I am sooooo done with studying for these seemingly never-ending midterms. Spring break can not come fast enough. So, instead of waiting for vacation to finally arrive, I’m starting the relaxation a little early with some of these de-stressing and fun at home beauty treatments. Taking some time for myself in the midst of this stressful period always helps me to calm down and re-focus. So here are a few of my favorite ways to unwind.
1) Manicure/pedicure
This is probably the easiest and quickest way to show yourself some love. No matter how busy I am, I can always find the twenty minutes it takes to swipe on some polish. When I’m really stressed, I’ll invest more time in this easy routine and give myself a full-blown salon-like manicure. Check out these guidelines for a professional manicure at home: http://www.oprah.com/style/Home-Manicure-How-to-Do-Your-Own-Nails. Feeling ambitious? Check out these nails from New York Fashion Week to get some ideas: http://www.glamour.com/beauty/2013/09/nail-ideas-from-new-york-fashion-week-spring-2014#slide=1)
2) Face mask
Sometimes the stereotypical image of a woman relaxing, face covered in white cream and cucumbers covering her eyes, is just too hard to resist. When I’m tempted to try out this cliché of relaxation I head to the drugstore to pick out a face mask, most of which come in single-use packages. Whether you want to calm skin redness or invigorate skin to make it glow, there’s a mask for you. My favorite is the Neutrogena Deep Clean Cleanser. This cleanser doubles as a mask, and you can feel it working as soon as you put it on. If your feeling more adventurous, try one of these masks that you can make at home: http://www.womansday.com/style-beauty/beauty-tips-products/8-do-it-yourself-home-facials-106030
Don’t forget the cucumbers!
3) Sugar scrub
I am constantly battling dry skin in this cold weather. Relentlessly applying lotion is annoying and it always seems to wear off as soon as you put it on. I go for a more long-lasting solution, like this sugar scrub, which exfoliates, gets rid of dryness and reveals beautiful, smooth skin. I love to use this on my hands as part of my indulgent manicure above. It’s also really fun to make with common ingredients that are easy to get. I like using Annie Jaffrey’s amazing and all-natural sugar scrub recipe, but there are tons on the internet, each with it’s own twist.
4) Hair mask
Hair masks are a great way to treat yourself withouaking up too much time. I take a few minutes to get the mask through my hair and then clip my hair up and get back to what I was doing while I wait for it to work its magic. You can get some work done and pamper yourself at the same time! It’s multitasking at its best. These three hair mask recipes from beauty guru Michelle Phan are easy to do and cover a variety of problems, including the dryness that is hard to beat in winter. http://michellephan.com/3-easy-diy-natural-hair-masks-treatments-for-dry-damaged-hair/
I hope that these beauty tips help to get you through to spring break and even become part of your regular de-stressing routine. Remember to take some time to treat yourself!