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Essentials For The Perfect At-Home Spa Day

Filed Under: Self Care //

Visiting a spa is one of the oldest forms of self-care out there. Facials, full-body massages, and mud baths, what else’s could you hope for?

But spas can get pretty pricey, pretty quickly.

Instead, taking the DIY route can be cheaper and you may even enjoy it more. Having the feel of a luxury spa in the comfort of your home.

So for your next at-home spa day, here are all the essentials you could possibly need.

Fluffy White Robe

Can you even think of a spa and not see a fluffy white robe? Emulate the experience you get from a spa right in your own home by wrapping yourself in this warm comfy robe.

Jade Roller or Gua Sha

When stored in the fridge, the cooling stone (when stored in a skincare fridge) of a gua sha or jade roller can reduce the appearance of puffiness and help you relax and unwind.

You can use it to massage your face and stimulate lymphatic drainage.

Bath Bombs or Shower Bombs

Whether you want one because of its relaxing scent or because you think they are pretty. Bath/Shower bombs are great for transforming any bathtime routine into a luxury experience. Indulge your senses whenever you take a bath or shower.

Bath Salts

Accompanied with a bath bomb, a handful of these bath salts will work wonders in transforming your bath into a luxury experience.

Not to mention, the soothing effects on sore muscles and relax your mind.

Body Scrubs

Body scrubs are great for removing dirt and dead skin cells from your body. They can cleanse your skin and give you a healthy glow. Not to mention, you’ll be left smelling wonderful.

Dry Brush

Dry brushing works by exfoliating the skin. It is a body massage you give yourself with a stiff bristled brush with nothing on it.

It can help remove dry, flaky skin from your body.

Face Masks

You cant have an at-home self-care spa day without a face mask. Whether it’s a Tumeric sheet mask, activated charcoal mud mask, or a brightening face mask.

Face masks include ingredients that can hydrate your skin and give you a healthy, youthful glow.

Facial Steamer

Your face gets polluted with dirt dust and makeup every day and steaming your face is a great way to leam off the grime and open up your pores.

Using a facial steamer designed to work with essential oils for a spa-like facial at home.

Use a mix of lavender and tea tree oil for acne-prone skin or lavender and rosehip for dry skin.

Candles

Lighting your favorite candle will add a calming effect to your at-home spa day. I like to use lavender-scented candles for a soothing effect or eucalyptus after I have had a long hard day.

Lighting the right scent can transform you into anywhere you want to be.

Lip Scrub

Lip scrubs are by far the easiest scrubs to do. They help exfoliate chapped lips and will leave them feeling plump and hydrated.

Aromatherapy Body Lotion

Aromatherapy lotion has become part of my daily self-care routine. They are ultra creamy, fast absorbing with nourishing vitamins, and are formulated to give your skin long-lasting moisture.

Essential Oils

No matter what the occasion, you’ll always need essential oils for any self-care day. Here is a list of essential oils for all your needs:

–Lavender: Calming, reduces anxiety, and promotes better sleep and relaxation.

–Eucalyptus: Soothing and relaxing.

–Chamomile: Calming scent that can aid in sleep.

–Orange: Mood-boosting and energizing, perfect for meditation.

–Lemongrass: Soothing, uplifting, and anxiety-reducing.

Incense

Sandalwood incense is often burned to create a comforting and peaceful environment to help with uplifting your mood.

Diffuser

Paired with your favorite essential oils, a diffuser can help indulge your senses and take you to a great place of relaxation.

Comfy Slippers

Paired with your fluffy white robe, slippers will leave you feeling warm and snuggled up.

Hair Mask

Hair masks can help moisturize and nourish your hair. They’re especially beneficial for dry, damaged, or frizzy hair.

Some hair masks may improve the health of your scalp and boost hair strength of dry brittle hair.

Foot Spa

Foot baths are affordable and compact, but can work wonders on tired and sore feet. Accompanied by bath salts and warm water, you can create your own at-home salon and have yourself a luxury experience.

