Tag: Spa

Just Add Water DIY Face Masks

These pre-made DIY face masks are the perfect no-hassle addition to your spa days at home!

I’ll be the first to admit that DIY beauty treatments can get a little bit complicated. Measuring spoons, glass bowls, and a ton of ingredients…I swear, sometimes my kitchen looks like a meth lab. So I was super excited to stumble upon Juice Generation and BeeCause, two companies that totally take the guess work out of clean beauty recipes. How convenient is it that these face masks come fully mixed and ready to go?!

Juice Generation Beauty Blends Face Masks

Apply a little with a face brush and drink the rest! These beauty blends work from the inside out and the outside in.

  • Papaya Avocado Papaya and lemon naturally slough away dulling dead skin cells for a brighter complexion; while avocado deeply moisturizes.
  • Watermelon Hibiscus Antioxidant-heavy hibiscus acts as an anti-inflammatory to combat stressed skin, while replenishing watermelon and soothing rosewater deliver a radiant complexion. Each sip is floral and slightly sweet.
  • Aloe Greens Your skin will drink in the calming blend of aloe vera, nopal cactus and cucumber, while the combination of pear, spinach, and avocado provides a hit of free radical-fighting antioxidants.

BeeCause Face Masks

These come pre-mixed so you don’t even have to add water!

  • Banana & Oatmeal This smoothing mask hydrates and moisturizes dehydrated skin with nutrient filled bananas. Zinc filled whole oats and oat powder gently removes dirt and oils while effectively reducing inflammation and acne-causing bacteria.
  • Green Tea & Seaweed Made with green clay, seaweed, green tea, and tea tree oil, this absorbing mask helps to remove excess oil and dirt.
  • Honey & Blueberry This ultra conditioning and antioxidant-rich formula is filled with real blueberries and raw honey. The combination of Argan nut oil helps to fully hydrate and nourish the skin, a necessity in preventing aging skin.

Also available at Thrive Market

Spring Clean Your Beauty Routine in 3 Steps

It’s that time of year again. As you’re packing away your heavy sweaters and snow boots in anticipation of the warmer days ahead, you should also start saying goodbye to your Winter skin care routine. Spring is all about rejuvenation. With that in mind, here are some tips to spring clean your beauty routine!

Purge, Purge, Purge!

Take a look at what you have. At the start of every season, you should check expiration dates and toss out the old stuff. In general, shadows and powders can be used safely for up to three years, but mascara should be tossed after only three months. While you’re tossing out those old products, go ahead and toss out the stuff you don’t use. Be honest with yourself. Beauty products really add up over time and can really clutter and confuse your beauty routine. Rule of thumb: be realistic and practical about what you actually like, what you actually use, and what’s in good condition …and rid your life of everything else.

Deep Clean and Reorganize

Now’s your chance to deep clean your make up brushes, your toothbrushes, and all the small stuff like tweezers and nail clippers, all of which can get really skunky over time. Not sure exactly how to clean your beauty tools? Here’s some step by step instructions from Makeup.com

How to Clean Your Makeup Brushes

1. Rinse: Rinse the bristles, always with water streaming down — you want to avoid running water directly into the base of the brush, which can weaken the glue and shorten the lifespan of your brush. This is why bristles begin to fall out.

2. Cleanse: Work a small amount of gentle shampoo (baby shampoo works wonderfully here too) or soap into the bristles. Lather, rinse, and repeat until the water runs clear. If you are having a hard time getting stubborn product out of your brush, massage some coconut oil into the bristles. This will loosen the build up and make cleaning easier.

3. Disinfect: Now that your brushes are clean, it’s time to disinfect. Mix a solution of 2 parts water and 1 part vinegar in a shallow bowl. Swoosh the brush around in the bowl for a minute or two (again, trying not to submerge it fully). Rinse with fresh water.

4. Dry: Press a dry towel into the bristles to sop up excess water. Reshape the bristles and lay clean brushes flat on a towel overnight to dry.

5. Repeat: Clean your brushes every other week to keep the germs away

How to: clean your toothbrush

  1. Cleanse: your toothbrush in antibacterial mouthwash.This is great for a quick daily cleaning.
  2. Sanitize: Mix a small amount of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda in a small cup and stir the mixture with your toothbrush before rinsing it. Do this at least once a week.

