Apparently, some of the photos of my wee little MAC collection are garnering some attention and, while I fully plan on writing a post about shades and tips and all kinds of girlie, makeup-related things, today just isn’t the day that this is going to happen. (Have I mentioned that being a responsible, employed grown up sucks?)

So! I present to you some DIY at-home beauty tips I’ve picked up from various places:

• Blemish Blaster
  • Take a handful of fresh mint leaves and pulverize them with a pestle in a bowl.
  • Next, add moist oats to the mixture and mix until it forms a paste. (Mmm, moist oats.)
  • Apply evenly to your face, or just to your affected areas, and wait 20 minutes.
  • Rinse!
  • Apply twice a day as needed storing the remaining mixture in a sealed container in the fridge.

• Mojito Hand Scrub
  • Chop up three to five mint leaves (mint helps energize cells) and place them in a mixing bowl.
  • Squeeze half of a small lime, one tablespoon of sugar and one table spoon of extra virgin olive oil and add them to the bowl.
  • Massage the scrub into the palm of your hand and gently work it onto the backs of your hands, cuticles and fingertips.

• Warm and Cozy Body Scrub
  • In a medium-sized saucepan, mix together and heat 2 oz. of apricot-kernel oil, 1 oz. of sunflower oil, and 1 oz. of jojoba oil.
  • Next, turn off the heat but add in 1oz. of cornmeal, one teaspoon of sugar, one tbsp. of ground pecans, and six drops of lavender oil. Stir.
  • When everything is cool enough for your skin, stand on a large towel or in the shower (no water) and gently rub the mixture onto your body in circular motions. Don’t forget about your toes, your neck, and your knees — but definitely avoid your face.
  • Rinse off in a warm shower and don’t use any soap. Allow the oils to moisturize your skin. When you are about to get out of the shower, give your body a cool rinse and then gently pat your body dry

• Homemade Exfoliator
  • Add a pinch of cleaned sand (like the decorative stuff you can get at Target or maybe even something synthetic that’s similar… haunt the craft store, people) to a gentle cleanser like Cetaphil. (Or whatever you use.) You get the general idea.

• Hair Purifier
  • Wash your hair as usual
  • Crush two aspirin and pour them into an eight-ounce cup filled with apple cider vinegar (use more vinegar for thick hair and less for fine hair).
  • Next, apply to damp hair and leave on for fifteen minutes and then shampoo hair again. Skip using conditioner unless your hair is really tangled. In that case, just use a little bit on the ends and rinse well.

• Face Mask
  • Blend ½ tsp fresh lemon juice, 1 tsp dry black tea, 1 egg white and 1tsp honey. (For dry skin, add ½ avocado and 1 slice of fresh peach; for oily skin, add ½ cup strawberries and about 60g grated raw pumpkin.)
  • Leave on your skin for 10 to 15 minutes and rinse off with warm water

• Citrus Body Scrub
  • Squeeze the juice from half an orange and pulp into a bowl and add the cornmeal. Mix into a paste.
  • Apply onto freshly washed face and body. Scrub gently for 2-3 minutes. Rinse.

(Most of these are from bellasugar.com.)

Filed under: beauty