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Cold Brew Hibiscus Tea Duo

Photo by Filipe Natanael

Photo by Filipe Natanael

Oh hibiscus, yet another flower that I've fallen in love with! A star ingredient in our Botanical Bath Tea and our *LIMITED* Summer Flora Bath Fizzy, it's also a star ingredient in my summertime pantry. Grown in tropical and semi-tropical climates, I always feel like I'm on vacation at the first sip of any hibiscus infused beverage. Even when it's in the middle of winter in NYC. Sigh. As we thaw out and I've started to pack away my winter coats, I wanted to share with you a duo of my favorite hibiscus tea recipes.
 

Photo by Dirty Mermaid

Photo by Dirty Mermaid

Cold Brew Hibiscus Iced Tea

Makes 1 quart

  • 1/2 cup dried hibiscus flowers
  • 4 cups cold water
  • 2 tablespoons of honey (optional, for sweetening)
  • Lime wedge (optional, for serving and looking extra pretty)

DIRECTIONS: Place whole hibiscus flowers in a pitcher and add water. Refrigerate covered overnight (8 to 12 hours). Add honey for your desired sweetness level. I prefer to leave unsweetened and allow guests to customize. Strain out the solids (if desired) and serve over ice with a lime or mint to garnish.

Store cold brew hibiscus tea in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Photo by Tijmen Van Dobbenburgh

Photo by Tijmen Van Dobbenburgh

Cold Brew Hibiscus Ice

Can make 1 tray of ice cubes, depending on tray size.

  • 1/4 cup dried hibiscus flowers
  • 2 cups cold water

DIRECTIONS: Place whole hibiscus flowers in a pitcher and add water. Refrigerate covered overnight (8 to 12 hours). Add crushed hibiscus flowers to ice tray for extra prettiness and pour in cold brewed hibiscus tea. Place in freezer to solidify for a few hours.

Store in freezer until ready to enjoy.

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Summer Solstice at cityWell Brooklyn

Summer magic is in the air 😍  Thank you so much Mariyam & Liz for organizing + creating this wonderful gathering at cityWell Brooklyn! Catch all the masking beauties via our short vid story 😜  Just imagine the sweet sounds of @djsweetv in the background...

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Dirty Mermaid + Keenobby Relaxation Workshops

Over the summer, Mylene of Keenobby inspired me to launch Relaxation + Wellness Workshops with Keenobby! It has been a wonderful way to share relaxing and self-care rituals with the Keenobby community, under their Health + Wellness collection of workshops. Our workshops are very much about sharing your own relaxation rituals with other attendees while creating your own customized bath blends...I happily learn from our guests at every workshop too. Please enjoy scenes of some of our creations from our previous workshops:

Photography by Antonio De Lucci

Before our next class, if you'd like to have a mini-spa sesh in your home, I'd love to share with you how to quickly blend your own single use mineral bath soak and make it unique to your own desires! Mineral salt soaks are great for after a gym session, seeing the election results (ha ha!), preparing for sleep and helping to alleviate stress.

For a single-use mineral salt soak, here's what you'll need:

1. 3 tablespoons of desired salt (Dead Sea Salt, Himalayan Salt or Epsom Salts)

2. 2 teaspoons of dried rose petals or seaweed (a Dirty Mermaid fave!)

3. 1 teaspoon of a coconut oil, olive oil or other desired carrier oil

4. 6-8 drops of desired essential oil (relaxing lavender for support with sleep or refreshing peppermint for sore muscles/respiratory support)

Instructions:
Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. In a smaller mixing dish add your carrier oil and drops of essential oil and mix together. Once oils are blended, add your essential oil blend with the dry ingredients and continue to stir until all salt crystals are coated and glossy. Then draw your hot water for a relaxing and restorative bath ritual. Soak for up to 40 minutes and repeat weekly!

And enjoy more scenes from our previous workshops, where we made a mineral salt soak, a coconut milk bath, and a facial steam/bath tea combo:

Can't wait to see you at our next workshop!

