Where have you been?

So its been almost 4 months since my last post, which makes me feel completely behind and awful all at the same time.  I'm not going to go into to detail as to why its been so long, but everything is great! :D So  this blog post is going to just be a mix of updates, favorite products, and some DIY for your skin!


First of all ladies, I am still doing my sugar scrubbing business.  And I wanted to thank everyone for being such a great support and buying my scrubs, it means a lot!  After being cleaned out of all my supplies from Christmas, I have restocked and ordered 9 new delicious scents!  If you want to order more my phone and my facebook are always open! :] Or email me at Sassysugascrubs@hotmail.com.  I'm still doing the 16oz jars for 8$.  I tried to choose warm, fruity, and clean scents! Here they are!


Cucumber Melon
Coconut Lime Verbena
Eskimo Kisses-Blackberry jam, caramelized brown sugar, vanilla, and amber in a softly romantic scent.
Forrest Rain
Midnight Pomegranate
Honeysuckle
Love Spell
Strawberry Cheesecake
Sun washed Linen
Honey and Oats


Second of all I need to share with you what my winter favorites and must haves are for right now.  With such a cold dry winter, my skin has been freaking out a ton.  I don't know about you by my face has been so dry and dehydrated.  I've been in a constant battle trying to keep it looking full of life and not so dull.  I find that in the summer, I don't need as much makeup and i have this dewy glow to my skin and once winter rolls around my skin is angry with me.  So if your like me, here's some things that have been amazing to my skin.

1. Clarisonic- This bad boy has been my life saver for getting that dry dull skin off my face.  Only a minute with my favorite moisturizing cleanser and my skin is deeply cleansed, and exfoliated!  





 *Since the clarisonic is in the pricier range, this facial brush down below is a great alternative and does the same job! You can get these at target and Walgreen's in the bath or facial sections!*















2. Moisturizing products- Finding something that is moisturizing, natural, and non clogging is a hard find.  The entire collection of the "Say yes.." are great.  And their "Say yes to Carrots" line is strictly for nourishing and moisturizing skin. And it doesn't smell too bad either ;] actually it smells amazing! Carrots are filled with vitamin c (yes your skin needs a lot of vitamin c too) and beta carotene's which are found in carrots that the body turns into vitamin a (retinol) which is great for skin turn over! (You can find these products at Walgreen's and target)

3.  Humidifier- Now, this might sound completely silly but its true.  I thought humidifiers were for only when your sick.  That was the only time i had ever used one.  But I thought long and hard, if the humidifier helps hydrate my lungs, nose, and eyes its gotta hydrate my skin as well.  And it does! Ive been using a humidifier every night for the past week, and its doing my body and my skin good! If you've got one, not only will it help your insides, but your outside as well! :]

4. Fish oil- I have a huge bottle of this stuff that i bought and I have not been taking it.  But fish oil is supper important.  It contains DHA's which keeps the brain functioning properly, and EPA's which hydrates, and boosts oil production in the skin helping with acne, and preventing aging with fine lines and wrinkles.  I began taking it again everyday, and as much as I don't like the smell of it.  It helps my skin a lot!

5. Water- I can't stress enough how important water is for your body and a big part of keeping your skin healthy.  As much as vitamins, and facial products are helpful, water is the most important.  I admit I have been having a hard time not drinking enough especially when your busy! But I definitely notice a huge change in my skin when i do keep up with my daily intake!












And last but not least for toady's long blog, I have a DIY that I'm sure will make your skin feel plump and delicious!  And it might make you a little hungry too ;]

You make my skin go BANANAS! Recipe :]

What you will need:

1/2 of a mashed banana

2 tsp of plain oats (optional)

1 tsp of milk (or soy,almond,coconut milk)

1 tsp of honey

Whip this delicious treat up in a small bowl with a spoon.  Once mixed well, apply to your face with your hands (clean hands only! ha ha) Once the mask is on, get into a nice hot tub, or grab your favorite book and curl up! You can leave this mask on as long as you need to, I would keep it on for at least 10 minutes.  Once you have decided its time to get the mask off, grab a clean wash cloth and rinse it in cold water (warm or hot water will only dry you out more). Wipe the mask off until its all off and then apply your favorite moisturizer.  Once you wake up the next morning and feel your face you'll go Bananas because it feels so amazing! :D

Thank you for reading this blog even though I've been monkeying around and being so delayed!  I hope you enjoyed this blog, and I'll be sure to keep the blogs updated now!



