Cheap Mascara in a Tupe

How much for mascara? Really?!? You can spend over $20 to make your lashes look thicker or you can whip out the cheap stuff and bat your eyes with the best of them.

My personal favorite is Maybelline Great Lash [in the pink container], which usually costs under $5 and is the magic wand of choice for many makeup artists. This weekend (Black Friday weekend), I scored a double pack of Maybelline Great lash for $4.76 at Target's. That's less than $2.50 a unit.

Meanwhile, the December issue of For Me magazine has a great feature (Cha-ching vs. Cheap) comparing two containers of mascara that are packaged in tubes. On the high end, Bobbi Brown launched the concept of mascara in a tube for $19. And on the low-end, Physicians Formula -- which has a line of really great beauty products -- has its own version of mascara in a tube for $5.95.

Here's the verdict from For Me:

Physicians Formula creates a "fuller, more lashes look."

Bobbi Brown Lash Glamour Lengthening Mascara produces "the illusion of super-long lashes."

But don't be taken in by "innovative packaging...the mascaras inside [the tubes] are no different formulation-wise than those found in [standard] plastic cylinders," the article states (page 25).

More on Washcloths and Exfoliation

I'm obsessed with washcloths. The rough surface of terry cloth really works wonder for the skin. What a cheap and safe way to remove dead, dull, flaky cells from your face! I'm so loving this tip, which I've picked up from an old anti-aging book and a recent issue of First magazine.

For more details about how to exfoliate your face with a wash cloth, please go to my 11/21/05 post entitled: Outside the Box Beauty Tips.

And now, last night, I picked up the December issue of Allure magazine and there was yet another piece about washcloths and exfoliation:

In Beauty 101 (p. 68) Allure offers this tip. STEP ONE for a great mouth: "Exofliate [lips] with a damp, soft washcloth before applying color."

And then again on in the beauty "Cheat Sheet," the magazine editors offer the same advice: "Gently massage lips with a damp, soft washcloth for several secords to sweep away flakes."

Rough terry cloth edges are keeping my face looking fresh and I'm collecting more evidence about this cheap exfoliating process. I'll ask a dermatologist for the 411.


Watch this space!

Frugal Zit Zappers & Baby Wipes

Cheap Zit Zapper

Anyway: Weeks ago I came across this pimple-zapping tip in a women’s magazine called First. The Oct. 17th issue featured this somewhat bizarre recipe for zapping ugly red blemishes

1. Apply an ice cube to the pimple. Hold ice on zit for 30 seconds.

2. Press cotton ball soaked in eye drops liquid onto blemish. Hold in place for three (LONG) minutes.

It really works! I tried it on a red (ugh!) blemish on my nose. Gone, Gone. The procedure also tested successfully on a teenager.

Rationale: According to First, the 1-2 punch of ice and eye drops makes the blood vessels contract. This below the surface action reduces the size and redness of a pimple.

Hey! It’s cheaper and more effective than other blemish solutions that I’ve tried.


Also: Baby Wipes are Awesome

Beauty industry insiders use wipes for many tasks during fashion photo shoots and I know why! Baby wipes are great for taking off makeup and they leave your skin soooo smooth.

Consider the evidence: Baby wipes have to be strong enough to clean up diaper mess, but yet the cloth and solution have to be gentle enough for newborn and toddler skin. Bingo! Wipes are perfect for treating the faces of aging beauty queens, hormone-crazy teenagers and everyone in between.

They're great on low-level acne as well. During Hurricane Wilma, my household was temporarily out of our favorite pimple pads, which cost about $3 to $5 a jar for a small container of circular pads.

So, we used baby wipes. Our assorted acne issues cleared up pretty good! And the wipes were cheap and large. (Rip 'em in half for more mileage.) We used Pampers, but I'm sure the other brands and generic wipes will work just as well.

I'll experiment. Hey, I'm fearless and frugal with my face.

Outside the Box Beauty Tips

Okay...here are some of the stranger beauty tips that I've collected and actually tried.

