DIY Spa Treatments for At-Home Pampering

I've realized that my attention span makes blogging consistently a real challenge. While I may not be posting as often as I would like, I have definitely been experimenting with DIY recipes. My boyfriend and I are using almost all our own homemade skin care products.

My skin care routine:

• Oatmeal Cleanser
• Vitamin C Toner
• Face Oil Blend or Moisture Balm Lotion
• Arrowroot Deodorant
  
  

My hair care routine:

• Apple Cider Vinegar Hair Rinse
• Nourishing Hair Oil
• Aloe Styling Spray
  
  

I am still using some store-bought natural skin care products. Right now, I'm a big fan of the following:

• Shea Moisture Anti-Breakage Masque for Hair
• Griffin Remedy Restorative Shampoo & Conditioner
• Monica's Cococastile Rose & Patchouli Soap & Healing Blends French Clay Soap 
• Lush Aromaco Patchouli Pits Deodorant 
• RAW Elements Sunscreen 
• Beat It! All Natural Bug Spray 
  
  

To show you I really have been working hard, I am sharing my green beauty spa-style pampering routine. When I need a little TLC...

DIY Spa Day

1. 

   Inspiration: Fresh Cucumber Mojito Salt Scrub from @FNWL

   Foot Treatment: I like to start with a foot treatment. I first soak my tootsies in an apple cider vinegar and lemon bath. I mix 1/2 cup vinegar and the juice of 1 lemon with 1 gallon of water. I soak my feet for about 15 mins. The vinegar works great at softening rough, calloused skin. Then I scrub using a foot file and follow that a with coconut oil sugar scrub. I mix organic sugar with coconut oil until it forms a nice paste. You can use sugar or salt for a scrub, either of which will leave the surface of your feet feeling smooth and soft.
   
   
2. Hair Treatment: First I moisten my hair with a little bit of water and apply a penetrating hair oil. I blend 6 parts coconut oil to 1 part olive oil, castor oil and emu oil. These oils all have beneficial properties for hair, especially the coconut and olive oils which penetrate the hair shaft making them great for repairing hair damage. I leave the oil blend on my hair for 30 mins. I like to just rinse it off because it leaves behind a nice residue on my fine, dry hair, but you can follow the treatment with your regular shampoo and conditioner if you have oilier hair.
   
   
3. Face Mask: I make an oatmeal and kaolin clay cleanser for daily use, but I adapt this recipe to make a mask when I need extra attention on my face. I use a good quantity of the powder cleanser blend and mix it water and a few drops of my Vit C Toner to make a paste. I apply it to my face and leave it for about 15 mins. It works so well at absorbing dirt from your skin and leaves your face feeling softer and clearer.

These three steps always leave me feeling renewed and refreshed. My recipes aren't perfect, so I recommend searching for tried-and-true DIY recipes that fit your skin type and/or the climate in your area. For inspirations, check out my Favorites section where I link to my favorite sources for DIY recipes.

I am way more active on Twitter @floraesthetics and on facebook.com/floraesthetics, so follow me for more DIY beauty ideas!

Welcoming a fanstastic New Year for Floraesthetics

I was browsing beauty blogs and realized many writers are sharing their New Year's resolutions with readers. As I reflected on the things they are focusing on for 2012, I found myself inspired to write my own resolutions.

Last year, I only wrote a few resolutions to help me stay on track. I wanted to drink more water (did not do so well in the execution phase), I wanted to write a business plan for Floraesthetics (not much luck), and I wanted to take a vacation to a cozy mountain retreat with my beau (again did not happen).

Floraesthetics Holiday Collection

Instead of feeling defeated, I was actually inspired by reading bloggers' resolutions because I started to think about all the great things that came, in part, from my resolution-making.

While I did not drink more water, I did eat much healthier in 2011 and my motivation is still strong. My boyfriend and I put together a list of superfood-inspired ingredients to incorporate into our diet in 2012. As he says, the key to a healthy diet is high-nutrient food with low-caloric values. I will again resolve to drink more water, but I feel great about our nutritional progress in 2011.

I didn't write the business plan. That was one of the harder things on my list. However, I did put a lot of time and effort into Floraesthetics. Floraesthetics officially has a website & blog www.floraesthetics.com, a Facebook page www.facebook.com/floraesthetics, can be followed on Twitter www.twitter.com/floraesthetics, and a YouTube Channel at, you guessed it, www.youtube.com/floraesthetics. I also created a bunch of fantastic skin care products and learned a lot from the recipes that did not come out so great. I have kind friends and family that are courageously testing my products and helping me perfect formulas. I took my first entrepreneur steps in 2011, even if that did not involve writing a business plan.

