Thursday Essentials – Beauty & Coconut Oil Uses

Today’s Essentials

Let’s take a closer look…

Simply Balanced Organic Coconut Oil

Pure Ice Clear Top Coat & Essie “Adore-A-Ball” nail polish

It’s A 10 Miracle Leave-In Product Sample & Kenra Thermal Styling Spray 19

Fancy by Jessica Simpson Body Mist & Stress Relief Eucalyptus Spearmint Body Cream

These are more like my daily essentials… I want to go more into depth about the many uses of coconut oil – the best ways that I use coconut oil. Hopefully that will be more relational to you to here from someone who is using coconut oil in a few practical ways. But first…

Thursday’s Essentials in description:

• Simply Balanced Organic Unrefined Virgin Coconut Oil from Target. Simply Balanced is a Target brand. $6. You can also buy some organic coconut oil from TJMaxx for $4-$6, not the same brand as Simply Balanced, but it doesn’t matter what kind of coconut oil you get – I would just suggest 100% organic. (Everything’s better when it’s natural, right?)
• Pure Ice One Stop Shop 3-in-1 Top Coat. I bought this at Walmart and honestly I bought this brand because it was the cheapest. There are probably better brands out there but if you are looking for a simple, cheap option this is your buy. One application lasts me about a week and a half which is pretty good for staying shiny and protecting my nails that weren’t done in the salon. Probably about $3 worth.
• Essie “Adore-A-Ball” Nail Polish – I bought this for a tad over $8 in Walgreens which is actually cheaper than Walmart at the moment. I checked Walmart after purchasing at Walgreens and Walmart has Essie Nail Polish at nearly $9. If you are looking for a steal deal of Essie Nail Polish though, go to TJMaxx or Ulta. TJMaxx sells Essie Nail Polish for $3-$5. Ulta will sell Essie nail polish for around $4 when they put it on sale. (YES! I bought some the other day) I love this color because it is a beautiful pink while still natural and goes well with any outfit. This nail polish is so good to me and stays on for weeks.
  

  This is what it looks like after 3 coats Essie and a top coat.

• It’s A 10 Miracle Leave-In Product Sample. I got this in the mail as a sample (actually it was my mom’s then she gave it to me). The 2 oz I believe is purchasable for around $11, the last time I checked in Ulta. I have used many hair products (Big Sexy Hair, Argon oil, Argon oil with Moroccan oil spray) for an after-shower, before hair drying and this is the best. It truly makes my hair feel so smooth and you don’t even have to spray much – so I can say “a little bit goes a long way.” With my hair length I use three sprays (right side, back, and left side) but if you have long hair, you might spray 5-6 to get 1-2 sprays for all sides of your hair. After spraying, I brush my wet hair. I like the smell of it, too. It’s not a smell that I would use as a lotion but I like the smell of it for a hair product.
• My Kenra Thermal Styling spray I got as a Christmas gift from my mom. I love it! I totally recommend this as a after-blow-drying, before-straightening hair protectant spray from hair styling heat. It does not make your hair greasy. I spray 2-3 sprays on my hair with each layer that I straighten/curl it and there is NO grease! Who else is looking for a heat protectant that doesn’t grease your hair?! Me! This is your answer – Kenra does an amazing job with this and this styling spray is going to last me a long time. I am unsure of the price, as it was a gift to me. The smell is okay, it’s not too bad.
• “Fancy” by Jessica Simpson Body Mist from TJMaxx. I bought this sucker for $7! I was waiting for a good buy of perfume or body mist that is strong but not too strong to suffocate the people you are with. This body mist has such a great smell and TJMaxx has many other Jessica Simpson body mists that you may love – go check it out yourself! I will say, because it is a body mist, the smell doesn’t last as long as a perfume but I LOVE the smell.
• Stress Relief Eucalyptus Spearmint Body Cream from Bath & Body Works. I LOVE their aromatherapy line. I am pretty sure I own at least one product of each aromatherapy item they sell. While I would definitely not rely on it as a stress reliever, the fresh smell of eucalyptus is refreshing, strong, and honestly kind of relieving. I like it and think it is a peaceful smell while I have met others who think it smells like a hospital… I have used this scented lotion, body wash, body scrub, and even candle for a while now and I still love it. It’s not an anxiety solution but it is a peaceful, refreshing smell that I love. Try any of their aromatherapy for great smells and high quality!

