Need a Schpritz?

In the sweltering months of August, sometimes you need a lil' pick-me-up. I know I could have used one last week at BlogHer '10 in New York City. It was HOT, hot, hot the first couple days.

When I got home, I was thumbing through some back issues of Health Magazine and I found this quick recipe for an Energy Spritz. (April 2010, page 25).

Energy Spritz

• 2 bags of white or green tea
• 2 cups of hot, filtered water
• 2 drops of lemon or orange oil

Brew tea with hot water. Let cool to room temperature; discard tea bags. [Ed. -- heh, "tea bags"] Combine tea and oil in a spray bottle. Refrigerate and mist on when your skin feels dry or needs a lift.

I've done something really similar to this with ginger tea and a little lemon juice instead of white/green tea and oil. The scent of the ginger is really mood-lifting and calming at the same time. It makes me feel like I'm in Origins.

Another soothing spritzer is an oldie, but goodie of mine:

Joelle's Rose Schpritz

• Thayer's Rose Petal Witch Hazel with Aloe
• Seltzer Water, plain

I get one of those little hairdresser spray bottles from Sally's or some other beauty supply, fill a third with Thayer's and the rest with seltzer. (Plain seltzer, not lemon or whatever -- just plain -- but I guess you could use an "essence of" as long as it doesn't have any other ingredient but water.)  Chill it in the fridge and when the A/C goes out and it's 95°, hit the fridge and spritz your face, chest... anywhere that needs cooling down.

The seltzer makes it invigorating (you could use still water if you wanted), the rose water a pleasant scent, relaxing. It takes you to a better place.

 A word of caution: DO NOT get plain witch hazel. You must get the Thayer's Rose Petal Witchhazel (or their Lemon, Cucumber, Lavender or Peach varietes, if you're into that -- though I've never seen those in stores. Maybe Whole Foods?). It's cheap, under $10, and worth the hunt if you can't find it easily (I get mine at CVS). Regular witch hazel stinks so bad, I couldn't get away from myself fast enough. Trust me on this, it smells like burned toenails. But Thayer's does make an unscented variety if you're not into scents at all.

The witch hazel is clarifying, like an astringent (only without alcohol), so you're not only cooling off, you're getting a mini spa break, kind of.  Or at least, that's what I tell myself when I'm standing with the fridge door open, cooling off and spritzing down.

Got any good summer-cool-down ideas or doubleduty beauty tips?

DIY Spa Treatment: Make Your Own Sugar Scrub

A little sugar on top makes everything sweeter, right? I'm going to go right ahead and say it.  Scrubs are awesome.  Let us count the ways.  For starters, anything that makes you feel good even if it's not really doing anything super beneficial is worth the trouble. I love stepping into a hot shower with a good sugar scrub waiting to be dipped into.  Sugar scrubs are an effective and gentle way to exfoliate and invigorate skin.  It helps bring circulation to areas we tend to neglect otherwise and circulation is key to that healthy glow we all strive to achieve.

As a personal rule I prefer sugar scrubs over salt scrubs because sugar granules tend to be finer and they dissolve, as you scrub, a bit faster.  Salt scrubs are a little drying to my skin but I know many people love the benefits of a salt scrub down. The beauty of adopting a "DIY" approach to simple skin care is that you have more control over what you use.  You are also avoiding a lot of unnecessary chemicals and preservatives (and saving yourself a bunch of money).  You can also custom tailor your scents to your preferences.  Hate lavender? Pick different oils that suit your tastes. Love citrus? Zest a lemon or lime into the mixture to give it an earthy fresh scent.