Instead of posting links to Making Do Ideas on this blog now (I'll just post my own projects here though they are few and far between now), I'm now posting them on my Pinterest Board named Making Do Stuff.
You do not have to have a Pinterest account to see it.
Showing posts with label Beauty/Hygiene Projects. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beauty/Hygiene Projects. Show all posts
Ok, this hint may be more useful for those out of the teenage/early 20s and mothers (after you've found out you have baby poop on your shirt but go into the store anyway, you've really gotten over how you look).
I have gone to only wearing makeup to church and other really big functions (not that I attend many of those). Sunday I was just taking inventory of my makeup and man it's been a long time since I bought any and I still have a long way to go before I need any. Saved Money!
If I'm going out and think I look a little blah but my face is fairly unblemished, just blush and lip gloss.
Now about a year ago, I saw this lady advising to use a salmon colored concealer for dark circles under the eyes (I have horrible raccoon eyes) and watched her tutorials for how to apply makeup. My hubby says that this is the best makeup application he has ever seen on me.
Anyway, the lady's name is Eve Pearl (her makeup is expensive!! So I use the Abbot's Perk me up from Everyday Minerals instead, plus you can order for free from this company samples to make sure it works for you)
And here are some of the tutorials I watched. But you can watch tons of them at youtube, just type in "Eve Pearl Makeup Tutorial" and there will be all kinds of videos to pour through. Just changing how I apply blush and eyemakeup according to this lady's advice really helped. (I don't do the fake lashes though). I don't use as much makeup as she does but understanding her contouring tricks helps know how to make the best use of what you have, I think.
My little girl wants curls everyday now. When I was little, when I stayed at Grandma's, we always put in rag curlers and slept on them.
So, I took a knit sweater (We used to use flat cotton material, but the thicker and spongier the material the better, keeps your hair from being really tight at the ends) and cut it into pretty thick 3 inch strips.
When you start the hair on the middle of the strip, be careful to get the end of the hair tucked around nicely and not off to the side otherwise you'll have a kink instead of a curl at the end.
For this day, she wore the curlers from 9 am through her nap and took them out at 5pm for church. She's modeling her curls. She's proud of them.
I can't stand static in my clothing, but I have a ton of those manmade fiber clothing that get static-y. So, I used to squirt myself with water and rub myself down with a dryer sheet on those really bad items. But then I thought about the wrinkle release spray I posted on here. That should work. I scrounged for that sample packet of fabric softner from years ago (pays to hang on to stuff) and tried it out.
1/2 oz. rubbing alcohol
1 oz. fabric softner
13 oz. water.
I sprayed this concoction all over my polar fleece static-y pullover. And it worked! Yeah! I always hated that aerasol can of anti-cling. It made it so you couldn't breathe in the same room you sprayed it, something about that just says that that stuff cannot be good for you.
Best part about it is, if there happens to be wrinkles in it, it should help pull that out too. :)
Making your own fancy bath salts is easy. Take Epsom salt, drop in a few drops of food coloring and a few drops of essential oils until you are satisfied.
Would you like more detailed instructions and even pretty labels for making them into gifts? This is a nice site.
Need inexpensive eye makeup remover? Just rub on a bit of Petroleum Jelly and wipe off with a rag. No need for special stuff, this works great.
I also use petroleum jelly for chapstick. Not when my lips are chapped, but just because I am addicted to having something slippery on my lips.
Using up a big thing of Petroleum Jelly is yet something I have done. In fact, I think my mother is still working on the one she bought before I was born.
So, what other uses do you use petroleum jelly for? Please share!
My husband is slowly getting sucked into the super thrifty lifestyle. He will come home now after a shopping trip and give me the detailed thought process he went through before deciding on coming home and making it himself or searching for it online, etc. I rub off on people; beware before you get too close to me!
So, a few weeks ago, I was proud of him when he came into the office and said, "You know. I have that antique straight razor and a diamond stone. These blade replacements are only lasting me two weeks. I should look up how to use that straight razor." Then he kicked me off the computer to look up how to do it.
