This is NOT a food post

So, with me leaving for Atlanta right around the corner I have started getting my "gifts" ready for the Cooks.

Dear Cooks, if you are reading this blog post, kindly DO NOT LOOK! Kthxbai

So back in December when I got my Martha Stewart Living (yes, I subscribe...) there were AMAZING recipes and ideas for homemade gifts for those of us with shallow pocket books. It was then that I noted I would make these amazing Salt Scrubs for the girls for "Christmas". I use Christmas in quotes because I knew I wasn't going to get to see them until Jan-Feb due to the craziness of the holidays and the overwhelming demand of work though the end of the year. Then Brian's dad bought me some plane tickets to come visit in February right before my birthday as a gift cuz he's ever so nice. This is a small token of appreciation and my way of saying thanks and such for the hospitality of 08.

My favorite splurge treat for myself is going to Sephora and getting Philosophy Senorita Margarita Hot Salt Scrub. It's heaven. It's to die for. It's the only scrub I've ever used that really exfoliated and made my skin soft. It costs 25 bucks. For some reason it's not on Sephora's website anymore, but you can gawk at it here.

I seriously love the stuff.

Anyway back to the wonderment that is all things Martha. You can find her "recipe" here, but I tweaked mine as I saw fit.

You will need;



Epsom Salts (or organic sugar if you want to do a sweet one)
Carrier Oil (I used Olive Oil, but Sunflower, Vitamin E, anything light and low in fragrance will work)
Essential Oils for Scent (I used Eucalyptus Oil for my strong one, and a Bergamont oil for the lighter scent.)
Food Coloring to match you "scent" (I ended up using a mix of green. blue and yellow)
An eyedropper so you don't ever scent

Start with 2 cups Epsom salts (or sugar) in a medium to large bowl.



I found that I liked my scrub with a bit more viscosity so in the end I ended up using closer to 4 cups.

Add to that 1 cup of carrier oil and mix well.



Next you're gonna mix in your lighter scent first, drop by drop. Martha said use like 4 drops, but I ended up using closer to a tablespoon. Just add, mix and sniff until it's strong enough for you. Then add in your heavier scent. I used Eucalyptus oil which can be pretty strong, and still even the few drops Martha suggested weren't enough. I ended up adding about a tablespoon. Once again, it's up to you and how "smelly" you want your salts to be. Add, mix, sniff to your liking.

Then I added the food coloring 5-10 drops at a time until I found a color I liked...



In the end I think I used about 20 drops of "lime", 10 of "turquoise" and 10 of yellow. I wanted it to be as close to the Philosophy's color as possible. I think I got pretty close.



I then transferred the scrub into little jars I found at Michaels. That is also where I found the coloring and bergamont oil. They were in the candle and soap making aisle if you go to find them. The jars were in the painting supplies.



The amount I used filled 3 8oz jars to the top, and I had a bit left over that I stuck in a little dixie cup and put in the shower for later. I can't wait to try it and see what the girls say about it too!

All in all the trip to Micheal's cost me about 16 dollars, I had the Eucalyptus Oil, Epsom salts and Olive Oil, already so that was not a recent expense. I'd say, for how much you get, and I still have a TON left over to make a TON more.. its definitely cheaper to make them yourselves, and more fun too.