Share a Coke with friends (and your legs): A DIY Cola Body Scrub Tutorial

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Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CokeHappyHour #CollectiveBias

One of my favorite things about summer is being able to spend time with friends outside. Things like picnics, barbecues, or even just lazy days hanging around the beach at Coney Island. Of course warmer weather means showing a bit more skin—and sometimes I feel like I'm still not prepared for that. I was talking with a friend of mine the other day about post-winter grooming rituals and exfoliation, and she complained that her legs were still super-dry and scaly because she hadn't had a chance to really pay attention to them lately. So what to do? Make her a delicious-smelling, summer-themed moisturizing body scrub, of course!

When I think of iconic summer scents and flavors, one of the first things that comes to mind is Cola-Cola. Refreshing Coke to wash down tasty food at family cookouts,  to cool off after nearly sweating to death on the boardwalk, or to perk you up in the midst of a slightly-too-long family road trip. So naturally I wanted to share those memories with my friend—both as a body scrub and in the form of an actual Coke!

R. | Do you keep a beauty (or style) budget?

Happy Wednesday, everybody!

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This week's question was actually inspired by fellow blogger adordee, who posted an article earlier this week called How to Beauty Haul responsibly. Speaking as someone who usually plans out beauty purchases instead of just impulse-buying everything in sight, I can relate to a lot of what she says—but it got me wondering:

Do you keep a specific budget just for beauty or style purchases? If so, how do you ensure that you stick with it? If not, do you wish you did have a budget?

I do keep a budget, mostly out of necessity (hellooooo student loans that I will be paying off until after the end of time). I'll admit that some months I don't stick to it to the cent, but for the most part I'm keeping my spending within a certain range. I also try to keep a list of what I've bought recently on a spreadsheet so I'm not like "Oops, forgot about that $50 I spent on squirrel nail decals last week."

I actually got in the habit of keeping separate budgets for separate spending categories a few years ago when I had a "normal" job with regular paychecks—a friend recommended some budgeting software to me called You Need A Budget. It's a bit trickier when you have freelancer income (not the same from month to month), but I still think is an excellent resource if you're trying to pay off debt or save up.

Anyway, this post is not meant to be judgmental towards folks who don't keep a beauty budget—there are plenty of reasons why it might not be necessary. Either way, let me know in the comments!