Simple Beauty Recipe — Lemony Fresh Toner

Well, hello. You look a little tired today.

Oh, don’t worry. I don’t think anyone is too fond of “spring up” weekend.

(Neighbor Nancy hands you a bowl-sized mug of coffee)

Why don’t you join me in the kitchen? I have a little recipe that might just perk you up.

Lemony Toner

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup witch hazel

1 cup water

Optional: Sprig of Rosemary

Dump the ingredients into a pint sized canning jar, jam a lid on there and shake. If you choose to add the rosemary, it takes about a week to really boost scent.

Now, when you need a little refreshing or just feel a bit blah, put a little of our concoction on a cotton ball and dab it all over your face just like the expensive store toner.

Store it in the refrigerator. It feels especially lovely chilled.

You know, it makes a nice little homemade gift for a new mom, too. Put a little fabric under the band. Lovely.

Ah, now, doesn’t that feel better? You are looking brighter already.

Just leave the cup in the sink. Drop by anytime, the coffee pot is always on.

Click here the tips for perfectly brewed coffee. You might need them today.

Date Night Desperate Measures: Making Hair Conditioner from the Spice Rack

So, your hair is a bit dry today and your out of conditioner. If you have this one thing in your spice rack, you’re set.

Sesame Seed Hair Conditioner

For one sad, dry, limp unloved head of hair:

1 hand full of sesame seeds, maybe 2 Tablespoons max.

water

Grind the seeds however you can. Blender, coffee grinder, hammer and baggie, whatever. Grind ’em up.

Simmer in a little water for about 10 minutes.

Strain the water from the seeds and allow to cool.

After shampooing, apply the sesame seed mess to your hair. Massage in.

Rinse. Rinse. Rinse.

Okay, so you might want to take a comb into the shower with you.

(cat call)

Just look at how you have boosted the shine, suppleness and softness.

Wow! you look hot. Go get, ’em!

Other home spa day recipes:

Home Spa Day Recipe: Rich Chocolate Ovaltine … I mean facial mask

Kitchen Shampoo — AKA “You’re Going to do WHAT With That Egg?!”

Baking Soda Soak for Silky Skin — AKA “Recession Depression Cures”

Brown Sugar Scrub

What is your favorite kitchen beauty recipe?

Shoe String Valentine’s Day Spa Recipe: Rich Chocolate Facial Mask

Ah, the old as the Aztecs aphrodisiac — chocolate. Even if you have no Valentine, you can enjoy this luscious, relaxing facial mask. Simply cover more of your body with it.

Each of the ingredients works towards leaving your skin silky smooth and nourished.

This is especially lovely if you are feeling a bit bummed.

Don’t worry if you don’t have the exact ingredients. I’ll offer you some choices … as always.

Rich Chocolate Mask

Yield: 2 faces or 1 face and décolletage

Ingredients:

2/3 cup Cocoa Powder (You don’t have any? See notes below)

2 Tablespoons Oatmeal, pulverized (See notes below)

1/2 cup Honey ( No honey? See notes below)

1/4 cup Sour cream or cottage cheese or heavy cream or plain yogurt or buttermilk or … Get the idea?

Procedure:

Mix it all together. Massage gently onto the skin allowing a very gentle exfoliation from the oatmeal. Sit back. Relax for 15 minutes or … well, as long as you gosh darn feel like it. Rinse. Rinse. Rinse with lukewarm water.

Notes:

Cocoa Powder— Hot cocoa mix is fine to use. Since it contains milk powder and sugar, it is just more of a good thing.

Pulverized oatmeal can be achieved using any kind of oatmeal, even the breakfast packet ( powdered milk and sugar… again, goooood.) Any way, use any means you have to turn the oatmeal to dust. Blender, food processor, coffee mill, grain mill, hammer, whatever.

Honey— If your honey has crystalized, simply put the jar in a big bowl and pour hot water over it. Let it soak in the hot water ’til you can get enough honey from the bottle.

No honey? Try corn syrup, molasses, pancake syrup, maple syrup. Um, basically a syrup.

