Can't make it to the spa? Here's a DIY spa treatment from Nirmala Narine, host of Veria Living's Nirmala's Spice World, made from ingredients found in your kitchen...and that I dare you not to lick off! Ingredients: 4 tablespoons coconut milk 1 tablespoon plain yogurt 2 tablespoons honey Pulp of one ripe banana (the riper the better) Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg Directions:

1. In a small warm bowl, add all ingredients and mix.
2. Set aside while you fill your bathtub with warm water.
3. Massage the mixture onto your body in circular motion, until you’ve used it all up.
4. Soak in tub for 15 to 20 minutes

Your skin will feel smooth and moisturized...and it is possible that you may feel a bit hungrier post-treatment taking in those delicious scents! Check out the video for more in-depth instructions: Nirmala's Spice World can be seen in the U.S. on Cablevision/Optimum (Channel 164), DISH Network (Channel 218) and Verizon FiOS (Channel 162) subscribers (or check your local listings.) Subscribe to A Girl’s Gotta Spa! Watch our reviews on YouTube, see our pins on Pinterest and check us out on Instagram and G+. Got a Kindle? We’re on Kindle too! Shannon on G+

You go to apply your favorite lipstick, only to have your dry, peeling lips magnified by like 100. Your sexy pout is no longer so sexy. Been there, done that. Nothing adds more life and vitality to your lips than giving them the rub down with a good sugar scrub. We have our favorites, do you see yours among them?

Beau Bain's lip scrubs rank high for me. My favorite is their Mint Mojito. I love it so much that I literally licked it off my lips post-scrub. While sugar, of course, does the scrubbing, shea butter, avocado oil and Vitamin E do the softening. Their scrub comes paired with a lip balm, which is great to apply before bed, or to wear when you simply want to keep your lips moisturized. Walking into a LUSH store is like driving without navigation...you are bound to get lost for HOURS. This deliciously scented lip scrub is another one that can be licked off without fear of ingesting anything nasty. Sugar and jojoba oil will take your lips to the next level of hydration.

Not so much into the whole "mint" lip scene? Bliss has Fabulips, which is a vanilla and orange flavor. The dirty work is done with almond and walnut shells, while jojoba seed and olive oils, shea and cocoa butters and vitamins A, C and E nourish. Our lip scrub recommendations wouldn't be complete without The Lip Scrub from Sara Happ. She has so many decadent scents to choose from, like Red Velvet, Brown Sugar and Creme Brulee that it may be difficult not to hoard them all. (We promise we won't confront you about your "problem".) Sugar, jojoba and grape seed oils will get your pout pretty once again. Which lip scrub do you swear by? Subscribe to A Girl’s Gotta Spa! Watch our reviews on YouTube, see our pins on Pinterest and check us out on Instagram and G+. Got a Kindle? We’re on Kindle too! Shannon on G+ *Disclosure

Wishing for a spa getaway? To feel royally pampered in preparation for the summer months, therapists at the legendary Turnberry Isle Miami and its Forbes-rated Four Star Spa & Fitness Center suggest these at-home treatments using natural ingredients for those times when you can't make it into the spa: Mommy-to-Be Body Scrub – Helps with skin hydration and exfoliation. Ingredients: - ½ cup of oatmeal - 1 cup of yogurt Directions: Mix the oatmeal and yogurt together in a bowl. Use your hands to massage the scrub onto your skin in a circular motion. Coffee & Coconut Oil Booster – Activates circulation, rids cellulite and helps remove dead skin cells. Ingredients:  - ½ cup of coffee powder - 2 tablespoons of coconut oil (olive oil can be used instead) Directions: Mix the coffee powder and oil in a bowl. Use hands to massage mixture in a circular motion. Sunburn Solution – Great for sensitive skin. Ingredients: - 2 bananas - 3 tablespoons of honey - ¼ cup of cold milk - blender Directions: Mix the bananas, honey and milk in a blender. Apply to the mixture to skin and wait 10 minutes until rinsing. Apple Toner - Exfoliates and calms normal / combination skin. Ingredients: - 1 skinless apple - ½ cup of cold water - blender Directions: Mix the apple and water in the blender until it becomes very thin. Using cotton, apply to face. Have you tried any of these natural DIY spa treatments yourself? Subscribe to A Girl’s Gotta Spa! for more beauty reviews! Watch our reviews on YouTube, see our pins on Pinterest. Got a Kindle? We’re on Kindle too!

My sister is, and always has been, my beauty mentor.  Whenever I've had  a beauty ailment (which is a weekly occurrence,) I've always been able to count on her to steer me in the right direction.  Whether it be over plucked brows, breakouts or a lackluster complexion, she always seems to have a remedy in hand.  Her latest beauty advice for me was a body scrub using coffee grounds. This DIY body scrub was honestly one of the easiest and most enjoyable beauty adventures I've been on in a long time.  I got to enjoy a delicious cup cup of coffee then indulge in an amazingly effective...and cheap at home spa treatment.  I just took the leftover grounds into the shower with me and rubbed it all over my body.  The coffee grounds make a really gentle scrub, but also does a great job of exfoliating.  Caffeine is also known to be a fantastic anti-cellulite treatment. The strong smell of coffee in the shower also gave me an energy boost.  I do have to caution that the coffee grounds do tend to get very messy in the shower so it's a good idea to create more of a paste by combining it with olive oil...or shower oil.  My skin was soft and incredibly smooth and the best thing of all is that it did not cost me a thing! Subscribe to A Girl’s Gotta Spa! for more beauty reviews! Got a Kindle? We’re on Kindle too!

