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

In addition to providing Beauty Chat for y’all, our company is also home to several other websites, including iEnhance.com, PlasticSurgery.com, and CosmeticSurgery.com. So the writers of Beauty Chat also spend their time contributing to these online properties.

Beauty Chat was actually developed based on the idea that beauty isn’t just about surgery; it’s about finding beauty within and working your way outwards. Skincare, makeup, and fashion all contribute to enhancing your image, which are commonly the subjects of our conversations with you!

So, in order to serve your needs and continue to create a place where you can feel at ease browsing around and reading up on your favorite topics, we have created a survey for you to take. Not only would we simply appreciate this, as it will help to gauge the direction of our articles, but there is also something in it for you too!

As a thank you for being a loyal Beauty Chat fan, we have put together a basket of goodies. By filling out our survey and commenting on this post, you will be entered to win a basket of skincare and beauty products.

This contest, in which the winner will be randomly chosen, will last about two weeks – ’til March 19th! Thank you again for being so fabulous.

Chat with ya soon!

Elana

Photo Credit: Zazzle

Thank you for your patience, dear readers. Currently, Beauty Chat is going through various changes – as many blogs do! So we hope that you continue to enjoy our site’s thorough selection of articles.

Missed all of 2008’s skincare discussions? Want to see before and after celebrity plastic surgery photos? Visit our archive and see what’s up. We continue to receive your comments, and appreciate your involvement.

…This is a sincere message from all of us Beauty Chatters! Enjoy your summer, and hope to meet up with us again soon.

*Please refrain from sending products and e-mailing pitches until Beauty Chat is back.

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

Beauty Chat

All of our Beauty Chatters are always happy to help those in our communities.

Another exciting tidbit about these parties is that Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter, Ashanti was the host for the kick-off party in New York.

As part of our involvement with Johnson’s Body Care Cause Party, my fellow Beauty Chatter, Audrey, and I had the chance to speak with her ourselves!

During our round table call, Ashanti shared her fave Johnson’s products:

• Johnson’s Body Care 24 Hour Lotion
• Johnson’s Body Care Moisturizing Body Wash
• Johnson’s Baby Oil Gel with Shea & Cocoa Butter

Now we’re offering our readers the chance to try them out, too! Just leave a comment telling us how you give back to your community and we’ll pick one lucky winner on Monday, April 6th. Good luck to everyone!

Photo Credit: RF Binder

Which is exactly the concept behind the products made by One with Nature – by taking the minerals from the Dead Sea, they have created products that help to deliver naturally, silky, beautifully scented skin.

In addition to containing Dead Sea minerals, One with Nature is 100% vegetable based, wrapped in biodegradable packaging, never animal tested, contains no artificial fragrances, and infused with shea butter, aloe, and pure essential oils. If you are looking for skin care products that are all-natural and good for the environment, One with Nature may be the perfect choice for you.

If you want to give your skin an invigorating experience, check out One with Nature’s Web site to see all of the products they offer. Or you may leave a comment below telling us how you keep your skin silky smooth and we will pick a winner at random on April 1st (this isn’t an April Fool’s joke either). The winner will get a chance to try out three of the scents of One with Nature’s Dead Sea Mineral Soap! Good luck!

Photo Credit: Natural Home

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

And one wee hour of the night, while buried in pages of prep material whose ink reeked of frustration and lengthy moments of “um,” I had a moment of clarity in the form of “Wow, I have really let myself go!” My Benefit compact stared back at me in sheer mockery as I noted the Groucho Marx brows, stress blemishes, and washed-out roots that blended into two-tone hair frenzy. What was a working, budget-dependent woman to do?  

Granted, it’s easy to become lax on the beauty regimen when deadlines are murkily approaching, and getting projects done become minute-by-minute momentous. Not to mention, having a not-so-glamorous economy as the nation’s backdrop can render your wallets even more conscientious.

Because I am a beauty advent, finding a balance between inner and outer beauty was in order!

So here are tricks and tips that me and my bank account live by, which just might do wonders for you too:

√ Let’s face it – your face is the first part of you that people see. Eyebrows are especially poignant. Rather trying to yank out that ingrown hair via tweezers, eyebrow threading is the way to go. I pay 12 big ones for brows and upper lip at my local hole-in-the-wall salon every two weeks.

√  Good skin provides the foundation of a solid beauty routine. The key to keeping my facial canvas fresh is a good exfoliator. St. Ives Apricot Scrub is more than decent and beyond reasonably priced. Once a week is good – twice at max – to give your skin a deep cleaning. For a light, dewy look on the go, I use Benefit “That Gal” Brightening Facial Primer, which I apply prior to my foundation or wear alone.  

√  ChapStick – Need I say more? And it’ll cost you all of $2.

√  I know many of you gals are addicted to the regular “mani and pedi.” However, when times are tough, a $25 to $40 sitting session can add up. If you can stand to lose the acrylics, stick to the one and only pedicure. Typically, a pedicure should run you about $20, not including tip or the “flower.” As for your hands, acrylics damage your cuticles and over time cause a brittle feel to your nails. So have a personal kit with clippers and cuticle oil (Sally Hansen’s Vitamin-E nail and cuticle oil), and take a couple minutes to groom them every so often.

Remember, staying active can provide a productive lifestyle; however, you don’t necessarily have to wear your chaos. You can maintain that busy, yet beauty-conscience broad in you without it costing you too much energy or money.  Don’t worry, though, a slip is totally warranted (ahem, unshaved legs). 

What are some of your thrifty, time-saving tips?

Photo Credit: TV.PopCrunch.com and Sephora

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