BellaSugar

Doing Drugstore: St. Ives Moisturizing In-Shower Exfoliating Body Polish

BellaSugar — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 13:00:01 -0700

I love body polishes that don't require excess force to work, particularly ones that use sugar, which is gentler on the skin. Over the weekend, I tried out St. Ives Moisturizing In-Shower Exfoliating Body Polish, Oatmeal & Shea Butter ($8), which contains natural sugar crystals for exfoliation, oatmeal to soothe, and shea butter for softer skin. While this polish is a little difficult to scoop out of the jar due to its texture (think of a dense Crisco), once it hits the skin and some water, it almost melts, creating a rich, spreadable lather.

The polish has a sweet almond scent and a finer, more dissolvable grit than the famous invigorating St. Ives Apricot Scrub ($4). Before shaving, I spread a little of the polish on my legs for a smooth, non-irritating result.

I like it for a pedicure, too. After scrubbing my feet with the body polish, I used my beauty shortcut to fake a real pedicure. A little goes a long way with this product, making for an affordable - and effective - drugstore find.

DIY Spa Treatment Recap: Scrubs For the Rest of Your Body

BellaSugar — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 11:00:22 -0800

Rub-a-dub-dub, let's put a homemade scrub in your tub. Check out six sumptuous recipes to pamper different parts of your body (other than just hands and feet). All sugary sweet but not to eat, the crafty concoctions below will have your skin soft in no time.

Brown Sugar Body Scrub	Sesame Ginger Body Scrub	Honey Mint Body Scrub
Lavender Pecan Body Scrub	Lemon Sugar Lip Scrub	Coffee Clove Body Scrub

DIY: A Brown Sugar Body Scrub Inspired by a Winter Cocktail

BellaSugar — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 09:01:47 -0800

A few weeks ago my friend decided to make hot buttered rum on a whim. None of us had ever had it, and it sounded kind of gross... yet somehow appealing. (YumSugar has a recipe.) Is it good? It was a mixed bag on that one, but the batter itself served as my inspiration for this brown sugar scrub. Oh, and I just found out that National Hot Buttered Rum Day is this Saturday. Who knew? Yum even has a fun quiz all about this old school drink. Check out some pics below, along with my recipe, too.

Bella's Booze-Free Hot Buttered Rum Brown Sugar Body Scrub:

Mix together 1/2 cup brown sugar; 1/4 cup almond oil (olive oil would work, too); a dash of ground cinnamon or cinnamon essential oil; and a dash of ground nutmeg or nutmeg essential oil. Apply. Optional: Add a dash of rum extract - Oh, I suppose you could get the real stuff out and mix up a little rum cocktail for yourself, too. Whee!

View 4 Photos ›

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Beauty Mark It Results: Beautiful Body Scrubs

BellaSugar — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 13:15:22 -0700

Last week we switched things around by updating our weekly Beauty Mark It feature. Instead of asking you to go out there and find products that correlate to a specific topic, I asked you to go to our ever-fabulous Product Review Site to give your honest opinions instead. The subject matter this time around? To tell me what you think about your fave/not so fave Body Scrubs and Exfoliants.

I loved reading everybody's opinions, and the following three reviews really stood out:

Stooped reviewed Victoria's Secret Stimulating Body Scrub ($9) - "I usually prefer scrubs with bran or finely ground seeds, as the sugar scrubs I tried dissolved too early to be effective on the body. VS scrubs don't dissolve right away so you can work in some scrubbing without irking your skin. The fragrances are a bit too sweet at first, but soon wear off to a subtle, pleasing smell. Plus, you can't beat the price. They are also often on a bogo sale in stores."

To see the other two reviews, read more.

SweetSavant reviewed Giovanni Mint Lemonade Salt Scrub ($13.95) - "So refreshing, too bad it's not cocktail! Usually I'm a lover of refined sugar scrubs, but this salt scrub is so gentle and skin-refreshing that it is plenty sweet on its own! It sloughs off the dead skin while the essential oil rich formula moisturizes and replenishes. To simply put it, this stuff is awesome and affordable, a definite must!"
spirited786: reviewed Bliss Hot Salt Scrub, Rosemary + Eucalyptus ($36) - "This product truly lives up to its reputation! It warms, exfoliates, and leaves skin feeling oh-so-soft (even before using lotion!). It also has a soothing scent that makes you feel like you're pampering yourself - not just taking care of your skin. I just wish it were cheaper . . ."

Thanks to all of you who beefed up the new site with your fabulous star ratings, particularly our three readers - check your inboxes for a Sugar gift! So, go on over to check out a preview of product reviews - but be careful. It's addictive.

DIY Spa Treatment: Coffee Clove Body Scrub

BellaSugar — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 08:00:41 -0700

Does it say something about my lifestyle that in all of these DIYs, the only thing I am apprehensive about is wasting coffee? Luckily, what I came up with is not wasteful at all but instead a delicious body scrub that works as well as it smells. Also, instead of mixing it up in a bowl like I have in the past, I washed out a tub of Kerastase Masquintense. So much environmental responsibility in one post!

For ingredients and instructions, read more.

Here's what you'll need:

3/4 cup coffee beans

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cloves

Step 1: Put coffee beans, powdered clove and brown sugar in a coffee grinder.
Step 2: Grind coarsely, put in empty tub or Tupperware container and mix a little more.
Step 3: Add vanilla and oil and mix. Feel free to add more olive oil, but do it slowly, as it's easy to go overboard!