Weird Tip #1. Exfoliating your skin with a clean towel. I actually read about this tip years ago in some anti-aging skin book. And then in a recent issue of First magazine, I stumbled on that same tip: The rough surface of a towel can help you shed rough skin.

It works like this: Wash your face. Let it dry. Then using an UPWARD stroke, rub a wash cloth or towel against your face. It's important to stroke upwards because, according to the magazine, that upward motion lifts off the dead, dry skin patches that sit like roof shingles on your face. Be gentle. You're not sanding down rough wood.

Outcome: I've been trying it for the last few days and it really works. My face actually feels softer and not so dry.

Weird Tip #2: Why buy expensive Aloe-based skin treatments? Just buy an Aloe plant and cut off (small) snippets of the leaves. Open up the fat, juicy pulpy leaves. There's a gooey, slimy coating inside that really tightens, softens and moisturizes the skin. Let the gooey stuff dry and harden on your face. Then wash it off. A much older woman told me about this trick.


Outcome: Wow! A friend who had not seen me for awhile asked what I was doing. I explained. I bet she went to the nursery to pick up her own Aloe plant.

Of course, in sub-tropical Florida, Aloe plants are in abundance. But if you can't find one, count your blessings. Sure, fresh Aloe is great for pimples and as a face- tightening mask. But honey, the gooey pulp stuff smells like body odor. My husband hates it when I give myself Aloe treatments. So, I apply the Aloe when I'm home alone.

Well, I have lots of other tips:

But, hey, nothing beats elbow grease. My skin looks best when I regularly exercise (and gets lots of rest and water.)

Frugal Beauty Product Picks

So vain, yet so thrifty!
That's the story of my face!

For years, I threw thrift out the window. I was strictly a high-end girl. I purchased beauty products at luxurious day spas, upscale department stores and specialty shops.

I did not blink my mascara-dipped lashes at the thought of a triple-digit price tag ($100 and higher) for a beauty item.

Then one day in the face of higher debt and tight finances, I stared down my reflection with this tough question: Your money or Your Face?

Fortunately, we don't have to make that tough call. My very-downwardly mobile makeup bag and beauty bin are proof. You don't have to create (horrible, horrible) new money-worry wrinkles while smoothing out your face.

Really. It doesn't have to cost a lot to feel beautiful. Besides real beauty comes from inside, the rest is just makeup and fiction.

So on a regular basis, I will post Frugal Beauty Tips from makeup artists, magazines, books and real-women, who look great. I will also post info on sales, product reviews and other beauty nonsense that I love so much. I’m such a girly, girly.


With that in mind, I bring you a fabulous list from a summer issue of Celebrity Living Weekly:

"Big Buck$ vs. Little Buck$"

Skin Hydration/Restoration
Big-Ticket Pick: $400 for AmorePacific Time Response Crème
Low-Ticket Option: $13 Pond’s Time Rewind


Skin Protection/Healing
Big-Ticket Pick: $1,200 Crème de la Mer
Low-Ticket Option: $23 Good Skin All Firm Moisture


Skin that Glows
Big-Ticket Pick: $500 Kanebo Sensai Ex La Creme
Low-Ticket Option: $11 Dove Fresh Radiance Moisturizer

Renew/De-stress
Big-Ticket Pick: $470 Orlane Hypnotherapy
Low-Ticket Option: $14 Palmer’s Skin Success Stress Cream


Skin Smoother
Big-Ticket Pick: $379 Dermagenetics DNA Night Cream
Low-Ticket Option: $20 L’Oreal Wrinkle De-Crease SPF Lotion

source: June 27, 2005 Celebrity Living


That's enough for now. I have a few other other blogs to maintain:
The Frugal Duchess (www.sharonhr.blogspot.com)
Driving Phobia (www.drivingphobia.blogspot.com and
Homeless in Miami (www.homelessmiami.blogspot.com).


Thanks for reading my blog!