Sassy Suga Scrubs

Introducing Sassy Suga Scrubs!

Thats right ladies, after making sugar scrubs for myself, then for some friends and family I decided why not make this into a little business.  So I rounded up a ton of jars, and sugar and selected 25 yummy scents that will be sure to make your skin look and smell scrumptious! Now if your interested, I'm selling 16oz jars for $8, unless you need me to send them to you by mail we will work out the shipping! Its the perfect time of year for these scrubs, its cold and dry out we need to keep our skin soft and looking refreshed! These also make great gifts for upcoming birthdays and christmas, who wouldnt want some suga? ;]

So take a look at the list of scents below! If your interested reach me on facebook, or email me at Sassysugascrubs@hotmail.com and let me know what your craving!

Sassy Scents:
-Very Cherry
-White Chocolate Covered Cherries
-Strawberries and Champagne
-Ginger Lime
-Gardenia (Very Floral, fresh scent)
- Toasted Hazelnut
-Sun Ripened Raspberries
- Georgia Peach
-Tangerine Spice
-Sandlewood Rose
- Enchanted Apple
-Love and Luck (very girly floral perfume scent)
- Chamomile Lavender
- Lavender
- Dolce De Leche Carmel
-Chai Tea
- Coffee
- Gingerbread
-Chocolate Mint
- Birthday Cake
- Sugar Cookie
- Pumpkin Spice
- Almond
- French Toast
-Cinnabon

Hope you find something you like :] I'm super excited for this business, if these next couple months go well I want to expand into doing facial scrubs, bath salts, whipped body scrubs,etc. I appreciate you taking the time to read my blogs for one, and if we do business or spread the word I forever thank you!

<3 Sarah



Pumpkin Head

The title of this blog is actually very near and dear to my heart.  Ever since I can remember, this is what my Aunt Sharon has called me.  I am twenty years old now, and I still love it. Pumpkin head is relevant because underneath all this hair, I have got a huge head.  No, no I'm not full of myself, but if you do catch me always looking in the mirror...well I can't help it ;].  Jokes aside, pumpkin is not only apart of my nickname,but its one of my favorite things in the world.  Yes, pumpkin!  Pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin pie, pumpkin candles, etc.  If it has something to do with pumpkin I love it!  The reason I'am so completely obssessed with this fruit (yes a fruit, I just googled it myself) is because pumpkin means October, October means fall and fall brings on so much nostalgia for me. This time of year means changing leaves, scarves, sweaters, boots, haunted houses, corn mazes and that amazing crisp cool scent the air has for the months of October and November.  So for this blog I'm shaking things up a bit and doing a blog that is devoted to my favorite fall makeup products, and skin care products, nail colors, and scents for this month along with a DIY mask!  Grab a comfy blanket, a pumpkin latte and lets get started!

1. Revlon Just Bitten Lip stain + Balm: Oh my goodness! This product is AMAZING! I am not a big lipstick person, but when fall comes around, I love to rock a dark red lip. But finding one that is the perfect color, plus one that stays is hard. So I finally gave in to a stain instead of a tube of lipstick. To the far left, is a picture of me rocking Just Bitten in the color Twilight.  Let me tell you, my lips grew two sizes, and the color is gorgeous!  If your not a big fan of dark colors, they come in a variety of lighter colors as well. I tested it for a night of drinking (tea and water come on!) and eating, and I give it 4.5 stars on holding up!  Remember its a lip stain, so it wont come off like lipstick it will just fade.

