DIY True Luxury Spa at Home
February 19, 2010
Although going to a spa and spending an easy $50 on a face peel while having someone massage your hands and neck and having a “professional” tell you how to remedy the flaws in your skin that used to not bother you or you never knew existed, are we paying for the satisfaction of the face value luxury of going to a spa? Or in all practicality is it just a false sense of luxury?
For example, there could be a spa treatment that sounds like: ‘the wake me up skin facial’ or ‘rejuvenating clarifying vitamin e citrus scrub’ and they claim it promises to even out the skin tone, brighten the complexion, tighten lose skin, eliminate the visibility of blemishes and crows feet, and minimize pores, and gently exfoliates the skin. Results will be seen and felt within the first treatment, but for best results it is recommended you get the treatment every week on top of some other monthly deep moisturizing and exfoliating treatment and topical products from their line for you to purchase for more follow up. All this and the next thing you know it you have a bathroom full of product you may never use, and in the end, it all boils down to a waste of money because they get thrown away.
In a typical 20 minute process with a professional skin consultation and a shoulder and neck mini massage, the facial itself is a premade concoction of essential oils and citrus fruit extracts, “all natural and botanical”-so they say. But what is it really? On the label you will find water on the top of the list of ingredients, and a long word with paraben somewhere in it. In a nutshell this means there is probably more water, fillers and preservative in the product than fresh, natural ingredients to benefit the skin.
While the glycerin, aloe and vitamin e is being lathered on your face so are chemical preservatives and more water. Water is free. When I think of a product with many chemicals like parabens, fragrance, coloring etc, I feel like if I use this product I’d be putting insecticide on my face. Ouch and gross.
As I’m pondering the services spas are offering to benefit the skin, I realize I could have made the same treatment at home with a cup of yogurt and honey, a vitamin e capsule, an avocado and a little bit of lemon juice or something…there are so man options from the kitchen! I won’t have to worry about the painful extraction, someone talking down on my skin or a follow up visit that can cost another $50-80 bucks of my hard earned cash. I may not get the massage, but that’s what husbands and boyfriends are for!
Best Gift Ideas for Any Occasion
February 17, 2010
There is nothing better for the soul than giving gifts to those we love, to those who need help. Whether its Valentine’s day or Christmas, birthdays or anniversaries nothing beats the thought of giving a handmade gift to the ones we love or the ones we want to show some care. Here are some ideas of unique handmade and most thoughtful, personalized gifts.
1. Quilted travel blanket-gather materials from sentimental items like a blanket, old jeans, old t shirts, mixed with super soft chenille squares. You can put a pocket on one or two of the squares and fill it with another gift. Embellish the blanket with embroidery or patches. Use your imagination and the finished product will show thought, sentiment and creativity.
2. For the basic black type of people you can hand make a scarf. You can knit, crochet or sew, there are many variations of available scarf kits on the internet, simple type scarf kit in the search query.
3. I’ve noticed there are numerous websites that will make you a customized teddy bear. It’s like build a bear but less commercial? These handmade custom bears are made of old clothes, memorable pieces of cloth etc. The idea of making a custom bear with your own materials to preserve the cloth is pretty original, but you can always bump it up a notch and make the stuffing filled with lavender for a calming effect every time the bear is hugged.
4. Altered art. Turn basic t-shirts, plain cotton or canvas purses, baskets, into something with personality by adding charms, color, texture, jewels, sequins, sayings and quotes, or cartoon characters, embroidery etc. It’s hand made, wear it proud!
5. Don’t have time but want something unique and handmade? Try etsy, ebay’s world of good, novica, trocadero.com, you’re bound to find something of your taste.
Best Leather In a Bottle
February 9, 2010
I swear by this stuff. Originally, it was used for show cars, like cleaning and polishing high end vehicles like Cadillacs and Porches. This product is worth every penny and then some. It is everything the product description states, I promise. I currently have 2 bottles that I purchased 3 years ago. I barely got done using up the first one. I used it in the interior of my Jaguar to freshen up the leather, I use it on my leather furniture, on our leather jackets and shoes and purses. I hope they never stop making this stuff. And like all good things, a little goes a very very long way, and in this case, it’s 2-3 months of treatment per application.
Scent: It smells like a new car with leather interiors. A little bit heavy and musky and chemically at the same time. The scent will last just as long as any new piece of new leather and its scent will. Rub this on your old bag of briefcase and it may not look new but it will smell new.
Texture and Consistency: The solution is white and creamy but not too thick. It is best applied with a dry, clean, cotton rag. Just make sure the color doesn’t shed or it will shed into your leather. Once applied it doesn’ leave any residue or sticky or oily feel if applied properly. It leaves the leather feeling soft, maybe not like the first time you bought it but like it just got out of the spa.
Application: A bottle of this stuff goes a long way being you don’t have to bathe your leather item in this product. And the recommended time intervals of application is 3-6 months. A little goes a long way.
Availability: It seems this stuff isn’t hard to get a hold of despite there are only a handful of retailers out there. Just type it in the search query and you get a list of competent trustworthy sites that can sell you this stuff. The problem is not many people know about it and resort to overpriced leather treatments like what Coach has to offer or the leather protector in an aerosol can by Wilson’s.
How to eat Jicama
February 9, 2010
Jicama is rich in potassium and Vitamin C, iron and calcium, which is why filing up on this will help boost your immune system, not to mention it is also a natural diuretic.
The simplest way to eat jicama is to simply peel it and eat it. But if you chill the jicama it’s more thirst quenching because of its crunchy texture and juiciness. Jicama eaten place hardly has any flavor but a slight sweetness.
Eat it with sea salt. You can rub the sea salt on the slices prior to serving or you can just dip the jicama on the sea salt as you go. You can use regular table salt; I suggest sea salt just because it’s healthier and doesn’t do as much damage as regular table salt will to people with conditions that they have to stay away from salt.
Eat it with shrimp paste (bagoong). Shrimp paste or bagoong is a sauce that Orientals particularly Filipinos use. In the Philippines jicama is peels and poked in a barbecue stick and smothered with a layer of shrimp paste as a local snack sold in small canteens and on street vendors’ carts on the street. Here in the States you can find this sauce in most Oriental grocery stores and super markets for about $3 for a 16 ounce jar You can get it raw or fully cooked and ready to eat. They come in the flavors: sweet, spicy or even adobo.
rona aying llanos