Pampering Yourself

I admit this post may seem a little off topic.... if there even is a topic for my blog, but bear with me here. Now that January is behind me, I've been feeling a little more excited about the arrival of spring. Okay, so it's still a coupe of months a way in my area of the world, but it seems like a good time for self care. Perhaps its the after effects of Valentine's Day and showing those you love a ton of extra love.... but something got me thinking...how much extra love do we show ourselves?

We've made a commitment to do some self-loving things in our family, like eating healthier whole foods, exercising more, juicing and making smoothies, eliminating GMO's and choosing organic food when possible. So this long weekend found me wanting to take things a little further. With the amount of typing and sculpting I do in a week, my hands, as you can imagine can take quite a beating. Plus I naturally have really dry skin. So off I went to Pinterest (my guilty pleasure addiction, second only to chocolate) to find some really cool ideas. What did I find... recipes for luscious body butters, and nourishing solid cream bars and fantastic lips balms. Which did I decide to make... well true Libran that I am, I eliminated the need to make a choice and made all three. After reading several blends I came up with my own recipes and they all turned out wonderfully. YAY! In case you want to pamper your hands, feet, body and soul a this February, I'm sharing my recipes below.

Now back to work, but with softer, smoother, happier hands!

Have a great February! <3

P.S. Did I mention exciting news regarding my Fire & Ice book series is coming? Im terrible at keeping secrets, but it will be just a little longer (I hope) before I can spill the beans!1 ;D

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DECADENT BODY BUTTER

1/2 cup shea butter
1/2 cup coconut oil (organic unrefined)
1/4 cup almond oil or olive oil
2 tsp grated beeswax or beeswax pastilles
Optional: add mixed tocopherol Vitamin E oil and organic essential oils for fragrance and to preserve. (I used a teaspoon of Borage oil for my dry sensitive skin and added several drops of Rosemary essential oil)

Stir over low heat (or in a glass bowl in the microwave) until melted. Remove from heat and add essential oils if desired. Let it cool completely and harden.Then using a hand mixer, whip the mixture, but be careful not to let it get too warm. Then scoop it into jars. (I used cute little glass jars from the dollar store) You could also add herbs or essential oils if you want, choosing whichever scent you like.

Voila, it's ready to use and super healthy for your skin!

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BLISSFUL BODY LOTION BARS

(similar to the ones they sell at LUSH)

If you've never tried these then you simply must, especially if you have dry skin or wash your hands frequently. They're amazing. It looks like soap, but its actually a solid lotion bar. You just rub it on your hands or anywhere you want a little extra moisture... heels, elbows, you name it. Wonderful stuff & here' how I made mine!

1 cup coconut oil
1 cup shea butter, cocoa butter or mango butter (or a mix of all three equal to 1 part)
1 cup beeswax (can add a little extra if you want a harder bar that leaves less lotion on your skin when used)
Optional: Vitamin E oil or Rosemary oil to preserve. And any essential oil fragrance you'd like to add. I added 1 tsp of Borage oil for several drops of Rosemary oil which I really love as you can tell by now) The next batch I'm making with citrus oils.

Combine all ingredients (except essential oils) in a glass microwavable bowl (or use a double boiler, or a glass bowl over a smaller saucepan with 1 inch of water in it.)

Stir ingredients constantly until they are melted and smooth. Remove from heat, add the essential oils and stir.

Carefully pour into molds (you can use silicone molds, muffin tins, small plastic bowls, pretty much anything will work) I used silicone baking mold.

Allow the lotion bars to cool fully before you pop them out of the molds. Put them into a large glass jar or individual containers or even little bags. They last for ages and feel really great on the skin.

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LUSCIOUS LIP BALM

(very similar to Burt's Bees)

I made a small batch, but I think I'm going to make this in huge quantities as giveaways for my next book signing event!! ;D


1 part beeswax (1 tablespoon)
2 parts shea, cocoa or mango butter OR 2 parts olive oil, almond oil or vitamin E oil (2 tablespoons)
2 parts coconut oil (example-2 tablespoons)
20 drops of essential oil of choice (or more or less to your preference) I use 15 drops of Wintermint essential oil and 5 drops of Rosemary oil (give or take)
(You could also add colour or flavour for something really fun)
Again, in a glass bowl, melt and stir everything together except essential oils. One melted, add essential and pour into containers. I used both lip balm tubes and little round containers both plastic and metal ones. Use whatever you'd like. Let it harden fully before using.

Soft kissable lips in flash! How does it get better than that!?

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Have fun pampering your body this winter! I'm heading back to my writing cave.... umm... probably to write the next kissing scene! ;)

Oh, and here's a link to a couple of suppliers for ingredients and containers: (though check your local health food stores first)
https://www.voyageursoapandcandle.com
https://www.thesage.com/index.html

If you make these wonderful body creams, or anything like them, let me know how they turn out. What ingredients & oils did you use?