This every day at-home spa guide features inexpensive recipes, beauty treatments, and tips for head-to-toe beauty. Douglas and Pearlman are the best selling authors of The Black Book of Hollywood Beauty Secrets; in this new book they offer beauty tips to adhere to in these eco-conscious, economically challenged times.

Anything from fresh lemon juice to olive oil can help you achieve smoother, fresher more vibrant skin and hair – all in the convenience of your own home. Here’s a tip from a Victoria’s Secret model on how to restore hair after it is scorched and ironed; mix one tablespoon of fresh squeezed lemon and one teaspoon of olive oil, and slather your hair with it, focusing on putting more product on split ends. Leave on over night and wake up to restored, glossy, and super shiny hair. Be sure to sleep on an old pillow case when doing this, the oil residue will wreck your linens.

Women who have kids probably always have some spare Cheerios lying around the house – so why not use them for a facial treatment? Just grab a handful of the cereal, a teaspoon of honey, and few drops of fresh lemon. Blend the Cheerios until they are a fine powder, and once refined, mix in the honey and add the drops of lemon, and voila you have the perfect ingredients for a facial scrub. Apply the mixture to your face, and leave on for 10 minutes. Rinse with warm water, and feel smoother, more vibrant skin.

So, before leaving the house to buy expensive salon products, look in your pantry, fridge, and medicine cabinet first – you may already have the right mixture for an at-home facial, hair treatment, or moisturizer.

Want more tips that have been created and culled from Pearlman and Douglas? Beauty Chat will be giving away The Beauty Cookbook to one lucky winner. To enter to win this ultimate at-home guide, just leave a comment below with one of your “secret” beauty tips for your skin, hair, nails, or face. One of my useful tricks is to apply baby powder to my roots when I don’t have time to wash my hair. The powder absorbs the oils, and immediately makes my hair appear fresher. Share some of yours with me! A winner will be announced on March 26th.

And there’s still time to enter to win a basket of beauty goodies too! Be sure to check out our survey and giveaway!

Photo Credit: Amazon and Cheerios

Flowers and balloons are always a nice gesture, but your Mother deserves so much more (at least mine does!), so make her feel special with some of these unique gift ideas.

•    Pamper, Pamper, Pamper! You could buy your Mom passes to the spa, or bring the spa to her; it will show you actually want to spend time with her. Set a day aside and have an at-home pamper day with your mom.
Some products I recommend trying out with your Mom:
Thymes: They offer an array of body lotions, washes, scrubs, feet care, etc. The ladies at PlasticSurgery.com and I love the Naia Hand Lotion and Hand Wash! Visit their website to check out some of the kits and gift sets that they offer.
En Pointe Skin Solutions: From cleanser, toners, and moisturizers, they offer all the products you need to put together an at-home facial kit.
Philip Kingsley: To get your Mom ready for Mother’s day brunch, Philip Kingsley offers a wide range of styling products to add texture and volume or tame and smooth while protecting the hair. For bounce, control, and shine, you may want to try out their maximizer.
Adovia Mineral Skin Care: Another great facial care line! My fellow Beauty Chatter, Audrey, and I love their products! This is great for those with sensitive skin (like me), because they are made from minerals from the Dead Sea, providing a natural skin smoothing experience.

•    Expand her horizons: Take your mom on an adventure instead of the usual dinner and a movie. I am taking my Mom wine tasting! Pick a place you know she would like to go, but wouldn’t normally take herself to. I know my Mom likes wine, but she would never think of going to a winery.

•    Put on your chef’s hat: Make your Mom her favorite dish or introduce her to a new one. My favorite place to go for creative recipes is AllRecipes.com, which has reviews on the dishes and suggestions for additional ingredients, side dishes, etc.

•    Clean, scrub, and shine: You know your mother works hard, so why not give her a day off from her typical duties of cleaning up (after you!), doing the laundry, and running the house. Get your siblings together and clean the house for her and let her relax for the day!

Your mom most likely is not expecting much, so if anything, give her a day of you. I know that through the rush and chaos it can sometimes get hard to spend time with anyone for an entire day – the least you can do is give her the time. And for all you mommies out there, Happy Mother’s Day!

Photo Credit: Adovia Spa and Laura’s Journey

She said:

“I keep my skin smooth by exfoliating and using lotion with 10%AHA in it. The AHA does wonders for flakies! The only down side is that you MUST wear sunscreen because the AHA will make your skin more easily burnt.”

Congratulations! We hope One with Nature’s Dead Sea Soap can help her maintain her already silky, smooth skin!

Photo Credit: One With Nature

When I got the opportunity to try out Luxtural’s three-step program- mystique foundation (facial deep hydrating rainy mist), sophisticated veil (facial anti-aging deep moisturizing serum), and silk premonition (facial deep moisturizing anti-aging lotion); I was definitely up for the challenge, considering the products were hypoallergenic and natural.

Going forth with a positive attitude, to my dismay, my skin started to get dry within two days of trying the product. I decided to ignore the red rash on my cheeks and continue using it; still keeping my positive attitude intact. Four days into use, the redness started getting worse- my cheeks itched and looked like I was constantly blushing.

At that point, I gave up. In light of my situation, I did like the mystique foundation; my face felt cool and refreshed when applying the mist. The best part is that the mist can be applied over make-up; however, I could not continue use of any of the products.

