Preening, plucking and plumping are just part of a girl’s ritual, and let’s face it, we’ve all got better things to do. So, here are five beauty hacks to cut your bathroom time in half. Minimum effort, maximum effect…
Aspirin: I can’t say where or how I discovered this, but aspirin’s anti-inflammatory properties make it indispensable for blemishes. You’ll need aspirin sachets for this, not dispersible tablets.
Particularly useful for deep-rooted spots (the ones you surely get before any kind of social event)! Daub water onto the spot, then with a wet cotton bud apply aspirin to the area until you cover it with the paste.
Leave on for around 5 minutes, or until the aspirin has hardened. Gently remove with a damp cotton pad or water. It should be noticeably less sore and red. Paired with the DNT mantra (DO-NOT-TOUCH) — which I don’t always abide by but it really does work — the pests will be gone in half the time.
You can use aspirin’s skin-firming techniques in a face mask, too. I like to mix an avocado, two teaspoons of honey (Manuka is the crème de la crème) and a sachet of aspirin. The avo and honey soothe skin, while the aspirin tightens pores. After ten minutes skin is glowful, soft, and fresh.
Coconut oil: An obvious one but coconut oil is a bonafide miracle worker. Use as a moisturiser (all over body, and lightly on dry faces too), as aftersun, a hair treatment — once a week overnight will suffice — and waterproof eye-makeup remover, but use sparingly. The ultimate multi-tasker.
Bicarbonate of soda: So while this is associated to more alleviate gassier problems, bicarbonate is a pretty decent stain remover. I keep a shot glass of it in the bathroom and add some to my toothpaste for whiter teeth. Works better than any amount of Hollywood Pearl Drops.
Vaseline: Forget lips, Vaseline also hydrates eyebrows, preps eyelashes for clump-free mascara application, and adds a little shine to eye-lids for seemingly brighter peepers. A magical trick of the light…
Olive oil & Demerara sugar: Love Fresh’s Sugar Lip Scrub? Yes, me too, but the price tag isn’t as sweet as the product. Make your own for a lot less by combining one teaspoon of oil to two of sugar for a home-made lip-buffing sugar scrub. I use Demerara as it’s coarser and gives a deeper exfoliation. Of course, this can be used as the basic ingredients for an all-purpose scrub too. Mix and match with avocado, oatmeal flakes, sea salt, or peppermint oil. Swap olive oil for macadamia if it’s for your face.
Cate Blanchett’s face scrub recipe looks like a winner.
I’d love to know your own beauty time-savers!