Have the Perfect At Home Spa Experience: GUEST POST

This article was submitted by Cosmetology & Spa Academy. Located in Illinois, CSA is a beauty school with over 30 years of experience in the cosmetology, esthetics and beauty industry.

Creating your own spa in the comfort of your home can be a relaxing and low cost way to reduce stress, take care of your body and most importantly, save money!
You will be required to grab some items in preparation for your spa experience, but it will be much more convenient in the long run. No driving, no waiting and no strangers to distract you from what matters most: taking care of yourself.

Set the Stage
You’ll need to find somewhere to setup your spa, perhaps your bedroom, bathroom or a spare room that you might have. Set the mood by lighting some scented candles, dimming the lights and play some music. Don’t forget to unplug and turn off that phone!
Next, get a vaporizer and use it in combination with the essential oil bergamot. This oil is used in aromatherapy, massage oils and perfumes. The vaporizer will fill the air with the bergamot oil and which will be absorbed by your skin. You'll feel considerably better as it will decrease your blood pressure and heart rate.

Prepare a Bath
Bergamot oil has several purposes and can also be added to your bath. Add 5 to 10 drops of the oil to your bath water and hop on in. You can also substitute in regular bath oils into your warm bath water instead. Soak for around 10 to 20 minutes.
This is a great opportunity to clean your nails with a brush and soap or warmed olive oil. Apply a generous amount of oil to both the nail bed and the hands before rinsing it off. You hair can get an oil treatment during this time as well. With a couple of simple ingredients, you can make your own at home solution.
Mix together a cup of sweet almond oil with a half-cup of sesame and a sprinkling of sweet orange essential oil. If you are feeling adventurous, add in a couple drops of lavender oil. Start to massage this oil deeply into your follicles and then wrap your hair up. You want your hair collect the moisture from the oil treatment for as long as possible. Once you are ready, rinse off and begin your normal hair routine with shampoo and conditioner.

Cleanse Your Skin
The bergamot oil is truly multipurpose and we are going to use it to create a DIY skin cleanser. Start by adding 5 drops to some steaming water in a bowl. Use a towel to create a tent that will lay over your head and the bowl. This will collect the steam and you should inhale deeply for a short few minutes.
Bergamot will help to reduce your skin's potential for any outbreaks and can also help fight against those already afflicting your skin. Your skin will also benefit from bergamot oil when it is added directly to your lotion. Add a couple of drops into unscented vitamin E cream to create an improved lotion for dry skin. This can be used as the start of a fantastic massage oil. You can learn more techniques and secrets like these from enrolling in an esthetics program.

Conduct an At Home Facial
A facial at home can be accomplished with a few simple ingredients and some preparation. You want to start with a light steaming. Select a few herbs and add them to a teapot with some water to boil. Make sure to let the herbal components sit for a while so that the water can absorb the benefits. A few herb suggestions would be mint, lavender flowers, parsley, rose petals and lemongrass.
Similar to the bergamot steam, you want to do the same thing here. Pour this herbal infusion into the sink while adding hot water. Grab a towel and cover your head and the bowl to let the steam come in contact with your face. Keep your face just above it for 5 full minutes. This will clear your pores and smooth out your skin. Then apply a facial cleanser and lean back over your steaming infusion for another full minute. It'll eliminate impurities while unclogging oil and debris.
After the cleanser, you should start to apply your toner. Create your own toner at home with a few simple ingredients. Fill a spray bottle with water, a little bit of milk and a couple drops of rose and lavender essential oils. Exfoliate and apply a mask that meets your skin's needs. Lay back and put your mind at ease as your mask works its magic. Finally, add an organic moisturizer with active ingredients to complete your DIY facial.

Massage at Home
It’s easier than you may think to perform your own at home massage. Mix 10 drops of essential oils together with 2 cups of sweet almond oil. Start to massage this mixture all over your body, beginning with the soles of your feet and moving upwards. Use long and smooth strokes to massage the oil into your skin and relieve any stress you may have. Once you've massaged the oil onto your entire body, wrap yourself in a couple towels to ensure that the oils are fully absorbed.

** Guest Post

5 Reasons You need Pyjama Days

Hello!

You may still be on summer break, may just have started school/college/university again or may be doing whatever you're doing on this fine Friday but the question is: Are YOU a fan of Pyjama Days?

