, I know.  Much like the presence of this post, the content is about a miracle product.  Coconut Oil!  I really cannot rave enough about coconut oil.  It has so many great applications, from beauty to cooking.  In addition, it is very affordable and natural.  No ingredients you can't pronounce, just coconut oil.

Trader Joe's Coconut Oil ($6) As usual, like my last stock image, I'll gladly give someone credit for their image or take it down if whoever owns it throws a hissy fit.

The Basics:
Coconut oil is made from extracting the oils out of a coconut.  It is a solid at room temperature, but easily turns into a liquid with just body heat, a hot day, or a zap in the microwave.  Not all coconut oils are created equal, some coconut oil is extracted using high heat, chemicals and even bleach.  This is why I suggest a virgin and organic coconut oil.  Much like the Trader Joe's one shown above.  That huge jar costs around $6 and will last forever! 

Benefits List:
Ms. Sparkles, why should I consider adding coconut oil to my beauty routines?  Well dear reader, I'm glad you asked.

• Antibacterial and Antimicrobial- As a result of the saturated fats in coconut oil, it aids in killing bacteria and fungi (gross but cool right?)  This is great for treating skin conditions such as eczema and dandruff.
•  Low Molecular Weight- Why do you care about this?  Unlike other oils (almond, caster, jojoba, olive, etc) used in beauty applications, coconut oil is very light.  This means that it does the best job at absorbing into the hair shaft.  
• Moisturizing- This oil is great for replacing oils lost in skin, hair, and nails.  Oils are great for locking in moisture right after a bath or shower as well.
• Economical Luxury- Many high end beauty products (especially the more natural ones) often use some derivative of coconut oil.  Why not jump directly to the source?  And hey, it doesn't hurt that it smells like fruity cocktails on the beach right?

Sparkles Tested and Approved Uses:  
Now you have been convinced to get some organic virgin coconut oil, you have this jar and you don't know where to start.  Well here are some of my favorite uses for coconut oil.

1. Make-Up Remover:  This is my #1 make-up remover method.  I simply take a baby wipe (I like all natural, ones like Seventh Generation Free & Clear Baby Wipes)  and run a part of it in the still solid coconut oil.  I use the babywipe + coconut oil (which liquifies upon contact with the warmth of your skin) to remove all traces of eye/face make-up in a jiffy.  The antimicrobial properties help reduce the chances of a break out and add moisture to my skin as it takes away even the most waterproof mascaras.  Win all around!  If you don't have a baby wipe, any cotton pad + coconut oil will work as well.  I just like the extra cleaning power/surface area that comes with the baby wipe.  Warning: Try not to get it IN your eye, it isn't pleasant but it is not as bad as some of those super chemically products out there (which don't work nearly as well if you ask me).
2. Eyelash Growth/Eye-Brightening Serum: I have puny eyelashes.  I have found that taking a really tiny bit of coconut oil on a Q-tip and running along my eyelash line and lightly coating my lashes has really helped them grow fuller.  I have also noticed that if I simply run a cotton pad with a small amount the oil over my whole eye area before bed, they look much brighter the next day (2 results for the price of 1 action!)  I am not sure how this works on wrinkles, but hey it is way more economical than eye creams and is worth a try.  If you have more fine lines/wrinkles and try this, let me know how it goes!  Being all natural, I'm sure you could also use coconut oil in conjunction with your favorite eye creams.
3. Cuticle Oil/Nail Conditioner:  Obsessive nail painting can leave nails and cuticles dry.  My favorite thing to do when I'm wearing my natural nails (to give them a break) is to apply coconut oil to my nails and cuticles before bed.  Hey, while you are at it, might as well put some on your whole hands as a hand moisturizer too.
4. Rough Patch/All Over Skin Moisturizer:  If you are planning on going out, I would just use this on your rough patches (knees, elbows etc.) to avoid looking greasy.  If you have having an at home spa day, go ahead and put a light coat of this on your whole body after you get out of the shower.  You wont regret it.
5. Hair Oil/Dandruff Treatment : I find it easiest to warm a tablespoon or two of the oil in the microwave for 10-15 seconds.  Brush/comb out any hair tangles.   Then I use my fingers to rub the oil into my scalp in sections.  Lastly I run my hands through my ends with any remaining oil.  I put on a shower cap (or plastic bag) and sit around for as long as I can stand (or over night if you are more tolerant of things on your head than me).  Shampoo out the oil (you will probably have to shampoo twice to make sure your hair is not greasy).  I like to use a very light conditioner afterwards, but this is not necessary.  I do this once every 2 weeks but if you have severely dry, damaged, or frizzy hair, once a week is fine too.  Though this may seem labor intensive, if you have dry or damaged hair, you will be shocked at how amazing the results are.  Oh the smoothness!
6. Hair Shine Serum:  Not feeling the heavy silicone shine products in your hair?  I can understand.  Silicone is one of the most debated beauty ingredients (let me know if you are interested in a post about the great silicone debates).  A great alternative is a TINY amount of coconut oil.  Either before or after drying, take 1/2 a dime sized amount and emulsify it in your hands. Apply to hair and let the magic happen. 

