Just in case you’re looking for some awesome sales and coupon codes this Valentine’s Day…

Robyn at Purely Cosmetics is giving Bionic Beauty readers an exclusive discount on all her incredible makeup! Get 14% off all orders worldwide with a $14 minimum purchase. Simply enter the coupon code BBvday12 on your purchases from February 10th until February 14th (sale ends at midnight).

YBF Skincare’s brand new skin miracle- “Private Reserve Treatment Oil” is available in a limited edition Rose; or the regular edition in Sandalwood. Private Reserve does wonders for your face, scalp, hair, and hands!

You can also save some precious dollars by taking advantage of the V-Day sales on YBF’s Define and Private Reserve products over at Truth in Aging!

Get a free Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream with any $25 Purchase. Use Code: SMASHBB

Save an extra 20% off your entire purchase at The Body Shop! Offer valid February 10 through February 12 2012.

For every order placed at Alchimie Forver’s website before Valentine’s Day, you’ll get a free full-size Antioxidant Relief for Hands and Feet ($39 retail value)!

Happy shopping, everyone!

Welcome to another installment of Bionic Beauty Homemade with Joycey Couture!

What do you get when you wash your hair everyday in the midst of winter? You guessed it- dry hair!
In my quest to find a solution, I came across this recipe. Time for show and tell!

Has the winter months wreaked havoc on your hair? Try this DIY cucumber hair drench!

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 1 eggshell’s worth of olive oil>
• 1 quarter of a peeled cucumber

Directions:

Blend the egg, olive oil and peeled cucumber together in a large bowl and spread it evenly through your hair. Leave the mixture on for at least 10 minutes and rinse thoroughly. For the best results, use this treatment monthly.
Also great during those beach and pool filled months we call summer.

Oo la la!

Stay Bionic,

Welcome to another installment of Bionic Beauty Homemade with Joycey Couture!

Looking for a way to maintain a radiant, healthy glow in the midst of winter? With no need to measure a thing, try this simple recipe!

Want skin as soft as this baby? Try this DIY Oat and Honey Facial Cream!

Ingredients:

• Oats
• Honey
• Yogurt (Plain)
• Ground Almonds

Directions:

Mix some of your oats and a few spoonfuls of honey together, sprinkling in additional oats to thicken the texture. Then add yogurt and the ground almonds. Continue to stir until creamy. Gently apply the mixture to your face and leave on for 5-10 minutes. Rinse with lukewarm water.

Hello gorgeous!

Stay Bionic,

Welcome to another installment of Bionic Beauty Homemade with Joycey Couture!

Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s day- if there is only one thing in the world that is a certainty in life it’s that we all have chocolate in the house this time of year.

Once regarded as bad for our health, research has proven that dark chocolate is healthy- and not just to eat. The compounds found in chocolate can actually benefit the skin.

Time to melt down that left over Christmas candy!

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tbsp cream, plain yogurt, or sour cream
• 3 tsp oats

Sooth your skin throughout the candy season with this scrumptious chocolate face mask!

Directions:

Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Apply the mixture to your clean, dry skin and leave on for 15-20 minutes. Rinse with warm water and pat dry.

Enjoy!

Stay Bionic,

Welcome to another installment of Bionic Beauty Homemade with Joycey Couture!

Dancing snowmen? Flying reindeer? Talk about a season full of myths! As it turns out however, there is at least one thing we can trust to come this winter- welcome to my face, dry skin.

Time to thaw out those chilly weather blues by winterizing your skin with this new recipe that I’ve come to love. Peppermint when used as an infusion is much gentler than peppermint essential oil, while cucumber soothes and feeds the skin with silica.

Ingredients ~

• 1/2 of a fresh medium cucumber
• 5 ounces (150 ml) filtered tap/mineral water
• 1 packet peppermint tea
• 2 oz (60 ml) aloe vera juice
• 2 drops vitamin E oil
• 1 oz (30 ml) carrot juice (optional)

Sooth your skin this winter with a homemade Cucumber, Peppermint and Aloe face mask!