Xx,
Leslie
 

OUR UPCOMING WORKSHOPS/EVENTS

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Melody Cosme Demo: Sea Kissed Mask + NEW Bath Bomb

Our AMAZING stockist Melody Cosme did a lovely Insta Story demo using our Sea Kissed Mask and the NEW Citrus Bath Bomb. I grabbed some screen shots and she was kind enough to let me use them on our Mermaid Tales blog, sooooo take a peek at her feature below...

“So gentle that I can put it around my waterline. Maybe even in my eye...”
— Melody Cosme, regarding the Sea Kissed Mask :)
Sea Kissed Mask + Body Wrap
Sea Kissed Mask + Body Wrap
from $4.00

A luscious hand blended of Organic Seaweed powder and Organic Coconut Milk powder makes for a delicious detox facial mask, hand or body wrap, suitable for all skin types. Seaweed contains a supple source of organic proteins, minerals and vitamins including vitamins B12 and vitamin E. Our Organic Seaweed Mask + Wrap acts as a detoxifier by drawing out impurities while gently adding it's beneficial nutrients, fatty acids, and infusing your skin cells with moisture to create a natural glow. Gentle, naturally occurring enzymes can help alleviate skin conditions such as acne, psoriasis and eczema while also reducing fine lines and minimizing cellulite. 

TO USE: Mix equal parts hot water and mask powder and apply thick layer to face and desired body area. For facial mask, let rest for 8-10 minutes and rinse with cold water. For body wraps, apply and cover with a thin plastic wrap and let rest for 20 minutes or as desired and then rinse with cool to warm water. For a creamier mask, replace hot water with warmed coconut milk.

INGREDIENTS: Organic Seaweed, Organic Coconut Milk.

VEGAN

NET WT. 4oz

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Citrus Bath Fizzy
Citrus Bath Fizzy
$9.00

Soak with this energizing and uplifting citrus blend of grapefruit, bergamot and lemon essential oils. A great way to start your day...or when you need to hit the weekend reset button.

TO USE: Dissolve full or half bath fizz in warm to hot running water and soak for up to 40 minutes.

INGREDIENTS: Baking Soda, Epsom Salts, Organic Coconut Milk, Coconut Oil, Citric Acid, Organic Dulse Flakes {Red Seaweed}, Essential Oils: {Pink Grapefruit, Bergamot, and Lemon}, and Witch Hazel.

VEGAN. EXTERNAL USE ONLY.

Biodegradable packaging.

Quantity:
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DIY Yoga Mat Cleaner + Bug Repellant (all-in-one)

IMG_5509.JPG

It's still summer loves! No matter how many Halloween/Thanksgiving decorations you already see popping up. :) I'm still trying to seize the last bit of it, and my favorite part is getting to do all the things you love OUTSIDE, including yoga! With the amazing outdoor yoga pop-ups in the final month-ish of summer, I've been schlepping my mat around from place to place...so who knows what's growing on it! Not to mention, various buggies like to join in on the outdoor yoga fun...you are a perfect target while in downward dog...but who wants to smell like bug spray?!! Here's a quick little tutorial I wanted to share on a DIY yoga mat cleaner and bug repellant all-in-one...
 

DIY NATURE-MADE YOGA MAT CLEANER + BUG REPELLANT
(TIME: 5 MINS / COST: LESS THAN $15)

INGREDIENTS/WHAT YOU NEED:

  1. Glass spray bottle
  2. 3/4 cup distilled water
  3. 1/4 cup alcohol-free witch hazel
  4. 7 drops Lavender essential oil
  5. 5 drops of Melaleuca (Tea Tree) essential oil
  6. 5 drops of Eucalyptus essential oil

DIRECTIONS/TO USE:

  1. Add all ingredients to glass spray bottle
  2. Stir until all ingredients are mixed together
  3. To use, after each yoga sesh, spray front + back of mat and wipe with a towel
  4. To use, for bug repellant purposes, spray on body/clothing generously
     

Please do a test spot on mat and skin to make sure you don't have any skin sensitivities.

Enjoy!

