YOU In Bloom ~ Spa Day
Day at the (Home) Spa
When it comes to spoiling myself, I personally feel like nothing is better than a relaxing day at the spa…. Unfortunately, this can cost a pretty penny, and who the heck can relax when they’re spending a small fortune on foot scrubs and face waxing! 😀 So, today I’ve decided to post some do-it-yourself recipes, so that you can host your very own “Day at the Spa.” You may choose to invite a few friends (and have each off them take responsibility for one activity/recipe) or maybe you’d rather have a peaceful evening pampering yourself in solitude. Either way, I hope this inspires some luxurious and reviving “you” time.
Refreshing Recipes for the Body
AVOCADO CARROT CREAM MASK
This mask combines avocados, which are rich in Vitamin E, with carrots, which are high in beta-carotene and antioxidants, and cream, which is high in calcium and protein. These ingredients will rebuild skin collagen, improve tone and texture, and fade age spots.
1 avocado, mashed
1 carrot, cooked and mashed
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 egg, beaten
3 tablespoons honey
Combine all ingredients in a bowl until smooth. Spread gently over your face and neck, and leave in place 10-15 minutes. Rinse with cool water and follow with your favorite toner.
BLUEBERRY TONER
Make this mask the day you plan to use it, and do not store.
3 tablespoons steamed, crushed blueberries
1/2 C. sour cream or plain yogurt
Purée ingredients in a blender at low speed until well mixed and fluffy. Apply to face and neck. Let penetrate for 15-20 minutes. Rinse off with tepid water. If you find the mask is too runny after blending, you should refrigerate for one hour or until it’s the consistency you desire.
CUCUMBER EYE GEL
1/4 large cucumber
1 ounce aloe vera gel
Puree the cucumber in a blender (leave a little pulp), strain the mixture into a glass bowl until you have at least 2 ounces. Spoon in just a tad of the pulp from the strainer). Add the aloe vera to the cucumber puree in the bowl and mix lightly. Pour into a clean, sterilized container. After cleansing face, stir mixture gently and apply with a cotton ball to undereye area. Avoid the eyeball. The shelf life of this product is very limited by the fresh cucumber. It should be used within a few days, and kept refrigerated between uses.
SUGAR FOOT SCRUB
¼ cup Sugar (white or brown)
¼ cup Sweet Almond Oil
6 drops Orange Essential Oil
1 drop Ginger Essential Oil
1 tsp Powdered Cayenne Pepper
Take a plastic bowl and in it, mix together sugar and almond oil. Add orange oil and ginger oil and mix well. Stir in cayenne pepper as the final ingredient. Your sugar foot scrub is ready to be used.
Refreshing Recipes for the Belly
CUCUMBER WATER
In order for the cucumber to fully release its juice, you need to prepare it the day before your event.
1 cucumber, sliced and unpeeled + 6-7 cucumber slices for decoration
1 1/2 to 2 liters of water
3 mint sprigs + 2 mint sprigs for decoration
Half a lemon, sliced and unpeeled
Ice cubes
In a pitcher, mix the water, cucumber, 3 mint sprigs and lemon. Let it rest on the fridge for 24 hours. If you prepare the water at the last minute, cut the first cucumber in three or four pieces. Then, squeeze the cucumber pieces to release all the juice. Before serving remove the cucumber slices used to flavor the water. Then stir with a wooden spoon, add some ice cubes, 6 or 7 fresh cucumber slices and the remaining 2 mint sprigs.
CHAMPAGNE INFUSED FRUIT COCKTAILS
Yield: 5 Cocktails
1 bottle Champagne (Your choice)
5 fruit skewers made with pineapple triangles, blueberries, orange or lemon rind & mandarin orange wedges (peeled)
Add prepared fruit skewers to champagne flute and pour Champagne over fruit.
