Hey Smarty Pants...let's face it, women, and men (even though they might not admit it) spend a fortune on beauty and personal hygiene products every year. No matter how much money I save in other areas, I tend not to change some of the beauty products I use and their prices add up quickly. I have devised a couple of methods for getting the most out of my beauty products and my budget.
• Makeup pencils: A lot of cosmetic companies have jumbo lip or eye “crayons” that work well but once you sharpen them you end up sharpening away a lot of product, too. A great way around this is to “de-pot” those pencils. You can purchase little containers at the dollar store or a beauty supply store to put the product in. All you need is a hairdryer and a pair of pliers or tongs. Holding the pencil, product side down, use the pliers or tongs (to avoid burning yourself) to hold the pencil in one hand while you apply the heat from the hairdryer in the other. It does take some time but eventually the product will begin to drip from the pencil into the container. Let it cool and voila, you will have use of the full amount of product without sharpening it and your hard earned dollars away.
o This is also a great technique to save a broken tube of lipstick. Instead of using a hairdryer, simply scoop the remaining lipstick into a container and use a lip brush to apply.
• Eye Creams: Anybody that has used a product that comes in a tube knows the frustration of trying to use “every last drop.” A great way to easily do this is to use a toothpaste squeezer. You can purchase them at places like Bed Bath and Beyond and while they’re designed to be used for tubes of toothpaste, they work well for other tubed products, too! Also, don’t forget about cutting off the end and getting to the product that way, too.
• Bar Soap: My husband is apparently “too good” to use those last little pieces of bar soap. He refuses to use liquid body wash to avoid this problem (even though I have about 20 in my stockpile) but leaves the little soap tidbits for me. An easy way to make use of those little scraps is to make them into a brand new bar of soap. Leave a glass jar in your tub and throw all the soap scraps into the jar. Keep a lid on the jar until you’re ready to make your new bar of soap. When you’ve collected enough scraps, fill the jar with about 1/3 the amount of water as there is soap and wait several days so the soap and water have time to melt into one another. Next, use a small dish that is about the size of a bar of soap (a plastic soap dish works well) and spray it with non-stick cooking spray. Pour the soap and water mixture into the dish and wait until it hardens and dries and you’ll have a brand new bar of soap.
o By mixing soap scraps of various scents you can even make your own custom soap blends. This is a fun project that the kids will love doing!
• Brush Cleanser: When I worked in the makeup artistry field, we used expensive brush cleanser to clean our makeup brushes. I have found over the years that baby shampoo works just as well and is much cheaper. Anything that’s gentle enough to be used on a baby is gentle enough for your makeup brushes. Put a small amount of baby shampoo in the palm or your hand, wet your makeup brush and swirl into the shampoo. Continue swirling and rinsing until the brushes rinse clean, reshape and lay flat to dry.
As always...shop like a Smarty Pants!
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Beauty: Good ‘Till The Last Drop!
Hey Smarty Pants...let's face it, women, and men (even though they might not admit it) spend a fortune on beauty and personal hygiene products every year. No matter how much money I save in other areas, I tend not to change some of the beauty products I use and their prices add up quickly. I have devised a couple of methods for getting the most out of my beauty products and my budget.
· Makeup pencils: A lot of cosmetic companies have jumbo lip or eye “crayons” that work well but once you sharpen them you end up sharpening away a lot of product, too. A great way around this is to “de-pot” those pencils. You can purchase little containers at the dollar store or a beauty supply store to put the product in. All you need is a hairdryer and a pair of pliers or tongs. Holding the pencil, product side down, use the pliers or tongs (to avoid burning yourself) to hold the pencil in one hand while you apply the heat from the hairdryer in the other. It does take some time but eventually the product will begin to drip from the pencil into the container. Let it cool and voila, you will have use of the full amount of product without sharpening it and your hard earned dollars away.
o This is also a great technique to save a broken tube of lipstick. Instead of using a hairdryer, simply scoop the remaining lipstick into a container and use a lip brush to apply.
· Eye Creams: Anybody that has used a product that comes in a tube knows the frustration of trying to use “every last drop.” A great way to easily do this is to use a toothpaste squeezer. You can purchase them at places like Bed Bath and Beyond and while they’re designed to be used for tubes of toothpaste, they work well for other tubed products, too! Also, don’t forget about cutting off the end and getting to the product that way, too.