2. Maybelline New York Dream Mousse Blush in Soft Plum: When summer comes to an end I like to drift from my soft pinks and coral blushes to more berry and plum colored blushes.  Dark colored blushes look great on every skin color, and you only need a little bit to really rosy up your cheeks.  This creamy blush is a great replacement for powder blushes in the fall and winter season because the cold weather tends to dry out or skin more, and with this you get more of a dewy glow to your skin, and it tends to stay on longer than most powder blushes do.








3. Essie Nail Polish in the color Wicked: Picked up this color just randomly at Target from their fall collection. Put it on and BAM! I fell in love! This nail polish is a great dark fall color, and it kind of screams vampire.  With one coat you get a wine red color, if you do two or three coats you get a black color with a hint of red. Overall this is what I will be rocking all fall.

4. Bath & Body Works Twilight Woods: If you want a great scent to transition into from your floral sweet scents from the summer, Twilight Woods is one of my favorite fall scents and it has notes of Juicy berry, sweet mimosa, and woodsy scents.

5. Bath & Body Works Leaves Scented Candle: This candle is so scrumptious!  I have it burning right now and it has notes of red delicious apples, cinnamon sticks, and mulled cider spices!






Your probably thinking, this is an odd blog wheres the skin stuff?  Well no worries here, I've got a Do-it-yourself mask that will make you crave some pumpkin pie! Now pumpkins are great to eat, but they are filled with vitamin A,C, and E, potassium, beta carotene, alpha carotene, and zinc. They are also used in the spa industry for their enzymes, which are great for getting rid of dead skin.  I used pumpkin masks A LOT during school, because I found that my clients skin was always glowing and super plump when they left me, kind of like a pumpkin :D


Pumpkin Head Mask Recipe:
What you'll need:
-2 teaspoons of canned pumpkin
-1/2 teaspoon of honey
-1/2 teaspoon of milk (or almond, soy, coconut, etc.)
-1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon


Mix all these ingredients together in a small bowl until you have a paste consistency.  Once you have mixed it really well, apply all over your face avoiding the eyes.  Once its on, lay back and relax and let it dry on your face for about 15-20 minutes.  Rinse off with a warm water and enjoy that plump pumpkin infused skin!


WARNING: You will crave pumpkin pie.


I hope ya'll enjoyed this blog! I know it was a little different, but if you liked this and want me to do this for each month let me know! For now, enjoy those leaves changing! 


Falling in love with Fall <3

Open my Eyes

Walking into the bathroom last week I washed my face and when I came up from rinsing, I realized my eyes were dark, dull and tired looking.  Now a little history, I have struggled with dark circles and bags under my eyes since I can remember.  Unfortunately due to the genetics in my family, we all suffer from it.  I think we all can agree that we have suffered from this, and to be honest when our eyes aren't looking so great it can really take away from our appearance.  But fear not, I have found some amazing tricks to get them from looking tired and dull to refreshed and awake.

Now to start off, take some time to think about what could be the cause of your eyes unfortunate state.  Many factors can play into this.  Sleep is a big factor, we all know that keeping a steady schedule of at least 8 hours of sleep is a healthy habit.  When you say you need to get your "beauty rest" it sounds funny, but its absolutely true.  It has been studied that between the hours of 11 p.m and 4 a.m. your skin cell renewal is at its highest regeneration.

Another factor can be caused from your sinuses.  Congestion can be awful for the appearance of your eyes.  Nasal inflammation and sinus congestion can interfere with the return path of blood that has been pumped out by the heart.  Congestion slows down and impairs the blood flow to our bodies which can cause the vessels around our eye area to trap and pool blood there, and Voila! you have dark circles .  So not only is your nose running and turning bright red, but now your eyes look like you have two black eyes. Wonderful :]


And last but not least, water intake!  Water is a fantastic way to make your skin look hydrated and fresh.  During the day you should consume at least 8-10 glasses of water.  As the day turns to night and its getting closer to your bedtime make sure you either stop the water intake, or slow it down quite a bit.  Drinking to much water before bed can cause bloating, which can cause puffiness in the eyes because your body is not elevated or working that water off as much as you would be when your awake.  *Trick: use two pillows if you can to keep your head elevated; it will help the blood flow in your facial area.


