What's your best beauty/household tip?

[ssubialdea]

*I find that face creams and lotions work better on my skin when I apply a thick coat and then swab off with a tissue instead of rubbing in

*never use a rubber band to put your hair in a ponytail. If you have to moisten it with lotion or vaseline so it slides out easily

*I love vintage shoes but hate that even though they may be my size, shoes often mold to their previous owner's feet which can make them uncomfortable for me. I look for new old stock shoes or good repros

*If your eyebrows start to go awry a bit of lotion (or even saliva - sorry thats gross) can keep them in place

 

[Laura Chase]

When shaving legs, I always use hair conditioner in stead of expensive, foul smelling shaving creams. I prefer to use a very basic conditioner without much in it, usually a natural brand of some sort. I use the tea tree or aloe one from Urtekram.

In stead of bying those expensive eyebrow-gels, I just spray some hairspray onto an old toothbrush and use this to set my eyebrows.

I am not very good at keeping my stockings from running, so what I found out helps is if I spray some hairspray on my stockings after I put them on. It might get sticky with some brands of hairspray, but with Elnett it's just fine.

As already mentioned, sugar mixed with delicious oils is a very good body scrub. I've also used coffee grounds with success, and I just love the scent of coffee. I just use it straight from the coffee machine filter, but I can imagine that it would be very good mixed with oil as well.

I must try the vinegar tip, I'm suspecting that the water in my new place is quite hard too.

 

[Laura Chase]

I must say, I tried mixing my shampoo with apple cider vinegar yesterday and it made my hair a lot more shiny and smooth without any other products added.

This thread was great, if anyone else has more tips, please do post.

 

[Girl Friday]

More hair stuff:

A final cold water rinse (the last one before, getting out of the shower) will also smooth the cuticle of your hair and make it softer and shinier.

And a silk pillow case (I think I've mentioned this before) prevents breakage and split ends.

I also found a great website for those of us with curly hair, loads of great tips!
http://www.naturallycurly.com/

 

[ssubialdea]

ooh, thanks for the site girl friday. They've got some great articles!

 

[Laura Chase]

I thought this was a great article that suits this thread perfectly:
http://thebeautybrains.com/2008/03/27/is-baking-soda-an-effective-natural-exfolliant/

 

[Charbeau]

If you have a problem with frizziness or fly-away hair only wash and rinse your hair with tepid or cool water. This helps keep the cuticle smooth.

Also for frizz, do a dab of shampoo and concentrate on massaging your scalp and then gently pull the shampoo through to your ends for a very light wash. This also helps keep the cuticle smooth.

 

[NoirDame]

* Need a quick refresher during the day and short on supplies? Head to the nearest beauty counter and ask to try items. Same with perfume!

.

As someone who worked in several dept stores for various beauty lines I have to say this:

If you ask for a sample with the aim of trying to product to possibly buy, wonderful.

Not saying beacaillou is advocating asking for a touch up/makeover from the girls at the counter, but please do not do it if you have no intention of buying. Taking time with no intent to purchase costs sales and unless you have been there, you don't understand the pressure. I can't tell you how many times I spent an hour, sometimes more with a lady while customers walked away because I was busy and she had no intention of buying. The generally accepted preference is for a two item purchase.

It's just not right. Samples are awesome though!

 

[lillielil]

-1/2 tsp of baking soda dissolved in 1/4 cup of water is great for heartburn - way better than Tums (read up on that if you have any medical conditions, though. I think that if you have liver problems it can make them worse).

-Lotion or cream is great for taking off eye makeup. Coldcream is best, but plain old moisturizer works great too.

-Tea tree oil fixes just about every sort of skin irritation (and, mixed with lavender oil, makes piercings heal really fast)

-I'm sure everyone knows this one, but if you put clear nailpolish on a run in your stockings, it won't get any bigger.

 

[jayem]

*My doctor has told me to never engage in rigorous exercise past 7PM. All this will do is mess up your natural balance in your body. Exercise can achieve all the best results (beautiful skin, upbeat mood, leaner physique) when done first thing in the morning.
*Take 6-30mg lutien every morning for sparkling eyes.

Vinegar Hair Rinse
-2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
-2 cups water
-one tea bag of your choosing (I use Honey Vanilla Chamomile by Celestial Seasonings)
Mix all ingredients in a saucepan and let boil for about 10 minutes. Discard of tea bag and pour mixture into an empty water bottle or shampoo bottle. After shampooing and conditioning, massage all of mixture into hair. Don't rinse at all, or let sit for 5 minutes and do a quick rinse. Gives me the shiniest hair ever.

*I tend to sweat a bit too much in the under arm region, so I've taken a liking to sewing little flaps of cotton on my bras at the armpit area. I tend to douse them in a light perfume... and I find this does much better than slathering on deodorant 4 times a day.
*If you have onion peel nails, soak them in warm milk for half an hour or longer. Slather them in a thick cream afterwards.

 

[dani]

I often think about how if I were to have children, I'd teach them a ton of tips about being resourceful. My Mother was always big on advising us to, 'Be resourceful.' and it has served me *beyond well* in my life.

Now, particularly about beauty... not always the most glamourous tips, but when you are on-the-go all the time and have to make do, you can get pretty crafty...

* Blush can double as eye shadow.

* Eyeliner can double as lip liner so long as you know how to blend.

* Brown lip liner can be eyeliner.

* Lipstick doubles as rouge.

* Mascara run gently over brows doubles as brow pencil/filler.

* Need a quick refresher during the day and short on supplies? Head to the nearest beauty counter and ask to try items. Same with perfume!

* Hem catches and comes down at an in-opportune time? Two-sided tape, or worst-case scenario: stapler.

* No bra for that strapless/backless dress?? Medical tape.

* Corn starch doubles as powder (helpful when you work in a restaurant).

* Olive Oil doubles as lotion (" " " " ").

* An eraser from an end of a pencil makes a great earring backing if your's becomes lost.

And always, always carry enough for cab fare.

that bra one is a great one, but i couldn't do it, you know those people that are allergic to weird things, i'm one of them. i'm allergic to anything with glue on it, medical tape, bandaid, ect. it's horrible.


if you have some puffyness under your eyes, soak teabags in ice water, or stick spoons in the frezzer, and hold them under your eyes, it takes it away.

 

[Joie DeVive]

Vinegar Hair Rinse
Gives me the shiniest hair ever.

Cool hair rinse. I used to use just vinegar for that in college where we had very hard water. It would clean away all the mineral build up. It was great. My grandmother also swears that it can be used to bring out red highlights in your hair. I'm not sure if it's true, but that's what she told me. [huh]

 

[Miss 1929]

My doctor has told me to never engage in rigorous exercise past 7PM. All this will do is mess up your natural balance in your body. Exercise can achieve all the best results (beautiful skin, upbeat mood, leaner physique) when done first thing in the morning.

Unless it's that horizontal sort of nighttime exercise!

If you have onion peel nails, soak them in warm milk for half an hour or longer. Slather them in a thick cream afterwards.

This I must try!

 

[Joie DeVive]

Unless it's that horizontal sort of nighttime exercise!

lol lol Very true. They say that exercise helps you sleep...
Of course it needn't be horizontal... lol

 

[olive bleu]

if you are a brunette, you can also use mascara to cover those first greys

 

[olive bleu]

lol lol Very true. They say that exercise helps you sleep...
Of course it needn't be horizontal... lol

or at night...

 

[dani]

if you have really dry heels put vasilene on them, then socks at night before bed, sleep with that on, and it takes care of your dry heels.

 

[dhermann1]

In the immortal words of Zero Mostel, "Everybody ought to have a maid!"

 

[ShrinkingViolet]

If you've got some leftover wine that you don't want to drink for one reason or another, you can pour it in your bath.
Wine is crammed with antioxidants and the acids will exfoliate your skin!

 

[ShesSoVaVaVoom]

When shaving legs, I always use hair conditioner in stead of expensive, foul smelling shaving creams. I prefer to use a very basic conditioner without much in it, usually a natural brand of some sort. I use the tea tree or aloe one from Urtekram.

I've stuck to using cheap conditioners(99cent stores!) as shave cream for a while too! just recently I started to add a bit of rose oil (sold at most drug stores), mix it together, and even if I don't have time to put on any lotion, my skin is still silky, and fragrant, though most washes off, the oil still penetrates the skin enough to last a while. I also add the rose oil to body wash, and sometimes to my lotion if I can't find my perfume.

learned this trick from my friend, curling eye lashes with a metal spoon, the friction creates a great curl that lasts. just imagine curling a ribbon on a package with scissors, it's basically the same idea.

I've always had a problem with blemishes, and found that I dab a little bit of mint julep mask on the unwelcome visitor, it's mostly gone by morning. even got my mom to try it, she forgot she had some on her face when she took the puppy out the other day, she was mortified that she didn't realize it and said hello to our neighbors! lol