Feed Your Skin Health Food

Let’s face it.  When it comes to DIY beauty treatments many of us still don’t know where to begin.  I wanted to share a few of my favorite facial cocktail recipes so you can do some home spa-ing without compromising results.  These cocktails are literally boosters for your outer layer & provide necessary nutrition to maintain healthy skin.  Remember, your skin is your largest organ!  Feed it health food & it will take care of you as it’s supposed to do!

Cilantro Detox Elixer

2tbs honey
2 tbs finely chopped cilantro
2 tbs oat flour
1 tbs plain yogurt

Mix all ingredients together in a glass bowl until well blended.  Apply to clean skin using your fingertips. Avoid the eye area.  Rich in lactic acid, this elixer is amazing for softening & brightening your complexion.   Rinse off with a warm washcloth after about 10 minutes & apply moisturizer.

Lemon Drop

2 tbs oat flour
2 tbs honey
2 tbs lemonade
1 egg white

Mix all ingredients in glass bowl.  You can add more or less of either the oat flour or the lemonade to make the mix thicker or thinner.  You want to create a rich, thick consistency that won’t drip off your face.  Apply to clean skin with your fingertips, avoiding the eye area.  As the egg dries you will feel your skin tighten a bit, but this mask will not dry.  Rinse off after about 10 minutes & apply moisturizer.  This is an excellent DIY Vitamin C mask & will brighten & tighten your complexion.

Banana Split

2 tbs cocoa powder
1/2 over ripened banana
2 tbs honey

Mash banana in glass bowl then mix together cocoa powder & honey until well blended & smooth.  To clean face, apply a scoop of your banana split onto your face with your fingers & let sit for about 10 mins.  Rinse off with warm water & apply Brown Bag Botanicals Youth Serum for Face or your favorite moisturizer.

Simple tips to remember

• don’t use products that are over drying to your skin as they will promote premature aging
• properly moisturize & use sunscreen daily
• remember that your skin is your largest organ – use food grade ingredients that offer healthful benefits

Filed under: Uncategorized
1 Comment »

I love the abundance of local produce throughout the spring & summer!  There are so many benefits of incorporating seasonal fruits & vegetables into your skin care regimen.  Most of your high end skin care products contain extracts of fruits & vegetables to boost their products, making them specifically geared towards achieving certain results.  You can refresh & maintain your complexion by going straight to the source of these ingredients in your kitchen (& garden) & create your own “facial cocktail”.  This is also a nice way to give your spent produce new life instead of throwing them away!

Strawberry Facial Cocktail

This facial cocktail gently sloughs off dead skin cells as strawberries are a natural source of salicylic acid & Vit C.  Brightens complexion, tightens pours & reduces inflammation.  When choosing between oatmeal & coffee grounds (below) keep in mind that both are very gentle exfoliants.  The caffeine in coffee is excellent for circulation, plus the aroma is a fabulous pick me up in the morning!  Oatmeal is very soothing for irritated skin & is exceptionally softening.

Prep time:  5 mins
Yields product for 3 uses.

You need:

Blender
1/2 cup strawberries
1 cup oatmeal or used coffee grounds
2 tbs honey
2 tbs plain yogurt or sour cream (optional)

Pour all ingredients except for the yogurt into the blender & blend for a few seconds until everything looks nice & smooth.  Pour into container & spoon in the yogurt until you reach the desired consistency.  If you’re not using yogurt, then you can add more oatmeal if you need to thicken your cocktail up a bit.

Rinse face with warm water or steam with a hot face towel.  Apply Strawberry Facial Cocktail to face & neck with your fingertips (avoiding the eyes) using gentle, circular motions.  Leave on for about five minutes, rinse with warm water then moisturize properly using your favorite facial moisturizer or Brown Bag Botanicals Youth Serum for Face.

If you have teen daughters, this is an excellent recipe to share & teach them to care for their skin properly at an early age.  Many commercial products are either over-drying or over-stimulating for young skin, which will increase their skin’s natural sebum (oil) production & promote blemishes.  This recipe makes for a very fun “to-do” at a girls sleepover or mommy-daughter party!

Filed under: Uncategorized
No Comments »

I love the holidays!  And I LOVE technology.  Nothing better than shopping in my slippers while sipping on that Baileys & Coffee.  The older I get the less tolerant I am of crowds & bad customer service.  So in my rebellion I find solace with shopping on the comfort of my couch.

This year has been incredible.  In spite of the major dips and losing so many of my retailers due to doors closing from the crash in the economy, Brown Bag Botanicals has survived.  All because of your continued patronage & referrals.  I receive so many emails and messages from many customers who share their experiences with my products.  I had no idea when I embarked on this adventure TEN years ago (OMG I’m aging myself! LOL) that I would be sitting here having this conversation with all of you.  I’m thrilled, grateful, elated and overwhelmed at the same time.  All good stuff

To thank you for all that you have done for me and to make it easier to continue to share Brown Bag Botanicals with your friends and family, I’ve discounted all products by 20% and I’m offering FREE SHIPPING on all orders placed tomorrow.  You can shop to your heart’s content as there’s no limit during the 24 hour Cyber Monday Sale!  OK, it’s actually more like 36 hours since I’m shouting out early… This is a great time to try that new aroma of  Sugar Whip! Body Scrub that you’ve been eyeballing, or stock up on shea butter for all your holiday gift exchanges.

Happy Shopping!

Mrs. Claus

Filed under: Uncategorized
No Comments »