Hope this helped inspire you to consider using coconut oil.  I really love all the uses for it (there are even more but I haven't tried them).  I also love the affordability and overall effectiveness of this oil.  When it comes to beauty, I often feel that less is more--this is certainly true of coconut oil!

Shine & Sparkle! 

Green Tea in Products and DIY

Greetings Lovely S+SR Readers!

I'm an indecisive person and thus I'm doing a combo-style blog post.  Who doesn't like combos?  Combo meals, combo washers/driers, video game combo attacks, the combos are endless!  Well in this post I will be combo-ing a product review and DIY skin care solution.  Heck, it's even guy friendly so it's a triple combo! Whoo! Getting crazy up in here. Anyway, most combos need a theme, Like food, clothes washing, or video games.  So the theme of this combo is "Green Tea."

If you are just jumping into...well the world...you should know green tea is praised for having lots of anti-oxidants which (in a nutshell) are good.  They are good inside your body and outside.  That is why it is a combo theme.  If you want a lot of good research and ridiculous nonsense about benefits of green tea, Google "Green Tea Benefits."  If I get a request for sorting out what is real and what is not, I will do a post on that.  I can assure you that green tea can help you shine and sparkle (and who doesn't want that?!)

GIANT mug of green tea (because I LOVE it.  Happens to also be super healthy. Win-win combo!) and Elf Shine Eraser Oil Blotting Sheets.

Fist for the Product Review!

e.l.f "Shine Eraser Oil Blotting Sheets"*

Effectiveness: 10 of 10
Smell/Taste: N/A
Packaging: 10 of 10
Economic:  10 of 10
Good for Sensitive Skin: Yes **
Overall Rating: 10

I. Love. This. Product.  As noted by the stellar rating of 10, I think this product is perfect for anyone who experiences a little (or a lot) of extra shine on their face throughout the day.  These sheets help absorb oil and shine,  mattify shiny skin, and has green tea extract to help re-texturize, minimize pores and mask imperfections.  I have tried a lot of oil blotting sheets.  They can range from about $4-$10 depending on how fancy they are.  Well these come in at a whopping $1!  Yes.  $1!  You get 50 sheets for $1 which is $0.02 cents a piece! Not only that, but it really works to eliminate shine.  If you blot carefully you wont mess up your make up either.  It has no smell and has a very natural feel (unlike the clean+clear ones that a lot of people use).  It also only has 3 ingredients:
-Microcrystalline wax- Which is a much smaller molecule version of the more familiar paraffin wax (Used in toiletries and cosmetics as a moisturizer or emollient.)
-Caprylic/Capric Triglyceridean- An oily liquid made from coconut oil
-Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Leaf Extract- Is...well...green tea leaf extract.
As far as cosmetic ingredients go, this is a refreshingly short and understandable list.  This makes me quite pleased to highly recommend this affordable, effective, and healthy product for everyone to use!

Now, I bet you are thinking "Green tea leaf extract, in the blotting sheets helps re-texturize skin, minimize pores, and mask imperfections.  Why shouldn't I just go to the source.  Green Tea!"  Ok, well you might not have been thinking that, but I did.  As a result, I have the most simple DIY I have done so far:

DIY Green Tea Toner:

As stated above, this toner will help make your skin toned, oil free, and phuuuurty.  Ideally you would use this on freshly cleansed skin (up to once a day or whenever you feel like it) before your normal product regime.  In reality, I often do it at work (on days when I wear no make up on my skin) after I finish drinking my 3pm green tea...I wait until nobody is near my cube so they don't think I'm a weirdo, though it might be too late for that.

Ingredients:
~ 1 green tea bag (preferably organic)--Side Note:The reasoning behind the organic product in DIYs is to avoid chemicals that might have been part of non-organic processing of the ingredient. 
~ Hot water--Side Note: The amount of water is completely dependent on how much tea you are interested in drinking. So if you are me, that mean a HUGE mug.