· Bar Soap: My husband is apparently “too good” to use those last little pieces of bar soap. He refuses to use liquid body wash to avoid this problem (even though I have about 20 in my stockpile) but leaves the little soap tidbits for me. An easy way to make use of those little scraps is to make them into a brand new bar of soap. Leave a glass jar in your tub and throw all the soap scraps into the jar. Keep a lid on the jar until you’re ready to make your new bar of soap. When you’ve collected enough scraps, fill the jar with about 1/3 the amount of water as there is soap and wait several days so the soap and water have time to melt into one another. Next, use a small dish that is about the size of a bar of soap (a plastic soap dish works well) and spray it with non-stick cooking spray. Pour the soap and water mixture into the dish and wait until it hardens and dries and you’ll have a brand new bar of soap.
o By mixing soap scraps of various scents you can even make your own custom soap blends. This is a fun project that the kids will love doing!
· Brush Cleanser: When I worked in the makeup artistry field, we used expensive brush cleanser to clean our makeup brushes. I have found over the years that baby shampoo works just as well and is much cheaper. Anything that’s gentle enough to be used on a baby is gentle enough for your makeup brushes. Put a small amount of baby shampoo in the palm or your hand, wet your makeup brush and swirl into the shampoo. Continue swirling and rinsing until the brushes rinse clean, reshape and lay flat to dry.
As always...shop like a Smarty Pants!Tuesday, October 25, 2011
How To Save Money On Groceries
Hey Smart Pants...You might have noticed that it’s easier to get great deals on non-food items while the cost of groceries is “eating up” most of your monthly budget. The following are some tips to help you plan and make meals on-the-cheap.
Plan your meals around what’s on sale:
This sounds basic but make sure you are using your store’s weekly ad to plan your meals for that week. Even without using coupons, planning your family’s meals around only the items that are on sale will save you a bundle. You should never allow yourself to shop without knowing what’s on sale and what you really need. You will not only spend more money than you would have to for your ingredients, but will also be more likely to buy things you didn't intend to.
Shop from your stockpile before you shop at the store:
If you’re lucky enough to have any food items in your stockpile, try to find recipes that use those stockpile ingredients. There are several great recipe websites that allow you to input the ingredients you want to center your meal around. Some of my favorites are:
• Kraftfoods.com
• Allreceipes.com
• Supercook.com
Stock up when meat is on sale!
I found that while I usually had almost all of the ingredients I needed for a recipe in my stockpile that I still had to purchase meat…sometimes even at non-sale prices. GASP! I thought I was stocking up when there was a sale on meat but I usually underestimated how much meat my family consumes in one week. When meat is at its lowest price, make sure that you’re purchasing enough to sustain your family until meat is on sale again.
When you combine using your stockpile food items along with a store’s sale price and coupons, your meals will not only be delicious but inexpensive as well!
As always...shop like a Smarty Pants!
Plan your meals around what’s on sale:
This sounds basic but make sure you are using your store’s weekly ad to plan your meals for that week. Even without using coupons, planning your family’s meals around only the items that are on sale will save you a bundle. You should never allow yourself to shop without knowing what’s on sale and what you really need. You will not only spend more money than you would have to for your ingredients, but will also be more likely to buy things you didn't intend to.
Shop from your stockpile before you shop at the store:
If you’re lucky enough to have any food items in your stockpile, try to find recipes that use those stockpile ingredients. There are several great recipe websites that allow you to input the ingredients you want to center your meal around. Some of my favorites are:
• Kraftfoods.com
• Allreceipes.com
• Supercook.com
Stock up when meat is on sale!
I found that while I usually had almost all of the ingredients I needed for a recipe in my stockpile that I still had to purchase meat…sometimes even at non-sale prices. GASP! I thought I was stocking up when there was a sale on meat but I usually underestimated how much meat my family consumes in one week. When meat is at its lowest price, make sure that you’re purchasing enough to sustain your family until meat is on sale again.
When you combine using your stockpile food items along with a store’s sale price and coupons, your meals will not only be delicious but inexpensive as well!
As always...shop like a Smarty Pants!
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