By being able to control the sizes of the particles in the scrub, you decide how rough you want it. The oil really does the trick in terms of keeping your limbs smooth. I shaved after using it, and my legs are super-smooth and soft, so don't be afraid to keep it a little chunky.

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Beauty Mark It! Beautiful Body Scrubs

BellaSugar — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:20:05 -0700

I'm always down for changing things around, and now it's time to ruffle up things a bit on our Beauty Mark It challenges. From now on, I'll provide the topic (suggestions always welcome) and ask you to provide a review of a product within that category. Then, we'll add it to our ever-expanding Product Reviews page, where you can add your own star ratings.

This week, let's kick things off with body scrubs. Whether it comes in a tube or jar or sloughs dead skin with beads, enzymes, or crushed walnuts, one thing's for sure - these products feel great. Just go to the body scrubs section, and the rest is easy. I'll feature my favorite reviews here next week, so what are you waiting for? It's time to voice your opinion.

And don't forget: every day you share a product review, you're entered to win a prize. Huzzah!

New Product Alert: Carol's Daughter SweetHoneyDip ChocolateBrownSugah Scrub

BellaSugar — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 10:00:47 -0700

Try saying this one three times fast. Not only is this new SweetHoneyDip ChocolateBrownSugah Scrub ($34) from Carol's Daughter so good that you can almost eat it, but it works wonders to slough away dead skin cells. After trying this sweet treat in a hot bath last weekend, I loved the way it left my skin feeling moisturized, soft and luxuriously smooth.

It's packed with real chocolate, honey, vanilla bean and chunks of brown sugar (a natural exfoliant) so it smells divine and feels incredible on your body. It's also formulated with a blend of evening primrose oil, omega 6-fatty acids, vitamin E and olive oil to help restore elasticity and hydrate dry skin.

You may think that the honey, sugar and chocolate would be way too sticky to put on your body, but it's actually not that bad. If you apply a teaspoon at a time to the palms of your hands, then rub it into your wet skin in small circular motions, you'll be all set. Oh, and if you lick a little "by accident" while you're at it, don't worry, it's not going to hurt you - although I'd advise nibbling an actual dessert after a good scrub instead.

Product Review: Lush Buffy Body Bar

BellaSugar — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 08:00:18 -0700

Buffy Summers is arguably the smartest, strongest, most complex heroine in TV history, and I'm disappointed that we haven't seen anyone come close to her coolness since Buffy went off the air. (Maybe Dollhouse will change that.) But I remember Buffy every time I rub my bottom.

Let me explain. One of Lush's cult products is Buffy ($10.75), an exfoliating and moisturizing bar for use in the shower. You just rub your skin as you would with a bar of soap, but Buffy sloughs away dead skin while leaving a moisturizing layer of cocoa and shea butters behind. It's pretty great, since it effectively cancels out the need to use a body lotion afterward. The only downside is that it can be ever-so-slightly greasy, so you'll need to gently pat, not rub, your skin with a towel. Otherwise, though, it's great if you have scaly, dry skin - or if you just want to relive the days of the Scooby Gang in the shower.

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DIY Spa Treatment: Ginger-Mint Body Scrub

BellaSugar — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 06:00:23 -0700

Store-bought brown sugar scrubs are divine, but when their prices swing upward toward the $50 mark, that's a lit-tle high for most people. Fortunately, whipping up your own scrub couldn't be easier - and the results are just as good.

You will need:

Honey
Freshly grated ginger root
Chopped fresh mint leaves
Olive oil
Brown sugar, light or dark

To see what to do, read more.

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl - it's up to you to decide how much ginger and mint you'd like, but a ratio of 1/3 olive oil to 2/3 brown sugar will provide a good base for the scrub. About a tablespoon of honey will provide an antiseptic quality to the scrub.

The best way to use this scrub is on dry skin; it's particularly good on hands and feet. After buffing your skin, rinse with warm water. You'll have incredibly softer skin for a small fraction of a name-brand scrub!

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Succulent Strawberry Scrubs

BellaSugar — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 10:01:12 -0800

Having these grainy and sweet body scrubs in the bath and shower is just asking for trouble. After just one whiff, I'll never want to get out. For those of you who want to take a break from the doldrums of January and indulge in a summertime treat, here are three succulent scrubs that'll do the trick. And hey, if you have any Winter strawberries in your fridge that you can't bear to waste, try making this strawberry scrub at home.

Fresh Sugar Face Polish ($55) is one of those oldies but goodies that you can never say too many great things about. It's made with ground-up wild strawberries and brown sugar, so it's deep cleaning and exfoliating. One of my friends swears by this stuff, and considering the fact that her skin is always soft and clear, it's enough for me.

This Fresh Ripe Wild Strawberry Scrub from Peter Thomas Roth ($35) is more for the body than for the face. It's a sweet-smelling scrub that uses strawberry seeds as exfoliating grains. Not only does it deep clean, it also sloughs away rough, dead skin.

100% Pure Strawberry Butter Body Scrub ($22) is an all-natural, rich, and thick body scrub infused with coconut oil and shea butter to help condition while exfoliating. It also contains antioxidants to help brighten and protect skin. I can't think of a yummier way to scrub-a-dub in the tub.