Make All Natural, Yummy Smelling DIY Hand Soap for pennies

I have a wonderful tutorial over on Snapguide.com today on how to make an All Natural, Yummy Smelling DIY Hand Soap for just pennies.  Head over there and check it out. 

Basil Lime All Natural, Yummy Smelling, DIY Hand Soap
by The31Woman, Glori Winders

My hubby loves the smell, Basil Lime, and it makes the kitchen smell divine just from washing your hands.  And the best part is that I control the ingredients.  The bar of soap that I used was by South of France that I purchased from iHerb.com for under $3.00.  The soap was made from coconut oil, olive oil, vegetable glycerin, shea butter, basil leaf, natural and essential oils and mineral pigments: No chemicals that I can't name, or additives that I would not want on my skin.  


Making this recipe into a body wash would be pretty identical.  Just find a bar of soap that has the scent and ingredients that you like.  Also great for a baby's sensitive skin.  I hope you enjoy.  I know that we are!

Saturday's Beauty Tip - Cocoa Locks

Today's Saturday Beauty Tip is a  Yuumy One!  If you are a brunette and your hair color needs a little boost, mix a teaspoon of Hershey's Unsweetened Cocoa into the palm of your hand with a few squirts of your shampoo and wash your hair.  It will make the color look richer, and more lustrous.  Plus, it smells AWESOME!

Have a beautiful Saturday!

Saturday's Beauty Tip - Avoid the Makeup Meltdown

With the heatwave that has been gripping our nation this summer I am sure that more than a few of you had to deal with the dreaded Makeup Meltdown.  In this heat, it is hard to keep your foundation from simply melting off of your face.  A great suggestion that I have is to use a tinted moisturizing cream instead of a foundation.

I love Neutrogena's Light Tint Healthy Defense Daily Moisturizing Cream ( I am not getting paid to endorse them).  It gives a nice even glow to my face while making it silky smooth.  I smooth it on in place of foundation.  Then before applying the rest of my makeup, I use a loose face powder to set the cream in place.  This gives you a beautiful, flawless finish without having to worry about it melting off of your face the minute you step out of the house.

Have a beautiful Saturday!

Saturday's Beauty Tip - Recyle That Toothbrush

A toothbrush is not just for keeping those pearly whites sparkling clean.  It has so many other helpful uses and is a great accessory to beauty.

You can use it as a comb for your eyebrows and/or eyelashes.  It is a great exfoliator for lips, elbows, knees and cuticles.  You can use it as a nail brush.  And it also makes a great scrubber for your beauty tools like pencil sharpners, combs and tweezers.

Another great tip to add in with the toothbrush is a sugar scrub.  Simply make a sugar and water paste by adding a little water to some white or brown sugar and then rub it on with your hands or use the toothbrush.  This makes a wonderful body scrub for just pennies.

Have a beautiful Saturday!

Shark Tank Has Turned Me On To Onesoles

In our family, we are serial entrepreneurs.  We love the thrill of creating something from nothing and watching it grow.  Even our children have been developing and running businesses since they were 8 and 9  years old.  So, it is no wonder that we love the ABC show Shark Tank.

Back in May, they aired a show with a women who loved shoes.  And from that love, she developed a company called OneSoles.  The idea is that if you have a beautiful and comfy bottom of shoe that you love, wouldn't it be great to be able just to change the top of the shoe to match your outfit.  Think of the possibilities and the ease of packing.  Wear the shoes and only have to pack these light weight toppers that lay flat.  Wow.  I love it.  Well, so did the Shark's and they fought to work with her.  I am very excited to see where her company will end up.

I was very intrigued and so was my husband.  He said, "I would not have to pack an entire suitcase just for shoes on our next trip.  You should order some of those."  Well, if I get that kind of approval I am ordering ASAP.  And, I did.

