2.13 NEW!! DIY Beauty for Valentine’s Day!

If you’re like me, you love the idea of creating your own beauty products at home (and then sharing them with your girlfriends!) ~ and if you’re not a fan of heading to the salon to shell out big bucks and lots of time to have someone else make your tresses look fabulous for a special occasion ~ then you’re in luck! Cozy Friedman, author of Cozy’s Complete Guide to Girls’ Hair, and Erika Katz, beauty expert and author of Bonding Over Beauty, have come up with the yummiest of do-it-yourself beauty recipes and even a heart-shaped braid that doesn’t require a trip to the salon…so this year, put your personal touch on Valentine’s Day ~ and then use these ideas all year long when love is in the air!

ERIKA KATZ’S CHOCOLATE LIP BALM

This lip balm contains shea butter, beeswax, and coconut oil, all of which are excellent natural emollients. If you feel daring, get creative and add other flavors like peppermint oil, tangerine oil, or raspberry oil for a delicious, kissable mouth…and remember what they say about eating chocolate ~ it causes the same reaction as being in love, so all he has to do is kiss you once and he’ll be hooked!

Ingredients

1 tablespoon shea butter

1 tablespoon coconut oil

2 teaspoons grated beeswax

1 tablespoon vitamin E oil

15 chocolate chips

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Put all the ingredients into a double boiler on the stove or in a microwavable container. Warm the mixture until it melts. Stir until smooth. Pour the mixture into a lip gloss container and refrigerate until it hardens. The balm will last up to 3 months at room temperature ~ but we think you’ll use it up much, much sooner!

THE HEART BRAID

Cozy Friedman’s Heart Braid is her signature Valentine’s Day style, featured in Cozy’s Complete Guide to Girls’ Hair. If you can French Braid hair, this ‘do will be a piece of cake!

What You’ll Need

Wide-tooth comb, fine-tooth comb, decorative hair clip, ponytail holders

Directions

Step 1: Starting with damp hair (either towel-dried or misted), use a wide-tooth comb to detangle the hair. Then, using a fine-tooth comb, part the hair down the middle of the head. Clip one side up right above the ear.

Step 2: On the other side of the part, use the fine comb to gather a thin section of hair from the crown. This section should measure about 2 inches from the hairline to the top of the head.

Step 3: Divide this section into three, and begin a French braid starting at the crown and curving toward the temple, then toward the back of the head, like the top lobe of a heart. You will be lifting hair into the braid only from this side of the part. Leave no loose hair in front of the ears.

Step 4: When you reach the center part at the back of the head, secure the braid with a ponytail holder. If your hair is very long, end the braid about mid-ear; the ends will hang down the back.

Step 5: Unclip the hair on the other side of the part and repeat the process. Secure with a ponytail holder.

Step 6: Join the ends of the braids together in the back with a pretty ponytail holder or small bow, and you’re done!!

ERIKA KATZ’S FRUITY LIP BALM

To keep lips soft and silky, this fruity lip balm exfoliates dead skin and softens at the same time, keeping lips, soft, silky, and oh-so-tasty!

Ingredients

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1 scoop powdered drink mix in your favorite flavor

Lip gloss jars (Available at www.sks-bottle.com/340c/fin34b.html)

Directions

Clarify the vegetable shortening by heating it in the microwave for 15 seconds. Stir in the drink mix. Pour the mixture into a lip gloss jar. Let the mixture harden for 10 minutes and your lip gloss is ready and will last up to six months unrefrigerated ~ be sure to make extras for your girlfriends, and decorate the jars with stickers or sparkles!