Xx,

Leslie

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My HERO! Soak #Goals in 182 sq. ft!

“My favorite luxury feature...nothing’s better when you’re sick than to take a bath.”
— Steve Sauer via Faircompanies.com Interview

If you can't watch the whole Faircompanies.com vid, skip to the 6 min mark to see why this guy is my HERO! Within a micro-living space of 182 square feet, Steve Sauer has found a way to put a full size soaking bath into his home. YES and seriously. His priorities are on point...and like he said, the deep soaker can double as storage space. So now you have no excuses. ;)

As I'm running Dirty Mermaid Beauty from my studio (the one where I also live/sleep..sometimes), I've recently become addicted to these YouTube vids (perhaps unhealthily so) on making small spaces work. And hopefully still feel like home! Stay tuned to see my *personal transformation* and what I geek out on when not blending Mermaid soaks and face masks for you!

And I feel I'm not alone, as a New York Times report commented that telecommuting is fast on the rise, so please feel free to share your home/studio/workspace hacks in the comments below. I appreciate the help!!

Xx,

Leslie

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Hello, Mavens of 1920's Indie Lingerie

If you've also fallen in love with the Blackbird Underpinnings Coco Romper, meet the ladies behind the San Francisco Bay Area-based indie lingerie line: Marin Hood & Julia Zolinsky! I feel very lucky to have stumbled upon the lovely, vintage-inspired line and immediately brought on the Coco Romper (in Champagne) to be featured in the Dirty Mermaid boutique. And of course I couldn't resist getting one for myself, because it's 100% silk. Sigh. 

See the complete Maven collection at www.blackbirdunderpinnings.com. And without further adieu, here's a little Q&A with the founders: 

1. What was the spark that lighted a fire for the launch of Blackbird Underpinnings?

Blackbird Underpinnings was founded on a longtime dream of creating a vintage-inspired lingerie line with an inclusive and empowering message. It sparked from a vision of Paris in the 1920's and creative women of the era who defied convention in the name of self-expression. The company itself was born when the two of us met at our museum day job where we shared a cubicle wall. We became fast friends and started having lunch together every day, sharing our hopes and aspirations for the future. Marin shared her creative vision with Julia who was inspired in turn by the potential for starting a small business together. The conversation evolved over many enthusiastic lunch breaks, we attended business and manufacturing workshops, read books on how to start a fashion business, embarked on a Kickstarter campaign, and the rest is history!

2. You had a very successful Kickstarter campaign, congratulations! What was this process like and when did you decide to reach out?

Thank you! Soon after we founded Blackbird Underpinnings, we realized that we would need to seek funding to get our line off the ground. As a brand new business we didn’t qualify for a traditional bank loan, so we did a small funding round with loans from friends and family, which then allowed us to launch our Kickstarter. The Kickstarter was an amazing process – both one of the most challenging and most rewarding experiences of our entire lives. We did about 3-4 months of preparations before the campaign, building our contact list and social media presence, doing photography and videography shoots, and reaching out to bloggers. That helped poise us for the launch of the campaign, so that during the 30 days of the campaign we could focus on communication with our backers, social media promotion, and hosting an event to build buzz.

blackbird_underpinnings_kickstarter

3. Since founding your company in 2012, what have been some of the challenges/turning points you have been met with?

One challenge has been learning how to calibrate our inventory production to ensure we don’t overproduce. We're actually in a phase now where we're shifting to smaller, more frequent production runs to test new styles and be able to pivot quickly based on market feedback. By creating a more limited but responsive production model, we will be able to more sustainably grow our business. We’re also learning what our customers want, and what design elements are most successful, while working within the means of our budget. It’s a constant balancing act to deliver high quality, locally-made products while ensuring healthy profit margins.

4. The Maven collection has a very classic 1920's vibe and a rich story celebrating women. Will future collections also capture this romantic era and continue to pay homage to women of this time period? Which also leads into...what is next on the horizon for Blackbird Underpinnings?

