My Favorite Beauty Products and Rituals...

 Some people, no matter how old they get, never lose their beauty - they merely move it from their faces into their hearts.  ~Martin Buxbaum

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Now this all may sound a little strange but the beauty products I swear by are everyday things you can find in your kitchen! First there's sugar. I have been using this as an exfoliating medium for YEARS. Like 15 years to be exact. What I do is pour about 2 cups of sugar into a Tupperware container and after I've bathed and shaved, I take a handful of just sugar and rub it vigorously all over my body. Your skin has to be damp or it may irritate it. I've heard that some people add sugar to milk, honey, or even lotion and use it that way, but I feel like it's more beneficial using it just by itself. I normally do this only once a week because it's so effective. Your skin will honestly feel brand new. 

Baby oil is my moisturizer of choice. As soon as I get out of the shower, I slather it on. I recommend the oil infused with vitamin E. It's best to do this while your skin is slightly damp and warm. The baby oil locks in the moisture and the heat makes for faster absorption.

Baking soda is also a miracle product. I make a paste by combining 3 parts baking soda to 1 part water. This is an easy micro-dermabrasion. You gently massage onto your face for about 60 seconds and then rinse with cool water. Your skin will be radiant! Whenever I wash my face, I always rinse with lukewarm water to remove the cleaning product, but then I splash my face with freezing cold water while patting vigorously and this improves circulation and minimizes pores. I also rinse my hair with freezing cold water after rinsing out the conditioner and it makes it GLEAM!

And EGGS! I think everyone may know about this one. After I've baking soda-ed my face, I like to use the whites from an egg as a firming mask. All you do is beat the eggs until they are slightly foamy and then you massage onto your face. Let it dry. Once it dries, use lukewarm water to rinse. Then do the ol' cold water slap and rinse. 

And last but not least, after the sugar scrub, the baby oil, the baking soda, the freezing water and the eggs, I lay down with tea bags on my eyes for at least 20 minutes. I love tea, as a beverage AND a beauty product. I'll brew a cup of hot tea, make sure it's black tea and ONLY black tea, and then once the tea is finished steeping, I let the tea bags drain a bit on a paper towel. Once they've cooled off enough to put them on my eyes, I lay back and relax! This takes away puffiness and refreshes tired eyes. But whatever you do- NEVER use mint tea. I learned that the hard way...