Monday, July 13, 2009

Mad-Scientist Beauty Secrets

Growing up I was a total beauty junkie. I wanted to be a make up artist for awhile and devoured Allure Magazine. During church, I would brainstorm the new eye shadow colors I was going to invent when I got home. I am also something of a mad scientist when it comes to product usage. I’ve never been one to only use a product for the “Suggested Use.” I think I was encouraged by my discovery that the now defunct Clarion peel off mask could also cure razor burn to try more creative uses. This has not always had a positive result. For example, hydrogen peroxide is not a recommended remedy for insect bites – in my case it caused massive hives (luckily this is also when I discovered my amazing dermatologist). So here are some of my more successful tips for beauty product double usage:

Visine – Obviously we all know what the main purpose of this product is as well as Visine’s tag line – “It gets the red out.” It turns out that this tag line extends beyond red, watery eyes. Because it constricts the blood vessels, it is also good on any sort of red irritation (with the exception of in sort of cut) – pimples, blotchy skin, etc. For those of you using Visine the old fashioned way, an excellent way to apply it is on the end of a Q-tip. After application of the Visine to the Q-tip, hold the Q-tip up in the inner corner of your eye. You may wish to blink a couple of times. This distributes the Visine without drips all over your face or ruining your make up.

Liquid Band-Aid – This is product I knew immediately that I had the perfect alternate use! Have you ever had a pimple that you couldn’t leave alone but since you had somewhere to be it must be covered? If you just put the tiniest amount of Liquid Band-Aid on the open part of the pimple, it quickly seals over and make up can be easily applied. It is important to use a VERY small amount as the formula is meant to work as a band-aid for several days so too much will begin to look worse very quickly.

Neosporin with Pain-Relief – After a long day on my feet (and probably a blister or two), I decided to rub this excellent product not only on the injured areas but on all of the sore and tired areas of my feet. While I didn’t feel like doing the Riverdance, my feet hurt less in general. This has become a staple in my travel gear as well as the Visine. A previous manager used to give me a hard time due the quantity of items I often brought with me when I traveled. I loaned her my Neosporin with Pain-Relief and was not sure that I was going to get it back! After that I think there was a bit more understanding of the wardrobe of products in my arsenal.

Enjoy these new uses to a few everyday items found at your local drug store. Let me know how they work for you and if you have a similar tip to share! I’ll be experimenting – I’ve heard that a ground up Advil mixed with water will get rid of a pimple!