I love the idea of soaking in a bath, surrounded with aromatic scents that ease tension, soothe, and relax.  And, if I get the chance, I will certainly do just that.  However, if you’re like me, you rarely have time to soak in a bath for a half hour or more.  If I’m going to spend the money to create an aromatic, spa-like bath, I want to have the time to invest in soaking in it, and not have to jump back out in a few minutes.

However, I can almost always find five, ten, or sometimes even twenty minutes in my day to do something for myself.  Whether it’s thumb through a fun magazine, make a cup of tea, or even polish my nails, some things we enjoy doing only take a few minutes.

Today, I decided to find some recipes for making simple facial masks with products that are natural and inexpensive.  With a little help from the good folks at MyBeautyRecipes.com I have a couple very interesting recipes that might interest you, as they certainly have me.

One is a soothing Yogurt Cucumber Parsley Mask in which you just puree together equal parts of cucumber and fresh parsley, then add the same amount of yogurt and give the blender another whirl.  Apply that to your face and let it sit as you relax for 10 to 20 minutes.  Rinse thoroughly and apply your regular moisturizer.  This is a soothing and moisturizing mask so you may not even need moisturizer afterwards.  I use a couple tablespoons of each so I have plenty to run the mask down my neck and onto my chest, as well.

The other one is an invigorating Yogurt Orange Mask.  Just blend together equal parts of yogurt and orange juice, apply to your face, and relax for just 5 minutes.  Then rinse thoroughly and apply moisturizer.  This is acidic so you should be careful around your eyes, and you should not leave it on for more than 5 minutes.  Again, I mix up a good size batch, at least a couple tablespoons each, so there is plenty.

A trick you may want to try in order to thicken up the masks a bit, that is if you plan ahead, is to drain the yogurt for an hour or so.  Lay a clean flour sack towel inside a colander so the towel drapes over the outside edges, then pour the container, or part of the container of yogurt into the towel lined colander.  Set the colander into a bowl to catch the liquid that drains off, and set inside the refrigerator.  Just place a plate or piece of waxed paper over the top of the colander to protect the yogurt.

After an hour or so, take the yogurt out, lift out the towel, and dump the yogurt into a clean container.  It should be more solid now which will make for a thicker consistency when you mix up your facial mask.  Any yogurt left over can be used in spreads and dips that you’d like to be less runny.

Along with the natural masks, there are a whole lot of fun facial cleansers and toners to try at MyBeautySecrets.com.  But, to me, a mask is one of the luxuries of skincare that I don’t treat myself to routinely, so when I find a few minutes to spare during the day, a facial mask is something that just makes me feel all fuzzy wuzzy inside and out!

I hope you find a few minutes to treat yourself to a little luxury today!

Tags: beauty spa, facial, facial mask, natural facial, natural mask, spa

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