Finally, I did not go on a retreat, but I did get to travel often for work. That included some fun leisure time, like going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the wonderfully-exotic Spa at Four Seasons Resort Nevis. There, I treated myself to one of the best pedicures of my life. The facilities were to die for with gorgeous mountain views, a relaxing ambiance, and very skilled, courteous staff. I also went on a group camping trip with family and friends. Despite the bugs and heat, we had a great time.

As the New Year begins, I'm going to put together a wish list to guide and inspire me throughout the coming year.

1. Be positive and optimistic – easier said than done, but this makes all the difference in the world.
2. Spend more quality time with my family – whether it was with my boyfriend, family or even my pets, I found that I had a lot on my mind during “quality” time in 2011. I want to focus on enjoying the time with my family rather than letting my mind wander to work, to-do lists or other distractions.
3. Eat healthy – his resolution includes drinking and eating more nutritionally in 2012. I want to drink more water and decrease my caffeine consumption, as well as incorporate more superfoods into our diet. Paired with a natural beauty routine, this resolution should be reflected on my skin at the end of 2012.
4. Start a vegetable garden – even if it's just a few, potted veggies, maybe peppers or tomatoes, I want to learn to garden more than just herbs. 
5. Exercise – I always have a hard time with this all-time-most-resolved-new year resolution. I go through phases, but I want to try really hard to be consistent. My knees gave me problems in 2011, but hopefully my 10-year high school reunion in June will be a good motivator. Yoga and pilates, here I come. And for my beauty inspired resolutions.... drum roll please...
6. Perfect Floraesthetic's first all-natural skin care line – I'm getting closer to this goal every day. See Floraesthetics Holiday Collection above. It's exciting!
7. Write a blog post a week – again, consistency is the key. I even created a nice work space in my apartment to create a conducive and creative environment. I am thinking of scheduling monthly topics, like these:

• Week 1 – Product Review: review a skin care, make-up, bath and body or lifestyle product. As I'm just starting my beauty blog, I will use my current stash of products (natural or not) to get me started.
• Week 2 – DYI Testing: write about my product formulation and testing journey. I will share some formulas when I'm SURE they are easy to make and effective, and some formulas I will keep with the goal of developing a product line. Regardless, writing about my experience will help me stay focused and record my progress.
• Week 3 – Information: this will cover techniques, news, ingredients and trends from the beauty world.
• Week 4 – Wildcard: I don't want my blog to feel like another product review site. As a public relations professional, cooking aficionado, sometimes news junkie and all-around curious person, I come across tons of non-beauty things that I want to share with the world. Whether a new recipe or an interesting news story or a rant about a pet peeve, I will use the Wildcard week to add some spice to my blog.

Seven is a good number, a nice achievable number. Wish me luck!

Welcome Beauty Addicts

I have a problem, and I'm going to share it with the world. I love beauty products!

When I was 14, my mom started working at Clinique. Being from Venezeula, my mom asked me to help translate her training materials and videos. In the process, I learned about daily skin care tips, different product types and even make up application techniques. I enjoyed it so much that my mom asked her Clinique trainers if I could attend workshops with her, and they said yes. I was invited to participate in training sessions, product launches and even help store promotions. My mom loved the help, and the company loved that I worked for free.


Then at 18, I was hired as a beauty specialist at Lancome and make-up was my niche. Using the bright colors of Lancome with the soft style of Clinique, I developed a unique look and a loyal customer base. During this time, my mom decided to go to school to become an esthetician, and I learned even more about skin and beauty. I was her official guinea pig, and it was heaven. Free facials all the time!

When I left for college to study public relations and history, I thought that I was leaving beauty industry  behind me. Life is always full of surprises because at 21 I was hired by the Mandarin Oriental Spa in Miami. I was a spa concierge, but my experience with Clinique and Lancome was invaluable for their retail sales. I took training courses for their spa line, ESPA. The products were divine, and the company really knew how to sell them to the employees first. Through the Mandarin, I learned a lot about customer service in the luxury industry and about spas, a whole different world from the beauty counters at the mall.

After graduating college, I went to work for a nonprofit as a public relations professional. It's a fascinating industry, and I've learned more at my current organization than I have from all my previous jobs combined. But something has been missing these past four years, and I realized that I missed the beauty industry. It made me feel like a million bucks to help women feel beautiful and pampered. I long for the sense of excitement of opening a shipment of new products and lathering myself from head to toe in sweet-smelling beauty potions.

There you have my background. Stay tuned for how I became inspired to start a skin care company and blog. Thanks for reading!!!