I like the vanilla mint blend in the late winter into spring time because the warmer weather enhances the experience of the scent. The warm air gives you occasion whiff of the scent and it’s just an amazingly refreshing, uplifting scent. It’s hard to not be happy when you’re smelling peppermint.
Using the blend in my spray bottle allows me to still get the benefit of the scent and keep my hair moisturized on days I don’t do a co wash with the vanilla mint conditioner in the shower. The aloe and glycerin are staples in the water bottle because my hair Loves love loves aloe, and really likes glycerin as a moisturizing agent but only if its diluted.
What’s in your spray bottle and why? I’d Love to learn from what your ladies are using in your bottle.
Lavender seems to have found it’s way into a lot of my conversations this week. From headaches to burns to sleep aids, I’ve found myself sharing why lavender essential oil should be a staple in everyone’s household. Jamie gave a Five Uses For post on Lavender last month. I want to follow it up with a few recipes and practical applications for life and love.
Here’s a practical application – I burned my thumb earlier in the month. In the kitchen, whipping up dinner and I lifted the lid off of a pot and the steam that rose scaled my knuckle. If you’ve ever damaged the skin across a knuckle or knew you know that is a hard area to have heal without scarring because it’s always bending and flexing and doesn’t get a chance to properly heal(hence why we all have various scars on our knees from our childhood years). Well, when I initially burned it, I immediately rubbed a couple drops of lavender essential oil directly on it for two reasons: one – it hurt terribly and lavender is an excellent pain reliever for bites and burns; two – because lavender also promotes healthy skin growth and I did not want an ugly scar on my hand. Over the next two weeks, it darkened, hardened then finally peeled. The new skin that finally resulted appears completely normal. To look at my hand, you would never know I’d burned it.
I offer you a recipe for a spa at home experience - Blend the following ingredients in a resealable container for a simple, relaxing, skin softening bath experience
1 cup dead sea salts
1/3 cup lavender buds
1/3 cup of powdered milk
Sprinkle into bath tub as desired. Lounge in the tub with your favorite book, glass of wine, candle or any combination for a luxurious experience. Be sure to incorporate your favorite lavender scented bath products.
Keep this all purpose Lavender infused oil handy
1 oz jojoba/olive/sweet almond oil
20 drops lavender essential oil
Mix and store in a plastic bottle with a dropper or nozzle top. Keep this oil blend on hand to apply directly to your skin when you need to unwind and a bath or diffuser simply isn’t available to enjoy the scent from. Perfect for relaxing before bedtime, calming from a stressful work situation, or managing a migrane. Can also be applied to scalp to help treat hair loss and promote hair growth.
Can you see yourself in any of these experiences? Have you used lavender for any other real life solutions?
As almost all of you know, our very gracious and beautiful Tyrika is now a married woman. I have been reflecting on this over the weekend and am beyond ecstatic for her, her husband and their families.
Tyrika, you are genuinely beautiful and full of love, so it makes absolute sense that your life would follow suit. I wish nothing but all the best blessings for you and your family at this incredibly special time!
I thought it only fitting, under the circumstances and for Valentine’s day, to give everyone some uses for aromatherapy to encourage a loving mood The essential oils most commonly used for romance are:
Rose
Jasmine
Neroli
Clary Sage
Cypress
Sandalwood
Cedarwood
Ylang Ylang
Clove
Black Pepper
Veviter
As usual, there are plenty of ways to utilize these essential oils. Incense, diffusers, bath oil and in lotions are always great. To increase desire, candles and a massage oil would be ideal…
Mainelement:Love fragrances that would be great to rub on before a date would be; Strawberries and Champagne, Wedded Bliss, and Blue Rose for the ladies, and Insatiable and Seductive for the gentlemen. Most of these fragrances come in le’amour body butter, body wash AND body oil. They are truly fabulous and made with the utmost care.
You could also try the skin care recipes Tyrika has posted, to make sure your significant other finds your skin inviting and touchable.
