Silky, Sexy Sugar Mama

It amazes me how much money I've spent on the simplest products in the past. $10-$20 for a scrub to smooth my hands and a separate scrub formulated for my feet and yet another one for my face...

At some point, it dawned on me that all these fancy containers were bragging about their natural ingredients or using chemicals to emulate what happens naturally. It occurred to me that my old friend, Google, might have some ideas. After a consult, I found some recipes for scrubs and decided to give them a try.

A lot of the recipes involved purchasing essential oils, which seemed to defeat the purpose of eliminating the clutter. Luckily, simplicity was there, too. Here's the recipe I chose:

1/4 Cup Sugar
1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Aloe Vera Gel

The original recipe recommended brown sugar, but I used regular white sugar. I use an Extra Light Tasting Olive Oil from Bertolli, which seems to eliminate some of the olive-y smell. You can also replace the aloe vera gel with honey, but it makes the scrub a little stickier and harder to spread over large patches of skin.

My mani/pedi necessities: Shea It Isn't So Foot Lotion from Bath & Body Works, Mary Kay Extra Emollient Night Cream, California Mango Mend Cuticle Cream, Homemade Sugar Scrub, Cuticle Pusher, 4-Way Buffing Block, Pumice Sponge and Nail Brush

Yes, I confess, I own Mary Kay. The night cream was one of the few things I liked when my old roommate hosted a party. I actually like the lotions from Bath & Body's True Blue Spa collection. They smell fresh and clean, not overpowering like some of their scents. I picked up the cuticle cream at Sally Beauty as a cash register purchase, and I do like it. Smells delicious. The rest was randomly acquired, probably at Target. I think I managed to hide the bite marks on the buffing block. My cat hates all things resembling nail files.

All this results in...*drum roll, please*...

...MY NATURAL NAILS!