Here are some other ways to treat yourself to an at home spa evening all made from stuff in your kitchen.

Date Night Desperate Measures: Hair Mousse

Shoe String Valentine’s Day Spa Recipes: Chamomile Soak

Shoe String Valentine’s Day Spa Recipes: Oatmeal Soak

Shoe String Valentine’s Day Spa Recipes: Foot Soak

You’re Putting the Brown Sugar WHERE?

Recession Depression Cures

You Are Going To Do WHAT With That Egg?

Make a mess. Try them all and most importantly have fun!

Date Night Desperate Measures: Hair Mousse

You are totally out of hair spray, gel and mousse. You have no time or money to run to the store. What are you going to do?

Okay, aside from panic and curse?

Hmm, try this.

Whipped Egg White

1.Put 2 small bowls on the counter.

2. Crack an egg into one bowl.

3. Cup your hand with your fingers with your fingers together.

4. Over the other small bowl, carefully pour the egg into your hand. Eggs are slippery devils. So, go slowly.

5. Slightly separate your fingers. The yolk should stay in your hand as the white slowly slips through to the bowl below. Just concentrate on keeping your fingers close together so the yolk doesn’t escape.

6. Don’t panic. If you never separated an egg before, the first time can be a bit odd. It feels weird and looks weirder, but it will be worth it.

7. Do whatever you want with the yolk. You can cook it, wash your hair with it, throw it at an enemy, or discard it. Your choice.

8. Whisk the heck out of the egg white and I mean get it frothy and foamy. If you have a blender or electric mixer, use it. If not, keep whisking, while you tell yourself how wonderful your arms will look after this workout.

9. Once you have turned your sloppy egg white into a fluffy foamy mass, use it exactly as you would styling mousse. It will even look like mousse, if you whisked enough.

Note: This is one of the yuckiest things you can do in a kitchen, but just look how great your hair turned out.

Have fun. You look fantastic and no one will know your kitchen secret.

Here are some other kitchen beauty recipes.

Shoe String Valentine’s Day Spa Recipes: Chamomile Soak

Shoe String Valentine’s Day Spa Recipes: Oatmeal Soak

Shoe String Valentine’s Day Spa Recipes: Foot Soak

You’re Putting the Brown Sugar WHERE?

Recession Depression Cures

You Are Going To Do WHAT With That Egg?

Have yourself an adventure. Try them out tonight.

Shoe String Valentine’s Day Spa Recipes–Chamomile Soak

So, you were wondering who was going to rinse the tub after the oatmeal soak, if things turned naughty. Maybe, you would prefer this budget idea instead.

For 1 valentine’s body:

1. Run a deliciously hot bath for your valentine and add 3 chamomile herbal tea bags.

2.  Slowly add one loved one. With a little soft music and candlelight let your valentine steep for no less then 15 minutes.

3. Remove your soothed and relaxed bag…oh dear, I mean valentine. Gently squeeze your loved one dry.

4. Follow with a warm oil massage as mentioned in last night’s Oatmeal Soak.

Tomorrow night, after our waiting-for-payday recipe, perhaps, I will share a spa recipe for the hands.  Friday might be a chocolate facial mask.  We’ll see.

Shoe String Valentinte’s Day Spa Recipe–Oatmeal Soak

Ah, nothing like a warm, soothing bath to wash away all the worries of the day. Relax your Valentine with an oatmeal bath. And don’t forget your loved one just might like a little help.

For 1 stressed, winter worn body:

1 cup oatmeal

It can be quick oats, slow cook, plain unsweetened packets, whatever–just as long as it’s oatmeal.

Pulverize it in a food processor, blender, coffee grinder, grain mill. Whatever will turn it to dust is good enough.

Pour into the tub under running water. Stir it around and add your favorite valentine. With a little candlelight, the stress will just soak away. Leave your loved one in there for no less than 15 minutes.

Afterwards, worries should be washed away, dry skin soothed and softened. Feel free to massage your loved one with a little warmed baby oil.

No oil? Even just a little cornstarch to let the hands move over the skin smoothly will work beautifully.

One warning: Your true love may just fall asleep after all this pampering.