Bath Caddy

Designed to rest across your tub and give you space for everything you could possibly need or want on hand (your candles, a book, a tablet, and yes, even a glass of wine), a bath caddy is exactly what you need to soak your cares away.

Jacuzzi Mat

There are a few things, that we have mentioned, you can do to make your warm bubble bath even more relaxing! Take your spa experience to another level by adding a jacuzzi mat to your bathtub to transform it into a jacuzzi.

Equipped with all the essentials for the perfect spa day, you are now ready to transform your home into a luxury spa.

How to Have a Budget Spa Day At Home

Filed Under: Self Care //

Every now and then, life gets the best of us, and we’re left feeling tired and overwhelmed, and just needing to unwind.

A spa day would help you get well-deserved rest, but fancy hotel spas can get pretty pricey and fast.

Setting up your own at-home spa is easy! Follow these easy steps to set up your pamper day in the comfort of your home.

Benefits of DIY Spa Day

1. Helps to destress:

A relaxing spa day at home is one of the best ways to relieve the week’s stress and quiet your mind.

No matter the treatment, you’re going to notice that your mind immediately begins to feel at ease when you pamper yourself and finally treat yourself to a rare and highly deserved moment of “me” time and a self-care day.

Just a few of our suggested relaxing at-home spa treatments will leave you feeling rejuvenated and refreshed.

2. Enhances your sleep:

Getting proper sleep is vital, yet can be really hard to achieve. Many of us are so busy that we don’t have enough time in a day to get well rested.

With stress from work, school, relationships, and overall responsibilities, the time we do spend in bed can be stressful and our minds just don’t seem to want to shut off.

After a wonderful time of facials, self-pampering, and body treatments, your body will naturally unwind for a great night’s sleep.

3. Makes you a happier person:

As if you needed even more reasons, spas are healing to both your mind and soul. It allows your mind to clear out all your negative thoughts.

Add in the factor of being in your own home, so much serotonin and dopamine-you might just overdose.

This is why many people who suffer from depression choose to regularly treat themselves to a relaxing spa treatment and there are many more benefits to pampering yourself.

4. Self-Care:

If you’re looking to enhance your self-confidence, you can rest assured that plenty of these treatments are incredibly effective. You can use this chance to address any beauty concerns you may haven’t had any time to take care of lately.

Acne breakouts, split ends, dull hair, or any chipped nail you haven’t had time to attend to.

At the end of the day, you’re going to feel significantly better after you’ve treated yourself to this amazing pamper day in your at-home spa.

It’s only natural to feel your best self after pampering yourself. Whether you treat yourself with a facial, a pedicure, or an aromatherapy shower. 

Either way, you can look forward to ending the night feeling radiant and the best version of yourself.

Step 1: Preparing for your Selfcare day

Supplies for at home spa day

For the perfect at-home spa day, preparation is key. Having an at-home spa day checklist will help you figure out everything you need.

Have all your supplies ready and at hand to avoid any distractions and not break your flow of relaxation at any point.

Taking the time to ensure that you have everything you need allows you to stay in the moment and make this spa day the best you’ve ever had.

Step 2: Set the Scene for your at-home spa day

The reason why spas are so successful is that they know exactly how to engage all your senses, getting your mind and body instantly relaxed.

You can recreate this tranquil atmosphere with these simple steps.

–The Perfect Scent: Aromatherapy plays a vital role in helping your mind and body to relax and release. Consider setting up your diffuser with your favorite essential oils. I recommend lavender, chamomile, or eucalyptus for stress relief, especially after a long day.

–Create Ambiance with Lighting: Light a few of your favorite candles, dim the light and burn some incense. This will make your home feel warm and cozy, adding to the aromatherapy and relaxing scents from the diffuser.

–Set the Tone With Good Music: The right type of music can really make you feel like you’re in a luxury spa. The music can help drown out any noise around you and isolate you for your night. You can try using beach sounds or waves instead of music for an even more tranquil atmosphere.

–Get Cosy: Throw on a fluffy white robe and soft slippers, the warmth on your skin will really transport you to luxury.

Step 3: Spa Ideas: Activities and Treatments

Now that your scene has been set and you’ve acquired all your supplies. It’s time to relax.

