lend a helping hand- won't you?

So I had this little idea that maybe we could all help each other out this Christmas by sharing some of our favorite finds and products of this year. Kind of like Oprah's favorite things only sorry we won't all be receiving free gifts...................bummer. If there is something in your life that you love or find very useful, would you please e-mail me a picture and a short description as well as how people can get it. My e-mail address is amberrhoton@yahoo.com I thought I could post these and give some great ideas for gift giving this year.

I am going to start it off by posting my numero uno find of the year. I wanted to wait and make sure it was as good as I thought it was before bragging about it. After I began having kids for some reason I was cursed with the dreaded adult acne. I never had had a zit in my life until the past few years! While my mom was visiting a while back I noticed that she was blessed with some of the most beautiful skin and I wondered why I didn't inherit it- "I just never laid out like you girls do so my face hasn't had as much sun exposure" she would always say. I spotted something in her toiletry bag that proved she was getting a little help from a bottle after all. It is the face care system created by Patricia Wexler at the Bath & Body stores!

Sorry if the picture is too small- if you go to the store you can check it out for yourself. I have not had skin that felt like this since I was in High School! (remember I never went through the teenage acne phase just the 30 year old acne phase) I love, LOVE, love this system. You can by a month kit for 50 bucks- and the cheapo in me thinks I can make it last even longer. The AM- PM cream is the real kicker and that alone would make an excellent gift for anyone. I can't wait to see if there are any more fun things out there! please e-mail me.

just experimenting...................

I have such a desire to make homemade beauty products. The Angry chicken has some great recipes. I recently made some more lip balms. They are the most nourishing lip balms my lips have ever had! The problem is that the cocoa butter I ordered has this strange after taste and I find that it taints the balm even though I put in flavoring. Any whoo- Just thought I would share the recipe I have- I ordered some darling little containers but they are not in yet so my packaging of this product is not quite to my liking (a sucker for presentation you know!)

Recipe:

1 tsp shea butter

1 tsp cocoa butter

2 capsules vitamin E (pierce and squeeze)

essential oil (I used peppermint and orange for these)

Melt in a microwave safe dish and let set up in the fridge!

I bought most of my supplies @ a health food store- they will usually order stuff for you if they do not have what you need. I have some more products I have been experimenting with and I will post when they are more perfected!

I heart headbands!

Everyone in my close circle knows about my obsession with headbands. After my first baby, I found that having my hair out of my face was the most freeing feeling plus those little grabby hands couldn't get to my hair during feeding times. To my husbands dismay- I wear a headband on most days of the week. I think long hair gets pulled into ponytails and short hair gets a headband when we are in our mommy uniforms for the day. I recently learned how to make simple, cute headbands using ponytail elastics and ribbon on this site - They are really easy to make. I have found that doubling up the ribbon (you can even use two different colors and have a reversible one) makes them a little more durable and better for holding hair back.

Modbe....................

If I have not already e-mailed you and you are interested in ordering anything from this website please shoot me an e-mail and I will tell you how (You have to go through a rep to order and I found one!) amberrhoton@yahoo.com

sugar scrub

Ingredients
50 percent white cane sugar
50 percent vegetable glycerin to moisten the sugar (I used avocado oil since I was out of vegetable glycerin and it proved to be a successful substitute)
Small amounts of aloe vera gel, vitamin C crystals, or anything healing that dissolves in water
1 or 2 drops of essential oil if desired (I recommend combining orange and lavender)
Enough ground hibiscus powder for pink color (if desired- I have never done this step personally)
Combine the ingredients in a bowl. Scoop some of the scrub onto your hand and massage gently onto your skin for a minute (the scrub will actually tighten onto your skin like a masque). Leave on for 3 to 4 minutes before rinsing.
I love sugar scrubs! I use them all over my body! I take a bath almost every night and I found that I was going through the expensive sugar scrubs way too fast! I found this recipe and Highly recommend it- Enjoy!