Top Five Quick and Easy Beauty Tips

Most women want easy, quick ways to look their best, right? We often read through beauty magazines just to find ideas on how to do this or watch makeover shows on television to try to catch some tips. It can be difficult, though, to find good beauty tips that are also practical. Oftentimes, the beauty ideas that we see in magazines and on television require the purchase of expensive facial creams, makeup, and hair care products-this just isn't very practical for most women.

Fortunately, there are some great beauty tips and tricks that won't cause a huge dent in your wallet. How did I find them? Well, I am a self-professed beauty junkie, and I subscribe to a ridiculous number of magazines (too numerous to count)-and, luckily, these magazines do offer a practical beauty tip or trick every once in a great while. And, I greatly enjoy watching television makeover shows. Over many years of reading all of these magazines and watching these shows, the really good tips have stuck in my mind because I use them myself all the time--those tips are the ones I am going to share here. Here are my top five beauty tips:

Use a foundation brush.

Instead of using a makeup sponge to apply your foundation, try using a brush. Why? A brush will allow you to apply the foundation exactly where you need it (and, as I'm sure you are aware, you are only supposed to apply foundation where you need it-not over your entire face). Using a brush also allows you to use less of the product, so it won't look caked on your face-it ends up looking much more natural. It is a good idea to use a brush to apply your concealer as well because the brush makes it easier to blend the concealer. You can find a good foundation brush at www.sephora.com or www.ulta.com, or in any store that has a reasonably large makeup department-you can probably find a good one for less than $15, and as long as you clean it periodically, it will last you for quite a long time.

Apply a thin layer of nail color horizontally across the tips of your nails.

When painting your nails, you paint them vertically, from the base of the nail (the cuticle area) to the tip. But, if you first apply a thin layer of nail color horizontally across the tips of your nails, your manicure will last much longer and you will be less likely to get chips in the polish. This may sound odd, but it really does work.

Use hair conditioner instead of shampooing every day.

I'm sure you have heard that you aren't supposed to shampoo your hair every day-it can dry out your hair and strip it of essential oils, or so all of the beauty experts say. But, some women (like me) tend to get greasy hair. Women like us wake up each morning with oily hair-so, how can we not wash our hair each day? The solution is hair conditioner. When your hair is greasy in the morning, try using hair conditioner in the shower instead of shampoo. It will get rid of the oiliness without stripping the hair-and, the extra conditioning actually benefits your hair. My oily hair used to force me to wash my hair every day; now I can get by with washing it two or three times a week because of this tip.

Wiggle the mascara brush.

It can be difficult to apply mascara and get it looking right. Sometimes it can help to apply a second coat, but then you run the risk of it clumping. Here's a surefire way to apply mascara right the first time: start with the wand at the base of your lashes and wiggle it slightly as you slowly move the wand up your lashes. The wiggle causes the mascara wand to coat each of your lashes, so no second coat is necessary. Your lashes will look thick and lush, and it is quite easy to do.

A dab of moisturizer on a cotton swab can fix makeup mistakes.

We sometimes have occasions where we end up with makeup where we don't intend for it to be. For example, I often end up sneezing (for some odd reason, who knows why) immediately after applying my mascara-and then suddenly I have a line of tiny black dots under my eye, which isn't exactly a nice look. Another common problem is with eyeliner-have you ever put on eyeliner, blinked a few times, and then noticed that your eyeliner has imprinted itself above your eyelid? And sometimes women tend to get a little heavy-handed with their eye shadow, and it migrates beyond the eye area. What to do? Do you have to wash your face and start all over? No. Simply put a tiny bit of your facial moisturizer or cold cream on a cotton swab and use it to wipe away your makeup mistake. It acts as an eraser and you can control where you swipe the swab, which means you won't have to disturb the rest of your makeup just to rid yourself of your mistake.

Keep these beauty tips in mind as you are going through your daily beauty routine-you'll be glad you did. None of these tips require you to spend big bucks on specialty items. Best of all, these beauty tips are practical for any woman-and, they are quick and easy, so you will be able to look your best every day.