The "Paris in the twenties" soul of Blackbird will be ever-present going forward, and the brand will always be a celebration of strong and diverse women, but we hope to expand and refresh the way we tell that story in coming collections. We have a new collection in the works for next year, and hope to take Blackbird to new heights with it.

5. For women just launching their own indie lines what gems of advice can you leave with us?

Take your time. Really build the brand, the product, and a following before you take any major risks. There are so many possibilities and directions you can take a small business—it's a constant balancing act between keeping your eye on the big picture strategy and being able to focus down on a project plan and execute it. Be flexible and forgiving with yourself—starting a business is never what you think it is going to be, but if you can be okay with that and work with the process, it will definitely exceed your expectations. Remember to have fun!

Watch to learn more about their debut Maven collection >>

“With a fresh take on classic intimate apparel, Blackbird Underpinnings brings you timeless and comfortable designs that inspire confidence and delight. In luxury silk and velvet, our indie lingerie is made locally and ethically, every stitch infused with a positive message of inclusivity and self-expression.”
— Marin & Julia, Founders of Blackbird Underpinnings

All photos courtesy of Blackbird Underpinnings via Instagram and www.blackbirdunderpinnings.com

Xx,

Leslie

Coco Romper
$165.00
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The Coney Island Mermaid Parade

The 34th annual Coney Island Mermaid Parade, as usual very mesMERizing and just the right amount of wild! I'm sharing here a costume quickie tutorial which upcylcled my parasol from the Jazz Age Lawn Party from the weekend before. Thank goodness these events are on different weekends, because it would be difficult to choose! I'm also sharing my fave highlights from this year's parade...and if you missed it, don't worry because the second annual Poseidon's Parade will be happening later this summer on the Rockaway Beach Boardwalk.

MERMAID PARADE/JELLYFISH COSTUME
(Time: 30 mins / Cost: Less than $10)

WHAT YOU NEED:

  1. Scissors
  2. Tape
  3. Vintage-styled parasol or umbrella
  4. Ribbons (various colors)
  5. Streamers (various colors)
jellyfish_costume
 

MY FAVE'S FROM INSTA: 34th ANNUAL CONEY ISLAND MERMAID PARADE


Hope to see you there next year!!

Xx,

Leslie

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Jazz Age Lawn Party Looks

This weekend, the 11th Annual Jazz Age Lawn Party will glamorously take you back to the Roaring Twenties via the ferry (aka time machine) to Govenor's Island. A summertime highlight, it is one of my favorite events in NYC...a lovely reward for what felt like 6 months of winter. Need a little help figuring out what to wear, see gallery below highlighting some of my favorite looks from parties past:

 

POLISH YOUR LOOK:  1920s ACCESSORIES

 

VINTAGE-STYLE LINGERIE FOR BRAZEN BEAUTIES

Coco Romper
Coco Romper
$165.00

Dirty Mermaid Beauty has found her kindred spirit in Blackbird Underpinnings of Oakland. Also inspired by the daring flappers of the roaring twenties and the fierce, able ladies of the tumultuous thirties, Blackbird Underpinnings brings you locally crafted intimates in the San Francisco Bay Area, with a touch of the renegade feminine. From lounging, dancing, reading, or play, this sensuous silk charmeuse romper is the essence of comfort and luxury. The COCO ROMPER (featured in champagne) is named for the French designer and self-made business woman. Forever changing the face of style, she built an empire, popularized comfort and autonomy, and truly defined timeless elegance. 100% Silk.

Size:
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And, if you happen to be there this weekend with VIP tickets, you will find Dirty Mermaid swag in your tote: the Siren Spring Soak. So draw a bath with your Bonnie or Clyde...or Gatsby...whomever your type!!!

Xx,

Leslie

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The Swellife: A Fashion Truck Diary

One of my NYC summer loves are outdoor markets/bazaars...especially when they come to me! :) So today, I'm sharing a little fashion truck diary featuring The Swellife. Katie Long is the founder and creator of The Swellife, and with her fabulous style and taste she brings you delightful beach fashion, beauty and lifestyle accessories to adorn you body and home. The Swellife fashion and lifestyle truck will have it's GRAND OPENING this Memorial Day weekend at the Playland Motel. I really can't wait to see the finished truck, and if you'd like to see more of the process check out Katie's blog. See her other upcoming markets and locations for the summer here. And if you can't find her at the beach, you can shop Katie's favorite boho vibes also online at www.theswellife.com.

