A New York City Health and Beauty Blog

Sunday Morning Beauty Rituals: Spa Water

Spa Water from Martha Stewart
Image: Martha Stewart

Going to the spa is a luxury that everyone should indulge in from time to time. But just because you’re not in a spa doesn’t mean that you cannot enjoy the benefits of a spa at home.

On occassion I like to make “Spa Water” that delish beverage often served at fine spas containing everything from mint sprigs to orange slices. Spa water is not only refreshing, natural and healthy to drink it’s always a beautiful touch on your brunch table. The mixture of ice and sliced fruits dancing around in glass pitcher is a pretty sight to behold. Spa water is very simple to make and here is my favorite way to prepare this relaxing beverage.

  1. Choose 3-4 medium sized lemon and limes
  2. Fill a pitcher half-way with ice cubes.
  3. Squeeze the juice of one lemon and one lime over the ice in the pitcher.
  4. Thinly slice the remaining lemons and limes, toss them in the pitcher
  5. Fill with mineral water (or your preferred type of H20).
  6. Let it rest at least 1 hour in the fridge prior to serving.
  7. Enjoy!

Have you ever made spa water at home?

Sunday Morning Beauty Rituals: How to Meditate

Step by step meditation

Finding balance can sometimes be a struggle. Between our jobs, social commitments and of course our family time we struggle to balance all of the moving parts. Sometimes I look at my calendar and realize that it’s way overbooked and I have to wonder “Do I really need to say yes to everything that I’m invited to?” Immediately I’m stressed out and my mind is going in a thousand different directions about all the things that I need to do, buy, make etc. before each event.

At times like this I need to find some balance. So I meditate. Which is also something that I struggle with but I am making the effort to add this very important ritual to my life. So you may be asking why is meditation so important? Well meditation can ease stress and it’s also beneficial in calming the mind, easing anger and improving self-confidence. In the times that we live in now we could all use a little more of that!

I’m sure that there are people who want to try meditation and they don’t know how. So I wanted to share a very simple way to meditate that you can try at home.

I like to pick a quiet dimly lit room in my home and light some candles or incense. Sometimes I play music in the background. Sometimes I meditate on my terrace. Try whatever makes you the most comfortable and if it doesn’t work then try something else. 🙂

Step 1. Sit comfortably in a half-lotus position (see below), if that’s not comfortable sit in a position where you back is straight and you body feels relaxed. The spine must be straight in order to have unencumbered breathing. Rest your hands comfortably on your knees or in your lap.

half-lotus meditation

 

 

Step 2. Close your eyes and relax every part of your body starting from your head to your feet. I like to visualize water falling over me very slowly, washing away all of the tension and anxiety.

Step 3. Inhale through your nose slowly and gently hold. Exhale slowly out through your mouth (pulling from your diaphragm) and count it as one and continue. Focus on your breath, the rise and fall of your belly and how it feels, the soft sounds it makes. Your mind may wander but try to focus. Practice this for a few minutes.

Your mind may wander from time to time and that’s ok. Gently focus your energy back to your breath. It can be harder than it seems to focus on just one thing!

Step 4. When you’re ready to end your session open your eyes and slowly stand up. At this point I like to stretch lightly or just sit still for a few moments. Namaste.

I hope that you give meditation a try and if you do please let me know, I’d love to hear your feedback. If you meditate on a regular basis please share how often and why you meditate?

Sunday Morning Beauty Rituals: Zen Moments

The weekend is here and sadly almost gone but I still managed to squeeze in a few moments for myself. Frankly we could all use a private moment where we mediate and reflect on life.

Now I’ll be the first admit that I need quiet zen moments in my life. Life in my thirties is vastly different from my twenties. No more sleeping in late, no more nursing hangovers and no booty shaking in the club. Nope. Now my life revolves around family time, work, friends, hobbies etc. and with all of that comes the need to create zen moments in my life. Don’t get me wrong, I love my life but it gets hectic. So to keep balanced, I meditate. Now before I started meditating I honestly did not understand the benefits of quieting my mind and letting go. If you’ve never tried it, I highly suggest it, it can really change how you perceive everything. So this Sunday, I took some time to enjoy the quiet energy of the early morning and just sit and be still.

Now relaxed and ready to take on the day, it’s time to shower. For me, showers are immensely relaxing or maybe that’s the water-loving Pisces is me! Either way we all have to shower, that’s a given, but how we shower, well that’s where we can get a little creative. I normally like to indulge in a luxurious shower filled with fragrant scents’ and maybe a candle or two burning. I usually chose one of my favorite shower gels or body scrubs because I find that most bar soaps are too drying…or so I thought. Enter NEST fragrances bar soap.

