1) Choose serene colors: Spa colors are serene, so stick to muted greens and blues, or light to medium earth tones.

2) If you have pictures in your bathroom and they’re framed with bright gold frame, replace them with a matte frame.

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3) Bring in the elements! Incorporate bamboo trimmed accessories, roll your towels in a basket or place in an open shelf. Add candles with scents like lavender or sage.

4) Add plants - Consider adding an orchid, bamboo plants or other natural grasses.

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Here’s what you need:

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup raw oatmeal
1 cup olive oil

Mix all the ingredients together and then apply on dry skin, using your hands. Step into the shower and rinse off. Your skin will be like butter.

Massage your face.

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Begin your “me” moment by pouring Ahava Juniper Mineral Bath Salts ($22, ahavaus.com) in your bath water. It restores calm because it contains 21 essential Dead Sea minerals, including magnesium, potassium and calcium, which work to melt away the stresses of life and to provide the relief you need to your tired muscles. The juniper is a clean, fresh scent of white floral extracts that will soothe your senses that leaves your skin feeling soft and smooth.

To use:
Dissolve 1 cup of salt in warm bath water. Soak for 20 minutes and shower off. Rest for half an hour. Note: if you have a history of high blood pressure or are pregnant, please consult a physician before using.

5 Foundations For Oily Skin

Pay your tired and achy feet attention by refreshing them with Freeman’s Liquid Foot Powder, Peppermint & Plum (walmart stores). It’s a unique peppermint oil formula that starts off as a lotion to soften your feet and then turns into a light silky powder to keep them dry, soothed and refreshed throughout the day.

Click here to read about other at home spa products to help you feel your absolute best!

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We could all use a little rest and relaxation.  What’s something that undoubtedly gives you just that? Pampering.

I used to get manicures, pedicures, and facials all separately.  I recently discovered the advantages of spa packages: not only do you get pampered from head to toe at once, but it actually makes more sense to get the packages price wise.

Something awesome about spa days is that they can be perfectly enjoyable by yourself and a book or they can be turned into a ladies’ day out excursion.  Even better, turn it into a romantic date with your man.  He might not be in for the nails and face pampering, but couples massages are a definite go to during a time of stress. You can even kill two birds with one stone and make a spa package your present for someone! Get pampered with them while they enjoy an amazing gift of a little R&R!

Getting a spa package can be an activity that takes the whole day.  Save it for a weekend that you don’t have much planned.  The worst would be to try to enjoy a day at the spa when you have a hundred things on your to-do list.

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Most people go to a hospital after a car wreck, but not Tyrese, he goes to a spa!

According to tmz.com, the actor/singer’s car was smashed up and completely flipped over in a frightening crash in Miami yesterday.  But rather than go to the hospital, he went to a spa. It’s unclear how the accident happened, but cops say, miraculously, neither Tyrese nor the woman driving the SUV — a mother of 5 — were injured in the wreck.

Moments after the collision, Tyrese went straight to his Twitter page and posted, “Mother of five left without 1 scratch and we ended up hangin at the spa for a massage.”

Someone please get this man some help ASAP!

Take a look at Tyrese below:

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Tyrese leaves weird voicemail on way to hospital

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Wouldn’t it be great if every time you stepped into your bathroom, you had the feeling of being whisked away to a tropical island or perhaps a day spa in Bali or Tahiti? With a little creativity you can give your bathroom an island makeover.

Here are some tips on how to decorate your bathroom like a tropical spa:

1) Think about your overall color scheme. You want your bathroom colors to invoke a feeling of the tropics, like the rich green of tropical forests and the cool blues of the ocean. If you can paint the walls, pick a soothing color (preferably a shade of green or blue that comes to mind when you hear the word “Tahiti” or “Bali”).

2) Focus on the smaller decorating components. Your bath mat, bath and hand towels are a very important part of the color scheme. To create a soothing “spa” feel, look at a color wheel and choose an analogous color combination (colors that are right next to each other; like blue, blue-green and greenish-blue, etc.)

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3) If your walls are painted, or you are planning on using a lot of color, you can get a way with white towels…they create that crisp, clean spa feeling. Also, if you have a window in your bathroom, add framing curtains in a matching color. Another great way to create a tropical look is to put in a bamboo shade (can be used in conjunction with curtains). You can even use the bamboo shade as an interesting wall hanging if you don’t have a window in your bathroom.

4) Add small touches by placing things in your bathroom that remind you of a tropical island. You could fill a wooden bowl with a collection of shells or add some decorative towel hooks in the shape of tropical flowers, leaves or fish. Switch your bathroom magazines to ones that feature travel to tropical getaways or the island lifestyle and put them on display.

