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As any true child of the 80's knows, Monday nights meant one thing: MACGYVER. I couldn't get enough of MacGyver's ludicrous, death-defying inventions, such as bombs consisting of pantyhose, spearmint dental floss, and a single plum. (I'm not saying that was an ACTUAL device on the show, but honestly, if it was, would you be at all surprised?) I mention all of this because I think it goes a long way towards explaining my current obsession with emergency beauty/fashion fixes. (I mean, Coca Cola can be used as hair texturizer?? SERIOUSLY?) I have a few books devoted to this very topic, but honestly, I usually always have my small makeup bag in my (gargantuan) handbag, so I've never had occasion to try them out.
And so, I thought, what better time than the holiday season than to ditch the makeup bag and put some of the particularly intriguing quick fixes to the test? The holidays are a time of joy and merriment, but also last-minute, after-work parties (which inevitably are called on the day you overslept and showed up bare-faced), and, shall we say, spontaneous sleepovers. Wouldn't it be nice to have a few tricks in your arsenal for those times you need to pull yourself together quickly, but don't have your typical gear at hand?
I sifted through my books, and selected five beauty fixes to test out. The ones I selected call for items that should be around most offices/homes. In true MacGyver fashion, I have rated them on a scale of 1-5 mullets:
Spoon Eyelash Curler
This is probably the most famous emergency beauty tip ever, and my god, there's a reason for that: It totally works! I ALWAYS forget to curl my eyelashes. They're very long, but stick-straight, so curling them makes a huge difference. This tip is invaluable for someone like me. As you know, I do not rest until I find the optimal makeup technique for whatever new thing I'm trying, and this is what worked out for me here: Take any spoon (plastic or metal), close your eye, and cover your eye with the "bowl" of the spoon. Your eyelashes should be sticking out from the rim of the spoon. With your other hand, take your finger, and bend your lashes up against the outer rim of the spoon, holding for a few seconds. I did this in sections, to allow for maximum curling of all lashes. Here's the general idea, and before you ask, YES, I am available for hire as a (CLEARLY TALENTED) graphic designer:
Spoon eyelash curler deserves 5 mullets for both ubiquity of device and effectiveness.
Nature's Lip Gloss
Dang! You're invited out to dinner and your lips look like they were gnawed on by rabid beavers! What to do? WHAT TO DO? Hop on over to your office kitchen/pantry and apply a little dab of honey. Not only will your lips look dewy and glossy, but honey's BLAH BLAH BLAH MAGICAL NATURE properties will help soften and moisturize them to boot!
Honey-as-lip-gloss definitely works, but I can only give it 3 mullets, since I found myself licking my lips like a crazy snakeperson, and thus it didn't last. What? I'M NOT MADE OF STONE.
Emergency "Shampoo"
Perhaps because I shower at night, I find that by the time 5 o' clock rolls around, my hair is looking rather limp and...well, icky, is the scientific term, I believe. My bangs start to show the signs of Ickiness first, and the rest of my hair shortly follows suit. On most days, I don't care, but what if I have an event at night? I can't show up with my hair like that, but don't really want to drop $50 for a blowout, either. I've read all these "oh! simply apply baby powder to your roots!" tips, and I must say: A) Who is really prancing around with a bottle of baby powder these days, and B) against my better judgment, I DID try it one time, and MY HAIR LOOKED GRAY. Not cool.
Thankfully, there's a new option: Hand sanitizer spray! Just spritz a bit of it on your roots, and it dries up oil and generally refreshes your hair.
I've seen this sanitizer spray technique mentioned in a number of places, but alas, I didn't have spray, only gel. As it turns out, it works just fine. I used a tiny bit and dispersed it throughout
