10 Cheap Beauty Tips That You Can Use

We all want to look like a million bucks, but we certainly don't want to spend anywhere near that amount to do so. Why should you have to spend an arm and a leg just to moisturize one?

Introducing my Top 10 Cheap Beauty Tips, as requested by Ryan Hupfer. These tips enable you to have fabulous hair, become a quick-makeup magician, smell great and get rid of a pesky pimple, among other things. You can accomplish all this, and with a little extra money in your wallet. :)

I must thank my trusty self-beautifying bible, "Beauty, Things to Make and Do," a part of the "Crafty Girl" series by Jennifer Traig and Julianna Balmain. I recommend this book to anyone seeking to try new and creative beauty concoctions at home, created with items you can find in your refrigerator and around the house. Several of the recipes you'll find here were adapted from this book, including the bubble bath mix and the egg yolk conditioner.

Thank you once again, "Crafty Girl" series, for inspiring me!

1) Invest in a multi-use product that you can use time and time again on eyes, lips, and cheeks, for a quick and easy natural look in one simple step.

Try: Stila Color Push-ups in Cream Flash, about $20.

Apply the product on your cheeks, and then rub some on your eyelids and on your lips.

You now have a fresh, dewy sheen in less than 2 minutes!

BONUS: this product works with every skin tone and hair colour

2)Instead of spending up to $100 on perfumes and fragrances, make your own!

Simply buy essential oils in your favourite fragrances, and use alone or combined to create your own unique scents. Essential oils are naturally derived fruit and flower oils with a very potent scent. Only a few drops need be used, dilluted with water, at one time!

Each bottle only costs around $8 or $9 dollars, a very small price to pay in comparison to bottled perfumes. Plus, they come in yummy scents like vanilla, orange, lavender, rose, peppermint, and almond. You can easily find them at local health food stores.

To make your own perfume, you'll need:

• Spray bottle
• 1 cup of water
• 5 to 7 drops of your favourite essential oil(s)

Pour the water and essential oils into the spray bottle and shake well. Secure cap and spray away! You can spray your face, your hair, your clothes; even use it as an air freshner if you want!

3) Use essential oils to create your own bubble mix.

Have some shampoo or body wash lying around? Make your own bubble mix!

To make your own bubble bath, you'll need:

• 10 ounces mild shampoo/body wash, unscented
• 1 tsp. vitamin E oil, or break open a few vitamin E capsules (vitamine E is good for your skin)
• 5 to 10 drops of your fave essential oils
• Clean 10-ounce bottle with lid, or a champagne or sparkling cider bottle with cork

Pour the shampoo/body wash, vitamin E oil, and essential oils in a small bowl, stir thoroughly.

Pour your bubble mix into your bottle, I recommend that you use a funnel to do this (you want to save every precious drop!).

Put a label or other decoration on the bottle if you wish.

For instant bubbles, pour in about 1/3 cup of the bubble mix into the tub, with the water running. Enjoy!

4) Create your own all-natural, at-home conditioner - with an egg yolk!

Is your hair fried and frazzled?

Don't fork over a small fortune just to revive your locks to their shiny, healthy state. A simple egg yolk leave-in hair treatment works wonders!

For your own egg yolk conditioner, you'll need:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil (or any vegetable oil)
• 1 egg yolk
• A couple drops of essential oil (the mixture smells a little eggy)
• Plastic shower cap

Place oil in a small bowl and microwave for 5 to 7 seconds. The oil should be warm, but not hot; you don't want to end up cooking the egg yolk.

Add the yolk and essential oil to the bowl, and whisk gently until blended.

Work the mixture into your hair, focusing on the ends of the hair as opposed to the scalp.

Put on your shower cap, and leave the conditioner in for about 20 minutes, then shampoo. Use your regular conditioner afterwards if your hair still smells a bit eggy.

Yay! You just got an intense leave-in hair treatment at home, practically for free!

5) Why spend tons of money on acne creams to get rid of pesky pimples when a natural, cheap solution exists? Say hello to your new best friend, instant yeast.

That's right. Instant yeast is an effective and inexpensive way to prevent major pimples when they're beginning to emerge.

Here's how:

• Make sure you've washed your face with a mild cleaner, pat dry.
• Mix about 3/4 of a teaspoon of instant yeast with 3/4 of a teaspoon of water in a small bowl. Stir with your finger until the yeast soaks up some of the water and a thick, sticky paste forms, about 4 or 5 seconds. Apply a small dollop of the mixture to the pimple, covering it with the yeast solution.
• Leave overnight, and your pimple will be on its way out.

Say buh-bye, blemish!

NOTE: this remedy works best when a pimple is first emerging. Once you have a whitehead, this solution isn't as effective.

6) A simple but money and time-saving tip that many women don't know: apply lotion after the shower when your body is still wet.

Applying body lotion when your body is still a bit wet from the shower not only cuts down on the amount of cream you have to use, saving you money, but it also makes the cream more effective.

That's right. The cream is more effective when used on wet skin because, contrary to what most people think, creams do not add moisture to the skin, they only lock in whatever moisture was there to begin with.

So if you use a cream on wet skin, the cream will lock in the moisture and keep your skin smoother and hydrated for longer, while also enabling you to use less product.

7) Why go to a professional to get your eyebrows plucked? Do it yourself, in the comfort of your own home, and save. $$$

Even the most confident fashionistas and beauty moguls can be wary when it comes to plucking their own brows. The reality is, it's actually quite simple, and with a little brow know-how, it's as easy as 1-2-3. Not to mention the money you'll save from not having to hire a professional to do it for you.

