Coconut Oil - my favourite ways to use it!

Coconut Oil is one ingredient we all probably have in our kitchen and are never really sure what to do with it. As a natural oil coconut oil is a perfect moisturisers, lightweight, absorbs really easily not to mention smells divine. I am a huge fan of coconut scent products whether it is a cream, hair mask, face-mask or sun tan lotion.

Just mentioning all of the above means that it is an item you can incorporate into your beauty routine, especially if you are on a spending ban, wanting to save money, are having a bit of a DIY moment or are simply wanting to try something new.  All you need to do is Google Coconut Oil uses and within seconds before your eyes you will have over 4.3million pages to look at and go through.

The lovely people at Viridian sent me a lovely jar of organic raw virgin coconut oil** and it smells amazing, I absolutely love it.

So rather than read all of those pages, I thought it would be a good idea and a good post if I picked my favourite 5 ways to use Coconut Oil and share them with you below.

1.) Eye Makeup remover: This is a tip I was given by a friend when she was training to be a beautician.  Coconut oil will gently remove your makeup, all you need to do is place some on a damp cotton pad and rub gently in circles around your eye area to get rid of makeup.  Once you have finished be sure to wash your face thoroughly.

2.) Hair Mask: Use coconut oil as a DIY hair mask to soften your hair and add moisture. Just scoop some out into the palms of your hands to warm it through and then apply to your hair, focusing on the ends (if like me you have greasy hair, then definitely avoid the root area altogether). Once applied, leave it on for around 30 minutes and then rinse it out in the shower before shampooing and conditioning your hair.  You can also use this method as an overnight treatment, just put a towel on your pillow to make sure it doesn't stain and then wash out in the morning.  I do this when my hair is feeling really dry, particularly at the ends when my hair is due to be cut and my hair feels so soft and smooth after using.

3.) Body Scrub:  You can make your own body scrub really easily and there are a lot of tutorials which show you how to do just that.   Below is one of my favourite home made body scrubs which the people at Eco Market sent to me to try a few months back.

Combine coconut oil with: 

• 1 small organic lemon

• 1 small organic lime

• 1 cup organic pure cane sugar
• 
1/2 cup organic coconut oil
• 
1 teaspoon organic peppermint essential oil/extract
. 

You can, if you like also add some mint leaves and lemon & lime peels. Mix the coconut oil, the peppermint oil and the juice from both the lemon and lime. Then pour in the sugar and mix it up well. If you want to add the mint leaves and citrus peels then stir them in at the end. Transfer the mixture to a clean, dry container like an old jam jar and you're ready to scrub.

This is such an effective exfoliator and definitely one to try if you fancy trying a DIY version because it is so easy to do and it smells so good.  You can also use this scrub on your feet, hands and lips!

4.) Shaving Cream:  If you run out of shaving cream/foam or whatever you might use, instead of reaching for your misters (oops yes I do) or using shower gel, grab some coconut oil and warm it between the palms of your hands, massage onto the skin and then you'll see how easily your razor glides over the skin leaving you with hair free soft smooth skin.

5.) Cuticle oil: If your nail beds look really dry, cracked and are a bit sore, get a cotton bud and your jar of coconut oil and dab some onto each fingers around and on your cuticle and massage it on.  If your cuticles need a little bit more TLC then don't massage it in, put some gloves on overnight whilst sleeping, in the morning you will notice quite a difference.

Those are just some of the ways I use coconut oil and naturally there are lots of other ways because it is just such a good moisturiser and so kind to the skin.

Have you ever used coconut oil in your beauty routine? How? 

1. Tell me in the comments!

Sample Sunday

This week I thought I would bring back Sample Sunday as I have been making a conscious effort to use up some of the samples of products that I have and use up the sample sized tubs, tubes and bottles of other products that have come on various trips away with me.