Now that you have your Valentine’s day aromatherapy arsenal stocked and your skin will be silky-smooth, you are ready to celebrate in style…
Tyrika, we love you and await your return! Congratulations, lady!
Ok, we’re T minus 2 weeks guys. Nervous? No. Excited? Very! I have to give the nightly lavender vanilla partial credit for that. The pre wedding regimen has been absolutely helpful.
My skin is still holding up well, I’m determined to keep away any last minute blemishes. I’ll still be keeping the same morning ritual, and will be adding the Oil of Olay Deep Cleansing clay mask to it 2 evenings a week over the next two weeks. This will replace the need to go get a facial at the spa. Exfoliate, replenish, renew, and clean the pores…under control at home.
I didn’t get my eyebrows waxed as intended and my makeup artist silently gave me a piece of her mind about the two bushes I have growing up there right now (which is why I didn’t do a video blog for this post as I originally intended to; I can’t let ya’ll see me like this!) She very politely informed me that in the future it’s not necessary to let your eyebrows grow completely out to correct what some happy go lucky “brow artist” messed up. There’s your beauty tip for the day ladies.
My hair is soft and growing and forcing me to rework my bedtime ritual with it. We had a detangling battle this morning due to my lack of combing it for a week, instead of my normal every 2 – 3 days. We’ve come to a mutual agreement and I don’t expect we’ll have any more problems. I’ll comb it as promised, put a few loose braids in it at night and cover it with a bonnet and I expect we’ll both be happy from here on out. I’ll be doing a trial run on the planned wedding hairstyle this evening, just to be sure, what I have envisioned will work in real life. This gives me plenty of time to rework as needed. I’ll deep condition it this weekend, and next weekend in preparation for my color touch up.
Lastly I went to the nail salon to get a manicure and pedicure today to do a trial run of the colors I’ll wear on the big day. Sadly, I can’t get a manicure without the nail tech cutting my cuticles too deep resulting in an ugly scab. Not very attractive for pictures. This way I won’t have any color mishaps, or nicks and cuts on my cuticles the day of. My nights from here until the night before will include thick, cotton socks and a healthy dose of body butter on my feet to keep them soft.
That’s my latest update on Operation: Get Me Down the Aisle. I’ll let you know how things are going the week before the big day. I’ll be checking out everyone’s entries to the Spa at Home Ritual contest in the meantime and if you have any at home spa/beauty suggestions you think I should try out between now and then, leave a comment and let me know.
We’re always excited about sharing the latest info, news and tips on natural spa products and techniques to our readers. We’re even more excited about the wonderful feedback from our readers…so excited that we’re sponsoring a contest for our blog readers to post their favorite “at home” spa ritual and experience, to win a mainelement: love spa basket worth over $100.
The contest will run from January 20th to February 12th, 2010, with the winner being announced on February 19th.
Here’s all you need to know and enter:
Subscribe to our blog via RSS or email (see the right side bar)
Email your favorite “at home” spa ritual including the products and/or ingredients you use and the steps to make them, and the cost to create this contest to tyrika@mainelementlove.com using “Spa at home ritual” in your subject header
Include the natural health benefits of your spa experience and how it relaxes and calms you
At the end of the contest period, the staff of mainelement: love will read and select the post with the best “at home” spa experience and ritual using natural products and/or ingredients that are most cost effective
The winner of the contest will receive a mainelement:love spa basket(filled with the entire le’amour body line in Rise and Shine or Lavender Vanilla, a journal, box of chamomile tea, ceramic mug, and spa socks), and their ritual will be featured on the Love: Blog
The fine print:
Blog followers may only post one spa experience story during the contest period
All spa experiences must be authentic and solely created from contestant and not a copyright of any magazine, book, published author or day and salon establishment
Products and/or ingredients must be natural
Contestants must include their first and last name and valid email with blog entry to tyrika@mainelementlove.com this info will not be used for any third party marketing, but winner contact purposes only
The essential oils most commonly used for romance are:
