For those who are prone to acne and have very sensitive skin (like myself), buy the expensive stuff for base, powders, blushes, and bronzers. You can buy cheap eyeshadow, eye liner, mascara, lip liner, and lipstick. I buy either MAC or the most expensive drug-store line (make sure you do your research on what your skin will react to!!!), then fill in with cheap stuff.
Other than that, everyone seems to have taken all my ideas here. I live by talcum powder shampoos every other day and storing nail polish in the fridge. I will definitely try the cotton balls in the freezer thing though. Great idea.
When I was having a problem with recurrent eye infections and sty’s, my ophthalmologist recommended using baby shampoo to remove eye make up. It does a great job and costs very little.
You’re right, zweisamkeit. Although the above routine works for me, everyone is different and should do what suits them best. I can’t tell you how much money I’ve wasted on salon shampoos and conditioners that didn’t perform as well as drugstore products costing less than half.
I’m very pale, and my lips are full, with poorly defined edges. When I wear even vaguely bold lipstick, I look strange and clownish. So I started putting on a layer of SPF clear lip balm, then stroking on a very neutral lipstick over it to get some color. It enhances my lips without looking like they’re drawn on.
The What Not to Wear women may be obnoxious, but they know what they’re talking about. Lower rise pants make your butt and gut look smaller, and a long, wide leg makes you look taller and well proportioned. High waisted, front pleated, tapered pants look nasty on pretty much anyone, including stick-thin models. Even chubby girls look better in hourglass-shaped clothes, either to enhance or create the illusion of a waist. Boxy, billowy clothes make everyone look portly and shapeless.
Oh, and another note on the sunscreen. It pissed me off today as I was shopping for one to use on my body. At least 80% of the products did not have an adequate UVA sunscreen, even those that advertised as “UVA/UVB” and “especially for kids” super-high SPFs. You really have to scrutinize labels.
My dermatologist in Nashville sent me all the way to Atlanta to see a hair specialist. When I asked what shampoo and conditioner he recommended, he didn’t bat an eye: White Rain or Suave. The studies show they do the job well.
I haven’t used any moisturizer besides Eucerin for years and my skin is in great shape for my age.
Just before going out, give yourself an instant eyelift. Place 3 fingertips of each hand, under each eyebrow, (on top of the brow bone). Lightly press upwards while pushing down with your brow muscle. Hold for 10 seconds.
If you make a habit of it, the area will tighten, and you won’t have to do it as often.
Hee. If it makes you feel any better, the fact I have no frizz comes with the fact I have NO body to my hair. At all. None, zip, nada. It also means that if I pull my hair into, say, a ponytail, I have to make sure that all the hair is evenly brushed and perfectly pulled back, because any piece of hair that’s looped up a bit, or tangled a touch, makes my entire hair “style” look like complete ass and like I didn’t bother to brush my hair.
If you’re going to squeeze, (and we all know that at some point we are, even if we shouldn’t), wrap your fingertips in tissue first. You’ll get much better traction, it keeps your fingernails from digging into your skin, and the tissue will soak up any mess so you can see what you’re actually accomplishing.
Another trick I use for those deep-down zits is to hold an ice pack on them as frequently as possible. It helps reduce the swelling to a point where you can actually go out in public without frightening people, and sometimes discourages the horrid things entirely.
I used to like to go around barefoot a lot as a kid, and now I have a job where I am lifting a lot and on my feet all day, and as a result I have very hard calluses on my heels. I find pumice stones simply don’t work at all for me. But you know what does?..60 grit sandpaper. Gets my feet absolutely smooth. I just get a sheet of it, tear off a piece and buff away. If anyone else has this problem I recommend the sandpaper.
Use caution of course - only do it by hand (no belt sanders or anything, duh), and don’t rub it raw - just enough to smooth the roughness away. Soak your feet for 10 minutes in warm water first so the skin will be soft and easy to remove. Dry with a towel, buff, rinse, and apply lotion. Nice soft footies.
Crisco can be a great emergency moisturizer for dry, sensitive skin.
I had a bear of a time with itching when I was pregnant (the skin over my stomach), and any lotion I tried made me itch more. Vaseline did, too. A nurse told me to try Crisco. Bingo, end of itching. Amazing.
