Top Beauty Products Recommended at My Birthday Party

Everyone brought their favorite beauty product ($5 value) to my birthday party for a gift exchange.

We set all of the gits out on a bench and everyone picked one to take home.  When you unwrapped your gift the person who brought it explained why they love it.

Here's a list of everyone's favorites:

Jeni: Lush Beauty products,especially the Herbalism facial cleanser (Lush store inside Mandalay Bay mall area)

Kelly: Nail TekII Intensive Therapy (Nail Salon)

Debra: Orly Nail Polish (Sally Beauty Supply)

Kerri: Panaca Springs Sweet Defeat Foot Cream (Salon near Lowe's off Horizon and Boullder Highway if you are a Henderson gal).

Bonnie:  Mary Kay Buffing Cream and Mary Kay Emollient Cream

Julie: Clinique Rinse-Off Eye Make-up Solvent

Susanna: Arbonne Liquid Make-up

Kim: Dr. Scholl's For Her Pumice Foot Scrub

Cydnee: Oil of Olay Daily Facial Cleansing Wipes (Costco)


Holly: Oil of Olay Ribbons Body Wash with Almond Oil

Brittany: Bath and Body Works Lemon and Pomagrante Lip Cream

Rachelle: Coconut Lime Verbena Triple Moisturizing Body Cream

Lesley: Bath and Body Works Foaming Hand Soap

Leesha brought a sleep mask.  My favorite is the SleepMask by Tempur-Pedic which they usually carry at Brookstone stores.

Carrie brought a fun cosmetics bag and a few of us laughed because our make-up is currently in Ziploc bag or a GladWare container.

Thanks for the tips ladies!  Thanks to Jeni, I have now become a Lush addict.  The photos above are of my favorite bath bar and bath bomb.  They make your whole bathroom smell great for days after your soak in the tub.

Homemade Peppermint Foot Soak Salts

Directions for Homemade Peppermint Bath Salts:

Ingredients:
Peppermint Essential Oil
Epsom Salt
Sea Salt
Powdered milk
Food Coloring (optional)






Directions:
Mix together in a gallon size Ziploc bag
1 cup Sea Salt
2 cups Epsom Salt 
1/3 cup powdered milk

Add the essential oil one drop at a time and mix well to achieve desired fragrance.  Tint the mixture in the same way with the food coloring.  (I used red and it didn't dissolve well.  But it turned out cute because it almost looked like chunks of candy cane.  When you add the hot water it turns light pink)


Supply purchase tips:
The best deal I found on essential peppermint oil was the Now Foods brand for for $6.99 for 1 oz at Whole Foods.

I bought the sea salt at Whole Foods in the bulk foods section for 49 cents per lb. It is fine, not chunky like you usually see in soaking salts but the size of the salt doesn't really matter.

Sam's Club has a 10 lb tub of Epsom Salts for $5.00.

Happy Birthday to Me! (1 month ago)

This year I threw myself a birthday party and had a GREAT time.

Twenty of my friends came over for a night out.  We had a pedicure party, some great food and good conversation.

I made peppermint bath salts (recipe here) for everyone to soak our feet in and it was much easier and inexpensive than I thought.

I also got everyone one my all time FAVORITE foot scrubber, Mr. Pumice Pumi Bar.  They are $1.60 at Sally Beauty Supply.  I also like their Callus Terminator.


I asked everyone to wrap up one of their favorite beauty products ($5 value) and we had a gift exchange.  Everyone picked a present and then we we opened the gift we received the giver explained why they love the product they bought.  Lots of great ideas and fun products (list here).

It was so much fun that I am tempted to have an pedicure night at my house every month or so.

Thanks to everyone who came!  Here's the details from the invitation if you want to have a party of your own:

Activity: We will be doing a foot spa / pedicure.  I'll provide the soaking salts, foot file, foot scrub, foot mask and lotion.  We'll soak our toes and scrub our heels and get our feet ready for sandal season!

What to wear: Lounge wear / PJ's. You might get some "product" on your pants, and you need to be able to roll them up to your knee. So wear something comfy and come relax. Wear flip flops if you plan on painting your toenails.

Product Swap: Bring your favorite beauty item ($5.00) wrapped up and ready to swap.  Do you have a great inexpensive hairspray, mousse or gel?  A yummy smelling shower gel or shave cream?  The best foot scrubber for the shower?  Or maybe your favorite disposable razor for summer travel.  Just a few ideas -- the sky's the limit.  Make-up, nail polish, lip gloss, you name it!  Wrap your gift and we'll do a gift exchange and then you can tell everyone why you love the item you brought.

What to bring:
-- A foot tub (i.e. dishpan).
-- A thick towel to put under your foot tub (i.e. pedicure station) and a hand towel to dry your feet with.
-- If you've got a favorite nail polish, foot scrub or lotion bring it to share and/or tell us about.
--A favorite beauty item(s) that costs $5.00 (wrapped)

We had a great time and I can't wait to do it again!