Directions ~

First, puree the cucumber using a blender. Next, prepare the peppermint tea using filtered water and allow it to steep for 3 minutes. Then combine with the rest of the ingredients and shake well.

The peppermint, when used as an infusion in this blend, is much gentler than peppermint essential oil, while cucumber will help sooth and feed your skin silica.

When the mixture is ready, you can either rub it on your skin or even add it to your bath water.

Storage ~
Refrigerate the mixture [and keep it away from your beverages for obvious reasons! ] and it will stay good for at least 3 days. You can even toss it in your freezer for a quick skin reviving treatment through the summer months.

Stay Bionic,

T

he holiday shopping season is here. Television, radio and internet commercials are laden with the things we “must-have”, people are battling for parking spots, and everyone is trying to save money (myself included).

So this week’s Bionic Asks… Will you be buying any beauty-related for loved ones this holiday season? Or do you think its better to give them gift cards to buy the cosmetic goodies they prefer?

I’m planning on buying close family some small items like my favorite Herbaria soaps and sampler makeup packs. To round it out, I am doing a “homemade holiday” this year. My family and friends are getting loaves of my famous banana bread, personalized journals, and woven collars for their pets. In summary, I guess I’m doing a mix – a bit of beauty goodies and a bit of personal hand made stuff.

However, if I wanted to buy a beauty-related present for someone who I didn’t know very well, I would definitely go the gift card route. Better to let them pick exactly what they want than not use something or have to return it.

Welcome to another installment of Bionic Beauty Homemade with Joycey Couture!

With the temperatures dropping, there really isn’t much more enjoyable that I can think of than a relaxing bath. Why not try this simply, festive bath salt recipe that will help boost your mood and reduce fatigue?

Perfect for the holly-daze... A DIY Peppermint Bath Salts recipe will melt your worries away!

Ingredients ~

• 1/2 cup Epsom salt
• 1/4 teaspoon peppermint oil *
• 1 drop red food color (optional)

The magical creation ~

First grind the salt into a fine powder and pour into mixing bowl. (Hint: A coffee grinder or a mortar and pestle work wonderfully for this!) Then simply add the remaining ingredients.  Stir well and let it dry overnight.  Store your new bath salts in a sealed jar.  Makes 4 ounces.

To use ~
Add 1 tablespoon to bath water and enjoy!

* Why chose Peppermint besides it’s obvious delicious scent? Peppermint oil, originally from Europe, is often referred to as the “world’s oldest medicine.”  As hard as it is to imagine, the world has been using the oil for almost ten thousand years!  Such uses range broadly from removing ticks to soothing the common stuffy nose. This recipe also makes a wonderful gift for your loved ones!!

Stay Bionic,

This week’s Bionic Asks… What are your favorite online beauty shopping websites?

Do you shop directly at the major online makeup and skin care websites such as the Amazon Beauty department, Beauty.com, drugstore.com, or Sephora.com? Or do you go straight to a particular brand website?

Typically I perform a Google search for a particular item and price shop through the search engine for the best savings.

However, if I’m buying an indie beauty product, which is about 80% of the time, then I head right to their website. I enjoy supporting the indie brands much more than the larger, mainstream brands that spend a gazillion bucks on marketing and usually have lackluster customer service.

So go ahead… list your favorite online beauty shopping sites below!

Welcome to another installment of Bionic Beauty Homemade with Joycey Couture!

This week’s DIY beauty recipe is multi-functional and super easy to make. This sea salt beachy hair spray conditions your hair, refreshes it with a light scent, and you can use it for a styling product! Simply spray it in your hair, twist your hair gently into tendrils, let them hang that way until you’re ready to leave the house (or car), then lightly comb through with your fingers – instant beachy, bed-head waves!

Create your own Beachy Sea Salt hair styling and conditioning spray!

