'Green' and bare it: Money-saving DIY beauty tricks I bet you've never heard of before

When it comes to beauty, green is the new black

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Let’s face it: The bulk of us beauty buffs would have run through the grooming gamut – faddish facial oils, discreet doctor’s quick fixes – you name it, I’ve done (and applied and injected) it.

So it was a thrilling test for yours truly to think up of and test-drive these ‘green’ tips that I hope the most jaded of junkies would raise a Botoxed eyebrow at. (And don’t worry, we skipped the pig’s skin.) After all, beauty is at its core about being bold and brassy, so have fun experimenting, and remember to love yourself and the planet (where possible).

ALSO READ: Video: We gave this actor a 60s-inspired makeup makeover and the results are jaw-dropping

Brush on your basics

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Reuse and recycle! There’s something super gratifying about repurposing cosmetic collaterals – like your good ol’ toothbrush, for instance.

When the time calls for fending off frizzy flyaways at your hairline, whip out your trusty toothbrush, bathe the bristles with a blast of high-shine hairspray, then tamp down the errant hairs by smoothing them upwards into your hairline. This technique is great for instant gratification; one sweep is all it takes to lend your moistureless mane a shampoo ad-worthy sheen.

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Manage your manicure with mascara

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This cuticle conditioning tip is way cool. In lieu of skin-stripping solutions and blunt mutilation by way of clippers, consider enlisting the services of a lash wand from an empty mascara bottle instead: So much kinder and gentler to your nail bed.

What you do is to swipe the spoolie (dip the tip in Vitamin E for a beautifying boost, if you prefer) across the edges of your nails; repeat as necessary. In this instance, the manual action of the bristles serves to dislodge dead skin and other bits and bobs from your nails, giving you a cleaner canvas with as little trauma to your talons as possible. Pretty neat, yes?

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Get a quick high on a skin cocktail

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For nights when you just can’t be arsed to put yourself through the paces of a seven-step routine, I suggest stirring up a custom concoction composed of serums and a moisturiser.

What you need a fat-soluble base – think featherweight botanical oils like the sort found in Clarins’ Double Serum – in which you dissolve your other emulsions before massaging it into your mien. Disclaimer: This “off-duty” quickie isn’t for keeps, though – the gold standard for regular days is still to layer your skincare by texture, starting from the most featherweight of fluids and working your way up to the clingiest of cold creams. But still, a cool time-saving DIY trick to try!

ALSO READ: These are the express home treatments we swear by for thick and shiny hair

Shadow play

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Shattered eyeshadow palettes piling up in your powder room? Stir in a generous dollop of your go-to lip balm into an otherwise unusable pot of powder and stash the mixture in a clean empty tin.

The result is a custom cream concoction that’s perfect for prettifying your peepers with. It’s multi-purpose, too: A judicious dab on your cheeks and nose bridge will do very nicely as a “wet” blush or facial highlighter, depending on the hue of the shadow used. (Obviously, chestnuts and coppers work best for this purpose.)

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Hit the sweet spot by spreading “food” on your face

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Instead of rubbing metaphorical salt into your wounds, add literal sugar. The glucose and trace minerals in honey are natural zit-zappers, and its moisture-drawing humectants enhances elasticity and helps to thwart infection by sealing off small nicks and cuts. Smear it on, twiddle your thumbs for a couple of minutes, then splash off for sumptuously soft skin. You’ll look and feel like honey to the bee (or is that #bae). 

Try: Fresh Creme Ancienne Ultimate Nourishing Honey Mask, $229

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‘Tea’-totalling trick for perkier peepers

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Here’s a tea-rrific idea: The astringent tannins from tea are a tried-and-tested way of lending an instant lift to your lids. Simply recycle used tea bags by chucking them in an airtight container in the fridge, for easy retrieval whenever you need a quick fix. Slap them on like you would any cold compress, kick up your kitten heels for five minutes or so, then whip off for a radically reinvigorated visage.

ALSO READ: We need to talk about this salon secret that's the key to looking like your favourite Korean stars

Protect your peepers and puckers

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The skin around the eye is literally paper-thin: Just five sheets of standard copier paper, to be precise. This is why a top-grade eye cream is so very crucial – and why you should be slathering that same eye cream onto the equally sensitive skin around your lips.