So now that you have figured out what has caused your dark circles we can now get to the treatments!
Here are your tips and tricks:

Makeup Remover: Finding a good makeup remover is tricky. The search for something that removes your eye makeup without blurring, or irritating your eyes has been a long journey for me.  This is Sonia Kashuk's eye makeup remover that is found @Target for $9.99. Now that might be a bit pricey for some people, but ladies let me tell you.  For someone who loves their eye makeup, this amazing liquid removes it in one or two good swipes. And you only need a pea-size amount. NO JOKE! I will never go back to another makeup remover.

Cotton Rounds: These little babies are a woman's best friend.  They can be used for an insane amount of beauty things.  Not only are these great to remove your eye makeup with but you can use these for an awakening treatment for your eyes.

Awaken Your Eyes Recipe:
What you'll need:
-2 cotton rounds
-water
-Freezer

Take the two cotton rounds and wet them a decent amount.  Fold them in half, and stick them in a zip-lock bag overnight (you can also make pairs for the rest of the week, that way they're ready).  When you awake in the morning, after you wash your face grab the two cotton rounds and place them  underneath your eyes where your dark circles are. After they have warmed up a bit, begin light compression's with the rounds back and forth under the eye.  This will encourage blood flow under your eyes, reduce the puffiness, and actually wake your eyes right up! Doing this every morning, or a couple times a week will really help your eyes fight the darkness!

Tea Bags: Not only is tea a delicious and relaxing thing to drink, but the tea bags are also a great treatment for your eyes.  Now this treatment only works with caffeinated teas, because the caffeine encourages blood flow around the eyes.  The caffeinated teas also contain a plant called tannin which  draws out water, which is helpful for puffiness in eyes.

Tea for Two Eyes Recipe: 
-2 Tea bags (Use a black or a green tea for the Caffeine)
- Your favorite mug
- Hot water

When you wind down for the night, bring your water to a boil, steep your tea bags in your mug for 5 minutes. After steeping, take both tea bags out of the water and ring out the liquid.  You can do this treatment warm or cool, either way will still be good for your eyes.  If you choose to do it warm which is more preferable at night, wait for your tea bags to cool down to a reasonable temperature before laying them gently on your eyes. If you chose to do it cool, after draining the bags of the liquid stick the bags in the freezer for 10-15 minutes, you don't want them to be frozen just cold.  Once you have your tea bags at the perfect temperature, put some relaxing music on lay back, relax and enjoy!

Now understand these treatments won't eliminate your dark circles, but help reduce it.  Another trick is a girls go to weapon, makeup!  Tricks to get those puppies looking bright eyed!

Concealer: Maybelline Mineral Power Concealer is my go to concealer I use under my eyes to camouflage the dark circles, and on my eye lids to hide the redness I sometimes get.  Dab a few dots on under your eye, and using your ring finger (clean hands please) tap, no rubbing, until product is on evenly.  This will not only put the product on flawlessly, but the tapping helps the circulation under your eyes.

White Shimmery Eye Shadow: Using a highlighter, or shimmery white eye shadow dab this on the inner corner of your eye on your tear duct.  This will make your eyes sparkle, and make them look more awake.

