Drugstore Beauty: Home Spa Night.

One of the biggest reader requests I get via your emails is for more affordable natural beauty products.  And I get it… some of the products I feature in these parts can get a bit expensive. Taking great care of my skin is very important to me and over the past year I’ve gotten a bit obsessive over what I put in my body… and on it. Luckily for us, the drugstores are catching on and are starting to carry a pretty great selection of natural beauty products. I’ve spent the past month or so ordering and trying as many natural drugstore beauty brands as possible and have found a few that I really love.

Over the next few months, I’ll be partnering with CVS Beauty Club to share my favorite (natural) drugstore finds with you. CVS has been my go-to drugstore since high school (fun fact – I worked there in high school and college!) and Beauty Club is an amazing way to save money and earn rewards from your purchases.

First up? A DIY spa night, of sorts. I love a day at the spa as much as the next girl, but the weekly pampering I crave is not exactly in my budget… so I do a lot of at-home treatments… and take a lot of baths. The bathtub is my happy place and if I had my way I’d soak in the tub every day.  Today I thought I’d show you how to bring the spa home and pamper yourself (naturally, of course) using six products that I was able to find at my local CVS. All you need is a bathtub! So… grab a book, light some candles, and take some time for yourself to relax and give yourself a little bit of downtime!

First, draw a bath. While you are letting the water run, it’s time for a little bit of dry brushing. In my opinion, dry brushing is one of the best things you can do for your skin. It exfoliates, detoxifies, and encourages faster skin renewal at the cellular level… and… it helps to reduce the appearance of cellulite. I try to remember to dry brush every morning before I shower but I don’t always remember. It is so so good for your skin, I can’t recommend it enough. What you do is take the brush (I really like this one – pictured – or this one) and starting at your toes, brush upwards in long strokes. Brush your legs, and then your arms (you always want to work towards your heart… so down your arms and up your legs and torso.) Don’t forget your back!

Next, add epsom salt to your bath. I’ve used epsom salt forever (before, I used to just add essential oils to the water) and then one day CVS was actually out of regular salts. So I tried their Eucalyptus and Peppermint formula and have never looked back. It smells exactly like the steam room at an upscale spa. Heaven (and also really great if you have a cold.) Seriously, heaven… I was taking the photos for this post and couldn’t stop smelling them.

I keep my epsom salts in a mason jar (I’m a stickler for packaging) in my bathroom and generally add two cups to my bath for a detoxifying and soothing experience.

Once I’ve been soaking in the tub for a bit, I use Alba Botanica’s toxin release scrub all over my body. It’s meant for the face but I like it so much (and it’s more affordable than many of my other body scrubs) that I use it everywhere. It smells yummy and the fruit acids + ground walnut slough off dead skin cells, purify, and help with deep-down detoxification.

After the scrub, I apply a thick layer of Alba’s pore purifying mini peel and let it sit on my skin for five minutes. The peel contains 6% fruit acids so it helps to further exfoliate. After using it, your pores will look smaller, and your skin will glow.

When you’re done with the bath, towel off and apply a thick layer of moisturizer all over your body. I love Burts Bees Radiance Body Cream (and their amazing foot cream which is packed with coconut oil.) Or if you want to go really natural, slather yourself in organic coconut oil. (I love this one!)

If you’re inspired to create your own DIY home spa night, make sure you are a CVS Beauty Club member to receive amazing benefits and save on those purchases… as a member you get $5 ExtraBucks® Rewards for every $50 cumulatively spent on qualifying beauty products… a 10% off beauty shopping pass at enrollment, and $3 ExtraBucks® Rewards on your birthday. You can sign up here if you’re not! It’s amazing how quickly those ExtraBucks add up… (and how quickly I manage to spend them – whether on things I need, or impulse items… I’m a sucker for the displays at the front of the store and always end up walking out with a new lipstick or nail polish!)

Also – I’d love to know – what are your favorite natural drugstore brands?

Thank you to CVS Beauty Club for sponsoring this post.