Here is a list of activities and treatments that will leave you feeling pampered and refreshed.

1. Soak Away Your Day With a Warm Bubble Bath

Pamper day spa at home

Draw a hot relaxing bath and pour in a soothing bath salt or moisturizing bath bomb. Surrounded by your candles and calming music, your bath will set you up for the best spa day you’ve ever experienced.

-Use essential oils, bath salts, and a bath bomb for an aromatherapy bath time.

-To better enjoy your glass of wine, read your favorite book, or watch an entertaining show in your bath, set up your bath caddy to make your experience as luxe as possible.

-Invest in a jacuzzi mat, a jacuzzi bath mat is a long mat with suction cups under it. You attach it to the bottom of your bathtub and connect an air hose that blows bubbles into your tub, massaging your back in the process so are heated to allow for a more thorough massage.

–Meditate, quiet your mind, and be fully in the present. Focus on your breathing and reflect on the day you’ve had, really wind down, and allow yourself to relax.

2. At Home Steam Facial

Follow this six-step facial to make your skin feel purified and pampered.

–Cleanse: Start your home spa facial with pure, clean skin. Lift away any impurities with your favorite cleanser. Use it twice for a double cleanse.

–Exfoliate: Now follow up with a gentle face scrub, you can choose between a chemical or a physical exfoliant. Exfoliating can be vital in an anti-aging skincare routine, as it can help encourage healthier growth. Clean skin is healthier skin all around.

-Steam Facial: Now that you have a clean fresh face, we can use a facial steamer designed to work with essential oils and open up your pores. You can also use a pot and water to steam your face if you don’t have a steamer.

–Face mask: Throw on a replenishing and hydrating face mask to add moisture back to your skin.

-Facial massage: After you remove the face mask, treat yourself to a facial massage. Grab an ice-cold jade roller or gua-sha(that you’ve stored in your skincare fridge beforehand). This will boost blood circulation, reduce bags under your eyes, increase lymphatic drainage, and allows for the absorption of product into your skin.

–Moisturize: Finnish off your facial with your favorite moisturizer to really lock in the moisture.

3. Put on a Hair Mask

No matter what your hair care needs may be, a hair mask is always an ideal curly hair product to have for the health of your hair.

They are formulated to strengthen hair, moisturize hair and improve its condition and can ultimately reduce hair breakage, smooth frizz, make the hair more manageable, enhance shine, and feel less dry.

Throw one on before your bath or while you’re busy with your facial.

4. Give Yourself A Pedicure And At-home Foot Spa

As long as you have a handful of tools, it won’t be too hard to DIY your at-home foot spa.

At home pedicure for pamper day

–Step 1: Remove old nail polish with a cotton ball and nail polish remover.

-Step 2: Soak your feet in a warm foot bath. Add in a good Epsom salt if your feet are sore. Soak for about 10-15 minutes or until the water runs cold.

–Step 3: Trim and file your nails.

-Step 4: Give yourself a massage. Put on a good moisturizer and massage your feet and toes for a few minutes.

–Step 5: Remove oil with a cotton pad to allow the polish to go on smoother.

–Step 6: Apply your base coat then follow up with your nail polish.

-Step 7: Finnish it off with a top coat.

5. Pamper your Hands and Nails

Now that you’ve had a pedicure, treat yourself to a DIY manicure. Massage your hands and cuticles with a hand balm or cuticle cream.

–Step 1: File Your Nails to your desired length and shape.

–Step 2: Soak Your Nails, apply your favorite hand cream, then, soak your nails in warm, soapy water for a few minutes to soften the cuticles.

–Step 3: Push back your cuticles with a wet nail stone.

–Step 4: Apply a base coat, it will help the color go on smoothly and last longer.

-Step 5: Apply two coats of your color of choice, waiting in between coats to dry. (Apply thin layers for an even finish).

-Step 6: Apply a top coat to seal it all in.

For a more fun and modern manicure, try out our micro French manicure tutorial.