This “secret” is something we’ve practiced for the longest time ever, and it’s stood us in good stead in our fight against smile lines and other shabby signifiers of age. Simply pat your cream of choice into the U-shaped undereye crescent as well as the N-shaped nook above your cupid’s bow. We find that the extra loving helps to stave off the pesky puckering that cigarette smokers and gum-chewers tend to sport around the fragile mouth region. (Plus you save on that additional jar of lip balm!)

Try: Sisley Sisleya Eye and Lip Contour Cream, $224

ALSO READ: Video: We gave this actor a 60s-inspired makeup makeover and the results are jaw-dropping

 

Boozy beauty treat

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On the very rare occasion when we find ourselves with spare six-packs lying about our pad – and believe us when we say we love our lager – we get down to mixing our own rinse-off mask.

There can only be one compelling reason why we’re willing to let perfectly good beer go down the drain, so to speak, instead of down our gullet, and this is it: Ale alleviates acne. Who knew?

Simply combine a generous tablespoon of unflavoured plain yoghurt with a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil, then introduce a teaspoon of skin-brightening lemon extract. Splash in a good glug-full your beer of choice, then use a spoon to jumble everything up in the bowl. Massage this mess into your face, kick up your kitten heels for fifteen minutes (more than enough time to polish off the remaining beer!) and wash off with a splash of warm water.

ALSO READ: Video: We gave this actor a 60s-inspired makeup makeover and the results are jaw-dropping

Coffee on your hips, not your lips

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Okay, so it turns out that caffeine is also catastrophic for your complexion. That jolt of java you need to function at work causes your blood vessels to seize up, so less nutrients and fluid get to your face – hence, dehydration, dull skin and puffy, inflamed eyes.

But, and this is a big but, topical caffeine is superb for soothing saggy skin under your eyes. Caffeine’s ability to constrict blood vessels may be bad for your body, but when diffused through your delicate orbital skin, it actually helps to placate puffiness. Look out for caffeine in the labels of your depuffing eye gels – it’ll be there.

We’ll go one step further. Try a DIY coffee scrub for a miraculously “slimmer” waist – actually the result of caffeine draining off water retention, but that quibble’s just counting (coffee) beans. Save your morning coffee grounds, break a handful of vitamin E capsules into the moist mush, stir it around a bit, then use a loofah to scour away. Easy!

Try: Origins GinZing Peel-Off Mask to Refine and Refresh, $50

ALSO READ: Video: We gave this actor a 60s-inspired makeup makeover and the results are jaw-dropping

Wipe off your warpaint

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We may need a little extra help with degreasing after a “hiong” night out with the girls – intensely pigmented glittery eyeshadow can be such a pain to remove, amiright.

For that, inexpensive drugstore wipes can be used as a cotton-like receptacle for a stronger cleansing agent. Simply grab a sheet – I’m partial to Cleanse by Lauren Napier, US$10 for five sheets via Net-A-Porter – and fold it into quarters before saturating it with a good oil, press the wipe over the glitter-festooned area for about five seconds to loosen the adhesives, then sweep off in one deft, decisive stroke. Repeat until the wipe comes off clear.

ALSO READ: This #VeryHerWorld whitening mask is my new secret to beauty editor-worthy skin

And when all else fails, rub away the years

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An at-home facial is the best thing ever: It feels good and is good, with its stimulative massaging motions coaxing collagen from the fibroblast cells for fishball-bouncy skin. My advice? Invest in this Philips baby, a cool cleansing contraption that calms your complexion and purges pores like no other, with minimal elbow grease on your part to boot – slap on cleanser, activate your appliance, press to face or body, rinse off, done.

Money-saving bonus: This also comes complete with a ceramic-coated eye applicator that promise to placate under-eye puffiness and smooth away sagging and bagging virtually instantly two treatments for the price of one. *Happy dance*  

Expect to emerge from your “home spa” with skin that, according to my sweet-tongued suitor, is so luminous that you could conceivably do away with foundation if you chose to. Good luck, and stay gorgeous!

Try: Philips Visapure Advanced, $455

ALSO READ: Video: We gave this actor a 60s-inspired makeup makeover and the results are jaw-dropping