NEST Frangrances moss mint bar soap

NEST Fragrances moss mint bar soap unwrapped

NEST Fragrances creates an opulent French-milled bar soap containing Vitamin E, Shea Butter and Almond Oil which makes for not only soft skin but a luxe lather. This soap not only smells devine but is surprisingly NOT drying. I sampled the Moss & Mint scent and a instant love fest ensued. This soap has notes of garden mint and apple blossom that lightly lingered after the shower, delish!

My meditative moment was not complete without a small fragrant votive. When I first smelled, Bamboo, I thought “This is what every home should smell like”. The flowering bamboo and citrus notes leave a gentle clean scent. My experience with NEST fragrances has added a beautiful element to my Sunday morning beauty rituals by incorporating a new sensory experience in my “me time”.

NEST fragrances bamboo candle

NEST candles are not only luxuriously fragrant but they are exquisite in their packaging.  Each candle arrives in an ornately designed box containing a frosted glass votive emblazoned with a beautifully etched design. And since these candles are created by some of the best master perfumers around the world and contain a 14% fragrance load to infuse the space until the candle is extinguished, these sumptuous scents have more fragrance than any other scented candle on the market!

NEST fragrances Grapefruit Reed Diffuser and Peony Blanche.

NEST fragrances create a a variety of scents and sizes to please even the most discriminating fragrance lover. If candles are not your top home fragrance choice then you may want to opt for a diffuser. The reed diffusers, like the Grapefruit scented one above are alcohol free and last for 90 days. They are also a safer option if you have young children in your home and they smell just as beautiful as the candles. Between the candles, the soap and the diffuser, NEST Fragrances has added a welcome element of luxury to my humble home. All of NEST Fragrances are available both online, and at select retailers, including Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman.

Disclosure: The products featured in this post were provided for editorial consideration. Receipt of these products did not guarantee review and all opinions are my own.

Sunday Morning Beauty Rituals: Raw Organic Carrot Juice

Raw organic carrot juice

Kate Moss once said “Nothing tastes as good as thin feels”, well sorry Kate Moss you got it wrong. Nothing tastes as good as healthy feels.

I believe beauty is inside job, it’s not only important to take care of yourself on the outside but it’s also essential to take good care of yourself on the inside. After all how can I care so deeply about what I put on my mouth and not care what I put inside of it?

I always knew that it was important to eat my fruits and veggies but it wasn’t until I tried an Organic Raw Food Juice cleanse that my life changed. In my teen years and in my twenties I was literally able to eat anything and not gain an once and not have any cellulite. Well in my thirties I had a rude awakening, eating junk food literally made me sick to my stomach.

After a bit of research I decided to try a juice cleanse. I thought that raw food would make me sick or having me running to the bathroom but boy was I wrong, it was the best decisions that I’ve made in a long time. After three days on the juice cleanse I felt energetic, my skin glowed and I had no tummy troubles at all!

So if you’d like to give juicing a try, I recommend starting with carrots. Carrots are naturally sweet and Carrot juice provides one the richest sources of Vitamin A. People that are Vitamin A deficient may notice dry, scaly skin on their arms and legs, weakness, intestinal disorders and a whole host of other health problems. Juicing can help super-charge your body with these much-needed nutrients, a beauty food indeed!

Carrot juice also has very good anti-inflammatory, anti-cancerous and anti-aging properties. Carrots contain Carotene which has been shown to have great anti-aging effects. Along with the mentioned beta-carotene, carrots also contain Vitamins C, B, E, D and K, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, aluminum, sodium, manganese, iron, copper, zinc and lots of other minerals. With all of these healthy benefits it became obvious that I needed to pay attention to my body on the inside, and my body thanks me.

What healthy thing have you done for yourself today?

Sunday Morning Beauty Rituals: Mud Mask

Sunday Morning Beauty Rituals

These past few weeks have been extremely difficult for me between balancing my job, my relationship, kids, visiting my terminally ill father…I’ve had a lot on my plate. Life can come at you fast and if you’re not prepared it can knock you off your feet. So this Sunday I’m very happy to partake in my usual Sunday Morning Beauty Ritual. Sunday is the day of the week that I take some time to care deeply for myself. On Sundays I like to relax by meditating, reading and beautifying myself with mask, hair treatments, manicures or whatever my body is telling me that it needs at the moment.

This Sunday, I elected to give my very tired skin a mud mask and treat myself to a manicure. My product of choice this week is Borghese Fango Active Mud for the Face and Body. I have not given myself a mud mask in over two weeks so this treatment is much overdue! This mask unclogs pores, helps remove dead skin cells and detoxifies impurities which is exactly what I need right now. The Borghese mask helps to improve the appearance of the skin by brightening the complexion and exfoliating the skin so that it feels smoother and hydrated.

Now I can grab my latest copy of New York Magazine, a couple of Vitamin E capsules (for my cuticles) and a tall glass of ice water to relax for about 15 minutes while my mask dries. Now if I can only hideout from my kids for these precious 15 minutes…

What are some of your favorite beautiful ways to relax and detox?