I've always been one to try my best to take good care of my skin. I'm never happy with my skin because it's acne-prone. When my higher-end skin care line started to not work as well anymore, I started to look for alternatives. Lately, I've become obsessed with beauty-related home remedies. Here's my gathered list of some of the ones I found to be most useful.

For Acne
Aspirin Mask
- for acne, due to its acidic properties (salicyclic acid)
- dissolve a few aspirin tablets in very little water (use uncoated cheap store brand)
- mix in a little honey (helps it stick, also won't dry out skin as much)
- spread on face, leave on for 10-30 min depending on frequency (or wash off when it dries/flakes off)
- rinse and exfoliate using the graininess of the aspirin
- use alcohol-free toner
- moisturize with Neutrogena Healthy Skin Anti-Wrinkle cream (more just for the anti-wrinkle effects! hehe)

Mopiko
- an anti-itch cream

Vaseline (petroleum jelly)
- rub on face every night for smooth skin (non-comedogenic, won't clog pores)
- makeup remover
- soften feet: apply vaseline to feet before bed and cover with socks
- CHAPPED, DRY, and BURNT LIPS - Apply Vaseline everynight before sleeping and your lips would be as good as new within a week
- DRY SKIN - VASELINE does the trick
- CUTS - VASELINE helps heal little nicks and cuts anywhere on your body. It even stops your cuts from bleeding
- EYE BAGS - According to Tyra Banks, this works wonders for your eye bags
- D.I.Y. AT HOME HAIR COLOR - Prevent your dye from sliding to your forehead and staining it (yikes!) by applying Vaseline to your hairline. It’ll catch any dye and make it stay where it’s supposed to stay!
- EYELASHES AND EYEBROWS - Apply VASELINE to your eyelashes and eyebrows every night to make them grow longer and thicker
- MAKEUP - Mix your fave eyeshadow color with VASELINE to make a cream shadow, a cream blush, or a new color lip gloss. Also, if your fave lipstick is running out, transfer it to a small pot and add VASELINE to it. Instant colored lip balm!
- FRAGRANCE - Apply VASELINE wherever you apply your perfume to make the scent last longer. The scent would last longer in the moist area, and also heighten the perfume to it’s full potential!

Sugar and olive oil (or honey and sugar)
- exfoliate with these for softer hands/skin

Lemon and/or Tomato
- Rub a slice of lemon or the remains a squeezed lemon on your face. Allow it to remain overnight, then wash with cold water. It will restore your skin's softness and lend your complexion a glow.
- Squeeze the juice of one lemon into one ripe tomato (in which a hole has been made). Rub the tomato on your face. Leave to dry. Then, wash with water and pat dry.
- Can use lemon as a toner

Strawberries
- brush into teeth to whiten
- Be careful not to use this too often, though, as the acid could damage the enamel on your teeth.
- You need:
1 ripe strawberry
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- Directions: Crush the strawberry to a pulp, then mix with the baking powder until blended. Use a soft toothbrush to spread the mixture onto your teeth. Leave on for 5 minutes, then brush thoroughly with toothpaste to remove the berry–baking powder mix. Rinse. (A little floss will help get rid of any strawberry seeds.) Apply once a week.

Visine
- remove redness from blemishes

So far, I've tried the aspirin mask and Vaseline for my skin and eyelashes. My skin's still not perfect, but I think it's definitely in better condition than it was before I tried either of these. As for my eyelashes, I see some improvement. Some of the improvement may be due to my mascara, but the day after I tried the Vaseline on my super-straight lashes I had a much easier time curling them and the curl stayed much longer. This tells me that my mascara is helping the length, but perhaps the Vaseline is helping the thickness :) Also, the smaller of my two eyelids is looking more like the other one (more prominent double eyelids). A small observation, but noticeable enough for me ^_^

As for makeup, I'm still using BE but I've recently discovered Everyday Minerals. From reviews online, it seems that it might be better than BE, AND it's CHEAPER!!! They offer free samples so I should be expecting those in the mail soon. I hope it works out so I could save money on some makeup!

posted by che @ 2:08 PM