Now I would like to go in depth about the uses (of me) for coconut oil. You can look up the many uses of coconut oil and find about 100+ but I want to give you a more personal and practical list of uses by me that you can trust are real, honest, and practical.

1. I use it to hydrate my nails. If you don’t have time to buy a specific nail “polish” oil or you are a coconut oil freak like me, I recommend it! Actually I recommend it even if you want to buy a specific nail oil. Just use coconut oil – save you some money and be more efficient by using coconut oil for many more things. I know there are some of you that do not like nail polish but still want to keep a nice shine and health on your nails. Top coat of nail polish (like the one I mentioned above) and coconut oil combination is your go! To avoid cracked skin and nails, apply some coconut oil to keep a shine and keep your nails healthy. Here’s what my nails look like after a top coat and coconut oil:

2.  I use it to relieve razor burn. I get razor burn and a slight rash every time I shave. Like, there is no escaping it. Some times are worse than others and I have been looking forever for a solution to this and when I purchased this coconut oil, I decided, hey I might as well give it a try. Well it works perfectly for me! It works as such a great after-shave moisturizer, keeping your legs shiny and looking hydrated while giving it a nice tropical smell. For me, coconut is a love language – I’m obsessed. So it’s pretty nice to find a solution to razor burn that looks great and smells heavenly.

3. I use it to hydrate the ashy places. Elbows, knees, and feet are always tough spots. If lotion isn’t your thing or isn’t working for you, or you are getting tired of the smell or feel of your lotion, try coconut oil. It hydrates the dry places with little amounts, leaving a tropical smell.

4. I use it as a after-straightening hair hydrator. While it also leaves a great smell and deters the smell of burnt hair (yuck – one of the things I hate most), it will deter frizz and keeps your hair looking shiny and fresh. But don’t use too much! Remember that it IS oil, so don’t make your hair oily, just add some to your ends for a shiny, less dry look and to make your hair smell nice instead of it smelling burnt.

5. I use it to prevent any wrinkles, while it lightens my acne scars. Who else is looking for something cheap (and maybe natural) to help your acne scars? This use also works as a after-wash moisturizer! After I wash my face as night and use an exfoliator, I apply my coconut oil to my face and neck. A light layer is enough. While it is oil, it will not cause acne like an oily face will. Coconut oil will prevent wrinkles and lighten your acne scars, while you also get a tropical smell to help you sleep. This also works as an under-eye “cream” – it’s not a cream, it’s oil but it can serve the same purpose.

6. My awesome sis, Madi, uses coconut oil as a cooking oil while making pancakes (does that not sound amazing?), which adds a sweet taste to your pancakes that you will love!

7. To look more into the uses of coconut oil, check out this website that does give you 101 uses of coconut oil in a short list that you can click links to find more information about. 101 Uses of Coconut Oil

I love the many uses of coconut oil – it is my daily essential. Great for cooking, great for life.

Today, Jesus gave me a bagel. What? That’s a crazy statement but that is basically what happened. Every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday before my 8am classes, I go to a breakfast place in the Union on campus and get a bagel and coffee. What is supposed to happen is when I walk in, there are supposed to be pre-made bagels ready to go for those that want that kind, but lately, as more and more people come in the mornings, they have been clean out when I get there. So I usually have to order it and wait 5-8 minutes for it to be made for me. Well, today I woke up late and left about 10 minutes late but I still HAD to get my morning bagel and coffee, right?! I knew they would be out once again and I might be late for class (but the bagel, totally worth it). Well I got in there and not only was there one already made for me, there were three!! One for me and my friend and another lucky person. I was later than usual and still got a bagel, you know that’s Jesus. He cares about the little things. AND He always goes the extra mile and not only gives you what you didn’t expect, but MORE than that. I love when He shows me that.

Have a fabulous Thursday!

xx, Claire