Even though Luxtural didn’t give me the results I wanted, I needed a second opinion considering it had nothing to do with the product, just my skin condition. My fellow Beauty Chatter, Elana, decided to give Luxtural a shot.

Here is what she had to say:

“My skin is normal-to-oily, rarely reacting negatively with new skincare — this is true when I started using Luxtural. Versus trying the collection by itself, I did mix it up with my other lines. I liked the idea of easing new products into my regimen. So far, it’s refreshing and didn’t leave my skin overly dry, which is great for nighttime use. I hate going to sleep with dried-out skin! Plus, the cute tubes are perfect amongst my plethora of products.”

I think that our two different experiences with this product show that there is not one skin care line that will work for everyone.

To learn more about Luxtural products, feel free to visit their Web site.

Photo Credit: Chic Today and Luxtural.com

The ladies of Beauty Chat and PlasticSurgery.com have come up with some great budget beauty tips! Check them out below:

*Use antiperspirant on face under foundation to make it last longer on your face, thus saving you re-applying throughout the day.

*Scrape remaining lipsticks out of tube, place inside pill box or small clean paint pallet and then put in microwave for about 10 seconds at a time (can take more than one try to melt properly) until they are all nice and formed to new container. Place in fridge for approx. 4 minutes.

*Nail polish is getting low… add one or two small drops of polish remover to the bottle, shake and there you go! A few more coats!

*Dried out mascara can be heated up to work again. Use hair dryer or soak container in hot water.

*Can’t afford leave-in conditioner for dry hair? Apply a small amount of vegetable oil to your hair, comb it through, let it sit for about 15 minutes and then wash and condition as usual.

*Store lip liner and eyeliner in the refrigerator to keep them from drying out.

*Sharpen the edges of old tweezers with sandpaper.

*Take old perfume bottles and add water to them, shake up, and now you have a light body spray.

*Puffy eyes or skin use Preparation H. 

*If you can’t afford oil-absorbing sheets, use toilet seat covers instead.

*Drop of honey on a blemish, cover with a band-aid and leave overnight.

*Conditioner can be used for shaving legs when you’re out of shaving cream.

*After shaving down below apply solid deodorant (not gel) to the area, helps combat ingrown hairs.

*Use a little bit of Vaseline and then apply eye shadow, it’ll look more vibrant and will look more liquidy instead of powdery.

*To help whiten your teeth, mix a little baking soda and hydrogen peroxide to form a paste. Use once a week! Also, drink lots of water.

*If you are in a hurry and don’t have time to wash your hair, put a little baby power in greasy areas, it absorbs the grease and your hair looks fresh. =)

*If you are applying makeup during the summertime, but it keeps melting off, stick your face in the freezer a few times to freshen up. It saves time, and you don’t have to get your foundation or compact pads from getting greasy and using them up!

Have some tips to share? Leave a comment below and enter to win a spot as a Guest Blogger for Beauty Chat! A winner will be announced on January 5, 2009. Good luck!

Photo Credit: Capessa.com

Purely Clear offers a line that works for all skin types.

I don’t get too many blemishes a just a few here and there.  I do have blackheads, a bad T-Zone, and very dry cheeks.  This combo makes it difficult to finding products that will not send my pores into overload.

Purely Clear is different; it cleans without over drying or leaving an oily feeling.  The toner is a blend of oils that don’t dry out your skin and the Intensive Repair and Wrinkle Serum help to balance and moisturize.

To me, this product is a miracle worker.  You feel the difference in minutes, not days or weeks. My skin is more balanced, not dry or greasy.  The formulas are concentrated, so a little goes a long way and the small bottles last for months. 

I suggest that everyone check out the Web site and give it a try.  I have passed Purely Clear along to my mom and sister and they love it.  

Photo Credit: PurelyClear.com

• Stinkerella
• Laddie
• Faith
• Lauren
• Ashley Baugh

Congratulations to our winners!

Hope you enjoy the book as much as I did J.

If you’re looking for a little help in figuring out what actually works, take a look at my review on the new book by Daniel Yarosh, Ph.D., The Science of Perfect Skin – Understanding Skin-Care Myths and Miracles for Radiant Skin at Any Age. Now you can learn how to read a product label and the type of skin care regimen that actually works for you!

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Rpr Marketing Communications

“My favorite tip is for those of you with oily skin. Forget all those high-end mattifiers and get yourself a bottle of plain old milk of magnesia! Yes, the LAXATIVE! Dab it on your face lightly using a cotton ball before applying your makeup and I promise you— no oily break-through! Sounds crazy, I know, but I’ve tried every primer and mattifier out there, at every price, and this is the only thing that has ever really worked for me! No joke!”

Congratulations Sherry!

This book is all about playing up your own individual assets, whether it be your lips, eyes, or prominent chin. Carmindy tells readers to be positive about their unique assets and forget about those so-called flaws we see in the mirror.

In Get Positively Beautiful, readers are given tips on how to use “Carmindy Vision” to pinpoint their best features and make them shine. There are even examples of makeovers done by Carmindy that show just how beautiful anyone can be.

Sounds like an amazing book, right? Well, Beauty Chat is giving five lucky readers a chance to win a copy. Just leave a comment below telling us how you play up your best feature. The winners will be announced on December 5th. Good look and stay gorgeous!

Photo Credit: Hachette Book Group