The Verdict:  These shoes are wonderful.  I love them.  They are beyond comfortable which is a plus.  And, the idea of being able to purchase lots of different tops at a $7.00-25.00 price point is just awesome.  On top of that, I wore them on 4th of July out to watch the fireworks.  It rained earlier in the evening and the ground was yuk.  When I got home, my shoes were covered in grass and mud.  This was going to be the real test.  Would they clean up?

I snapped the tops off and ran the bottoms under some cool water using my hand to rub the dirt off.  They cleaned in an instant.  I sat them on the counter to dry and proceeded to wash the tops.  They cleaned up quickly, too!  Now to see how they would dry. The next morning I took a look and you would have thought that I had just taken them out of the box from the store.  They were perfect.

Needless to say I am sold and now a HUGE fan of Onesoles.  Check out their site here.

Be Blessed,

For Beautiful Eyes & Skin - Chill Out!

It's time for this week's beauty tip and here is one that I have done for years - even way back during those pageant days.

Wait, you want to see some big hair first...Check this out! LOL.

Told you it was big hair!  Those were the '80's!  My kids still get such a laugh out of these old photos.  Any way, I seriously digressed here.  Forgive me.

As I was saying, my beauty tip of the week is to Chill Out!  What I mean to say is "chill out" your eye cream and a face spritzer.  That's right, during the hot summer months keep your eye cream and simple water based face spritzer in the refrigerator.  After you have had your shower and are getting ready in the morning, head to the kitchen and pull the spritzer bottle out of the frig for a quick squirt on your face.  Then put a dab of chilled eye cream on your eyes and enjoy the sensation.

If you are prone to any swelling around your eyes in the morning, this trick usually does the trick to remove the puffiness almost instantly and the coolness feels so good.

For my face spritzer, I use a small spray bottle with some water and a few drops of rose water or vanilla oil.  You can choose your favorite scents to add in to the water.  Then just hold the bottle in front of your face and close your eyes and apply a spray or two.  It is so refreshing.

I have been known to stop by the kitchen on really hot days and grab a quick spray just as a quick cooling off.  It really works.

So, don't forget and Chill Out for great skin and beautiful eyes.

Be Blessed,

Beauty & Travel Tip - Vaseline Is All You Need

This weeks beauty tip is also a great travel tip, as well. About two year's ago I was attending a luncheon in our development for ladies and we began talking about travel and how it had changed post 9/11. Several of the women were talking about how they hated packing, especially hair care products. Most of their styling gels came in containers that were larger than the 2 oz. allowed for carry on, which meant that they had to check their bags - which of course their husband's hated.

One of the ladies at our table spoke up and said that she had just returned from a 3 week vacation to Australia and London and had carried-on. What?  Three weeks worth of clothes, makeup, skin care and hair care all in a carry-on. No would could believe it. She went on to explain that she was very good with choosing coordinating pieces to her wardrobe that allowed her to make many outfits out of just a few pieces. She stuck with a base color, so that she didn't need many different shoes or pieces of jewelry.

Then she went on to explain that rather than take lots of skin care and hair care products she just carried a small jar of vaseline.  She uses it to remove her makeup, moisturize her face and lips, as well as hands, feet and elbows.  She also uses it as her styling gel when she gets out of the shower.  A little dab will do ya!  Granted, she is like me and sports a short, spunky hairstyle.  But, I couldn't believe vaseline for those many uses.

Well, I decided to give it a try - and it works!  My face, especially under my eyes, is so much smoother.  My hair is like silk when I use the vaseline as a styling gel and it has a healthy glow.  I love it and it makes packing SO easy.

It may not work for everyone, especially if you are prone to oily skin and/or hair, but those of us on the dryer side have a new best friend - VASELINE!

Happy Packing.

Be Blessed,

The $4, 5-Minute Pedi!

No time for the salon? No Worries!

Here's my quick, inexpensive, and easy tip for beautiful, sexy, sandal feet fast!





Hope you enjoy and hey, don't give away my secret (wink, wink).