Guest Post: Kitchen Beautician - A Guide to DIY Beauty

Long time no see! My new life has kept me insanely busy and unfortunately the blogging has had to suffer, but whenever I sit down on the couch getting comfy and cosy and ready to relax with my MacBook, I just end up falling asleep after five minutes!
That's why Anna from NerdWallet has helped me out a little bit with a few handy tips on DIY beauty. We all love luxurious, beautifully scented and packaged beauty products, but I've now learned that sometimes you'd rather have your shower fixed than invest in an £80 cream. I hope you enjoy her tips and ideas!

Anna writes for NerdWallet, a financial literacy website that brings you the best tips to save money on credit cards, travel, shopping and more. Her most recent project is finding the best Black Friday deals to help shoppers get the best gifts for the holidays at the lowest prices of the season. 

Kitchen Beautician

Ladies, it’s no secret; beauty is a big investment. Given that brand-name products range from $20-$100 apiece, it’s not unheard of for the avid beautician to spend hundreds, even thousands, of dollars on beauty products alone each year. But, let’s face it; we can’t always afford to shell out big bucks on pretty palettes and lavish lotions. Did you know that you can whip up – quite literally – cheap and all-natural versions of, essentially, every beauty product imaginable in your very own kitchen? The web is packed with recipes for homemade substitutes for all of your favorite beauty products. We’ll brief you on the essentials.

Makeup

Shopping makeup? Hold it right there. Every girl knows it’s easy to overspend on products we just ‘have to have.’ The next time you run up your makeup tab, consider the amount you could have saved by trying these and endless low-cost, homemade alternatives easily searchable on the internet.

Bronzing powder – Mix your favorite kitchen spices, and what do you get? Seasoning for your favorite Thanksgiving dish or a homemade bronzing powder. Mix cocoa powder, nutmeg powder and cinnamon powder as fit for your skin tone (listed darkest to lightest). Using your fingertips, sift well for an even, clump-free powder mixture. Use as a loose powder or, for a dewy touch, mix a few drops of an essential oil of your liking, such as lavender or rosemary oil. Pat your mixture into a recycled compact case to take with you on the go.

Lip gloss – If you’re like me, you lose lip gloss at almost the same rate you use it. Whether it’s checkout-line chapstick or a brand name tube, it’s likely to slip out of your pocket or just vanish into the abyss by the week’s end – and your hard-earned cash vanishes with it. Now, you can stir up, then stock up on your own quick and easy, all-natural lip gloss, courtesy of The Herb Companion. Just mix 1 teaspoon of aloe vera gel with ½ of a teaspoon of coconut oil and 1/8 of a teaspoon of vitamin E oil (all sold at Whole Foods and other natural foods markets). Melt down a sliver of your favorite lipstick for color, or stir in a drop or two of mint or rose oil for flavored or scented lip gloss.

Skin Care

Take a look at the label of your favorite facial cleanser or moisturizer, and you’ll find that it’s made with essential oils and other natural ingredients, easily obtained at a more affordable price. And, because pure substances can be used at higher concentrations, more often than not, they’re better for your skin. So, when it comes time to replenish your skin care products, get your skin food fix at your local natural foods market.

Moisturizers – Oils are your new miracle workers. Enough said. Learn more about the best oils for your skin type here.

Facial masks – Many foods can be used as either facial masks or toners for cleaner, healthier skin. Here’s a list of 9 DIY facial masks. Chances are you won’t have to spare a penny or even leave your home for them.

Hair Care

With all of its styling tools and products, our hair is known to hold many secrets. Glamorous ’dos don’t come without a price, however. Sometimes it’s better – on your wallet and your scalp – to skip the secret (chemical-laden) potions and opt for au naturale upkeep.

Dry shampoo – According to Organic Authority, cornstarch, baking soda and ground oats can all be used as a dry shampoo for grease and grime-free locks made easy. Just rub a small amount into your roots and comb out the excess.

Conditioner – For natural conditioning, coconut oil does the trick. The latest fad, coconut oil is said to have endless uses, so it may interest you to have a supply handy, sold by the jar at the $10-range.