Receiving my monthly boxes from Petit Vour have been really inspiring. After considering the fact that my skin absorbs whatever I put on it, I realized that so many products I use contain all sorts of chemicals and undesirable stuff that can actually make my skin worse.I've been happily pinning all sorts of natural and DIY skincare and makeup recipes. One that really intrigued me was a recipe for coffee-infused eye cream. Caffeine is supposed to help reduce puffiness and also help with cellulite. I decided to give it a go and started by infusing my oil.To do this I ground about 1/2 cup of fresh coffee beans and tossed them in a pint-sized mason jar. Then I covered the coffee grounds in castor oil and set the jar in a pot 1/3 full with water. I set the pot on top of our gas stove/fireplace and stirred it every 10 minutes or so for about an hour. You don't want the oil to get too hot, just enough to steep the coffee.After the oil had steeped it needed to be strained. I strained it through a mesh strainer and realized that I had a ton of beautiful, glistening coffee grounds that would be perfect for a body scrub. So I saved those and used them to create a luxurious sugar scrub. After the oil was strained I let it settle out to get the little flecks of coffee to settle on the bottom.[responsive]
[/responsive]Here is my recipe for the Coffee-Infused Eye Cream:1 tbsp Cocoa Butter1 tbsp Shea Butter1 tbsp Coffee-Infused Castor Oil1 tsp Vitamin E Oil8 drops Lavender Essential OilBasically you just have to melt the shea and cocoa butters together, then add the rest of the ingredients. Let cool till it's semi-solid and whip it with a fork. Then transfer to a clean, dry container (I used an old baby food jar – perfect for this sort of thing!).The eye cream is a little oily so next time I think I will add some beeswax to take away from the oiliness. It's perfect at night, though. The smell is really lovely, too.[responsive]
[/responsive]Next, for those luscious coffee grounds. This scrub is so super-simple and completely luxurious. My skin felt soft and smooth after I showered and I didn't even need to moisturize. The coffee grounds are also supposed to help break down cellulite so that's always a plus! Only downside - it made a bit of a mess in the shower. Worth it.Coffee Bean Sugar Scrub1/2 cup Castor Oil-Infused Coffee Grounds1/2 cup Sugar (I used regular granulated sugar)1 tsp CinnamonCombine all ingredients and store in a clean, dry container.[responsive]
[/responsive]Hope these recipes are useful! I know I'm loving my new coffee-infused products.
scrub