To pluck your way a perfect arch, you'll need:

• A good pair of tweezers, preferrably a double-sided model; one side with a wide, flat tip, and the other end with a small tip for precision. If you cannot find such a pair of tweezers, flat-tipped tweezers will work fine.
• Ample light and a clean mirror
• A pencil, preferrably dull or unsharpened
• a clean q-tip or 2

• rubbing alcohol

To start, dip a q-tip in rubbing alcohol and gently glide it along each brow a couple of times. This will remove any oil and dirt, which make it difficult to grab on to the hairs you want to pluck.

Next, hold the pencil against the bridge of your nose, near the inner corner of your eye, pressed against your nostril. Hold the pencil in a straight line. The place the pencil hits your brow is where your eyebrow should begin. Tweeze any hairs that grow on the nose side of the pencil, repeat for the other eye.

Rotate the pencil from its original position about 45 degrees, until the pencil lies on top of the portion of your eye where the pupil is. Where the pencil hits your eyebrow is where the highest part of your brow, the arch, should be. Pluck any stray hairs as you see fit, being careful to maintain the natural shape of your brow. Remember to only pluck hairs underneath your brow, not on top. DO NOT OVERPLUCK.

For the last step, rotate the pencil to the outside corner of your eye - this is where your brow should end. Tweeze any stray hairs that extend farther than where the pencil lies against the outside corner of your eye.

If you have hairs growing in between your two brows, pluck these also. A unibrow is NEVER in style.

Examine your work. Do both brows look even? Have you plucked enough hairs? Does each brow have a clean, natural arch?

If you think you've underplucked, take a break for a few minutes and check again later. Still think you haven't tweezed enough hairs? Pluck a few more and take a break again. Keep doing this until you're satisfied with both brows.

Did you underpluck? Lightly pat in an eyeshadow slightly lighter than the colour of your brows into each eyebrow, and wait for the hairs to grow back, then try again. Remember, it takes a few tries to get it perfect.

RECALL: it's better to underpluck at first, then remove more and more hairs as you become more comfortable.

If you experience irritation after plucking, apply a wet, cold paper towel to the area. As you pluck more and more, this will gradually hurt less and less, until you'll barely even feel it at all.

8) Hate that hideous lipstick you bought last month? What were you thinking? And what about that gross bright green eyeshadow you've had for a week? As tempting as it may be, don't throw them out! Recycle them!

We all make mistakes. Whether that lipstick is just too dark or if that eyeshadow makes you look like a clown, there are ways to get your money's worth from products you despise. You paid for it, get everything you can out of it!

Let's break it down by product:

Lipstick: okay, so the colour's not flattering on your lips. Not one little bit. So what else can you use it for? If it's too pink or too red, rub a small amount on your cheeks and take a look: does it work well as a blush? And just because a colour doesn't look good on your mouth doesn't mean you can't use it as an eyeshadow! Just wipe off the tip of the lipstick (to remove germs) and use a little bit on your eyelid.

If it's a dark colour, smooth a little in the crease of the eye. Doesn't look right? Try complimenting it with other eyeshadows to create a new look. Chances are, something will look good, whether the lipstick is used as a blush or an eyeshadow.

If this fails, apply the offending lipstick thinly (on your lips), and put some lipgloss on top - this will weaken the colour. Does it look good now? If not, what colour is there too much or too little of? If there's too much red or pink, try putting some tan or brownish lipstick on top; if it's too dark or too brown, try mixing in some pink or red lipstick. Try different colour combinations until you find one that works for you.

Eyeshadow: does it makes you look like you have a black eye? Well, you're probably not applying it correctly. If the eyeshadow seems to be too dark, use a smaller amount of it and rub it only in the crease. Doesn't that look better? I thought so.

If the eyeshadow is obnoxiously bright, don't rub it all over your lid. Use it as an accent colour, smudged into the upper or lower lashlines, or put it (lightly) all over your eyelid, and then apply a neutral shadow on top. Finish with an accent of white shadow on the inner corners and on the brow bone.

If it still looks garishly bright, buy some clear (gel) mascara, and mix some of the eyeshadow in to create bright lashes for a fun night out.

Blush: it's the wrong shade, and it shows. Never fear, ingenuity is here! Try some of the blush as an eyeshadow. If it's too dark, apply it in the creases of your eyes, if it's too light or bright, spread it across your lids and layer with other shades of shadow to tone it down.

As you can see, it's possible to recycle unwanted makeup. So the next time you're ready to chuck out a product, make sure it absolutely can't be used for anything else before you throw it out for good.

9) Make Vaseline your friend

An under-rated beauty tool, Vaseline can be mixed with other beauty products to maximize their use. Mix some vaseline into a little eyeshadow, use it over lipstick, and use it on rough,dry skin on your hands and heels.

Even without using any other products, you can use vaseline to coat your lips and lids for a super-fast, super-natural look for less.

Sometimes, the simple things in life are the best!

10) Another ultimate tool - mild, non-scented face and body wash

A mild, unscented face and body wash has many purposes - you can use it not only as a body wash, but as a shaving cream, hand soap, a mild facial cleanser, and to create your own bubble bath mix.

It's a basic tool, and leaves no need for you to spend extra cash on shaving cream, fancy body washes, expensive facial cleansers, and sometimes pricey bubble bath mixes.

Use the recipe I've included to create your own bubble mix, and you're well on your way to cheap chic!

Remember: you can be beautiful, for less. And now you know how! :)