White Matte Eyeliner: For those of you who want to be bold and daring, pick up a matte white eye liner from your drug store.  Put this on the inner corner of eye near tear duct, below your brow, and on the middle part of your eyelid and blend with your ring finger.  The white will compliment the whites of your eyes and give you a bright awakened eye.  If your really feeling crazy, put this on your water line instead of your black liner that day.  It will really make your eyes look bigger and refreshed! :]





I hope all of these tricks really opened your eyes!  Now I know these blogs are ridiculously long, I'm really hoping I can start filming for these blogs more so you don't have to strain your eyes reading this much. But until then, have an amazing week! And keep your eyes peeled for my next blog ;]

Underneath it all

Simon says put your arms in the air above your head.  Look at your underarms...I'm serious, give your armpits a good hard look.  Chances are you haven't really done this until now.  How do they look?  Are they dark, stubbly, or bumpy?  Sorry is these questions are too personal, don't worry your secret is safe with me.  Now back to your armpits.  The attention we give our underarms is slim to none.  We wash, shave and put deodorant on them and that is about as far as most of us go.  Your armpits need love too though, and like I said in my previous blog post, our skin needs exfoliation and that includes your silly armpits.

If you've noticed, your underarms always tend to be a little darker than the rest of your skin on your body.  Sometimes it can become fairly dark and turn into a burden because it may look like you haven't shaved when you just did.  The darkness can be caused by shaving, buildup of dead skin cells, and sometimes maybe even be caused by the ingredients in your deodorant that can react with your skin to cause the pigmentation.  Ladies you will be amazed what some exfoliation can do, oh wait...you already know that :] Here comes your tips and tools that can defeat the darkness!

Weapon:  Studio Tools Buffer Sponges (@ Target $1.99)

Mission:  Take a little extra time and really scrub away all the buildup of dead skin cells, and deodorant that your body wash and loofah can't get.  These little buffers are amazing and cheap!  After that, finish your treatment using your sugar scrub or a body wash with exfoliating beads to give your armpit a second buffering to really get it soft.

DIY lighteners:  If you are already scrubbing that skin raw to get rid of the darkness (please stop!).    Here are some interesting items that you can find around your house that can help lighten the skin without harming it.

1. Potatoes:  Not only is this spud delicious to eat, but potatoes are filled with vitamin C which gives the potatoes juice a natural bleaching effect that can help lighten dark spots and reduce blemishes over time.  So next time your making some mash potatoes, set one aside for your underarms. :D

2. Apple Cider Vinegar:  The high acidity apple vinegar has is help for lightening dark spots.

Note:  Both these items should be applied at night, right before bed after you have cleansed the area.  If you use these natural ways to lighten your skin try doing it 2-3 nights a week.
WARNING: If your loved one for some reason does not want to cuddle with your during these nights because you smell of potatoes and vinegar, that's their problem not yours. ;]

As far as stubble goes, well its hard to avoid that when it comes to underarm shaving, or any shaving for that matter.  I'm going to sound like a broken record, but again exfoliation before and after shaving can help reduce that.  A good razor is also a big factor in keeping that area of the skin looking nice and soft.  Since the skin is not as taught (tight) as the other areas of the skin on the body, its a lot more sensitive.  Spending some money on a nice razor will have your armpits and legs thanking you in the long run.

Left:  This is my favorite razor, the Gillette Venus Embrace.  It has 5 blades that cut the hair very close to the skin, without cutting you.  And i stand behind that 100% because I have not cut myself once with this razor.  And another plus, each razor head lasts super long without wearing out or rusting.  ($11.99 @ Walgreen's)

Right:  Dove Ultimate Visibly Smooth deodorant is not only a fresh smelling deodorizer, sweat stopper, but it also prolongs the growth of hair.  I have used this deodorant and it does what it says, I noticed I wasn't shaving my underarms as much when i used this.  ($4.99 @ Walgreen's)

Now if all these crazy tips and tools doesn't make you want to raise your arms up and holler "WOOHOO!"  Well...I don't know what else to tell you!  Hope this was helpful, and you enjoyed this! OK...you can put your arms down now.

Off With Her Skin!