6. Exfoliate your Skin

After you’ve dry-brushed your skin, go in with a gentle exfoliant( preferably a chemical exfoliant to avoid irritating your skin too much).

This will help brighten up your complexion, increase circulation, and can give you a radiant healthy glow.

7. Try Out Dry Brushing

Self care day skin care

Dry brushing is a method of gently exfoliating your skin using a special firm-bristled brush.

Some people use it as part of their skin routine to try to restore firmness, get rid of dry skin flaking, and encourage blood flow to certain areas of the body. Dry brushing has roots in the healing practices of ancient cultures.

Brushing before a shower is best. The bristles of a dry brush can exfoliate your skin, and showering afterward should help wash away any dead, flaky skin cells.

Dry brushing unclogs pores in the exfoliation process. It also helps detoxify your skin by increasing blood circulation and promoting lymph drainage, it also makes it easier for the body to sweat and eliminate toxins in your system.

8. Have an Aromatherapy Shower

Maybe you don’t quite enjoy baths/or don’t have access to a bathtub. You can actually create a spa-like experience in your shower.

Hang some eucalyptus under your shower head for a boost of energy and relaxation. Take a hot shower with your favorite shower bomb to compliment the eucalyptus scent, I suggest using the …bath bomb to help you relax.

9. Have a Relaxing “Massage”

After a long day, your body may be sore and need to release some tension. Eucalyptus essential oils can help make everything better with their healing capabilities.

After a good rub down of this oil, you’ll feel almost as good as just having come out of a great spa aromatherapy massage.

10. Try a Lip Mask

Lip masks are easy and often forgotten—just pick an extra-hydrating balm and slather on a thick layer before bed, or whenever your lips are chapped.

This small thing can make a huge difference in the plumpness and appearance of your lips, allowing you to look your best all the time.

I hope you’ll make some time to try this at-home spa day. Taking care of yourself is important, and this is such an easy way to relax and unwind.

Best Self-Help Books You Must Read For Productivity

Filed Under: Mind //

Wednesday and Morticia Addams

Deciding to be more productive is easy. But actually getting up and being productive is a whole other thing. Productivity can mean very different things to different people and depends highly on what your goals are.

Whatever they may be, your dreams, goals, and aspirations won’t accomplish themselves, and however hard you try, you never seem to get quite there. No matter how much work you get done.

Success isn’t just about getting work done though. The quality of the work you accomplish is how you reach your goals and dreams. This is where productivity comes into play, and the following self-help books and adequate planning will allow you to accomplish more in less time.

1. Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen

productivity

This self-help book serves up great practices for getting more done, in less time. Incorporating these habits can improve your time management drastically as well as your personal organization and overall productivity.

The book insists on handling tasks one after the other to avoid being overwhelmed because our brains can only retain so much information at a given time.

Implementing his systems, however, is not easy. It requires great levels of self-discipline and organization just to get through the book alone. But once you do, you will reap great benefits from Allen’s book on productivity.

2.  Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport 

Cal Newport’s Deep Work focuses on eliminating clutter, distractions, and shallow work, in order to make more time for deep work. Deep work, is impertinent to putting in the work that helps in reaching our goals.

It is an actionable guide and if implemented will help you learn how to train yourself to work for long, unbroken periods at a time with focus because the brain is not designed for multitasking. This can be especially hard in a world of technology, therefore you need to declutter and block out the noise.

This will eliminate the things in the way of your deep work.

3. Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown

The way of Essentialism strives to show you how to do less, but better. So you can reach your maximum level o productivity. The self-help book focuses on only doing the right things with your time.

It’s about taking back control of your own choices on where you spend your time and energy, instead of giving other people the power to choose for us. In Essentialism, Greg draws from his experience and insight from working with the leaders of the most successful companies in the world to show how to achieve the disciplined pursuit of less.

Its core principle is, “The right thing, in the right way, at the right time.”.

4. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey

I’m sure you’re not surprised to see this book on this list, it is considered one of the best self-help books on productivity of its time.

In the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, author Stephen R. Covey present us with one of the most inspiring and impactful books ever written. It has transformed the lives of millions of people of all ages for over 25 years now.