What you’ll need…

• A 6-8 ounce spritzer/spray bottle (I save my empties from previous spray-in conditioners or hair sprays)
• Plain water (distilled, tap, spring, whatever)
• Very fine grain sea salt (find it in the spice aisle at your local grocery store)
• Spray leave-in conditioner (I love Paul Mitchell’s Awapuhi Moisture Mist and L’Oreal EverPure’s UV Protect Spray!)
• 2-5 drops of pure Coconut Oil

Creating your own beachy spray…

1. Fill your spritz bottle 2/3 full with water.
2. Add one teaspoon sea salt and shake well. Keep on shaking until all the salt is dissolved.
3. Pour in about 3/4 of an inch to 1 inch of Leave-in Spray Conditioner (Use less if you have normal hair or the full inch if you have dry hair.)
4. Add 2-5 drops of Coconut Oil (You can vary this amount depending on your scent preference.)
5. Shake it up and spray away! Be sure to shake the bottle each time before applying.

Like options? Don’t miss another way to make your own hair Sea Salt Spray!

Stay Bionic,

I have been incredibly excited to share this week’s Powerful Beauty guest contributor… Kathleen Cross is the author of two Harper Collins novels, Skin Deep and Schooling Carmen. She has been a guest on numerous radio and television shows, including Oprah, Montel and Dr. Phil. In addition to being an acclaimed author, Kathleen is currently is the top writer for eDrugstore.md and has her own website KathleenCross.com.

T

here is incredible power in being loved unconditionally. Love allows us to see ourselves as the beautiful creatures we are, and if we are open to the lesson, it will teach us what we are truly made of. I learned that from my former fiancé Todd, who knew that at forty-something I had plenty of internal and external flaws, and chose to focus instead on what he found beautiful in me.

Kathleen Cross shares Powerful Beauty ideas with fellow Bionic Beauties

In His Eyes
I am sweet marrow wrapped in angel’s flesh
strength’s elucidation of grace
I am stillness in motion, heaven and earth alloyed
I am the only goddess and he comes undone when I dance
I am alto now soprano then, aria in rhythmic breaths
lyric in silence, soloist and symphony abreast
I am the matchless voice and he lip syncs as I chant
I am sapphire
I speak watercolors
in my lover’s eyes
I shine

I penned those words after Todd informed me during an argument, “Don’t tell me not to put you on a pedestal. It’s my pedestal. I put you up there, and there’s nothing you can do or say to remove yourself, so just shine.”

The trouble with that kind of admiration is what can happen to you and your self-esteem if the admiration is suddenly withdrawn. Todd taught me that too when he drowned in the ocean trying to save a friend caught in a riptide. I was beyond devastated by the loss of my husband-to-be, and, lost in the dark fog of mourning I arrived at the conclusion that the only way something so terrible could happen to me is that I deserved it.

I deserved it. That one ugly thought burrowed itself deep, obliterating my self-esteem and leaving me unable to feel beautiful or worthy of love for many months to come. I retreated to a deep dark cave where I was sure my ugly self belonged, and I stayed there much too long.

A mohawked skater-dude in line with me at the bank has no idea he rescued me. Written on his t-shirt were the words, “Welcome to Earth, where ugly things happen to beautiful people.” I found a powerfully beautiful message in it for me.

We come to Earth beautiful. Beauty, like love, is our birthright. We don’t have to do anything to deserve it any more than we can do something to deserve those experiences we interpret as “ugly.” Earth is our pedestal and it is our right to shine here. Todd already knew what it took me a while to learn.

I am beautiful, because I am.

Kathleen’s words are absolutely incredible and emotionally moving. I received her contribution by email, read it, and it literally stunned me. I hope all the Bionic Beauties out there love it just as much as I do. ~Jami

Catch up on the rest of the Powerful Beauty features. And remember to check back each Friday for another dose of how to Achieve Powerful Beauty!