Pamper Yourself Madly

A few weeks ago I came across a blog with recipes for homemade facials and I became so excited; I had to try it at the first convenience. (They were so wonderful, I just had to share.) So with my husband planning to be out of town this weekend, I began making preparations for a full day of pampering. Seriously, I even had dreams about it. Then the day before I planned the decadence extravaganza, Adrienne mentioned she would have a lavender milk bath. I had no idea what a lavendar milk bath was, but it sounded decadent enough, so I thought it would be the perfect addition (it was).

Step 1
So to start the pampering, I began with a 90 minute yoga session, to stretch and meditate and relax. Then, using this recipe I found for a lavendar milk bath, I immersed myself in the pure luxury of bath salts and essential oils. The recipe called for nerouli oil, but I could only find a 5 ml bottle for $40 – a little too much for my blood. I used a combination of grapefruit and jasmine instead of the nerouli oil.

It smelled so heavenly! Complete with tealights and my favorite music, true bliss was achieved. There is something about floating in lavender and cream that makes you feel so soft, feminine, and sexy. I began to wish my husband wasn't out of town! Had I known about this, I would have made sure to do this on the day of my wedding. I also left the bath undrained for a few hours extra after I finished and my bathroom smelled deliciously of lavender. P.S. It helps to keep well hydrated with this bath. I felt so relaxed, soft and suppliant, but I was definitely thirsty afterward.

Step 2
Then I began the facial treatments, using the recipes I found on Our Best Bites. They were all amazing. I started with a steam of lemon and mint. It felt so soothing and calming, not to mention lovely just smelling the lemons and mint leaves.

When I finished the steam, I exfoliated with a paste of oatmeal and baking soda. I used regular rolled oats, but I suspect baby rolled oats might have worked better, being smaller and easier to mush.

I must admit I felt a bit stupid plastering oatmeal to my face, but I was home alone, so whatever. But I enjoyed the way it made for a gentle scrub. And it was most satisfyingly followed by a cleansing honey yogurt mask.

Made of yogurt and cucumber with a swirl of honey, it was super cooling and soothing on my face—once I actually stopped sneaking tastes and managed to put it on.

Next I tried the tightening strawberry-lemon mask. It's a simple mixture of strawberries, lemon juice and cornstarch (though I ended up needing quite a bit more lemon juice than the recipe called for to make a decent paste), but it did wonders for my skin.

I looked something like a horrific strawberry shortcake when it dried, and this one was probably the hardest to wash off. But when I rinsed it all off, my skin was suddenly soft and glowing.

After all the masks, my skin was definitely ready for some moisturizing, and apparently avocados are amazing moisturizers. I made a final mask with avocado, and added honey for brightening and tightening, and egg yolk and olive oil for softening and moisturizing.

And TA DA! When it was all said and done, my skin was so soft, smooth and glowy. I think the strawberry-lemon mask and the avocado finish worked the best on my skin. I couldn't believe how well these homemade facials worked. Makes me wonder why we pay so much for them, when we can get just as well from all natural ingredients available at the local Farmer's Market? Most of the chemical ones we get at the beauty shops are made from natural ingredients anyway, might as well go whole hog, no? I am so doing this again, next chance I get, and sharing with my mom and sister next time I go home.

Step 3
And because all the above did not constitute quite enough girly time for myself, I popped in Pride & Prejudice (the BBC version of course – these things must be done properly!) and spent the rest of the day watching Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy dance, while I ate fresh strawberries and soft-baked cookies. YUM. I {heart} Colin Firth. Gentlemanliness is so sexy. And under-rated these days I think. Plus, there is no more pleasing expression than that of a man looking with love upon his beloved.

All told, almost 12 hours of solid pampering = a totally contented Jade. So, ladies, pamper yourselves immediately and pamper yourselves madly. And let me know if these recipes worked for you too!