How to: Clean Your Metal Tools

  1. Wash: For metal tools like tweezers, eyelash curlers, eyebrow trimmers, cuticle nippers, and nail clippers, wash them down using water and antibacterial soap. Pat dry with a clean towel.
  2. Sanitize: Thoroughly wipe down the tool with an alcohol-soaked cotton ball. Allow it to dry for a few moments. If the tool comes in contact with your face, rinse it with water (no need to rinse your nail tools). Pat dry with a clean towel.
  3. Repeat: Ideally, these types of beauty tools should at least be washed with soap and water after each use, if not sanitized as well. Aim to give them the full treatment every two weeks. Store your tools in a clean container to safeguard your hard work.

Pick the right products For the Season

All those Winter products like thick, foaming face washes and heavy creams can be super drying as the weather gets warmer. Your spring beauty routine should favor gentle milk face washes and lighter moisturizing serums. Here are 9 Must Have Clean Beauty Products that I’m seriously crushing on right now. From gentle cleansers to serums to several DIYs. Everything you need to jumpstart your Spring beauty routine!

DIY Face Mask Perfect for Hormonal Breakouts

That time of the month? Tame those hormonal breakouts with this clarifying face mask. This mask is a brightening, nourishing, and deep cleansing powerhouse. Harnessing the antioxidant-rich duo of Maca and cacao, your skin will totally thank you. (Makes one mask)

Maca Cacao Clay Mask

ingredients

  • ½ teaspoon raw maca powder (find it here)
  • ½ teaspoon raw cacao powder (find it here)
  • ½ teaspoon bentonite clay (find it here)
  • 1 teaspoon light oil such as jojoba, sweet almond oil, or liquid coconut oil

directions

  • Mix all ingredients to make a paste (your mixture should look a lot like chocolate syrup)
  • spread the mixture evenly on your face and neck avoiding your eyes
  • let the mask set for about 15-20 minutes
  • gently rinse with warm water
  • repeat once a week

Source: Peaceful Dumpling

5 Matcha Beauty DIYs—Homemade Green Beauty Recipes + 6 Matcha Infused Products to Shop Now

Fun fact for the kids: In the 1920s and 30s, radium was a popular additive in cosmetics and household products. Yep. That radium. Soap, night cream, face powder, blush, mud masks, and even toothpaste contained radium with the ‘scientifically-based’ promise that these products would give the consumer a youthful glow. I suppose these products actually did deliver on their promise, until of course, you had to have parts of your mouth and lower jaw surgically removed because of radiation poisoning, living out your final, extremely painful days blemish free. Thankfully, today we are experiencing a trend toward clean, green beauty products, and you seriously can’t get much greener than Matcha. The health benefits of Matcha are amazing both internally and externally, and we can all rest assured that no jaws have been removed as a result of its use. So have no fear! Mix these masks up!

5 simple Matcha beauty recipes

1. Matcha + Rose Water + Coconut Oil Mask

Ingredients

  • 2 teaspoons Matcha
  • ½ teaspoon coconut oil
  • rose water

Directions

Combine melted coconut oil with Matcha in a small bowl. Add drops of rose water until you have a medium-thick paste that’s easy to spread onto your skin. Let it set for 20 minutes and then wipe off with a warm, wet towel.

2. Avocado + Matcha Mask

Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon Matcha
  • ¼ of an avocado, mashed
  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon honey

Directions

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Apply a thin layer to either your face or body, and gently scrub in a circular motion with your fingertips, making sure to avoid your eyes. Leave for 10 minutes and rinse with a warm cloth.

3. Matcha + Banana + Turmeric Mask

Ingredients

  • ½ of a banana,mashed
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric
  • ½ teaspoon Matcha
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

Mash your banana in a small bowl, then add your turmeric, matcha, and olive oil. Mix well and then spread onto your face to set for 10 minutes. Rinse with warm water and pat dry.

4. Aloe + Matcha Mask

Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon Matcha
  • 2 teaspoons Aloe Vera

Directions

Combine your Matcha with Aloe Vera in a small bowl. You can add more or less Aloe Vera depending on what consistency you prefer. Apply to your face, let it set for 15 minutes, then rinse with warm water.

5. Exfoliating Matcha Scrub

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup coconut oil
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon Matcha
  • 1 teaspoon honey

Directions

Combine sugar with Matcha, then add honey and melted coconut oil and stir until everything is mixed well. Store in a sealed mason jar and place in your shower for up to two weeks. After cleansing your skin, gently exfoliate with the scrub and then rinse. Use every other day.

6 Matcha Infused Beauty Products to Shop Now

1. Biodara Coconut Matcha Brightening Mask

2. Fig + Yarrow Matcha Milkbath

3. Urb Apothecary Lavender Matcha Mask

4. Plant Apothecary Matcha Antioxidant  Face Mask

5. Erborian Perfect Morning BB 3-IN-1 Matcha Mask

6. Cocokind Organic Matcha Face Moisturizer

Recipe Source: WendyGould

9 Must Have Clean Beauty Products + 9 Homemade Substitutes

Here’s the thing, I never wanted to smell like an old school hippie. Body odor masked in patchouli and weed has never really been my fragrance of choice. Still those old school hippies were onto something long before the cosmetics industry got a clue. All these fragrance laden beauty products wreak havoc on our skin and our overall health, so going au naturel is really the only way to go. Hippie beauty, green beauty, clean beauty, natural beauty, or whatever you want to call it is has come a long way from the patchouli heavy balms of yesteryear. Flower [grand] Child, rejoice! These beauty products will have you ditching your overly perfume-y commercial products, for the kinder, gentler, and fresher natural versions.

Osmia Organics Black Clay Facial Soap

Black Australian Clay and Dead Sea Mud join forces to create the most clarifying bar soap ever! This soap balances and tones your skin. And the addition of organic almond oil, avocado oil, castor bean oil, and coconut milk leaves your skin feeling amazingly soft.

Heritage Store Rose Water Spray

This versatile little bottle of rose water spray can be used to replace your toner, for your hair, for your body, and even as a linen spray or a natural air freshener. For an equally amazing organic version try this brand.

Josh Rosebrook Hydrating Accelerator

This marshmallow-scented face mist works wonders on vitamin and nutrient hungry skin. Use it as a first step in your routine to seal in moisture and help set your makeup.

Odacité Black Cumin + Cajeput Serum

This is the ultimate zit-zapping serum. Black cumin controls the spread of pimple causing bacteria, while Cajeput’s antiseptic powers help to prevent breakouts. The combination of these two miracle ingredients helps to heal and restore your skin, revealing a smoother complexion.

Everyday Oil Mainstay Blend

Coconut oil, organic olive oil, organic argan oil, organic jojoba oil, and organic castor oil. What more could you want in a whole body moistruizer? How about an amazing scent?! Woodsy and citrusy, this scent is truly incredible. This will definitely become one of your beauty supply staples.

Meow Meow Tweet Underarm Primer

A light, rich lotion made with nourishing plant oils and anti-inflammatory plant distillates. The unique formula acts to balance pH, moisturize, prep and maintain pits. Formulated specifically for sensitive skin and can be used on its own or in tandem with any other natural deodorant.

Vapour Organic Beauty Aer Deodorant

I use this along side Meow Meow Tweet’s Underarm Primer and the results are amazing. The fresh smell lasts all day and is seriously divine. You have to smell it to believe it.

Nucifera The Balm

Born out of the desire for a healthier and more simple beauty routine – THE BALM is a multi-tasking skin nutrition product formulated for all skin types. Use it a head to toe moisturizer, as a face wash and makeup remover, as a lip balm, as an under eye cream, and so much more. This is definitely the one product any clean, green beauty minimalist needs!

Rare Elements Daily Essential Masque

The Essential Conditioner repairs and rebuilds weakened, moisture deprived locks instantly with the “healing properties” of nature. This sophisticated natural system can be used daily to repair and nurture each strand of hair with exotic rain-forest butters, pure botanicals, nourishing nut oils and the energy-giving aroma of essential oils. This highly effective combination quickly penetrates beyond the surface of the hair, reversing the signs of damage by restoring vitality to dry, undernourished and over-worked hair.

Of course there’s always a DIY for that…