It does take a bit of money to begin with. We bought a "Zeepk Straight Razor Set"on ebay for $45 (included was S&H) which is the best deal for all of it that we found (there are smaller kits and the razors themselves are not any good, but the other stuff is worth it (mainly the strop)) and some fancy aftershave; you do need aftershave, but he decided to try the best recommended which was a whopping $30. (You can put "Zeepk Straight Razor Set" in ebay, the store sells many of them) Of course, depending on your shopping skills it can be much more, so if you put in "buy straight razor" in Google and find one for $2000, don't be surprised. But let's say you spend $250 to start because you want some fancier stuff. If you were buying a $20 pack of 4 razors only lasting you two weeks a piece, then you normally spend $120 a year. After 2 years, it is paid for and you never have to buy anything more except shaving soap every now and then (a $2 purchase). Places with pharmacies (Like Walgreens but not Walmart) do carry brushes and soap, so you don't need to keep paying for S&H for a $2 soap which is nice if you live in the middle of nowhere. If you live in big city areas, I've read Nordstroms or fancy retail departments may carry it all. Also ask Grandma if she still has great grandpa's shaving stuff. Mom-in-law has some in her closet - try that avenue too!
Another benefit is that is it the closest shave you can get. His face after using the straight razor 24 hours earlier feels like his initial shave with his disposable razor.
I have to say though that the saving money thing and the fact that he has never had a better shave has become secondary in regards to his motivation. My hubby is a big knife guy. (He blacksmiths his own knives from scrap metal and walks around with patches of hair missing from his arms from the fun he has demonstrating to people how sharp he keeps his knives.) So, the fact that he is getting a big testosterone high from shaving with something that he could kill himself with, I think, is the real reason he is so excited about the process that has compelled him to tell everyone around him about his new thrifty hobby.
So, interested? Here are the sites he found helpful to learn how to reclaim the art of shaving with a straight razor. A warning: straight razor information sites do tend to be written by men running high on testosterone since they shave with a weapon, you will find several with a few bad words mixed in with the information. I wouldn't post any over the top ones, but it seems the ones my hubby found most helpful do have some of these words mixed in.
This is the definitive article according to my husband, it is long, but was essential to his know-how.
Good introduction article. (Questionable language in subtitle otherwise looks clean)
TricksyHobbit posted a nice tutorial on Instructables on how to make a razor and brush caddy for the bathroom. I am sure something like this would work for any number of things in the bathroom.
Rust on a razor blade dulls it. So how do you prevent it and make those expensive razor heads last longer? By drying it. Make it a point to shake off your razor, blot it on a towel and store it in a less humid place (outside of the bathroom or in a ziploc bag (only if you make sure it is dry first!).
Need some research to convince you? Using a fan to blow dry a razor after each shave resulted in doubled life expectancy for a disposable razor head.
I have been doing this since I was a teenager. After shaving (especially if I can feel the burn starting), I splash on witch hazel. I put a small amount in the palm of my hand and wipe it on. If I try to tough it out and then decide later that I was silly to do so, the witch hazel is still there waiting for me and helps, but I feel it does better to do it immediately after shaving.
Instead of buying fancy shaving gel, you can use conditioner or lotion if you don't like the use of regular soap lather.
Some free sources for this: Complimentary hotel lotions and conditioners or Walgreens and similar stores often give rebates for hair products. In fact, I have yet to buy a conditioner for a few years, mainly because I hardly use it for my hair, but I pick up the free ones from Walgreens and they are starting to become stockpiled.
I miss my cloth diaper wipes! My toddler is toilet training and paper toilet paper usage is a disaster! One, my child thinks a quarter of a roll is necessary to use each time she visits the potty. We have gone through a lot of toilet paper in the last few months! Two, have you ever tried to clean up a toddler who didn't make #2 in the toilet with paper toilet paper???? Virtually impossible; make the toilet paper wet and you add a whole new level of mess. Plus, you end up using a quarter of a roll to clean the kid up. (Maybe that's where she got that idea!). I have put her in the bath a couple of times when I gave up getting her clean, but I don't want to continue that for she would view that as a reward.
