Buzz

Everyday beauty & lifestyle tricks for easy Lady living

By Beth McKenna Moore

Posted on July 1, 2014

This week I want to share with you some “Lady Life Tips.”

These are tips and tricks I’ve learned over the years and have found continually useful. Maybe you’ll read below and think “No sh*t, Beth. No sh*t.” OR perhaps, one or two of them will blow ya mind – like they’ve done mine.

When you don’t have time, just wash the front. Don’t worry, I’m talking about your hair. Yup, that’s right…sometimes I don’t have time to wash and blow dry my hair in the morning. And sometimes dry shampoo isn’t enough to salvage my ‘do. This is when I employ a trick that I learned from my dear friend, Kristi. I take just the front (top) of my hair and wash/condition it in the sink. I keep the rest tied back so that it doesn’t get wet. Then, I blow dry and style the front. The beauty of this trick = you clean the front of your hair, therefore ridding yourself of any greasy locks that might scream to the world “I did not shower today, I don’t care about myself.” For the rest of my hair I grab a bottle of dry shampoo (this one is my fave) and freshen it up. Overall, this corner-cutting-trick saves me A LOT of time and my ‘do still looks good!

The best dry shampoo money can buy. Less than $3 at the pharmacy. SUAVE!

When doing “the squat” in the public restroom, watch ya undies. Ok, so this might seem weird…but we’ve all done it…we’ve all done “the squat” so that our bottom doesn’t touch a public toilet seat. WELL, one day I was watching the Tyra Banks Show (yea, that’s right) and she called out a warning to all ladies…When doing the squat…BEWARE…sometimes as you concentrate on hovering at just the right angle (so you’re not peeing everywhere), your undies TOUCH THE TOILET SEAT by accident. I was using the restroom at a bar one night and BOOM, Tyra’s advice popped into my head when I looked down…horrified…my underwear was legit touching the toilet. It’s an honest mistake, BUT you must avoid it. Next time you’re doing the squat, look down…adjust yaself. I don’t know, maybe this is obvious…but I never knew that while I concentrated on my skin not touching the loo’ I might have been allowing my lovely undies to brush the porcelain. Sick.

Cat pictures, they get me every time.

Water makes many things better. Hang over? Skin looking dry? Headache? Feeling irritated? Get yourself a good tall glass of H2O and keep chugging. I actually did an “accidental experiment” one day…I didn’t really drink any water…just coffee and maybe one cup of water max. The next day I looked tired, my skin looked blah. Then, another day, I kept my handy water bottle with me throughout the day…and kept refilling. Although I had multiple bathroom trips, my skin…ohh it was glowing. Also, mood-wise, I felt great. And the more I read about it, the more people backed this up. It’s such an obvious thing, but we so often take it for granted. WATER…drink it, as much as you can. It flushes the system…keeps your skin hydrated…everything needs water. Go ahead, spend $30 on a fancy BPA free water bottle (like this one) so that you can carry your water around all day with style. It’s seriously a cure-all – especially for the complexion.

All water everything. BKR glass/silicone water bottle, love it.

When you buy a new bra, start on the outside/FARTHEST hook first. Now, when the lady at Victoria’s Secret told me this LAST YEAR I was mind blown. I chalked it up to my flakiness…I mean it seems obvious, right? BUT, then I talked to some friends and they didn’t know this either. For all these years I’ve been buying bras and always started on the TIGHTEST hook. Alas, my bras have never lasted terribly long which was no surprise to the woman at VS. She told me: Get the size that fits snugly (yet comfortable) at the farthest hook. Then, naturally overtime, as you wear the bra it stretches out so you move to the 2^nd hook…then eventually the 3^rd. This means your bra will last longer. As it wears and inevitably stretches, you can adjust accordingly. MIND BLOWN. I was able to go down a width (34 to a 32). Much. Better. Fit. And I haven’t looked back.

This lady is using the last/tightest rung – this means (if she’s doing it right) she’s had this bra for awhile! (photo courtesy of more.com)

Always wash your face before bed. Yup, this is an obvious one. But one I CONSTANTLY have to remind myself of. I love to fall asleep on the couch or crash (starfish style) after a late night. I’m ALWAYS reminded the next day that when I don’t wash my face, it hates me all day long. If it isn’t an instant breakout from sleeping with makeup and the “day’s dirt” on my face, then its my complexion just looking awful. As I creep into my 30’s, I always tell myself how important this is = Washing your face before bed PAYS OFF. Your skin will look better and its always worth it. Even if it means storing face wipes (like these ones) and a small face lotion next to your bed for when you “just can’t get up” – do it.

Jose Maran bear naked face wipes – use em’ – store them on your night stand.

Buy a steamer, f*ck the iron. Wrinkles on your clothes are sloppy. Point blank. Irons…irons are annoying. I’ve ruined beautiful blouses tons of times because I can’t seem to find the right iron setting. I also hate ironing boards…the creaking sound when you open them, the space they take up, and then I just opt for the floor or counter as an “ironing board” and things are awkward. SO…get a steamer. All you need is a hanger and something eye level to hang your clothing off of. You run the steamer over the garment and BANG, wrinkles are gone. I use my handheld steamer almost every morning. It’s light weight and it de-wrinkles pretty much any fabric – even denim (just might take a few extra minutes). I’ve even packed my steamer for weekend trips… I don’t want to wear wrinkled outfits to dinner and I ain’t lugging out the hotel iron. I just fill up the steamer with water and wave it over my outfit to press it nicely. May I suggest this one.

Nail polish chip? Put some sparkle on it. Ok, so I understand sparkles may not be appropriate for all work situations. BUT more often than not, you can get away with a little sparkle. And I think sparkles are better than chipped messy polish (At least it looks like you tried, right?!). If anything, people will see the sparkle (as you stand there in your kick ass business suit) and think “dang, this lady must be fun.” There have been mornings when my nail polish chips on one or two fingers…I don’t have time to take off all the polish, so I grab my trusty sparkles and swipe on a coat (let it dry on my commute). The beauty is – even if it’s a tad uneven, you’d never know unless you were an inch away because sparkles mask polish imperfections. My two favorite top coat sparkles are below – they both literally look good over ANY polish color.

Essie “set in stones” (right pic) click here to check it out
Deborah Lippmann “stairway to heaven” (left pic) click here to check it out

: Deborah Lippmann’s “stairway to heaven” polish

: Essie’s “set in stone”

Scan & tweeze in the car. Now I am not supporting “tweezing and driving,” aka distracted driving. I am however supporting the idea that you store a pair of tweezers in the car. Why? Because the lighting in the car is magic. Ever check yourself in the rear view mirror and think “woa, what is that?!” The lighting in the car just seems to put a helpful spotlight on stray hairs. Should you notice anything out of place you can pull out your handy tweezers (while parked/not in motion) and PLUCK away. Overall, this is classic “thinking ahead” because sometimes during the morning rush it is easy to miss “things” in the mirror. But then, while sitting in the car (in traffic), you suddenly see something you didn’t before and eeek, you don’t wanna go to work/dinner/an interview with THAT?! Therefore, store a pair of tweezers in your car for an emergency. May I suggest THESE handy compact Tweezerman tweezers. They have a small cap and a handy pouch for sanitary storing.