Category: DIY

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Makeup Tip: Saving Crumbled Eye Shadow

I caught a few minutes of a lifestyle magazine show on a local channel not too long ago and the host was interviewing someone who claimed to be an expert in green living on the topic of eco-friendly beauty tips. One of her tips: if your powder eye shadow crumbles, you don’t have to toss it. Preventing waste–so, far so good. But her suggestion for how to save it was to blend the crumbled powder remains with Vaseline to make a creamy eye shadow. That’s where my jaw dropped; using a petroleum-based product like Vaseline is not green or eco or environmentally friendly by any stretch of the imagination. Good idea, but terrible ingredient for the task.

So here’s my tip: when a powder eye shadow crumbles or breaks, simply blend the remains with some shea butter to create a creamy eye shadow. I tried it with eye shadow that broke apart after a recent trip and it works. Voila.
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Rice Krispie Ice Cream Dream


Possibly the best dessert ever: Homemade Rice Krispie Treats with Ice Cream. Melt the marshmallows, add the Rice Krispies, then fold in the ice cream and serve immediately. (Friends Jon and Jenn battled over credit for the inspirational idea at a dinner party last night.)

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Made It Myself: Beach Hair Spray

I have friends who “cleanse” on occasion—and when asked about why they do it they say it’s to lose weight, to rid the body of toxins, or to practice self-discipline. To this I say, good for you! But I ain’t gonna stop eating for nuthin’. I like my food! That said, I have embarked on a one month cleanse of my own kind, one that does not involve food. It’s actually more than a month because I’m doing this for the duration of Lent. The idea came to me when I spoke to a loved one who is giving up sweets for Lent and I felt inspired to give something up as well. Not sweets—no way I’d do that. But I decided I wanted to practice the self-discipline of restraint. And I chose to give up shopping. I will, of course, purchase necessities like food and toilet paper and fuel for my car. But anything that I want and do not need will have to wait. Maybe the recession helped me with the choice, but it feels like a good one. Fashion and beauty are my biggest categories of consumption so this basically means I won’t be buying clothing or cosmetics. Fashion-wise, this comes at a good time for me, as I’ve recently cleaned out my closet and have a new-found appreciation for what I chose to keep (sort of like when you get a good haircut and feel clean and refreshed). But I’ve run out of my favorite hair product, one that gives me beach hair (above, one of my favorite beaches). My only choice was to make one from pantry items—so it’s all natural and didn’t require me to shop for anything. I searched for DIY beach hair online and found numerous recipes and mixed and matched to come up with this one.

½ cup water
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 teaspoon coconut oil (melted)
1 drop of jasmine essential oil

Spray on, twist some tendrils, scrunch, go.