Easy Beauty Tips

  • Smile
  • Exercise
  • Eat lots of vegetables and fruit
  • Laugh
  • Love
  • Get adequate rest

Because it’s as simple as that!


Eyelash Dye

Eyelash dyes are a really simple way to dramatically affect your look.  They’re especially wonderful if you have an event coming up that you know you don’t want to wear make-up at, yet still want your eyes to pop.  I love getting them before I go on any trip that involves a lot of water, camping, or exercise or if I’m just in a make-up free mode. 

I got lucky enough to get really long lashes, but the tips are blonde, so it’s not especially apparent when I don’t have on mascara or have them dyed.  Once I get it done both the top and bottom lashes look really long and the darkness of the dye dramaticizes them as mascara would.  All my friends that have done it are amazed with the results. 

Just find a salon and an esthetician experienced in this procedure that you trust (this is not FDA-approved) and the procedure can be completed in about 15 minutes for around $25.  They generally grease up the area around your eyes, and apply a special sticker to avoid the dye contacting the skin.  The vegetable-based dye is applied and left on for 10 minutes or so.  Since it is vegetable-based, it is not permanent and begins to fade after a few weeks.

When I have mine done, one of my favorite ways to rock the no make-up look is to put Vaseline on my lids and lashes.  It gives them sort of a bright-eyed and dewy ethereal glow.  I love this C.O. Bigelow’s Rose Salve (which is basically Vaseline with rose extract).


Pumpkin Facial for Glowing Skin

This is one of the few “products” I have ever used that literally left my skin radiant and visibly improved upon rinsing and for hours afterward.  The pumpkin is hydrating and contains antioxidants A, C, and E, which keep the skin looking youthful.  The pumpkin’s phytonutrients like cartenoids neutralize free radicals in the skin.  The cinnamon increases circulation and the clay draws out impurities, while the honey and oil hydrate.  It’s the perfect combination for beautiful skin, really.  The recipe was found in Self magazine.

Mix the following ingredients:
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup bentonite clay
1 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp almond oil
2 Tsp cinnamon

An amazing product to use for the bentonite clay is Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay, which is basically pure bentonite.  It also works incredibly well for blackheads, pore clearing, and acne as a mask on its own, mixed in to a paste with water or apple cider vinegar.

Leave the mask on for about 15 minutes, and be ready for quite the rinse when it’s time to remove it as the clay is super sticky and hardens.  Note that your face may be slightly reddened after removing this mask, so be sure to test out how your skin will react before applying this before your big cocktail party.


Hydrating Oatmeal Banana Mask

My skin was really dry the other night and I tried a mask using some of the good hydrating items I had at home.  My skin looked incredible afterward and I promise I didn’t lick any off my face while I was in the bath ;-)

Ingredients:
1/2 Banana, mashed
1/2 packet Aveeno Soothing Bath Treatment (It is just colloidal oatmeal so you could also mill 1/2 cup rolled oats in a food processor)
1 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp plain yogurt

Mix together in a small bowl and apply to a clean face for approximately 15 minutes.  Remove gently with warm water and moisturize afterward.


Watch my video: Packing a Toiletry Bag with Carry-On Only Packing →

How to pack your toiletry bag for carry-on only packing.

Liquids:
- Shampoo
- Conditioner
- Facial Cleanser
- Moisturizer.  Consider asking Sephora for a sample container if you don’t have a travel size
- Dr Bronner’s Soap.  This can do duty as cleanser, shaving cream, detergent, or shampoo
- Sunscreen
- Eye drops
- Morrocanoil Hair Oil
- Lotion.  You can omit this if your hotel will have some
- Travel size perfume.  Ask at Sephora or a department store for your favorite scent.  Aveda also has nice scents in small containers.
- Downy Wrinkle Releaser
- Rose oil in jojoba oil (for moisturizing, eye cream and eye-makeup removal)
- Toothpaste

Other items:
- Baby powder or dry shampoo
- Venus razor with cartridge.  No shaving cream needed
- Smile’s PRID Drawing Salve
- C.O. Bigelow’s Rose Salve
- Ceramic Velcro rollers
- Brush
- Rubber bands and bobby pins
- Toothbrush
- Floss
- Deodorant

Make-up:
- Double-duty foundation/powder.  I like Clinique’s Superpowder
- Stain for lips and cheeks.  Sephora brand and Benefit make good ones
- Eye shadow palette including neutrals and dark/smoky colors.  Loving this Too Faced one
- Blush (if stain won’t work for you)
- Mascara
- Black eyeliner.  Rimming the inner part of the lower lids is an easy way to glam it up
- Concealer
- Any other lipstick or gloss
- Include one bright eyeshadow color (blue, purple, green, etc.) if you’re in to colorful looks
- Make-up brushes.  M.A.C. makes good travel sets but they are only available around the holidays generally.  You can find them at Cosmetics Company Stores at outlet malls in the off-season.  I would recommend the following brushes: Powder brush, blush brush, eye shadow brush, eyebrow brush, blending brush and eyeliner brush


Apple Cider Vinegar Hair Rinse

To make your hair soft and shiny, try rinsing it with 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar mixed with 1 cup of water.  Apply the solution by pouring it over the hair after conditioning and then rinse with cold water to help seal the cuticle.  This is a really inexpensive way to clarify the hair and make it silky-looking.  Add a few drops of any essential oil if you like to help eliminate the vinegar smell.


