Homemade Coffee Scrub

I may never have to buy a scrub ever again.

Several months ago, my fellow blogger friend, Jasmine posted an Instagram picture of herself using Frank's coffee body scrub. It left me intrigued.

Fast forward. Recently, I have been watching a Korean YouTuber, SoYoung and in one of her videos, she featured two all-natural ingredients she incorporates into her skincare routine: coconut oil and coffee. 

Today, I decided I would make my own coffee scrub. I had all the ingredients on hand and was in the mood for a mini at-home spa treatment. 

Coffee is packed with antioxidants and caffeine, making it anti-inflammatory and a great exfoliant. 

Coconut oil is a wonderful, multi-purpose ingredient. It is beneficial to your health when consumed, but it is also great when used topically as it has antibacterial, anti-fungal properties. It is also incredibly moisturizing. 

Brown sugar acts as an additional exfoliant with its coarse texture. 

Ingredients: 

• ground coffee - I used leftover French Vanilla coffee I had at home that I was not planning on drinking anymore. You can even use coffee grinds after drinking coffee or even use the grinds in pods (Nespresso, Keurig) 
• organic brown sugar 
• coconut oil - Our house was pretty warm today so the coconut oil had already been in liquid form. You could also substitute with olive oil, jojoba oil, vitamin e oil. 

I used equal parts of all three ingredients (about 3 tablespoons each. It made enough to use on my face and entire body). Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and add a bit more coconut oil, if needed, until you reach the desired consistency. You can store it in an air-tight container if you want to make a bigger batch. 

The scrub left my skin feeling soft and moisturized, without being overly greasy. I plan on making this a weekly ritual. (Next time, I may add some cinnamon and honey - both are antibacterial.) 

Warning: It may leave quite a mess in your bathtub/shower. But I can guarantee, use of this scrub will leave your bathroom smelling like a beautiful coffee shop! 

Makeup Monday - Laneige BB Cushion

The summer sun, the humidity, the heat. They were doing a number on my face of makeup. (Basically, by the end of the day, my makeup would be melted off.) 

So I began a search for a powder compact so that I could touch up throughout the day. 

But then I was pleasantly surprised when I found out about the Laneige BB Cushion through a few YouTubers, of course. (Here, here, and here) 

My mom tells me the BB cushion phenomenon is all the rage and quite widespread in Korea. However, to me, it was a fairly new concept. It's quite innovative. It's a BB cream in a compact form. And I love it; it's travel-and-purse friendly. 

The Laneige BB Cushion is a 5-in-1 product that claims to "protect, cover, hydrate, sooth and brighten". I'm not yet sure about its brightening effects but I can vouch that it does the former four. 

I chose the color Light and though I was worried that it may be too light for me I figured it wouldn't be anything a bit of bronzer couldn't fix.  But it's quite blendable.

Pros: its cooling sensation, has an illuminating effect, SPF 50 (which is hard to come by in a makeup product!), light, airy, while being long-lasting, good coverage, a dewy finish, the formula makes it easy to touch up throughout the day 

Con: The only con about this product is that it's quite scented. It's not an unbearable scent and it wears off, but sometimes right after I apply the product, the scent can be overwhelming. 

How to use: Push the puff into the moistened sponge and then pat on your face. 

The compact costs $34 a comes with a refill. 

Best part? It is sold at Target! 

(No) Makeup Monday

As much as I have confessed my love for makeup, I also love the feeling of taking off my makeup after a long day. And I love that feeling all the more when I use a really good makeup removing cleanser. 

Initially, the idea of washing my face with oil felt quite contradictory and odd, especially considering my combination/oily skin. But as they say, iron sharpens iron and I guess oil dissolves oil! 

I was first introduced to the Shu Uemura oil cleansers by my friend. (Shu Uemura has one for every skin type). But within the last year or so, I've switched over to DHC (mainly because it's easier to find). 

The DHC Cleansing Oil is quite brilliant. It takes off all my face makeup (foundation, powder, bronzer, blush) but it also takes off waterproof mascara! 

I take one pump of the DHC Deep Cleansing Oil (I sometimes mix in castor oil - purchased from Whole Foods - recommended by CloudyApples) into my dry hands and massage it into my dry face. Then I take some water and continue massaging my face. Then (my favorite part) I take a washcloth and run it under hot water, wring it out and then lay it on my face to let the steam work its magic!  

Sometimes, I follow up with a second cleanse with a gentle cleanser but lately I have just been using the oil cleansers. 

After I finish this bottle, I may go the all-natural route and just use organic pure olive oil. (Or coconut oil!) 

Let me know if you try this out! 

Aesop: An experience & a review

Confession: I love watching YouTube makeup videos. It all started when I was introduced to Pixiwoo and from there, it was history. My affinity to Youtube began with makeup tutorials but now, I don't discriminate and it encompasses "reviews, vlogs, and hauls" (just some YouTube jargon for you). I do confess, it may have enabled a few purchases here and there.

I was introduced to the brand, Aesop by several of my favorite YouTubers (mainly Viviannadoesmakeup).

A few weekends ago, I stumbled upon an Aesop store. And it was glorious. The store layout, the organization, the simple yet classy packaging, the rustic fixtures, the customer service.

The woman at the store asked if i had tried any Aesop products and since I hadn't, she eagerly began to introduce me to a few products. She asked me about my skin type and what I was interested in. I had heard a lot about several products but I chose to indulge myself in just one: the parsley seed masque. At $39 it's not a purchase I would be proud to call a "Steal & Deal" by any means. But lately, skincare has been the area to splurge on if I splurge on anything. And I'm glad I did because it is a beautiful product. 

It is a clay-based masque of a light gray color.  You are instructed to put on a light layer after cleansing your skin. Once applied, it has a slight cooling sensation which is refreshing while not being painful (you know you've tried those masques). 

It is clarifying and deep-cleansing while being moisturizing. And my skin loves it. My late-twenties skin has been quite confused; it's having a major identity crisis having trouble deciding whether it would like to be dry or oily. This masque seems to be helping to sort that out. 

Best part about my Aesop experience? I walked away with many samples to try. And they're not skimpy with the samples. The lady even gave Y a bunch to try out too. Oh, those sale people. That's how they draw you in. They're so smart. 

Excited to try out some of the samples!