Thought I would have fun this week and share some of my favorite and less conventional beauty tips. Love to hear what your favorites are – tell us about them in the “Leave a Comment” box.

Shaving: I love this one – I have been doing it since college! Use baby oil instead of soap or shaving cream to shave your legs. It creates a barrier and protects your skin from abrasions. There is also a new product by Johnson’s called ‘Baby Oil Gel‘, which works just as well and drips less. One caveat – the tub or shower floor gets a little slick- consider using a shower mat and be careful!

Lashes: Forget regular mascara – I use ‎Blinc™ Mascara. You can find it at Sephora and Amazon. It coats your lashes with smudge resistant little tubes and it stays on incredibly well. Because of the way it is designed, there is no clumping when you apply it and it doesn’t flake off at all during the day.

Brushing Hair: Don’t use a brush on wet hair – it causes breakage. Instead use a wide toothed comb.

Drying Hair: If you have thick or long hair that takes a while to dry and tends to be frizzy or curly, don’t hit the dryer right away. Apply whatever conditioning or moisturizing product you like best and then wrap your hair in a microfiber towel or twist it and clip it up. This gives your hair some time to dry on its own and when you are ready to blow dry it, it will dry more quickly. And less hot drying time is always better for your hair. I often keep my hair in a clip for hours and when I have time, I take it down and blow dry it in half the time and with much less heat damage.

Dry Hands: Wearing gloves to bed works! But, first I apply Arbonne’s Skin Conditioning Oil to my cuticles and knuckles and then I follow with a thick coat of a heavy moisturizer like The Body Shop’s Africa Honey & Beeswax Hand and Foot Butter. Avoid using plain old petroleum jelly. Petroleum is an occlusive agent, which provides a physical barrier and protects epidermal water loss – but it doesn’t absorb into the skin well. If your feet are dry, you can do the same treatment for them – apply oil & lotion and wear socks to bed!

Face Mask: Honey is not just for your tea. Honey makes an incredible, effective (yes, also messy) facemask. Honey has antimicrobial properties so it is amazing for acne and unclogging pores and it will leave you skin super soft. No harsh chemicals here, just buy honey from the grocery store. Filtered and organic honey is best – you don’t need anything else. Try using 2 – 3 times a week and see the difference.

Breakout: Visine isn’t just for your eyes. Try soaking a cotton ball with Visine and placing it in the freezer for 5-10 minutes. Take it out of the freezer and place it on a pimple. It brings down the swelling and gets rid of the red.

Eyelids: We all know about concealing dark circles under our eyes, but what about brightening above the eye? Eyelids can darken with age (at least mine did!) and by adding an eye shadow base, you can brighten your eyes with very little effort. During the day, I wear it instead of eye shadow– it really opens up my eyes. And if I choose to wear eye shadow at night, it acts as a great base to keep my makeup in place. Tip – Pick a shade slightly lighter than your skin tone so eyes look even brighter.

Eyeliner: I love the look of eyeliner along my upper lashes, but always struggle with applying it correctly. Those fine paint-like eyeliners leave little room for error and it often takes me more than one attempt. And, eye pencils never seem to go on smoothly or last long without smudging. My solution – use a powder eye shadow and a wet eyeliner brush (the brush with the angled tip). Gently rub the wet brush into the shadow and then apply to eyelids. It will go on smoothly and once dry, it will stay in place beautifully. Then simply rinse your eyeliner brush off for next time. As an added bonus, your color choices just exploded, as any eye shadow in your drawer will work.

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