Oatmeal Milk & Honey Bath

Feel like Cleopatra for a day…

Ingredients for this bath are as follows:

  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1 packet Aveeno colloidal oatmeal
  • 20 drops essential oil

Whole milk contains lactic acid which softens the skin.  Warm the milk in the microwave for 3 minutes before pouring it in to your bath.  Honey moisturizes and oatmeal calms and soothes the skin.  The scent of oil you use is up to you and the mood you’re trying to achieve.  Lavender is nice for bedtime.  Another really nice uplifting and sensual combination is equal parts ylang ylang, ginger, cinnamon leaf, bergamot, and vanilla.

To turn this from a bath into a real experience, light some candles and incense, turn on some music, and make yourself a glass of tea, warm milk or wine.  Enjoy!


Jojoba Oil For a Great Complexion Although it may seem counterintuitive, applying jojoba oil to your skin can actually correct clogged pores.  For people who may have struggled with breakouts, it might be frightening to put oil anywhere near your face, but relax. Jojoba oil is actually a liquid wax from the seed of the jojoba plant.  This wax very closely mimics human sebum so more or less “tricks” the skin in to producing less oil because it believes it has already output more than enough.  Whatever the mechanism, it really does work for me.  Use it in place of a regular moisturizer, after washing your face at night.  Gently massage in a few drops.  It can be slightly shiny, so you may or may not want you use it during the daytime.  Jojoba oil also works really well as a cleanser and make-up remover and moisturizes the hair and scalp if a few drops are mixed in with conditioner. Jojoba oil is readily available at natural product and health stores.

Jojoba Oil For a Great Complexion

Although it may seem counterintuitive, applying jojoba oil to your skin can actually correct clogged pores.  For people who may have struggled with breakouts, it might be frightening to put oil anywhere near your face, but relax. Jojoba oil is actually a liquid wax from the seed of the jojoba plant.  This wax very closely mimics human sebum so more or less “tricks” the skin in to producing less oil because it believes it has already output more than enough.  Whatever the mechanism, it really does work for me.  Use it in place of a regular moisturizer, after washing your face at night.  Gently massage in a few drops.  It can be slightly shiny, so you may or may not want you use it during the daytime. 

Jojoba oil also works really well as a cleanser and make-up remover and moisturizes the hair and scalp if a few drops are mixed in with conditioner.

Jojoba oil is readily available at natural product and health stores.


Body Brushing Dry body brushing is an excellent way to exfoliate the skin and stimulate circulation.   It increases the elasticity of the skin and has been touted as a way to reduce cellulite, cleanse the lymphatic system, increase immunity, energize the body, and tone and tighten the skin.   It’s best to do your body brushing just prior to showering or bathing.  Brush in the direction of lymphatic drainage, towards the heart in long, sweeping, brisk strokes. Brush in counter-clockwise strokes on the abdomen. You can find a body brush at a health or natural store for $15 or less.  I found mine at Whole Foods.

Body Brushing

Dry body brushing is an excellent way to exfoliate the skin and stimulate circulation.   It increases the elasticity of the skin and has been touted as a way to reduce cellulite, cleanse the lymphatic system, increase immunity, energize the body, and tone and tighten the skin.  

It’s best to do your body brushing just prior to showering or bathing.  Brush in the direction of lymphatic drainage, towards the heart in long, sweeping, brisk strokes. Brush in counter-clockwise strokes on the abdomen.

You can find a body brush at a health or natural store for $15 or less.  I found mine at Whole Foods.


Cold Showers for Health and Beauty

Cold showers have a number of health and beauty benefits.  It may sound daunting at first, but give it a try and I think you will learn to love them.  The various benefits of a cold shower are listed below:

- Makes hair shiny and closes pores- Cold water closes the cuticle of the hair and makes the hair stronger while preventing dirt from accumulating on the shaft of the hair.

- Increases immunity- It contracts the muscles to help eliminate toxins, much the way a massage would do.

- Stimulates the nervous system (sympathetic and parasympathetic)-  The sympathetic nervous system mobilizes the body’s resources under stress, whereas the parasympathetic nervous system aids in the control of most of the body’s organs. Due to the sympathetic stimulation, there is some evidence that cold showers can help control panic, anxiety and depression.  And it stimulates the parasympathetic system by flushing the organs and bringing a fresh supply of blood.

- Increases circulation- The cold response brings blood to the capillaries and stimulates the lymphatic fluid which is vital to the immune system.  I have found it also makes the body less sensitive to changes in temperature which is especially helpful during the wintertime to help one deal better with cold temperatures.

- Makes legs ultra smooth – If you shave while you’re cold, the goosebumps cause the hair to stand on end and stick out farther than they normally would.  That way, when your goosebumbs retreat, you hair is removed from below your skin surface and they feel ultra-smooth for 2 days.  I discovered this when I used to shave at the end of my dock during Minnesota summers!

- Increases overall well-being and energy- After a shower, you will feel energized and invigorated.  Remember that lovely feeling you get after diving in to a cool body of water?  Ya, like that!

I have found that the best way to get the benefit of the cold water shower is to simply turn the water cold at the end of the shower for the last 5 minutes or so.  Alternatively, if you really want to rev up the circulation, try switching the shower back and forth from hot to cold throughout your shower.  While it sometimes is hard to force yourself to turn the water cold in the winter, as I mentioned above, I feel it actually makes you more impervious to the effects of cold temperatures.

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