"they're mentally, and physically, called for... and here's why"

Pyjama Days are usually Sundays, but can obviously be any day that fits in your schedule, yet there's something about them that is just... satisfying. For me, Pyjama Days are literally relaxing, watching YouTube videos or Telly, having a few treats and just... chilling. :)

So, although Pyjama Day's may not be the most productive days, they're mentally, and physically, called for and needed, and here's why:

1. They set you up for the week
When you have a rest day, it makes you feel rejuvenated and ready for the more productive week ahead. So, taking a step back is definitely the way forward!

2. Catch Up with Yourself
Having a non-planned day can allow you to catch up with yourself, in terms of little things that may need organising, catching up with your favourite TV shows and just doing what you want to do, not what needs to be done.

3. Actually allows you to Relax
During the week, stress can really build up, and what better way to release it then a nice pyjama day, with basically a do-nothing, stress-free, comfortable day!

4. Call it Official
I know some people who like to stay in pyjama's until they need to change into proper clothes, but for me, this isn't feasible. The reason being is that I feel somewhat 'lazy' if I stay in Pyjama's ALL the time - so having a nice shower in the morning and putting on actual clothes (not PJ's) makes me feel as though the day has really started, so having Pyjama Days, it makes it official that it is a day to relax, not just any other day.

5. A Chance to Appreciate Your Productiveness
This one may seem a little far fetched, but it's true all the same: when you have a day which is, lets be honest, not productive at all, it makes us miss the feeling of doing something productive - hence overall, making us more productive people!

So, do you have Pyjama Days, and what's your favourite thing about them?

BerryBakes: Vegan, Gluten-free, Sugar-free Cookies?!

Hello!
 If you're anything like me, then you love sweet stuff: cakes, cookies and candy floss - you name it! So, you want to eat it all but it seems kinda unhealthy... Solution? Sugar Free, HEALTHIER Cookies!
That seems a little like an oxymoron, but I put it to the test... and I like it!

My mum and I were actually making regular biscuits/cookies for my grandma (She's recovering from an operation and loves the biscuits we make and currently can't bake herself, so we made her some and she was full of smiles!), and I went ahead and took the opportunity of an already on and heated oven to make a small trial batch of sugar-free cookies (and it didn't take very long, so that was a plus)!

This is what they turned out like:

They were slightly crunchy on the outside and nice and chewy towards the middle, it tasted a little like coconut but the flavour wasn't overwhelming. It also had a nutty flavour due to the flour used and to be quite honest - I liked it! If I were to do it again, I'd add more sweetener, just because I like my sweet stuff, but the reason I think mine turned out slightly less sweet is because I used a slightly different type of Stevia than the one in the original recipe, yet the texture and overall flavour was lovely!

The original recipe stated that loads more would be made yet I only got to make 7-8 (maybe because I ate some cookie dough while rolling it out - whoops!)... yet they were nice!

Recipe (adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie):

• 1 cup almond flour (ground almonds in a food processor - I needed about 3 handfuls of almonds)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoon Stevia
• 1 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon milk (I used Almond Milk)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  - heat oven to 325 degrees F. (about 163 degrees C.) 

  - mix all dry ingredients together in one bowl and liquid ingredients in another

  - mix together the liquid and dry ingredients by adding about half liquid first, then stir, then add the other half (this will become a slightly chunky dough)

  - roll this into a ball and then pat out on a smooth surface until desired thickness is reached (the thicker it is, the chewier the cookies will be yet the smaller number of cookies able to make - or bake for a shorter time for chewier cookies)

  - cut cookies 

  - place them on a non-stick baking tray (or greased, if not non-stick)

  - place in oven for 10-15 minutes based on how chewy you want them (I left them in for about 12)

In the original recipe it states that you need to freeze the dough before placing in the oven, but my mixture was stiff enough already and I didn't feel the need to freeze it - feel free if you find you need to.

Also you could put in chocolate chips or glaze with icing if you would like to! 

This cookie recipe is sugar free, gluten free and easily lactose free (depending on type of milk used) - also it is vegan! Great! :D

I hope you enjoyed this recipe and let me know if you would like more tried and tested recipes!

I'll leave you with a picture of my half-eaten cookie:

xoxo,

your fellow foodie (BerryBloomXO)

PS. have you noticed the recent craze for Coconut Oil recently? I LOVE anything coconut - coconut scented candles, coconut water and even the food itself! Oh, and coconut oil is a great beauty product - I use it on my locks (let me know if you want a post)!