Step 1: Brew your bag of green tea.
Step 2: Take out your tea bag and let the tea bag cool a  bit (don't want to burn yourself).  I suggest enjoying your cup of tea while waiting.
Step 3: Take the warm tea bag and run it over your face in upward motions.  The heat will help open your pores to the green tea.
Step 4: Let your face air dry (the cooling associated with the water evaporating will help close up the pores).

Ok your done. So simple right?  Your face will feel really smooth and happy.

Did you like this combo post?  Let me know in the comments!

Shine & Sparkle!

*I am not paid or contacted by any of the companies mentioned in this post.  These are my honest feelings and opinions. 

**Take my advice at your own risk...that being said, I think it's great advice! Consult with your doctor, especially if you are taking medications or may/are pregnant.  If you don't, "it said so on the internet" is not a great explanation to St. Peter.

 

Two DIY Facial Masks

Hi S+SR Readers!

For the first July post, I wanted to share two of my favorite DIY facial masks** that are really easy to do at home.  I try to do one or the other once a week.  These masks are great and don't cost the crazy prices ($60-$300) you find at spas!
Quick tip for all facial masks: Avoid putting product on the sensitive eye, nostril, and lip areas.   

Mask Ingredients: Egg.  Honey, Sugar, Olive Oil, Water/Milk

 

Egg Mask

While I'm not the one to invent this mask, it is a really easy mask that is one of my staples in my routine.  It is great because the whites packs a lot of protein, while the yolk provides nutrients and moisture.  This is a face cleansing and skin tightening mask.

Ingredients: 

~1 egg (preferably organic)

~2 small bowls

~1 fork

Step 1: Cleanse your face with you favorite face wash.

Step 2: Separate the white of the egg into one bowl, and the yolk into the other.

Step 3: Beat the whites with a fork until frothy.  Then use the fork to break the yolk and stir until it's a liquid.

Step 4: Apply the foamy whites to your face in a thin layer.  Wait about 10 minutes for it to dry (you will feel it tightening on your skin) then rinse it off with warm water.

Step 5: Apply the yolk to your face in a thin layer.  Wait about 10 minutes for it to dry (you will feel it tightening on your skin) then rinse it off with warm water.

Tada! You're done! Sooooooo easy right?!

Exfoliating Honey Mask/Body scrub

This is a slightly harder (but still easy) mask/body scurb.  All you need to do is increase the amount of product you make to use it as a body scrub in your shower. The honey is really moisturizing and also provides some anti-bacterial benefits for those that are acne prone.  There is also anti-oxidants in honey.  The extra virgin olive oil adds a second level moisture (replacing any natural oil you scrubbed away) while sealing all the good nutrients and moisture in. The optional milk reduces redness/puffyness.

Ingredients (note amounts are approximate): 

~1-4 tablespoons honey (preferably organic, I really like using Trader Joe's raw organic honey* (it is more solid than regular honey but is affordable and works great)

~1/2 -1tbs raw sugar (for a more course scrub) or sea salt (for a more gentle scrub) 

Note: You can eliminate the sugar/salt to just have a mask with no exfoliating action.  

~ 2-4 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil.

~Milk (preferably whole) or Water-Just enough to loosen up the raw honey/oil mix to a thick liquid consistency.  If you are using regular honey, I suggest around a teaspoon.  

~Bowl (for mixing) 

~Fork (for stirring)  

Step 1: Cleanse skin with your favorite facial cleanser.

Step 2: Mix ingredients together in your bowl with a fork (note the amounts are approximate, so add more or less of something if you feel it is necessary, great thing about DIY products is none of it is dangerous since you can eat it!)

Step 3: Use your fingers to apply the product to your face and/or body in circular motions to exfoliate away the dead skin.  I start with my face, wait about 5-10 minutes, get into the shower (bringing my bowl of body scrub).  I cleanse my body (letting the steam help the mask soak in more) then use the body scrub.  

Step 4: Rinse off the scrub from face and/or body (don't use soap after rinsing, you wash off all the benefits of the mask!)

Step 5: Dry off and resume your life.

Hope you enjoy these quick and fun DIY mask recipes!  Leave any comments, questions or concerns in a comment below.  Let me know if you want more DIY masks too, I have quite a few up my sleeve.

Shine & Sparkle!

*I am not paid or contacted by any of the companies mentioned in this post.  These are my honest feelings and opinions. 

**Take my advice at your own risk...that being said, I think it's great advice! Consult with your doctor, especially if you are taking medications or may/are pregnant.  If you don't, "it said so on the internet" is not a great explanation to St. Peter.