Although going to the spa can never be an overrated experience, there is something to be said of being able to bring the spa to the comfort and privacy of your own home with you and a few of your closest girlfriends...or sometimes just solo.  The only problem with bringing the spa to your home is the quality of the spa products.  More often than not, spa products that I am able to get my hands on are never spa quality and being that neither me nor my girlfriends are professional estheticians, we need our products to do the job that we can not.  Which is why I love products from True Blue Spa by Bath & Body Works.  The brands products are spa quality without the spa prices, they really allow you to experience the true spa experience at home. My two favorite True Blue Spa products are the 60-Second Manicure Hand Scrub and the Smoothing Foot Scrub.  The Hand Scrub is a sugar based exfoliating treatment that also contains moisturizing Shea Butter.  I love starting  my at home spa manicures with the scrub because it immediately softens my hands and cuticles and allows any moisturizing products that follows, whether it's a hand lotion, masque or cuticle oil, to do a more effective job.  The scrub also has a great citrusy scent...like a blend of sugar and grapefruit.  Much like the hand scrub, the Smoothing Foot Scrub also smooths and softens, allowing moisturizing products to be better absorbed by the feet.  The foot scrub also has a great refreshing minty scent, due to the Peppermint Oil that is a part of the ingredients and that also stimulates tired feet. I may never completely give up going to a spa in favor of spa-ing at home, but for those days when the spa budget is a bit too tight or if I just want to have a girl's night in with my at home spa products and a bottle of wine, it's great to know that I have two amazing products on hand that very closely captures the spa experience and results without the steep spa price tags or having to change out of my jammies.

Like a lot of you, I am getting ready for swimsuit season by cleaning up my diet and hitting the gym extra hard and the days when I don't make it to the gym, I log in 3-5 miles running. The endorphins that I get from running and super intense workouts have been great mentally, but physically my muscles feel fatigued and sore (I have an evil trainer who never seems to feel any mercy.)

It seems as though the only way to relieve my tired and sore muscles is by either easing up on my workouts (not going to happen if my trainer has his way) or get regular massages (can get pretty expensive,) which I was seriously contemplating when lo and behold Dr. Teal's Foaming Bath made an appearance.

I was familiar with Dr. Teal's Epsom Salts, but never knew they also had a Foaming Bath product. The Foaming Baths combine Epsom salt with essential oils and are available in; Lavender (to soothe & sleep), and Eucalyptus Spearmint (for relax & relief) (as in relaxing and soothing tense muscles.)

So on Friday night after returning home from a gym session that was two hours long, I lugged my completely exhausted body to the bath tub and emptied a good sized amount of the Eucalyptus Spearmint Bath Foam into my bathtub (the bottle said 4-5 capfulls, but every movement hurt so I figured I needed more than recommended.)

The scent was very relaxing, minty, but not overwhelming, I loved that my entire bathroom smelled like a spa, even after I had drained the water the scent still lingered, which was awesome (I wish they made candles as well in these scents.)

Not only did my bath smell great, it was foamy and mildly moisturizing.  I soaked for twenty minutes and had a difficult time leaving the bathtub because I was so relaxed I could barely move. My muscles did indeed feel less tense and fatigued without me having to dish out $100+ for a massage or having to negotiate with my trainer (not a fun process, since I know he would have traded a less intense workout for a more intense diet!)

I plan on keeping the Eucalyptus Spearmint Bath Foam on hand long after I have reached my goal for swimsuit season and will definitely give the other bath foams a try as well, they may be the most affordable physical and mental therapy I will ever undergo. 

A few  months ago I reviewed eco-armour Shaving Foam and my review was less than stellar.  After using very creamy shaving lotions, creams, foams and gel, I was just not prepared for the consistency and feel of the eco-armour shaving foam...it was just too much of a radical departure from the "creamy crack" (to borrow the the terminology from the documentary "Good Hair.") Yes the eco-armour foam smelled amazing, is great for the environment, extended the life of my blade and (after using it just twice) visibly reduced my razor bumps....but in my mind there was something amiss...there was no creamy coating on my leg that I might almost slip on upon entrance or exit into the shower, and creamier equals moisturizing...right? So I equated the absence of any non-creamy substances in the eco-armour foam as the foam not being moisturizing and just being drying...this was my story and I was sticking to it... But I still had two bottles of the shaving foam and  I was not going to let it go to waste, plus I wanted to further investigate the reduction in the number of razor bumps on my legs.   I kept using the eco-armour shaving foam for the next month...and have been using it since.  This stuff is amazing!  I have not experienced razor bumps on my leg at all and this is without following the directions on the bottle (which suggests that the foam sit on the leg for a minute if you have  razor bump issues.)  I am not sure for how long the foam is supposed to extend the life of my blade, but I used the same razor for weeks (yes I know probably not a very hygienic practice...but I was on the road and drug stores were few and far between.)  I will admit it took me a little while to get used to the foam being more, well foamy than creamy, but now I absolutely love the feel and my razor does not get all clogged up with oil (neither does my shower drain), which gives me a much closer shave. And just when I thought this foam could not get better...it did.  I just recently found out that you can also use the foam as a face and body wash.  This past weekend I was in St. Augustine, Fl visiting friends and thought this would be the perfect time to test the multiple functions of the foam.  For three days I used the foam as my face and body wash as well as my shaving foam of course and I loved it as all three.  The only drawback was that I pretty much used up my entire bottle of the eucamint foam (my absolute favorite...smells heavenly!) Now with the arrival of shorts and swimsuit weather in Northern Florida, I am very pleased with myself for giving eco-armour a second chance.  Besides the benefit of having smooth, razor bump free legs and underarms as well as having a product that serves multiple functions (multiple functions also means less weight and space for my suitcase), I feel like I'm doing my little part for the environment by cleaning up my beauty act with the shaving foam. Which makes me ponder: can purchasing beauty products that are not harmful to the environment be a tax write-off? Find it at www.eco-armour.com.