Covey brings forth a holistic, integrated, principle-centered approach to solving personal and professional problems. With penetrating insights and pointed anecdotes, he reveals a step-by-step pathway for living with fairness, integrity, service, and human dignity. It helps you stay on track and most importantly it encourages you to define priorities and goals.

If you’re keen on becoming more productive and highly effective, this is a library staple.

5. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear

Habits are at the root of almost every successful productive system. Atomic Habits offers practical strategies that will teach you how to form good habits and break bad ones. As well as master the tiny behaviors, because repeated efforts become easier and consistent actions drive results.

No matter your goals, James Clear provides a framework for improving every day. If you’re having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn’t you, the problem is your system.

Bad habits will continue to repeat themselves, not because you don’t want change, but because you have the wrong system for change.

Simply put, routines often snowball into bigger accomplishments if you consistently put in the work. Clear has four rules for great habit-building; make it obvious, satisfying, easy, and attractive.

6. Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time by Brian Tracy

If the first thing you have to do each morning is to eat a live frog, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you’re done with the worst thing you’ll have to do all day long. And if you have to eat 2 frogs that day, eat the biggest one first.

Tracy shows you how to organize each day in order to zero in on these critical tasks and accomplish them effectively. The core to what is vital for effective time management is; Decision making, Discipline, and Determination (the 3 D’s).

According to Eat That Frog, the best way to beat procrastination is by first handling the task that you don’t want to do and is more demanding. Tracy offers important tips to help readers become more productive. Such as planning ahead, breaking larger tasks into smaller more manageable tasks, being aware of consequences, and using technology.

This amazing read will ensure that you get more of your important tasks done today.

7. The 4-Hour Workweek Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss

This step-by-step guide to a better lifestyle teaches;

-How Tim Ferris went from $40 000/year and an 80-hour work week to $40 000/month and a 4-hour work week.

-How to outsource your life to overseas virtual assistants for $5 an hour and do whatever you want.

-How to eliminate 50% of your work in 48 hours using the principles of forgotten Italian economists.

-How to trade a long-haul career for short work bursts and frequent mini requirements.

So forget the old concepts of retirement and the rest of the deferred life plan because there is no need to wait anymore and all the reasons not to wait. No matter what your dreams are, the 4-hour work week is the blueprint to a better life.

8. The Checklist Manifesto: How To Get Things Right by Atul Gawande

In this book, the author explains the importance of a checklist in managing and organizing complex tasks. Breaking down your tasks into a checklist with more attainable bite-sized tasks helps avoid omitting or overlooking tasks essential to achieving your goals.

Gawande explains how checklists work to prompt striking and immediate improvements. He follows the checklist revolutions into various fields well beyond your daily tasks and has been proven to work in even medicine fields, from disaster response to investment banking.

The Checklist Manifesto concludes that most of us would benefit from creating checklists to track routine tasks where we might forget something.

9. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg

The Power of Habit contains, at its core, that the key to exercising regularly, losing weight, being more productive, and achieving success is understanding how habits work.

A fascinating look into what habits are, how we form them, and how to change them.

“Habits work in three-step loops: cue, routine, reward,” Charles says. “The trick to changing a habit is to switch the routine, and leave everything else intact.”

10. The Effective Executive: The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done by Peter F. Drucker

The focus of Drucker’s book is achieving effectiveness and productivity through self-engagement. You can accomplish this by tracking where your time goes.

Ask yourself what you can contribute and focus on your strengths. Drucker reminds us that an executive “Gets the right things done.”, which usually involves doing what other people have overlooked and avoiding what is unproductive and offers no reward.

The Effective Executive identifies five practices essential to business effectiveness;

-Managing time

-Choosing what to contribute to the organization

-Knowing where and how to mobilize strengths for the best effects

-Setting the right priorities

-Knitting all of them together with effective decision-making

To sum up, this book shows you how to eliminate whatever is not helping you pursue your goals so you can streamline productivity and break bad habits that hold you back from being the best version of yourself.

You might also like, How To Be More Self-Confident and Why Reading For Mental Health Is Good For You.