This is my progress:

Givenchy Noir Couture Mascara which is from a Glossybox and I had two samples of it - I actually really like this mascara, though I didn't love it. The sample itself is just 1.5g and lasted for about a week, so not really enough to gage a formed opinion, but I did like the brush and you can see more detail about it HERE when the first sample appeared.

Soap & Glory Scrub Of Your Life  - One of my favourite products from Soap and Glory, I love the fact I can have travel sizes of this and take it with me when I go away. It is apparently the Ultimate soapy, super-smoothing body buffer.  I love the scent and how effective yet gentle this is on my skin.  It retails for around £3 for this travel size and it does last a long time.

Next up there are two Montagne Jeunesse Facemasks.  I am a huge lover of facemasks and love trying them out and these particular masks are just complete bargains.

The first is Chocolate Mud Pie which is an indulgent skin softening mask and it combines Cocoa and shea butter.  This mask smells good enough to eat, it is like someone pushing your face into a lovely chocolate cake and you leave it on for 15-20 minutes, it dries, you rinse it off using warm water and it leaves you with lovely soft to the touch skin, for 99p this is a total bargain and I got it from Asda.

The second is Manuka Honey Peel Off.  Now I love love love facemasks which you peel off, I know I have probably mentioned it before, but there is something so satisfying about waiting for a mask to dry on your skin and then getting to peel it off, yummy.  Anyway, this mask is described as being a famous natural cleanser and it contains Manuka Honey and Jasmin and as with the other mask, cleanse your face, apply, leave for 15-20 minutes and then peel it off.  Another fab mask for 99p

Next comes three Jenoris sachets which I got back in July from the London Blogger Meet and there are two hair masks and a shampoo within this collection.

The Keratin Shampoo, which is sodium chloride free, contains Omega 3,6 and for a healthy scalp and shiny hair.  It includes Keratin for long-term protection, moisturises the hair whilst restoring its natural gloss and vitality.  I actually quite liked this sample, it smells quite nice in that it has the clean smell and it didn't irritate my scalp and my hair was lovely and soft after using.

The Pistachio Hair Mask is described as being ideal for treating split ends, dry, coloured or lightened hair and as with the Keratin Shampoo it contains Omega 3,6 and 9.  With this mask you apply to your hair after washing and leave on for just 3-5 minutes before rinishing it off but if your hair is in a bit of a state, you can leave it for up to 12 minutes for a more intensive treatment.  I am not too sure this mask did anything for my hair in all honesty, it smells lovely and is easy to use but my hair didn't feel any different after using.

The Keratin Hair Mask is again sodium chloride free and is enriched with Omega 3,6 and 9 as well as Pistachio and borage oils as well as keratin to moisturise and give long term protection to your hair.  After using it claims to leave your hair with perfect softness, shine and glamour.  I preferred this hair mask to the pistachio one but again, I didn't really feel too many benefits of using the mask, it would make a much better conditioner in my opinion.

Apivita express beauty with Apricot - this is a gentle exfoliating gel with apricot and I got the sachet from the London Blogger Meet.  This was my first introduction to Aprivita and I loved this gel.  It smells divine, as though someone has just squeezed the life out of some apricots and put them into this sachet.  It is a gentle but effective exfoliator and it leaves your skin feeling super soft after using.  This is a brand I want to explore further.

Elemis Fresh Skin Skin Glow - Put simply, I am a big big fan of this product and I did a whole review of it which you can find HERE and it is a product I would buy again.

Dr Lipp Original Nipple Balm - This product has quite a few mentions on my blog and has its own review which you can read HERE.  Before I got it in a Glossybox I had heard so many people compare it to Elizabeth Arden's 8 hour cream which I dislike, I fully expected to dislike this product as well... WRONG... I love it and am sad it has run out, though I fully intend to purchase a full size version.  it has been an absolute lifesaver in this cold weather, I smother my lips in it before bed and it also makes a great base before applying lipstick.

So those are my empty samples for this month and I think I have done quite well in using them up and remembering to keep them for this post.  Have you ever tried any of these products, are you a fan of any of them?