Are you nervous for this blog by the looks of the title?  Don't be, this blog post is going to be skintastic! Are you laughing yet?  Anyways, back to skin, how much do you know about the largest organ on your body?  That's right ladies, your skin is in fact the largest organ on your body.  Organ? SAY WHAT?  When you think of organs you think of your heart, lungs, brain, stomach, intestines and all the things that keep your body together and functioning.  Well hello?  Without your skin those organs wouldn't be doing so well.  Your skin makes up 16% of your body weight, acts as a water proof barrier for your insides, and it exudes antibacterial substances that fight against infection to keep you healthy.  Blah, blah, blah you didn't come here to learn anatomy.  But its fun to learn about something we really do take advantage of on a daily basis.  Your skin is made up of three layers, subcutaneous layer, dermis, and epidermis. The Subcutaneous layer is the bottom layer, this layer is filled with fatty cells that keep you warm when you are cold, protects your body from damage and this is where the hairs begin to grow. We'll refer to this layer as the Grapes. Next up, the Dermis which is the layer where your nerve endings, blood vessels, and oil glands are found.  This layer will be named, Raisins.  And last but not least is your epidermis, the layer you see everyday.  The layer we forget to moisturize, cut, scratch, etc. The layer we like to refer to as the FLAKES.

The picture above is a perfect way to understand what your skin is doing.  Your skin renews itself every 28 days with a new layer of skin.  The Flakes is your epidermis which is constantly shedding itself. The Grapes is your subcutaneous layer pushing its fatty cells to create new skin which makes itself up to the dermis (raisins) and its end destination the Flakes. Lesson over I promise.  But what I'm trying to say is, we need to pay attention to our skin.

Today I looked down at my skin and saw that my Florida vacation tan was fading away and I had obviously been trying to hold on to the tan way too long because my skin was dry and peeling all over in random places.  In my mind I'm thinking "No! no more tan?" but I was more concerned at how dull and lifeless my skin looked and felt.  With summer coming to an end its time to get those sugar scrubs, exfoliating mitts out and get to work.  Exfoliating is so important not only for our face, but for our entire body.  Without exfoliation our skin can look unhealthy and neglected.  You think that moisturizer your putting on every night is helping with that?  Think again lady!  If you think about what I just explained, all you are doing with that delicious shea body butter you have by your night stand is giving your dead skin cells a place to stay.  You moisturizer isn't getting to your grapes because you keep encouraging your flakes to stay.  We need to help our skin out and get rid of those flakes for "new skin".

My sister Rachel, did an amazing DIY sugar scrub for her campers a couple weeks ago.  I thought what a great idea and made some for myself.  I got my jars at Michael's for around 3.50$ each (there's all different sizes and prices but you can make this in a Tupperware too.)  Here is a great video to explain out to make it!

I used a basic white cane sugar, olive oil, a yummy essential oil and some vitamin E oil. :]  If your not sure where to get essential oils, this might shock you.  Target actually has a whole aisle devoted to aromatherapy which has a lot of relaxing essential oils.
If I bored you to death with this post I'm very sorry.  But I felt like before I shared all these tips and tricks for you skin, you should at least know how it works!

Until next time, 

Sugar Scrubbing Sarah :]

Introductions

So let me start off by telling you a little about myself.  My name is Sarah, I'm 20 years old and my passion is the beauty industry.  I just finished up my schooling a couple months ago for my license in Aesthetics.  Many people don't know what that is, so here it is defined, " A person who is knowledgable about the nature and appreciation of beauty."  Many people also refer to us as "philosophers" of beauty as well.  I think both definitions are very fitting to my job title as an Aesthetician. That being said I'm always on the hunt for the best makeup, facewash, moisturizers, night creams, eye creams, bath products, etc.  So this blog will be filled with products I love, and also the ones I'm not so crazy about.  Lets be honest, as women were always on the lookout for the best Offproducts out there, and its so hard when there is a million different brands all claiming to be the "best".  I also need to say, that no company is paying me to say these things about their products, this is simply my opinion and what I have learned is best for our skin.  I hope this blog is helpful as it grows.  Thank you for reading, have a fantastic day! :D


What to look forward to...
 With Her Skin! (Bet that title freaks you out...just wait!)