Shoe String Valentine’s Day Spa Recipes-Foot Soak

Treat your loved one and yourself to a relaxing foot soak. There are two ways to do it.

Recipe for 1 pair of feet.

Regular method:

7 cups water

2 cups milk

Mix and heat, stove top or microwave, until as hot as tired toes can take. Never boil.

Budget method:

9 cups of water

1/3 cup of nonfat dry milk

Heat only the water and thoroughly mix in the dry milk afterwards.

Pour into a giant bowl or old dishpan. Carefully, add the pair of feet. Watch that temperature! It just wouldn’t do to burn your Valentine, you know.

Soak for at least 10 minutes. Relax.

Rinse.

You might like to follow with a Brown Sugar Foot Scrub.

Watch for a new recipe each day this week.

Have fun!

You’re Putting the Brown Sugar WHERE?!

No, naughty…hmm…well, close. In our ongoing adventure to save some money, this Saturday night and Sunday, we will continue to dig around our pantry for personal pampering.

You might want to pin your hair up. While we will make our skin glow and smell suspiciously like a cookie, you really don’t want this recipe in your hair. Messy!

So, since there is no sugar ration…yet,…I propose:

Brown Sugar Body Scrub

For 1 body:

1 & 1/2 firmly packed cups of brown sugar

1/2 cup oil (olive, corn, vegetable, etc)

few drops of vanilla extract – for the full cookie smell, of course

In a sit-next-to-the-tub, non breakable bowl, thoroughly mix the 3 ingredients into a paste.

Once your in the tub or shower, scoop the goop, as needed. Gently scrub, scrub,scrub. Avoid any rashes, broken skin or cuts. Also, it is a bit course for the face.

Ah, but the rest of your body…

Rinse and look at your skin glow! Oooo, your skin is so soft.

If you got a charge out of this, you might like: Recession Depression Cures or You Are Going To Do WHAT With That Egg?

Recession Depression Cures

Cold. I am sick of it. Beautiful snow. Crystal clear view of the twinkling stars. Sick of it. Oh yes, I would like to run away somewhere south of here, somewhere warm. Oh, somewhere you are allowed to be naked so that no one knows about Swiss Cheese Underpants.

For the foreseeable future, here I am. So I am going to make the best of it. You are welcome to join me…well, in your own tub. (I am not that kind of girl!)

I will make my coffee and climb into a toasy tub with with my little container of baking soda.

“Baking soda?!” you exclaim.

Yes.

I will mix a tiny bit into my kitchen shampoo to strip away the excess yuck that winter or product seem to add to hair.

Then,
I will use the rest as an exfoliant.

Finally, I will just soak there, letting the baking soda water do its magic.

Oh, I will have the softest skin…and you… you, dear reader, will be so jealous of my bright, clean, healthy, baby soft skin that you’ll try it, too.

Maybe, I will follow it with some pipin’ hot egg drop soup for the hungry.
Join me. There is enough for two.

You Are Going To Do WHAT With That Egg?

So you forgot the shampoo even though it was on your list? Oh, you ran out of money before you got to the end of your list? Yeah, that’s happening to more and more people these days.

Maybe this will get you by for now.

Kitchen shampoo:
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 egg
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (or whatever vinegar, really)

1.Whisk the heck out of it.
2.Use like regular shampoo. You might want to beware of scalding hot water or you just might end up with egg drop hair.
3. Rinse thoroughly.
4. Freeze any leftovers for another time.

So, yeah, is feels kinda weird and you smell a little saladlike… but just look at your hair! Clean, smooth, healthy. Beautiful! Not bad for being outta shampoo, eh?

Don’t worry. The vinegar smell disappates as your hair dries.

Now I don’t think I would use this daily, due to per washing cost. But as a treat or if your out of shampoo, give it a go.

Try Sunday Saver or Coupon Mom to find coupons or sales.

More “doin’ without” recipes to keep you lovely, here, each Sunday.

Other kitchen beauty recipes:

Date Night Desperate Measures: Hair Mousse

Brown Sugar Body Scrub

Oatmeal Soak — to sooth and soften