5) Add plants! It is very important that you add some greenery in the form of tropical plants like palms or other broad leafed plants, orchids or hibiscus flowers. It doesn’t matter if they are fake or not, but you can’t have a tropical look without invoking the image of lush foliage.

6) Add the sense of smell to complete the tropical spa mood. Definitely put out candles, fragrance sticks and maybe an air freshener that smells like coconut and/or tropical flowers. Use soaps, lotions and shampoos with fragrances like mango, papaya, Plumeria and jasmine. A wooden bowl of pretty, sample-sized exotic soaps is a nice touch.

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Take a look at some soothing bathrooms below:

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With common household ingredients you can pamper yourself spa-style. Invite your girls around, chill some bubbly, serve some strawberries and get ready to de-stress:
Face fantastic
Your first step will be to cleanse your face – after the cocktails and late nights your skin will love you for it.

Start by first removing all your makeup, and depending on how sorry your skin is looking you can opt for a mask or a steam followed by an exfoliating cleanse.

If your skin is looking dull or dry a mask made of fresh fruit may help, fruit contains alpha-hydroxy acids which work to remove the surface layer of dead skin revealing fresher skin beneath.

A good one to try is the peach mask. Cook a peach till it’s soft, mash it up with a fork add a tablespoon of honey and oatmeal until it is thick. Apply to clean skin and let sit for ten minutes before rinsing off with warm water.

Smooth skin
Smooth skin is easy to achieve, use an exfoliant such as a body brush or loofah sponge. Work from the feet upwards in circular motions to improve your circulation whilst revealing supple skin.

Alternatively you can use a sugar scrub which is easily made at home. Combine brown sugar, aloe vera and jojoba oil (if available) in a bowl. Mix until you form a smooth paste, rub this into the skin in circular motion. The sugar crystals will scrub away dead skin cells and the jojoba oil and aloe will moisturise your skin. Rinse clean

Honey Hair Shine

Revive tired tresses and give them a shine boost with this easy-to-make, leave-in honey hair treatment.

Here’s what you need:

* 1 teaspoon honey
* 4 cups warm water

Stir honey into warm water. After shampooing pour mixture through hair. Do not rinse out. Dry as normal.

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]]> http://hellobeautiful.com/546367/3-diy-spa-treaments-we-love/feed/ 0 3 DIY Spa Treaments We Love (thumbnail) deborahbennett home-spa-lg http://hellobeautiful.com/379867/the-recessionista-spa/ http://hellobeautiful.com/379867/the-recessionista-spa/#comments Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:15:21 +0000 HelloBeautifulStaff http://hellobeautiful.com/?p=379867 ]]>

Hello Beautifuls,

I’m Tilane Jones of www.UrbanBeautyCollective.com, a social network for urban style professionals and the people they inspire. Our tips, tricks and beauty theories come from real working hair stylists, barbers, make-up artists and fashion pros. We’re happy to be here on BlackPlanet to share our secrets with the women of HelloBeautiful.

Today, we’re showing you how to pamper yourself on a budget. We call it THE RECESSIONISTA SPA. Girl, just ‘cause we’re broke, doesn’t mean we can’t look and feel FABULOUS!
So… our favorite way to pamper at-home is to spa in the shower. It’s a six-step pamper process that leaves you feeling like a new woman DAILY. Here goes…
1) Cleanse with the yummiest stuff – Indulge in organic products that’re good for your skin and the environment. We’ve got some cheap good picks for you at the end of this list.
2) Scrub to uncover your skin’s shine – Put some elbow grease into it. Your prettiest skin is under the dead cells and you have to slough them off to get to the prize.
3) Rinse with warm water – Opens your pores to allow for better hydration.
4) Oil while your body is still wet – Makes the moisture go deeper into the skin.
5) Towel dry by blotting – Girl, don’t rub. Treat your skin like silk. Blot!

6) Moisturize to give your skin its daily drink – A must-do!

