Beauty Hacks – Easy Tips and Tricks

I enjoy nothing more than an indulgent pampering session to lift my mood and keep my hair, skin and nails looking their best. However with the trials and tribulations of everyday life, it can be difficult to allocate time for your beauty routine. Even when I'm short on time, I obviously still want to beautify myself so I'm always on the hunt for easy beauty hacks where I can save time where possible or get better results from my existing beauty products. The 'beauty hacks' term has become somewhat of a beauty buzzword and I'm all for it, especially if they'll allow me to hit the snooze button on my alarm clock an extra few times in the mornings. We all use beauty or life hacks within our daily life without perhaps even realising and today I have a selection of my personal favourite beauty hacks which I swear by alongside some product recommendations.

Hairspray Hacks

Hairspray is such a great product to own within your beauty stash as it's very versatile with its ability to hold and seal. For my hairspray hacks my hairspray of choice is the Catwalk by TIGI Firm Hold Hairspray as it offers firm hold but it's not at all sticky and doesn't leave the hair feeling crispy and hard either. I really rate all of the TIGI Hairsprays as they all smell divine and not overpoweringly cloying like most hairsprays. In my opinion there is nothing worse than applying beautifully scented body products and fragrance only for the overpowering scent of my hairspray to mask all of my nicer scents. The Catwalk by TIGI Firm Hold Hairspray offers invisible, strong hold with a frizz free finish and a blend of lavender, wisteria, jasmine and violet to condition the hair and reduce static.

Brow Tamer - Hairspray is used to set your hair in place but it also works wonders at setting the brows too. Simply spray your hairspray onto a clean spoolie brush and then brush through your brows to fix your brow hairs - such a simple 'hack' but it really works and it only takes a couple of seconds.

Hair Grips - I'm sure I'm not alone in being annoyed when hair grips move whilst being in your hair but if you lightly spritz the grips before using them, they grip the hair a lot better and don't move around keeping your style super sleek for longer.

Lint Remover - One of my personal favourite hairspray hacks is to spritz a tissue and lightly bounce it over any hair or fibres on your clothing, removing all lint without having to worry about using a lint brush or roller.

Coconut Oil Hacks

Coconut Oil is fantastic as it has so many uses especially within your beauty routine. I like to keep my jar of solid pure coconut oil which I use within my beauty regime in my bathroom as it's usually the warmest room in the house making it easier to melt. Coconut Oil works wonders on the hair in particular as it stimulates hair growth by penetrating into the hair follicles. I like to use coconut oil directly on my scalp to keep it moisturised as well as adding shine and softness to the hair, but it also works well on the face too.

Intensive Hair Treatment - If your hair is feeling particularly parched or you're suffering from heat damage, apply a generous amount of coconut oil to the scalp and lengths of your hair and then tie your hair up and leave it on the hair overnight. By allowing the oil to penetrate the hair and scalp overnight it will support hair growth, treat dandruff, add volume and shine to the hair as well as leaving it smelling heavenly.

Makeup Remover - Did you know that coconut oil is a very effective makeup remover? Apply coconut oil to a cotton wool pad and hold it against your eyes for a few seconds so the oil can break down the eye makeup and swipe away. I swear by using coconut oil for removing intense eye makeup or liquid lipsticks as it quickly removes them without any scrubbing and the coconut oil leaves the lashes and lips feeling super soft and nourished too.

Shaving Cream - Coconut Oil makes for the ultimate shaving cream. Regular shaving foams tend to dry out the skin but coconut oil effectively lubricates the blades of the razor for a smooth and close shave and keeps the skin hydrated and soft whilst reducing the possibility of shaving rash.

Salt Water Spray Hacks

The 'beachy waves' hairstyle is highly coveted thanks to the Victoria's Secret runway fashion shows and there's many ways in which you can recreate it. There are lots of different salt sprays and texturising sprays on offer but I really like the KMS California Hair Play Sea Salt Spray which can be used on both damp and dry hair to create tousled, just out of the ocean texture. This salt spray has a matte finish so it adds grit and texture to the hair as well as a little hold. The KMS Sea Salt Spray is a great dupe for the Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray in my opinion, but I think the KMS Sea Salt Spray is actually better as it creates better waves and it doesn't dry my hair out like the Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray does plus it's better than half price too.

