girls; post your beauty secrets.

as well as food and nutrition, i'm also interested in hair, makeup and skin.

do you girls have any out-there beauty secrets you wish to share? i'm always up for trying something new.

my beauty secret would probably be: vaseline. i have really dry skin, so i put it around my eyes every night and it makes my skin amazingly soft and smooth.

'out-there'? well I do use a product on blemishes that is typically used for diaper rash, but really the zinc oxide in it just speeds healing (plus the cream is antibacterial)

I once tried vaseline as an eye makeup remover - wound up getting whiteheads all under my eye area (but then I do have oily skin, particularly in the T zone).

It's not really "out there", but my number one beauty secret:  Sunscreen.  Miniumum 15 SPF, 30 SPF is ideal.  Don't need fancy stuff - good old fashioned Oil of Olay beauty fluid with sunscreen is great stuff.

And I like tea tree oil for blemish treatments.

I wear a moisturizer with sunscreen every single day. 

I do a Nutrogena hair mask once a week

That is all I can think of right now...  I am so boring!

Just...less is more.  wear as little make up as you need to accent your best features...don't hide behind it. 

use a lotion on your face and all over...

and use conditioner to shave your legs with instead of soap or shaving cream...

This one may seem a bit weird, maybe nuts.  I've got some excruciatingly frizzy locks.  The best hair shine and frizz control product is Emu oil... my hair looks more professional when I walk out the door with this than with almost any hairproduct I've ever used.  Only for girls with thick, dry, frizz-prone hair though:)

Well I'm not a girl, but... can I point out THE BEST Beauty Secret? Feeling good about yourself. Feeling attractive.

*leaves the thread*

haven't tried it yet but I read that Kate Walsh has glowing skin because she puts a thin layer of vaseline on her face before bed every night.

I use vaseline to remove make up. And before I dry off after getting out of the shower I use baby oil on arms and legs. super moisturizing.

I read the "wash your face with oil" post on heath and support about a week ago.  Washing my face with oil wasn't working as well as I would have liked after 3 days.  I switched to washing my face with soap and "conditioning" my face with a mix of Castor oil and safflower oil.  It's working well so far.  I'm coming into the week where I usually break out the most, so, we'll see.

Other than that, I agree with kae03:  "Less is more."

oh....and.... this may be useless because I know everyone is different, but gold dial soap is the only soap I can wash my face with without it breaking out. It's also really good for getting any kind of stain out of clothing.

Hmmmmm.... its not really out there but having a good skin routine is the best.

Wash and MOISTURIZE everyday, use an exfoliator every other day. Its sad how many people who have oily/breakout prone skin think that they don't need to moisturize, but now that I've been doing it forever my skin is much nicer and I pretty much don't break out anymore.

I love the tea tree oil line from the body shop, its wonderful.

I also read the wash your face with oil post and I have been doing it for about 5 days now and love it.  I am 43 with slight breakouts and wrinkles around my lips.  My skin is starting to look really nice.  I also use emu oil on blemishes and wrinkles.  I also put the castor oil sunflower oil wash on the ends of my hair or emu oil, whatever I have on my hands and it is really working on my dry ends.  This stuff is all really inexpensive and natural.  Oh and sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen, if sunscreen was such a big deal in my 20s I may not have any wrinkles at all....Too much sun caused coldsores on lips, major sun damage, that is the problem with my lips (vertical lip lines....yuk).

play up your assets...on me for example, I have good eyes, lips and hair, I always line my eyes and use lots of mascara to make them pop, I also wear glasses that frame my eyes nicely...I keep my lips nice and smooth and I put on a small amount of strawberry or coral lip gloss, then swipe on a pale pink gloss over that to make them look even fuller and really sexy. I love making victoria's secret angel waves in my hair...the big waves just frame my face really nicely and make me look really sexy, or I will make a little poof in the front and then pull everything back into a curly ponytail, cute but it still has tons of attitude. But just play up your assets...and don't go with the trends do what works for you! Some say not to play up your eyes and lips at the same time...I say why not? Be bold, be beautiful, be you!

I brush my lips after I brush my teeth to exfoliate them, this works wonders.

Find the products that work best for you and stick with them, regardless of money. For me, that's Neutrogena and Mary Kay though I can use Target brand make-up remover and I usually buy cover girl or other inexpensive eye shadow. Most other facial and make up products make my skin break out, dry up, or I'm allergic to. Everyone is different so if a less or more expensive brand works well for you, wonderful. I never question anyone's brand preference unless they're basing it solely on money (X is more expensive so it must be best or I can't afford X so I'm going to settle for Y even though it doesn't get the job done).

Listen to those closest to you. For instance, my husband likes it best when I wear little/no make up but he says that when we dress up, eyes and lips are important to him so I focus on that knowing it will excite him all the more. I don't want to say you should do things to please your man but if a little extra effort (within reason) can go a long way.

Splurge on sun protection, especially if you have very pale skin like I do.  I buy a rather expensive sunblock, wear a big floppy white hat, and try to cover up as much as possible when in the sun.  I know I'm higher risk for skin cancer and I'm going to do my best to  prevent it.

Also, hkellick, come back to the thread! Yours was the best advice yet!!

Original Post by hkellick:

Well I'm not a girl, but... can I point out THE BEST Beauty Secret? Feeling good about yourself. Feeling attractive.

*leaves the thread*

 Well that is just all sorts of adorable!

This isn't really 'out there' or a 'secret' but mine is sunscreen. I have very fair skin genetically and the best thing I do is wear sunscreen everyday- even on those 15 min. walks to the corner store.

• I use Johnson and Johnson no-more-tangles, every night,  found in the baby/toddler isle.  It smells great and leaves hair super soft.
• I also shave with conditioner...it seems to leave skin softer.
• Clinique skin care products.
• Even though I'm only almost 23, I use wrinkle cream around my eyes every night.  (Clinique "all about eyes")
• Tinted facial moisterizer
• Loreal sublime glow lotion.
• Baby lotion.
• I use Vaseline on my lips instead of lip gloss...or...
• Victoria's Secret lip plumper.

That's all I can think of right now....

Original Post by hkellick:

Well I'm not a girl, but... can I point out THE BEST Beauty Secret? Feeling good about yourself. Feeling attractive.

*leaves the thread*

 I have to agree with this.....

Sunscreen! Always, especially on my face. Drink lots of water. I get facials every 8 weeks, or as often as I can afford it, haha. Always moisturize, and use an exfoliating scrub at least twice a week. Also, face masks are great too.

I exfoliate with body wash and a loofah before shaving....seems to help eliminate shave bumps...

Use a clarifying shampoo once a week to get rid of styling product build-up. If you use a flat-iron, always make sure that your hair is totally dry first, and always apply some kind of protectant to your hair first. 

Vaseline makes a great lip balm, and I also apply a small amount to my eyelids before using eyeliner, eyeshadow...I find that it helps it apply smoother and stay in place better. 

That's all I've got! I've always wanted to try those "at home" beauty regimens, like avocado face/hair masks and stuff.....anyone ever tried anything like that?