So, I have gone back to cloth wipes for potty training. It is easy to tell her, one square. And wet it with a little water it is 50 times less of a job to clean her up when I have to. My old ones were a bit crude and hubby complained when he used them on her that he disliked the odd sizes. So, I decided to make nicer, softer ones.
If you use family cloth (cloth toilet paper), this design would work well for that. I am not going to get into the debate of cloth toilet paper, but if you have never heard of cloth toilet paper use and are interested you could look at this or this site which I think are a good source of information. Googling "family cloth" would easily lead you to many articles or posts on the subject. Someone commented on my blog earlier that they use the money they save on this specific frugal/green project to buy the family a year pass to the zoo.
Side Note: I always get a giggle out of people that are "shocked, appalled, horrified" by mention of cloth diapers, cloth toilet paper, cloth pads, etc. What do they think people who lived before mass production of disposable products did? Prior to the late 1800s/early 1900s toilet paper didn't really exist (unless you count the ones that included splinters, then you could reach back to the mid 1800s) and even though it was available doesn't mean it was bought and used, especially in an era where underwear was unmentionable in mixed company! I can't imagine a woman from the Victorian era plopping down toilet tissue on the mercantile counter. My mom, who was definitely born much later, grew up with an outhouse equipped with the Sears catalog and corn cob husks and I don't consider her or my grandparents untouchables or crazies. More importantly, they survived! :)
First, I grabbed a big ugly flannel bathrobe I got from a thrift store. I doubled over the fabric and cut out a 7"x7" square (or what roughly resembles a square). I had done 6x6 earlier, but I thought they were a bit small.
Then I flipped it over so the wrong side of the material was facing out. (I could have skipped this step if I just folded it that way to begin with!) Then I just straight stitched all the way around and stopped about a third of the way from the folded side. (Where it shows my machine stopped in the picture)
I cut off the corners so when I turn it right side out, I don't have a hard little wad of cloth in the corners. (Don't cut the unsewn corner.)
Then turn the cloth inside out. It's poofy.
To sew up the hole and make it lie flat, Tuck in the hole and start there to zigzag stitch all the way around.
And now you have uniform-sized soft, 2 ply cloth wipes. I threw in one of my 6x6's to show you the zigzag more easily.
Wash like you would cloth diapers or cloth menstruation pads/tampons.
In case you were all excited about some homemade recipe for smell good pretty stuff like you find at bath and body works type places, I think you will be disappointed. I have never understood the desire of ladies to buy expensive soaps that leave a lingering scent on their hands for a few minutes that when sniffing it, you are reminded that you are hungry and even if you aren't hungry it makes you think of vanilla sugar cookies that in turn make you thing of the goodies you could go grab and eat. BUT if you like soap dispensers and want your hands clean for pennies, then you may be happy.
Wait to buy dispensers on clearance or better yet, when some lady gives you one of the above mentioned smelly soap dispensers, reuse it once you are done making yourself hungry washing your hands.
Fill the container with water, put in enough dishwashing liquid to turn it blue or yellow or whatever color you got. That's it. Not only does it come in handy for washing hands, but for washing just a few dishes in the sink separately and for squirting one pump into your tin can or plastic food container to rinse out to store in recycling. And the boys won't turn their noses up at using fruity girly soap.
I was really tired of buying $2+ stick of deodorant that often didn't work. Plus, I am sure we have all heard the not-so-sure-deodorant-is-a-good-thing cancer and Alzheimer-wise, so I have fiddled with many things taking others suggestions offline, from family, etc. and have finally come up with something that works. It's my own "recipe."
I bought a little pump sprayer which I fill with rubbing alcohol. Then I have an old powder jar which I fill with baking soda and I have a ton of perfume and samples etc. I usually don't wear perfume because it competes with my deodorant smell. And I had been using a "natural" deodorant that made me smell like a cedar tree - what perfume compliments cedar tree? And I especially hate baby powder smelling deodorant. Inevitably sometime during the day, I'll sniff and wonder where the baby is and then realize it's me.
