5 Valentines Day Gift Ideas

Here are a few beauty ideas for Valentines Day. 

This little Kneipp Herbal Bath Collection* (6 x 20ml - £9.95) is available to buy at Big Green Smile and is perfect if you enjoy a soak in the bath. It contains Pure Bliss (Red Poppy & Hemp) - this is one of my favourites, Enjoy Life (May Chang & Lemon), Balancing (Lavender), Stress Free (Mandarin & Orange), Sweet Dreams (Valerian & Hops) and Eucalyptus. The herbal baths are free from paraffin, silicone and mineral oils.  They lightly scent and tint the bath water and are soothing and calming.

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lj's natural solutions Valentine Little Bottle of Love (50ml - £7.95) - this heavenly scented massage oil comes with a little bag of rosepetals which you can add to your bath or sprinkle over your bed.  This Organic bath/body/massage oil is scented with Ylang Ylang, Lavender and Amyris and will uplift, calm and soothe.

Nourish Radiance Rejuvenating Peptide Serum 30ml (£20)* - this serum rejuvenates and hydrates the skin. It is perfect to use as a primer before applying make-up. It has a gorgeous rosey scent and absorbs quickly leaving the skin soft and radiant. Wear over moisturiser for a dewy glow or under for a more matt look.

Make Lucy's gorgeous Floral Bath Melts - get the recipe here. Lucy very kindly wrote a guest post for me on these fab DIY treats.

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Bamford Body Splash One Morning (£75 - 245ml) - a delicious new body splash with notes of fresh violet, jasmine, iris, musk, amber and vanilla. Use all over the body to refresh and scent.

*PR samples

DIY Beauty: Floral Bath Melts

Lucy over at No Mud, No Lotus very kindly agreed to do a guest post for me. Her bath melts look amazing and would be a perfect Valentine's Day gift. I'll be making them..and soon!  Over to you Lucy..

Hello! My name is Lucy, I write a blog over at No mud, No lotus.

I was very happy when Sandra offered me an opportunity to guest post on her lovely blog and wanted to dream up something that Sandra would enjoy for my post. 

I am a huge fan of bath products. For me, there is nothing more soothing than a long, steamy bath and playing around making my own bath products makes the whole ritual even more special. 

These bath melts are an easy DIY for a little treat for yourself, or as a gift for a friend. Now, as with all oil based bath products, please be extra careful getting in and out of the bath and give the bath a good clean afterwards to get rid of any oil residue.

You can customise the scents and key ingredients depending on what your preferences are. 

The melts in my pictures are made with rose and frankincense essential oil, cornish sea salt, bicarbonate of soda, coconut oil and rose, lavender and calendula flowers. I chose these to provide a relaxing and skin soothing blend, but you could use any butter or oil that is solid at room temperature (but will melt in warm water) as your base and choose herbs and oils to your own taste and needs. I like adding some salts/bicar or milk powder, as these help give the water an even more silky feel and for the added benefits of these ingredients for your skin and state of mind. 

Here are some ideas of other combinations: 

Invigorating melts: bergamot oil and dried rosemary leaves (rosemary flowers would also look very pretty!) in a base of shea butter, with sea salt. 

Soothing pre-bed time melts: lavender oil, dried lavender flowers, milk powder and epsom salts in a coconut oil base.

Sensual melts (just be careful, the bath will be slippy!!), ylang ylang and rose oil and  rose petals in a cocoa butter oil base with pink himalayan salts (to add a little colour and for the fantastic skin loving minerals). 

Here is how I made my melts:

Ingredients:

6 heaped tablespoons of organic virgin coconut oil

6 drops of rose oil

6 drops of frankincense oil

1 tablespoon each of rose petals, calendule flowers and lavender flowers

2 tablespoons of sea salt (optional)

2 tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda (optional)

Equipment:

Plastic jug

Plastic bowl of hot (not quite boiling) water

Ice cube tray (or other small moulds)

tablespoon

Method:

1. Add a sprinkle of each of your chosen flowers or herbs to each section of your ice cube tray or mould.

2. Spoon the coconut oil (or your butter/s) into your jug and place the jug in the bowl of hot water to create a bain-marie. 

3. When it has melted completely, stir in your sea salt and bicarb (or any other powders, if using) and add your essential oils. Stir well until combined. 

4. Spoon the mixture into each section of your icecube tray or mould (this means you get a good mix of oil and salts in each section, if you pour, you'll tend to get the salts hanging around at the bottom). 

5. Allow to set in a cool place or the fridge for around two hours.

6. Pop out of the mould/tray and admire your handy work. Store your melts in a cool place in a bag, tin or jar.

7. Add 1-2 melts to your bath and enjoy!

I hope you have fun trying this out... what ingredients would you choose?

Find me on twitter and let me know!

Lucy

No mud, no lotus

xx

DIY Beauty

I sometimes make my own DIY beauty -

Bath Oil: single use - 5 drops of essential oil in 10ml (2tsp) carrier oil (e.g. Almond, Coconut, Sunflower, Calendula etc).  My favourite blends are Rose Geranium & Lime and Geranium & Lavender.

Salt Scrub: enough for one treatment - 2tbs sea salt, 1tsp dried lavender buds, 2tbs Almond Oil, two drops of essential oil.   Mix all ingredients together and use immediately.  This leaves the skin smooth, soft and moisturised though be careful because the bath/shower will be slippy after use.

Hair Treatment: one treatment - mix together 2 drops of Chamomile essential oil with 1tsp coconut oil.  Massage through the hair focussing on the scalp and ends.  Leaves hair conditioned and silky smooth.

For restful sleep: put 2 drops Lavender oil onto a ball of cotton wool/a tissue and tuck inside your pillowcase.

Keep Calm: keep a bottle of Frankincense oil in your bag and sniff to combat feelings of panic or for use in stressful situations.