TEA SANDWICHES
Smoked Salmon Sandwiches
1 cup soft cream cheese
20 slices bread
1/2 cup capers
12 ounces thin-sliced smoked salmon
Juice of 1 lemon
Black pepper
Spread the cream cheese on one side of each slice of bread. Dot with capers. Arrange the smoked salmon on 10 of the bread slices and brush with lemon juice. Pepper generously. Top with the other 10 slices, remove the crusts and cut. Makes 40 tea sandwiches or 30 fingers.
Cucumber Sandwich
1 large cucumber, peeled and sliced very thinly
Salt
3/4 cup soft butter
2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
20 slices bread
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
Pepper to taste
Lightly salt the cucumber slices and place them in a colander to drain for 1 to 2 hours. Then combine the butter and garlic and apply to one side of each slice of bread. In a small bowl, stir together the lemon juice, olive oil, and pepper. Add the cucumber slices, coating them well. Arrange the cucumber on 10 of the bread slices, top with the other 10 slices, remove the crusts, and quarter. Serve immediately. Makes 40 tea sandwiches.
(Thanks, GreatPartyRecipes.com, Spaindex.com, Beauty.ILoveIndia.com!)
Oh a spa day sounds great! I’ve never been to an actual spa, but I will definitely try out these recipes! Thanks Collin! I will just have to find a good hiding spot for the avocados so hubby doesn’t eat them before I can use them…lol 😉
ALL these recipes sound delicious. Have you tried the blueberry mask? I am curious as to if it will stain my face blue.
I was wondering the same thing.
I was wondering, too! I get blue fingers easily just from prepping them in foods 🙂
This sounds nice, but it would be nice to go somewhere and have this done to you by someone else, while giving you a nice relaxing message……..(can I dream)…….
Wow, these all sound amazing….and yummy! Can’t wait to catch some free time and pamper myself. Ahhhh. Thanks Collin!
This sounds great for girls party! Thanks.
Thanks for all the ideas!
Hi all. These do sound yummy!! Just wanted to let people know that if they don’t have time to make these they can check out beautipage.com/sharoncornelius for AMAZING in home spa treatments:)
We are planning a mother-daughter spa day activity at our church. I am going to use a couple of these recipes for sure! Thanks!
I would love any other ideas your readers may have. The girls are ages 8-11. We are having a spa day/pajama fashion show.
I wanna try the sugar foot scrub and the good for the belly recipes!
Great recipes! I love doing a spa night every Thursday 🙂 Ooh, now I want to make some of that cucumber water…. Would be lovely to sip while I’m doing a foot soak.
Spa day with my girlfriends?? Just what I need! Thanks!
I made cucumber water today! I put 6 slices of cucumber into a pitcher of water, that I keep in the fridge. It’s so refreshing during the summer. I was debating on whether to put in some mint!
Sounds heavenly 🙂
I wanted to see if there were reviews/additional info with the original recipes, but none of the links work.
Also, when it says “Thanks, website” does that mean the content is reproduced with permission? It’s nice to give credit (and that’s much more than some bloggers do!), but people and companies often create content or photos to get traffic (money) for their own sites. Unlike the Associated Press (AP), most folks share, if asked, but I brought it up b/c Google search penalizes pages of duplicate info.
.If you’re asking Collin, you may want to email her. She doesn’t routinely answer our questions from these posts.
If you delete “hip2save.com” (and any other part of hip2save’s website) from the address bar after you click the links, you will be able to see the page you’re looking for.
I would imagine that citing websites here would actually be creating traffic to the original sources site (as long as the links given work!), so I wouldn’t worry about a site losing out because their information is being shared here. I also wouldn’t imagine that it’s plagiarism to quote directly from a site as long as credit is being given to the original site. It’s not any different than writing a research paper. I do sometimes question the format of the citations (I would think each citation should go with its appropriate quote), but I think that’s more just my personal preference more than an ethical issue.
Great recipes, can’t wait to try them!
Sounds like a fun day with some good friends! Can’t wait to try this:)
The sugar foot scrub works so great! I love it! My son and I had cucumber sandwiches for lunch after mommy’s “spa time” poolside! AKA me sitting next to his kiddie pool!