So I put a squirt or two of alcohol under my arms, then using a powder puff I pat on the baking soda which adheres now with the alcohol wetness and then I add a squirt of perfume under each arm as well. When I get to using the perfumed talc, I think I will just mix it in with the baking powder.
This has worked well for three weeks now, so hubby is glad he doesn't get to smell my failed experiments anymore, and I am glad I am spending such a tiny amount and smell like I want to smell.
I don't remember where I first heard about Eve Pearl's salmon concealer makeup, but I remember getting excited because I have horrible hereditary dark circles around my eyes. I have a fair complexion and my eyes look circled in brown that get worse at that time of the month. I watched YouTube Videos of her using the concealer and wanted some myself. Gasp! $42! Um, I can't bear to put up that much change for something that I haven't even tried! So I ran around town looking for some other makeup line that makes peachy salmon colored concealer. No luck. I gave up, but when a Christmas coupon for 20% off Eve Pearl rolled around, I went back to look and covet, but still couldn't make myself pay that much.
So, I started searching again and ran onto a makeup blog that made the same reference to wanting the really good Eve Pearl concealer which many on the board had tried with rave reviews, but not willing to pay for it. She said she found Everyday Minerals Pink and Sunlight concealer to make a salmon which worked well. She also said each worked well alone. So, I ran off to look at their concealers . They not only had the pink (Pick Me Up Pink) and sunlight that she was talking about, but peach (for darker skin) and a premixed peach and sunlight (Abbott's Perk Me Up) for lighter skin along with a myriad others with sample sizes only costing $2.5o. Now, I could fathom spending $2.50 to try something out.
Then, I saw that they offer a free sampler kit. So I got one of the concealers I wanted to try for free along with 3 foundations and a blush. They are internet based only which I have always loathed picking colors that I can't see but in a picture. In order to pick the foundation, their FAQs list a celebrity that would use that tone. So I got out a picture of me and searched for pictures of the celebrities in Google Images and when I seemed to "match" their skin coloring on several pictures, I considered that a good choice; I would not have picked those colors by the screen colors, so I think that was the best way to pick. So I payed for two samples and reasonable shipping $3.13. This is what I received.
They are wonderful little sample containers that I will have to save for putting in earring backs, sequins, eyeglass screws, homemade lip balm, etc.
I have to say I am impressed with this stuff. EVERY concealer and foundation worked well. I have still to decide which is the best ones because they are so very close and good. I will have to wait for an actual sunny day to do the daylight test. I cannot say that I have ever bought a range of foundations and had all of them work, it's always been which one was less evil.
Also, a little of this stuff went a long way.
Try it. $3.13 for sample makeup is a good fun deal, and you might just like it!
My sister and I many times in our childhood would sleep on rag curlers. However, just winding hair around a strip of fabric always made the ends really kinky. So, we found some curlers (I think they sell a similar curler (Sun curlers??) at Walmart now) that were cushioned and they got rid of the terrible kink at the end of the curl. Well, after decades of use, they have fallen apart and Walmart's are expensive and with the thickness of our hair, if my child gets thick hair (which is likely) it would take too much money to buy enough of them.
So, I made some out of shoulder pads (taken out of thrift store finds), pipe cleaners and t-shirts.
First, cut a pipe cleaner in half. Then, cut a rectangle of shoulder pad (you could use a few layers of batting or micro fleece or something similarly squishy) that will fit around the pipe cleaner.
Then tack on the shoulder pad so that it won't open up inside the curler in the future.
Then set the curler on a tshirt (you could use other scrap fabric) and cut a strip of material to cover the back and the front. I tapered it here a bit.
Then stick the pipe cleaner and shoulder pad combo in between the two layers of t-shirt.
Then sew around the curler, try to get pretty close to the pipe cleaner, but don't sew onto the pipe cleaner.
Cut off the excess fabric ouside of the seam and zigzag around the edges.
And now you have one cushioned rag curler. You could probably do it without the pipe cleaner, and just sew in a pad and tie on the curler - hmm, will have to try that. Metal twisties came in my old ones, so that's why I chose to do it this way.
This is how you would use it. Start out at the end of the section of hair and begin winding it onto the pad.
