DIY: Rinse & Scrubs

Happy New Year! (Is it too late to say that? Happy Current Year then.)

This week/weekend I spent a lot of time cleaning my kitchen and simultaneously messing it up some more. It's a fun game I like to call "Never-ending Dishes" and it's not really that fun. The main reason for this was preparations for my oldest nephew's birthday cake (another story for another post), but while I was at it, I decided to make some things I've been seeing around Pinterest.

The recipes I chose were this hair rinse with rosemary and ACV, this salt scrub inspired by LUSH Ocean Salt, and this lip scrub inspired by LUSH Mint Julips. The rinse I made according to the recipe and I've only used it once, but it did make my hair smell good all day. So the jury is still out on that one. I changed a lot of things in the scrubs though, so here are my altered versions.

Citrusy Salt Scrub
1/2 c. fine sea salt
1 1/2 T. lime-infused vodka
1/4 to 1/2 c. coconut oil, melted
10 drops Lemon essential oil

Salt scrub ingredients! (And reusing an empty LUSH container.)

You basically mix all these things together to a consistency you like, so it's pretty simple. I did infuse the lime vodka myself (1/2 a lime, zested and chopped plus 3 T. vodka, mix and let sit for three days then strain), but you could probably sub in 1:1 citrus juice to vodka, or even all juice if you don't have vodka. If I made it again I would add some orange or grapefruit zest to the scrub itself for more citrusy goodness. (Citrusy is too a word.)

The original recipe calls this a face scrub, but I used it on my feet and it seemed pretty rough to me, so I probably wouldn't use it on my face. But hey, I'm a sensitive little flower. I usually like scrubs for shaving my legs, so we'll see how that works. If it's still too harsh, I'll give it to someone else and just use the rest of my sea salt for something else. Like French fries.

Warm Vanilla Lip Scrub
1 T. vanilla sugar
1/2 t. honey
1 to 2 T. coconut oil, melted
Dash of cinnamon

Once again, mix everything until you have a nice consistency and pack it into little containers. I've seen other recipes for this that call for castor sugar (which is white sugar ground more finely) so I put my sugar in the littlest cup for my Magic Bullet and blitzed it a couple times first. And if you don't have/don't want to buy vanilla sugar, you can use regular sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Mine will just look fancier than yours because of the cute little vanilla seeds in there. #opulenceclub

Fancypants sugar scrub! (And reusing more empty LUSH containers!)

I was going to make the mint version in the original post, but then I opened the cupboard and my vanilla sugar was staring at me. In my world, vanilla-cinnamon-honey is in the top three best flavor combinations of all time, so obviously I'm in love with this stuff. Also, it works like magic. My lips were so, so chapped that day but then I used this, licked off the rest (because it's completely edible and totally delicious), and put on the lip balm my sister made me for Christmas. It was the first time I hadn't been mad at my lips in about a week. Since our predicted high temperatures for the next couple days are in the single digits, I'm sure I'll be getting more use out of it soon. That is, if I don't just eat it.

The 2014 Pinterest Success Score (which is a thing I just made up) is now 1 okay, 1 undecided, and 1 love-it-so-much-I-would-marry-it, so I'm declaring this an overall Pinterest-win. I'm planning on keeping that up this year. What about you guys, make anything good from Pinterest lately?

Things I Like to Smell - Vol. I

Do you have certain scents that trigger memories for you? Or, conversely, when you reflect on some time, place, or person that was special to you, does a smell come with that memory? It does for me. For example, freshly baked bread smells like being home because my mom is the best at making bread. Even though my first boyfriend was over a decade ago, I can still tell when I walk by someone wearing the same cologne. And after my grandma passed away, I considered buying some vintage Avon talc powder at a flea market  because she had it in her bathroom for as long as I can remember.

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Anyone who spends a significant amount of time around me will quickly learn how much I like to smell things. Justin and I almost always spend some time smelling seasonal candles wherever we find them. Teavana and Penzeys both endeared themselves to me from my first visits, simply because you're allowed to smell all the things. And sometimes when I am sad or bored, I will go to a grocery store and stand around smelling the different body washes or fabric softeners. I'm well aware that it's things like this that make me obviously normal and not weird at all.

Without further ado, here are some things I am currently fond of smelling. This volume of Things I Like to Smell was inspired by my friend Kerry's post on beating the winter blues. Even though we had a freakishly nice weekend (high five, global warming!) it is back to feeling wintery here in Ohio and these are the smells that cheer me up despite the weather.

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1. Sea Spray from Lush Cosmetics
My friend Vicky gave me some of this and it has gradually become my new BFF. I like it for all its intended reasons (like making me not look as if I'm trying to cosplay Hermione Granger in my daily life) but the most surprising thing for me was the scent. This product is the perfect reminder of sunny, windy, sea-salty days. I don't know how they do it, but I've found it a pleasant surprise to catch a whiff of summer when it's all of 12 degrees outside.

2. Orange & Cranberry Scones
Whether it's because this is the first flavor I ever made, or just the fact that citrus is such a happy smell, baking off a batch of these scones always smells the best to me. Find a recipe, make yourself some tea, and and eat one while they're still warm from the oven. Trust me on this.

3. Stauf's Market Spice Tea
Speaking of tea, this one is amazing. It tends to get cold before I can finish it because I'm always torn between wanting to keep smelling it and wanting to drink it. If you like orange-y cinnamon teas, this is the best one I've had yet.

4. Woodsmoke
My parents have a wood-burning stove in their house, so this is another smell that always reminds me of home. The combination of clean, cold air and the drifting smoke never fails to take me back to the days of bundling up and going out to play in the snow with my brothers.

5. Homemade Yujacha
I found this post on Pinterest about a Korean concoction of honey and lemons that you add to hot water to make a drink that's good for fighting colds. Since I love honey and lemons, I had to try it. I also added slices of fresh ginger to mine, and sweet merciful heavens it could not possibly smell any better than it does. It also tastes good, which I was concerned about with leaving the pith of the lemon in there. I am almost through my first jar of it, and I haven't even been sick.

So am I the only one who just wanders though life smelling things? Or could I run into you in the laundry aisle the next time I'm lurking in a grocery store? Either way, I hope you get to smell some of your favorite things today too! As for me, I think I'll be making some tea shortly!