DYI dry shampoo from ingredients you already have!

 The weather lately has been pretty dreary. I don't know about you, but that usually makes it hard for me to get things done. It's dark all day (hence these crazy photos). It's winter, so it's really cold. One thing it makes easier is showering! Nothing like getting in a nice hot shower after slogging through twenty blocks worth of slushy corners and icy sidewalks.

But when it's too hot or you don't have time to hop in the shower before you have to make a public appearance, here's my recipe for the best darn dry shampoo I've ever used!

 My hair tends to run on the oily side of things. After a day or so it starts looking a little slick at the roots. I'm one of those people who likes to shower every other day, as opposed to every day, because more frequent hair washing makes it too dry but if I get it wet without washing it, it gets super oily.

I don't know. It's complicated.

 I've tried the spray kind of dry shampoo that you can buy in stores but it just kind clogs up my combs and brushes with gunk and doesn't really make my hair look clean and dry.

THIS HOWEVER WORKS AMAZINGLY. When using it, people cannot tell that I haven't just washed my hair. And it's cheap as heck because you probably already have this stuff in your cupboard!

I put mine in a little mustard jar.

So here are the instructions:

 Equal parts corn starch and cocoa powder, mixed well. Apply with a brush (mine is from a bronzer compact I used to have; any kind of brush for applying blush or face powder will work). Dip your brush in your dry shampoo and tap off the excess. Apply at the roots, working your brush in between the strands, and brush outward. When you've finished applying to all the greasy areas, comb through with a finer-toothed comb or a hairbrush.

And you're done! The cocoa powder tints it so it won't show up like dandruff in darker hair. I would think if you have lighter hair, you could adjust the ratio to make the mixture a little lighter. I'm so sorry, I don't have an answer for you flaxen haired beauties out there, but if you have dark hair this is your new best friend!

And it makes your head smell like chocolate!

I have been caught in the rain a couple of times with this concoction in my hair but I have not noticed that it made the cocoa powder run down my face or stain my clothes, though it does obviously cancel the affects and makes the chocolate smell stronger.

The application process can be a little messy so I highly recommend applying in the bathroom and not over a carpet, or with a light color shirt on.

It works great, though and it lasts all day. And it's free. It can't be beat! Enjoy!

Peace,
-A.

diy nail polish - any color - for less than $5

I am not the first person to do this. I saw the idea somewhere on the internet some time ago. I'm gonna tell you how it's done. And then I'm gonna tell you what it's really like.

Materials:
Clear nail polish (I used NYC brand because it was a $1)
Eye shadow (I used Wet 'n' Wild, also because it's cheap)
Your receipt (or a piece of paper, if you're using old stock)

 Use the brush from the eye shadow to crush the color you want to use. Crush it up good an' fine.

 Use the receipt to funnel it into your bottle. I poured out some of the clear polish to make a little extra room. This also helps it to mix up more easily.

Shake a bunch and there you have it. Your own half-way homemade nail polish in any color you can find cheap eye shadow in.

The pros are, you have custom polish and the coverage is pretty good, it goes on decent. You can make it more or less sheer by adding less or more powder.

However, because of the powder you're adding to the polish, it's going to be flakier than your standard polish. And your polish is only going to be as reliable as your base (and actually slightly less), so, the cheaper polish you use as your base, the less staying power it's going to have. You are going to want to do a top coat definitely and bottom coat, probably, of some other more chip-resistant clear polish.

But, the pros are pretty great, right? If you're dying for a color of polish that you can't find, you can make it! And though I haven't tried it yet, you could certainly mix up different eye shadows to create a truly unique color. I'm also interested in trying this with the NYC matte clear polish that I saw at the drugstore yesterday. Maybe with one of the eye shadows I have left. Of course, you can do this with any powder makeup.

Try it and out and let me know how it goes!

Peace & love,
-A.