At home spa specials...

As Mothers day gets closer folks start looking for a nice pampering gift to give. One idea is to put together a nice spa day basket. This is something I have even done for myself and it is a wonderful revitalizer.

Light a great scented candle, (if you don't already have one Candles to my Door has a ton of different candles from Yankee, Colonial, Beanpod, Woodwick and more and they are all on sale), put on a relaxing sound track (here is a nice free one you can put on your iPod of nature from Musical Relaxation, its a little over 11 minutes so just put it on repeat) and draw a nice fragranced bath. Bath and Body Works has their buy two get one free sale going on both their Aromatherapy products and their True Blue Spa line. When its time to step out of the tub slip on a super plush micro fiber robe for the feel of luxury. Overstock has pink and blue in sizes L to 2X right now for $46.99.

Onto facial care; the Yes to Carrots line is very nice, offering items for Dry, oily and sensitive skin types, and its reasonably priced. Though you can buy direct, you can often find their products on sale at Target, Walgreens, Meijer and Drugstore.com (which has the carrot body spa kit on clearance right now for $12.99 with free shipping on orders over $25.00). What I truly love about this line is that I can read the ingredients list and know what everything is, they also feature a lot of organically grown ingredients.

Nails next; You should maintain regular gaps between applying nail polish allowing the nails to breathe and reducing the possibilities of drying and chipping, but if your planning a night out there are many nice polishes on the market. I usually look for Nail Lacquer, it is a little stronger than just polish and lasts longer, OPI is one of my very favorites and is sold in many salons, I keep an eye out for when my local salon has a sale. If you are prone to dry skin and hangnails the Burt's Bees Cuticle cream is fantastic, it leaves my hands feeling soft and smelling great. I apply this after any polish because it will cause the polish to flake if it is on the nail before hand. Burt's Bees has a sale right now on their Tips and Toes kit regularly $13.00, now its only $8.00. The kit has everything you need to not only take care of your cuticles but your hard working feet as well. They are also giving away a free lip balm with any purchase over $25.00, just use coupon code WELCOME at checkout.

Next comes the make up, when I am looking for new make up I always check the sale page at Sephora, they also throw in free samples and birthday goodies which is always a nice surprise when my package arrives. Another good site is Beauty.com they are offering $10.00 off your next purchase of $60.00 or more, this offer is good through 12/31/2010. The coupon site Red Plum has a printable coupon for $1.00 off any Rimmel London product which can be found at Tartet and Walmart. If you think you need a little lifting and firming Garnier is offering a $2.00 coupon for their new Ultra Lift Pro Gravity Defying cream, just run your mouse over the lower center section and it will show the whole line, the coupon is the bottom link in the group or you can wait for it to come around on their splash page.

Finally comes the perfume, FragranceNet.com has tons of great designer scents at a fraction of the cost, they also have free shipping. If you use coupon code NAM48 you will get an additional 15% off your order. The other frequently used site is Perfume.com and they are offering a similar deal, enter coupon code LOVEMOM and you will get 20% off your order, they offer free shipping on orders over $50.00. I would recommend checking the price of what ever fragrance you like at both sites and seeing which will come out best for you.

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend.

C.Q.

Winterizing you

We are quickly heading into winter and if your like me that means at least 6 months of dry skin, broken nails and flyaway hair. I try to remember to use lotion on my skin every day once we start heating the house. The mere thought of the combination of dry cold air and dry warm air makes my skin start to flake and crack. Fortunately there are quite a few good products on the market now days, but remember, you don’t need to pay top dollar for a wonderful product. If you have especially dry skin its good to find a body lotion that has an oil base in the winter so you have a protective barrier between you and the dry air. Facial moisturizers are different from body lotions, an oil based body lotion used on your face can cause break outs, its best to find something a little lighter to use for your face. If you have serious skin cracking or severely drying skin a visit to a dermatologist is your best bet and will net you the greatest rewards. There are some coupons out right now for some good winter lotions: $1 off Jergens Naturals, $1.50 off Dove Cream Oils Body Lotion. Is your skin REALLY dry? You may want to try the new Vaseline prescription strength lotion (You don’t actually need a prescription for it), they are offering $1.00 off at: $1.00 Vaseline lotion coupon. If you love Bath and Body products they are currently having a sale on their new product scent line, however its important to remember that scented products can actually irritate dry skin further so if your skin is overly dry use it only for that special night out. Bath and Body deals. Its also important to remember to use sunscreen in the winter, the suns reflection off the snow can be even more harsh than in the summer, there is a $1 off coupon at Coppertone. Don’t forget your lips in the winter either, Carmex has a weekly drawing where 50 people are awarded a free Carmex: My Carmex weekly drawing. Burt’s Bees is offering a free lip balm with $25 purchase, use coupon code WINNER at their website Burt's Bees. They also have a kit called Tips ‘N Toes on sale for $8.50 that includes Peppermint Foot Lotion (.47 fl. oz.) Coconut Foot Crème (.56 oz.) Almond Milk Beeswax Hand Crème (.25 oz.) Beeswax and Banana Hand Crème (.25 oz.) Hand Salve (.30 oz.) Lemon Butter Cuticle Creme (.30 oz.) Honey Lip Balm (.15 oz.) and a Pumice Stone. Burt's Bees Tips ‘N Toes kit.

In the winter my hair gets as dry as my skin so its important to use a shampoo that moisturizes and conditioner on at least on the ends of my hair to keep them from getting split. Your hair is like your skin when it comes to hot water, try to use warm or cool water instead to keep it from drying out. Don’t go outside with wet hair, this can cause breakage. If you must leave the house with wet or damp hair remember to wear a hat or scarf. Aveeno has a new line of hair care products made to fit with your specific hair needs and it’s the one I have chosen to use over the Winter. You can try a free sample and see if its right for your hair at: AVEENO® NOURISH Hair Care sample. If you use styling products Dove has a free sample as well, their product is designed to work on damage caused by heat products. Dove hair care sample. Dove also has coupons available for their hair products at: $1 off any Dove hair care product.


Don’t forget your nails during the Winter, they can become dry and brittle too. Keeping your nails in water too long can weaken them and cause them to lose their natural moisturizer, you can use a moisturizer on both your fingernails and toenails to ensure they are well cared for, try this before bed each night and after a bath and you should notice a difference. Its also important to wear gloves on your hands in the cold weather to keep your nails from the extreme temperature changes. There is a wonderful on line source for any kind of glove known to man at Gloves-online, be sure to check out the sale section.

Hope this helps going into the Winter months.

C.Q.