“I am heavily influenced by packaging, the store’s atmosphere, smell, etc. So naturally I am putting just as much thought if not more to the look and feel of my truck than in the products going on the shelves. I want The Swellife to be a bright, airy space, smelling of peonies and sandal wood. A space that will be enjoyable to come visit as well as shop around in. I’m thinking of a basic palate of white with gold touches and possibly this amazing flamingo wall paper from Cole&Son.”
— Katie, via The Swellife blog

Highlighted in the gallery is Part 1 of her story:

Step 1: Inspiration/Interior Moods
Step 2: Chasing the Dream Truck
Step 3: Truck Renovation
Step 4: Putting the Hub to Work
Step 5: Fab Branding
Step 6: Curate Great Merch

 

GRAND OPENING: MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND
May 28, 2016   11am - 5pm
Playland Motel
97-20 Rockaway Beach Blvd @ corner of 98th Street
Get off the shuttle train at 98th Street
///DRINK SPECIALS///

Xx,

Leslie

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Seattle's Floating Sauna

A follow-up to our first blog post 5 Beautiful Saunas + Benefits. All of the gorgeous saunas featured were not necessarily in our backyard (if you're stateside), so something a little closer to home and just as lovely: the wa_sauna designed by the talented architecture and design firm goCstudio, founded by Jon Gentry and Aimée O'Carroll in 2012.

The wa_sauna is a contemporary floating sauna on Seattle's beautiful and crisp Lake Union. Designed to be enjoyed year round by Seattlites and visitors alike, the sauna it is heated by a wood burning stove and can comfortably seat up to 6 people.

And you're in luck, this is only the FIRST wa_sauna! This first model is for user experience testing (I'm free to test out!!) and additional floating saunas will be built to provide further accessibility for the Seattle community. See where the founders story began and further plans via their Kickstarter campaign and watch the quick campaign video below >>

And stay tuned as goCstudio will be launching the 2016 wa_sauna Program soon! They are graciously accepting program ideas or events via info@goCstudio.com. The 2016 wa_sauna Program is tentatively set to run April through September. I think this calls for a trip to the Pacific Northwest! Xx

All photography by Kevin Scott   /   Original wa_sauna feature from the Contemporist. ;)

Xx,

Leslie

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WIN A Night Under the Sea...in Paris

I love the Contemporist blog, and just a few days ago they shared this great contest hosted by Airbnb. Since it's very fitting for mermaid life, I wanted to share it here too on our Mermaid Tales blog. 

Right now you can enter to win a two nights stay at this very unique underwater room, with 360 degree views of the L'Aquarium de Paris, specifically the Shark Aquarium. And that's not all, according to the Contemporist: "Fred Buyle, a world record-breaking freediver, underwater photographer, and shark enthusiast is the host, and he along with a marine biologist, will take you on a tour of the aquarium and give you a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the world of sharks."

You can enter the contest via Airbnb here until April 3rd, 2016 at 11:59pm Central European Time, if you're not too afraid of sharks. The stay is for two merbabes and will take place next month, April 11 - April 13, 2016 in Paris, France. Yes folks, it's already April! 

Some rules during your stay from your gracious contest hosts:

  • No selfies after dark. Remember, sharks are sensitive to light.
  • Avoid seeing Jaws before your sleepover.
  • No sleepwalking or night swimming.
  • No diving.
  • Keep your heads and feet in the bedroom at all times.
  • Sheep can't swim, so count sharks instead.
  • Don't take the bait.

And don't worry, if you happen not to win the contest, I will be posting a follow-up blog post on other unique under the sea lodging experiences. And who knows, you might even catch a glimpse of a mermaid! ;)

Xx,

Leslie

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