We are all feeling the pinch this time of year, especially with those long lists of Christmas beauty goodies we need to buy and the price of everything going up and up. So isn’t it great to know that there are still some good old time-trusted beauty essentials that we can still rely on and that don’t cost the earth.
As a busy mom of two, I don’t always have time to use multiple products and I can’t always afford them either. Here are a few beauty goodies that most of us have at home that are multi-taskers extraordinaire:
Top of my list has got to be good old petroleum jelly. The humble bum jelly has got so many uses, both for baby, beauty and around the house. Some of them you may already know about, but there are other uses that will surprise you!
1. Bum jelly makes an excellent moisturiser for chapped hands and feet. Slather on at night, then use socks and gloves for an extra-deep skin treat and wake up to silky smooth hands and feet in the morning.
2. Use as an emergency makeup highlighter by dapping on cheekbones, temples, cupids bow and the bridge of your nose. Also works as emergency mascara if you dab a little on your lashes. It separates and adds definition and shine for a lovely natural look!
3. Don’t want to touch up your perfume half-way through the evening? Dab a little bum jelly on your pulse points before you spray on your perfume and your favourite fragrance should go the distance.
4. No serum and your hair is in serious need of a trim, fear not! You can disguise those split ends with a quarter teaspoon bum jelly and a quarter teaspoon water – rub into ends and voila, your split ends temporarily disappear. Now go and make that appointment with your stylist!
5. Rub bum jelly on doorknobs and hinges when painting doors – no messy paint splotches afterwards as you can wipe them clean with ease.
6. Rub bum jelly around your nails when you do a home manicure and you can easily swipe away excess polish for a more professional finish! It also makes a great treatment for ragged cuticles.
7. Bum jelly can prevent and treat a nappy rash inexpensively and effectively in most cases. If it persists talk to your baby’s paediatrician as it could be a nasty fungal infection.
8. If you rub bum jelly on baby’s eyebrows before a hair wash it will prevent shampoo from running
in the eyes.
No more tears at bath time, mommy!
9. Bum jelly works as an excellent restorer of leather bags and jackets and is so much cheaper than those fancy leather products!
Something else we all have around the house is hair conditioner.
Conditioner has some excellent uses apart from just making our hair shiny! We have all bought conditioners that simply don’t work on our hair – too heavy or not heavy enough, so instead of discarding them or letting the clutter up your bathroom cabinet, here are some other uses!
1. Add a few drops of olive oil to your normal conditioner to convert it into a deep treatment conditioner and leave on for 15 minutes. No more extra expense involved! Leave on for a few more minutes and wrap your hair with a towel for extra deep conditioning.
2. Conditioner can also protect hair from the harsh effects of salt water and chlorine if you apply it liberally to your and your kiddies’ hair before swimming. No more green hair, mommy!
3. Conditioner also makes an excellent shaving cream – again at no extra expense!
4. Fingers swollen and you can’t get your rings off? Rub conditioner around your rings and they will slide off with ease.
5. Can’t take a plaster off your child without lots of fuss because of the tugging on his skin? Rub conditioner around the edges of the plaster and it will come off with ease. No painful pulling and tugging on his delicate skin.
6. Conditioner can lubricate squeaky hinges on doors, lubricate shower curtain rails and sliding door rails and can also be used on zipper teeth when a zipper won’t co-operate.
Some other wonderful double duty beauties include your flat iron! Your flat iron can help iron out pesky wrinkles in your favourite shirt if you are in a rush – no need to haul out your ironing board.
Another one I really love is this: borrow hubby’s razor burn healer if you get a pesky zit! It helps to heal pimples faster by speeding up the turnover of skin cells.
I hope these beauty tips will come in handy over this festive season!
Article by : Maryanne Young http://www.beautybulletin.com/blog-directory/our-bloggers/maryanne-young