Heatless Overnight Waves - Blow-dry your hair so it's at least 75% dry, and lightly spritz salt spray throughout your hair. Section off the hair and make medium sized twist braids (smaller braids = smaller waves, larger braids = larger waves) and secure each of the braids with a no bump hair tie like those shown in the photo above. I tend to section my hair into around six twist braids and then secure all six braids together with another hair tie and sleep on the style overnight to wake to heatless voluminous beachy waves.

Effortless Style - I always find it rather ironic that we spend ages curling our hair with curling wands to then spend a long period of time to pull the curls apart to give the impression that we've not spent ages on our hair. My secret weapon is to curl my hair with my curling wand, and then spritz and scrunch my finished curls with my salt spray. By doing this it gives the look of  effortless beachy waves with hold thanks to the texturising salt spray.

Heat Free - My favourite way to use a salt spray is whenever I'm running short on time and can't blow-dry and style my hair. I simply spritz and scrunch the salt spray through my damp hair and leave my hair to air dry. If I leave my hair to air dry naturally it ends up resembling a birds nest but with a salt spray it helps to make my hair look styled and as if I've actually spent ages styling it.

Vaseline Hacks

Vaseline is somewhat of a controversial product within the beauty community as it contains petroleum jelly which divides people on whether it's good or bad for the skin. The most popular use for Vaseline is as a lip balm with these handy, portable little tins being ideal for carrying in your handbag. Vaseline has so many uses and it's incredibly affordable so it's a good product to own should you ever need it. I don't find it to be a particularly hydrating lip balm but I do like using it on the skin around my nose should I have a cold to stop my skin from drying out and the Vaseline Aloe Lip Therapy has a slightly more conditioning formula.

Fragrance Fixer - Vaseline is an occlusive substance which means that once it's applied to the skin, no oxygen goes in and no moisture comes out. By applying Vaseline to your pulse points before applying fragrance, the fragrance will cling on to the Vaseline so the scent lasts longer than it would when applied directly to dry skin. I love this hack because it allows you to apply your fragrance in the morning and be confident knowing it's going to last all day. My current go-to fragrance is the Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue Eau de Toilette which works very effectively with Vaseline and you could opt for eau de toilette formulas over eau de parfum formulas for the improved longevity.

Nail Polish Clean Up - Before doing your nails if you apply a little Vaseline on the skin surrounding the nail beds it will prevent any nail polish stains on the skin. Some say that Vaseline makes for a good cuticle balm so you could even use it on your nails whilst on the go for a travel friendly cuticle balm.

Lash Glue Remover - The last thing you want to worry about at the end of a night is removing glue from your false lashes. You can however make sure you remove your lashes carefully and place them to one side until you can remove the glue. Vaseline does a great job at removing any adhesive from your false lashes, without ruining the lashes or lash band and can even be used to remove eyelash extensions should you need to.

Translucent Powder Hacks

Translucent Powder has become quite the popular product over the last twelve months or so with the rise in popularity of 'baking'. Baking is where liquid/cream makeup products are set by heavy dustings of translucent powder which is then dusted off after a few minutes for a flawless finish. Even if like myself you have no intention of entertaining the baking craze, it's a good product to own as it has many more benefits than just being a way to set your makeup.

Problem Solver - If you ever apply too much blusher, contour or bronzer and have no idea how you're going to remedy the problem, simply take your translucent setting powder and a clean fluffy brush and blend away until the extra product has been blended. I sometimes get a little overzealous with my L'Oreal Infallible Sculpt Palette as it's very creamy but the Max Factor Translucent Setting Powder and a powder brush together will help blend away any mistakes.

DIY Dry Shampoo - Run out of dry shampoo? No fear - you can simply dust a little translucent powder along your parting and gently massage into the scalp to absorb any excess oils and your hair will look and feel a lot fresher in a matter of seconds.

Lipstick Mattifier - Instead of purchasing many different colours of matte lipstick, you can transform your existing lipsticks into a matte finish. Once you've applied your lipstick of choice, take a tissue and pull it apart into two separate almost see-through pieces and take one of the pieces and place it over lips. Lightly dust translucent powder over the top of the tissue with a powder brush and when you pull the tissue away your lips will now be matte without the uncomfortable formula of a matte lipstick. This hack also works well at improving the longevity of your lipstick and I personally like to use it when wearing a bold lip so I know it's going to stay put.

We really hope you've enjoyed our Simple Beauty Hack roundup and that you'll give some of them a try...