Holiday Gift Guide:: DIY Mocha Sugar Body Polish

On a recent trip to Seattle with my baby boy and my sister in law, Crystal, we enjoyed taking in all the gorgeous sights, eating delicious indulgent food, and of course spent some good time shopping.  While walking towards a certain strip of stores, I experienced scent déja vu, and even let out a, “Ohhhh it smells like Lush.”  Crystal gave me a sideways glance until we rounded the corner and I saw it. Lush. I was able to introduce Crystal to my longtime love, that affair I pick up when I’m in the mood for my own little pick-me-up.

We stocked up on chocolate face mask, hair deep conditioner, lotions, balms, foundation… and whatever else suited our fancy, and then spent the next day twirling our thumbs in wait for the little man to sleep so we could get our Girl’s-Night-In on.

Well, all except for the twirling our thumbs part.

And then we went to bed in one giant pizza induced coma.

The End.

Or not, because it just gets better from here.  While I was perusing the overly stocked shelves of heavenly scented, just about edible body care, I picked up these cute gems for my daughter.

Glitterlicious lotion bars!  I brought them home as a consolation for being gone for so long.  She completely forgot about me all together, and loved rubbing these on her arms and legs, admiring the shimmer left behind in the twinkle lights of the evening.  And I loved that they left a sweet, but not overpowering, scent and did a great job moisturizing her skin.

Not all of the bars are glittery, in fact these were the only two I could find that had shimmer, but I think they’d be the perfect stocking stuffers for any member of the family. Of course, the non-glittered kind for the men in your life.

And if you feel more like the Do It Yourself type than Shopper type, you can do what Aliyah did and make your own natural, just about edible body care for the ones you love.

Yesterday we whipped up our Mocha Sugar Body Polish… and I’m telling you that stuff is awesome!  Plus, I hear that the coffee in the scrub is great for cellulite.  Not that I know from experience.

I love using items in my kitchen to make at home spa products, like the ones I’ve mentioned here. And this recipe does just that.

For Aliyah’s Mocha Sugar Body Polish, we just mixed up 2 cups ground coffee (no need to be fancy, the cheaper the better), 1 cup raw sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 6 tablespoons oil (we used coconut, and I also like almond, but any oil will do), 2 tablespoons cocoa, 1 tablespoon vanilla extract (makes it smell even sweeter) and a dash of cinnamon to add a little Christmas spice.

We finished it off by filling little glass jars, covering with a square of cloth and tied Aliyah’s tags on with some red ribbon left from our Advent Calendar project.

Besides giving these out to the many beautiful women in our lives, I know what I want in my stocking this year!