Our fav “shower spa” products that won’t hurt your purse are:
- Caudale French Milled Soap ($12) – With grape seed oil & Shea Butter
- Body Shop Coconut Soap ($4) – Vegetable-based, preservative-free made with Community Trade Coconut oil and Palm oil
- Origins Salt Salt Rub ($31.00) – Sea salts in emollient-rich Macadamia Oil, Soybean Oil, Kukui Nut Oil and Sweet Almond Oil with the aroma of Spearmint and Rosemary.
- Burt’s Bees Baby Bee Apricot Baby Oil ($7) – An all over body oil made with apricot nut mineral oil, iinfused with grape seed, olive and avocado oils, added vitamin E and lanolin.
- Spa Wisdom’s Africa Spa Rich Body Balm ($25.00) – An all-over moisturizer that protects, softens and smoothes skin with Community Trade Shea Butter, Seasame oil, Coco Butter and Seaweed extract.”shower spa” products that won’t hurt your purse are:
- Caudale French Milled Soap ($12) – With grape seed oil & Shea Butter
- Body Shop Coconut Soap ($4) – Vegetable-based, preservative-free made with Community Trade Coconut oil and Palm oil
- Origins Salt Salt Rub ($31.00) – Sea salts in emollient-rich Macadamia Oil, Soybean Oil, Kukui Nut Oil and Sweet Almond Oil with the aroma of Spearmint and Rosemary.
- Burt’s Bees Baby Bee Apricot Baby Oil ($7) – An all over body oil made with apricot nut mineral oil, iinfused with grape seed, olive and avocado oils, added vitamin E and lanolin.
- Spa Wisdom’s Africa Spa Rich Body Balm ($25.00) – An all-over moisturizer that protects, softens and smoothes skin with Community Trade Shea Butter, Seasame oil, Coco Butter and Seaweed extract.
See? Simple and easy on the wallet.

For more good beauty and fashion info, to find a hair stylist in your city, or for a daily dose of our celebrity Style Squad featuring Ursula Stephens and Wouri Vice, visit us at www.urbanbeautycollective.com.

Also, you can follow us on Twitter at UBCisFABULOUS.

Until then, stay beautiful, sisters…

Tilane Jones
Managing Editor, www.UrbanBeautyCollective.com

When the seasons change, your skin care regimen should change too. As we head into the warmer weather, adjust your skin care products and cosmetics to keep your skin looking and feeling beautiful.

Lighten up
The heavy moisturizing cream that you used in the winter months may be a little too heavy for spring. Switch to a lighter, oil-free formula instead, but still pay close attention to the skin around your eyes and mouth. Don’t forget to apply sunscreen every time you leave the house.

Makeup colors should lighten up too. Put aside your dark lipstick, blush and eye shadow and go for a little more natural look this season. Replace the plum and wine colors with more pinks. For daytime use a lip gloss, rather than a lipstick, and switch from black mascara to brown. Instead of a liquid foundation, switch over to tinted moisturizer or mineral powder instead.

Mary J Blige shows you how to exfoliate.

Exfoliate your body
As you toss your boots and sweaters to the back of your closet, you probably realize that you will be exposing a lot more skin soon. Shorts weather is almost here and bikini time is right around the corner. Skin care isn’t just about your face. Body care is important too. Exfoliate from head to toe to slough away dead skin cells and rejuvenate your dull complexion.

Read more here.

Find out how to get that spa glow at home here.

Neutrogena has developed three cleansers using pink grapefruit: facial cleanser, body wash and a foaming scrub. Besides looking cute (the pink is oh-so-girly!) and smelling good these cleansers really work to revitalize your skin. After a couple of weeks your co-workers and friends will definitely tell you that your skin is looking good (yes, my co-workers gave me tons of compliments) and you’ll notice your skin is softer than it’s ever been in a really long time. You’ll feel like you’ve been to the spa everyday.

So don’t let the winter get you down and go out and get the power of pink grapefruit from your local drugstore!

Body Clear Pink Grapefruit Body Wash, 7.99
Oil-Free Acne Wash Pink Grapefruit Foaming Scrub, 7.99
Oil-Free Acne Wash Pink Grapefruit Facial Cleanser, 7.99

This holiday season why not give bath and body products to someone who needs a little pampering and rejuvenating. Here are some ideas from the staff at HB.

Well Being Nurturing Soap Set

Give someone that “Me Time” with these rock-shaped soaps by PartyLite. $14.95 for a set of 3 at partylite.com

Ojon Body Ball

The “White Ball” produces a creamy lather that can be used in the bath or shower to purify and nourish the skin to silky perfection. $65 at sephora.com

Bliss Spa Set

For the girl on the go, this set of travel must haves for a ‘fresh from the spa’ glow wherever you go. $46 at sephora.com

Peppermint Cooling Foot Heaven

This complete pedicure set will make someone special believe in “foot heaven on earth.” $14 at thebodyshop.com

Aveda Ultimate Sanctuary

This gift set is the ultimate in pure relaxation. $129 at aveda.com

]]> http://hellobeautiful.com/36432/holiday-gifts-bath-and-body/feed/ 0 Holiday Gifts: Bath And Body (thumbnail) deborahbennett Party Lite Spa And Body Party Lite Well Being Soap Set Ojon Body Ball Bliss Spa Set Body Shop Cooling Heaven Spa Aveda Spa