Chamomile inspired face mask

I have been waiting to write about this beautiful yet humble herb. I love chamomile! The smell so herbal yet a bit flowery. It helps me when my stomach is upset or when I just want to ease my mind. I remember myself as a little girl going to the fields and trying to find these sort of daisy looking flowers. I wasn’t always successful and often mixed them with other similar looking plants.

Chamomile is famous for its soothing and calming properties so works well for all irritations, acne, it is popular in treating eczema. Chamomile is an excellent not only to skin but the whole body and mind too! It works as a mild sedative, relaxes muscles and will bring a good sleep. I love this a bit bitter taste of chamomile tea. I just know it’s pure power of nature. Why don’t we restore all that powerful knowledge about herbs and plants and use it for our good? It has been used by people since the beginning of our civilization and it is still here. Unfortunately, modern life puts us away from the nature and all natural remedies.

I felt like my skin needs a bit of nourishment so decided to use an egg and and chamomile as I have been out in the sun and wind for the past few days. So to start, I use pestle and mortar to crush chamomile flowers. You can even use chamomile tea bags instead. Just open them and pop the content out. Add chamomile flowers to an egg yolk, add squeeze of lemon, a bit of honey and mix it all. As it gets a bit runny, I add some clay to thicken the mask, the best would be yellow one to keep the colour synchronization!  When ready, apply to your face, neck and decollete. Once removing it, the chamomile particles will act as a gentle scrub and will leave your face smooth and bright.

As Full Moon is approaching ( 3rd of July in UK ), it is a good time to moisturize, nourish, make masks, do massages. Start today and you will see the results!

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Brown sugar body scrub

This recipe is deadly easy and probably most of you knows it. What is more important, it is really cheap to make and it works! Choose some soft brown sugar. I tend to get the finest one with small granules as they work really gently on the skin. If you suffer from lots of hard, difficult to remove skin, you can try bigger granules.

Mix sugar with some carrier oil, I chose almond oil, but any oil would do, like olive oil, sunflower or rapeseed. You can just use whatever is in your kitchen cupboard. Mix sugar and oil, add squeeze of lemon juice which will works as a brightener. Natural alpha hydroxy acids in lemon will help to exfoliate any dead cells. Then, simply before you shower or bath, treat any “problem” areas like elbows, knees, heels and then massage the scrub paste gently all over your body. Remove with nice cooling shower. As the recipe contains oil, you can skip moisturizer after. Repeat at least twice per week.

White clay mask with lavender

In my last post I wrote a bit about the Moon and the beauty. Basically, when the Moon visits different astral signs, it has also a different influence on nature, people and animals. Today, the Moon is in earthy sign of Taurus. Today we crave for comfort, luxury, good food and good company. What about a bit of pampering ahead of weekend as Taurus days are really good for all face and hair beauty procedures, especially masks.

To make the white clay mask, start from grinding lavender flowers. I do it in pestle and mortar with few drops of lavender essential oil. This pungent smell! It is just amazing! A little aromatherapy…Somehow I love those classic fragrances: lavender, rose, neroli, orange. They are beauties forever! It is quite difficult to grind lavender flowers for a powder so don’t worry if they are still a bit chunky. Add 2-3 tablespoons of white clay and few drops of lavender essential oil and some water to mix it all for a paste. Apply to your face, neck and decollete. Rinse it off after about 10 minutes with water and tone your skin with lavender hydrolat.

Your beauty and the Moon

Full moon which was on Tuesday, is gone. The waning Moon is good for removing anything unwanted like hair, nails. It is then good time for hair removal, trimming nails, peelings. If cutting hair, remember it will grow slower so if you are dreaming about long locks for summer, better trim it when the Moon is growing.

Today, Wednesday the 6th, the Moon is in a earthy sign of Capricorn. We feel grounded and more practical and reasonable. I like stability of Capricorn. He will always give a good advice, which I never use. As a fiery sign of Aries, I dream about conquering the world, exploring it, finding the best place, crossing the borders. Life has to be big bold and vast.

When the Moon visits Capricorn sign, it a good time for all cosmetic procedures. So, just few inspirations for today.

Start with a good old peeling. Choose a gentle one, as ground almonds, I wrote about it here  https://beautywhizz.wordpress.com/2012/03/10/to-peel-or-not-to-peel/  It will not only remove dead cells but also moisturize your skin. Follow it with a face mask. First examine your face and look carefully at any problems. Skin tight and dry? Make nourishing mask with honey, yogurt and maybe an egg. Sun discoloration? Use lemon in your mask. Spots and blemishes? Use green clay. Skin needs a bit of colour? Use rose clay mixed with rose petals.

As a mask of today, I decide to go for rose mask. My latest purchase was Pure Rose Absolute essential oil so slowly I am building my collection…. I burn it every evening in the burner and fills the air with a lovely delicate scent. I was never a big fan of a rose smell, it was too powdery and too distinctive for me. Now,  it is like music to my heart. Rose scent is said to work as a gentle anti-depressant; it uplifts your spirit.

I really believe in power of aromas and all the knowledge behind the aromatherapy. All essential oils have very precise structure on a molecular level. They could help with physical symptoms and also influence your mind and soul, for example energize like lemon or grapefruit or calm and sooth like lavender.

The rose mask consists of pink clay, dried rose petals, rose infusion instead of water and few drops or rose essential oil. For the rose infusion, simply cover rose petals with hot water, cover with a lid and leave to for few minutes. Mix rose clay with rose petals in a bowl, add rose infusion and few drops of rose essential oil. Mix it all for a smooth paste and apply to your face, neck and decollete when the mask is still warm. Remove with lukewarm water after 5-7 minutes. Don’t leave the mask for too long as it will leave your skin a bit too tight. Follow with rose water as a toner.

Aren’t they beautiful?