I used to use more expensive face washes because I have acne prone oily skin and most of the products at Walgreen’s dries it out too much.
Then I had a baby and discovered the beauty of Huggies baby wash. I started off washing my face with Love’s Baby Magic when I was in such a hurry to shower us both I’d just douse both of our bodies with the stuff. It worked pretty good, but Huggies has some sort of oil-free moisturizing abilities that aren’t in the Love’s brand.
So now my face looks and smells just like a baby’s butt!
I’m also a cocoa butter freak. Its cheap and I use it with sugar to make scrubs for my feet and hands, and I slather it on after every shower.
– If you spend a bit on your base and top coat (for those of us who do at-home manicures), any polish will last at least a week and look fabulous. I’ve gotten a 2 week manicure with no wearing or chips with a 79¢ bottle of nail polish. Mine could almost always go at least 2 weeks perfect, but I get really sick of the same color for so long!
– For dry skin, I prefer “Udder Cream” to Bag Balm. It smells better and is a cream instead of a thick grease slime.
– Vegetable dyes (usually ones like Manic Panic, Special Effects, Punky Colors) are usually thought of as punk/goth/alternative hair dyes because there’s yellow, blue, green, etc. Although I’ve had my fun with Run Lola Run red hair and purple hair, these can be nice for people with dark hair who want a bit of a pop. Look at the blue or red or purple dyes; if you have very dark brown hair, use these and your hair will look normal until bright light hits it and then it will SHINE with the color you used. A bonus is that most veggie dyes are actually conditioning (they’re just a layer that sits on your hair instead of boring their way in) and often your hair is softer than before.
– If you use veggie dyes for the bright and unnatural look: don’t leave them on for the directed 15 minutes; that won’t last much at all. Leave it in overnight if possible with a plastic bag on your head. And apply heat (via a hair dryer) every so often. This will help the color to soak into your hair (especially if you bleach it), but since they’re veggie dyes they won’t fry it.
Another vegetable dye hint: make sure your hair is bone dry before you put the dye on. If you shampoo, don’t condition it (your hair will survive!), and if it’s wet at all blowdry it. The color will soak in a lot more easily.
Also, throw any leftover dye into your shampoo or conditioner, and use those every third time you wash / condition your hair. I used to do this, and the color lasted forever, and the diluted dye didn’t stain my hands.
I hear ya. My hair is exactly the same way. Especially the ponytail thing. If the hair underneath the ponytail isn’t smooth it just looks totally nasty.
I have found a way to combat the problem of super-thin hair. I cut my hair short every summer :). Like, about to my chin. Right now my hair is down past my shoulderblades but in a few short days it’ll all be gone. The shorter hair is, the thicker it appears to be.
Here’s a beauty tip that I use. Actually it’s more of a technique but it really doesn’t matter. When plucking your eyebrows at home, only pluck one hair at a time, and take a step back from the mirror every 5 hairs or so. That way, you can stop yourself from over-plucking. Although it seems like eyebrow hair grows back really fast, it seems to take forever when you’ve plucked an eyebrow nearly bald!
So many great tips! I’ve been taking a lot of notes.
I’m not sure if this is what zweisamkeit meant when she said Udder Cream, but a fabulous lotion is Udderly sMOOth. It comes in a jar with Gateway-cow print. It seems to be actually made to moisturize cow udders. I thought of you, Cranky when I first used it. It’s wonderful for dry feet, heels and calves (and pregnant bellies too!).
In my experience, baby oil or vaseline used as an eye makeup remover leaves a greasy residue, and the next day I end up with racoon eyes. YMMV
Use concealer not only under your eyes, but on the lids and all the way up to your eyebrows. It takes the purple color out (if you have it) and provides a clean “base” for you eye makeup.
Aloe vera – if you have a sunburn, you need to constantly re-apply the gel. I was always disappointed by its anti-burn properties, until I realized you’ve got to keep re-applying it. I had a horrid burn on my thighs one time, and I sat around that entire evening with the bottle and kept slathering more on every time it dried. The next day I was still pink, but the agony had gone away. No peeling either.
For glossy hair and strong nails, buy over the counter prenatal vitamins. A big ole bottle at Wal-Mart is $8. Cheap “pregnancy glow” hair and nails!
