Friday evening is my favourite night of the week to blog. Having survived the working week, the weekend stretches out before me. Potential adventures seem limitless.
I am still observing Frugal February. Only two more days to go. So I’m celebrating at home, with R (who is transfixed by the cricket – tonight’s game does not rate for me, I am not feeling the style of the team uniforms and therefore see no reason to pay much attention).
I am however, still feeling blue – in a literal sense only, thank goodness. Okay, it’s not a true nonna beverage but then again I am not a true nonna. Let’s all just embrace the facade together because it’s Friday night.
Tonight’s exploration of frugal centres on my favourite DIY, cheap as chips, fail safe beauty tricks. Do not ask me about the science. All I know is that they work. Google was my every faithful friend in the researching of today’s star products.
The themes are white powdery substances and the colour blue. Powdery white because it’s the winter Olympics – Go Team Oz – a second gold medal. And you thought I was going to work it all around Sydney Mardis Gras, George Michael and how all the celebs manage to fit into their couture awards season dresses.
Blue needs no explanation. It is the colour of many things I find fun and attractive. Defensiveness and paranoia are most unbecoming in a blog so it would be best if I just move on. I’m rapidly moving on to 1.21 standard drinks.
Aspirin
Asprin makes the best face scrub ever. I crush a couple of soluble aspirin in a mortar and pestle (I broke my cute white one on the bathroom floor – had to substitute this heiffer of a mortar and pestle for the photo shoot, from Victoria’s Basement at 60% off RRP – score). Mix with a creamy cleanser (to help the aspirin stick to wet skin) and use as a scrub. Leave on the skin for 10 minutes or so and then wash off. I am loving Kiehl’s gentle foaming facial cleanser at the moment.
This leaves skin soft. That’s all I can say really. Can’t promise radiance, plumpness, improved texture, a billionaire husband or the ability to snap back to instant litheness on day one post partum or anything else miraculous. But, it just works, it’s cheap and it doesn’t irritate my skin.
Sodium bicarbonate
For those like me who cannot was their hair to squeaky clean-ness no matter what shampoo and conditioner they may use. This trick really removes build up on your hair and leaves it soft, clean and as if you were on your way to your day job as the Pantene girl.
Mix a teaspoon of bicarb with your regular shampoo and apply to hair. Leave in for a few minutes and then rinse out thoroughly.
Condition and then style as you usually would.
Voila, salon clean hair with minimal fuss. Actually the only fuss is remembering to bring bicarb into the bathroom in a little dish to mix it with the shampoo. It’s quite a big fuss if you’ve already gotten into the shower and turned the shower on. Thankfully, I only share the house with my husband and he turns a blind eye to the wet footprints between the kitchen and the shower.
I do this every week – I have thick hair and it collects more Pantene than the number of times Sydney has changed its metro plans (boom tish). It may be too harsh for you to do the rinse this often. I just find it more effective than all the cleansing shampoos I have tried. I have a sneaking suspicion the hairdresser I go to must do a bicarb rinse on my hair, it has had so much build up in the past.
Klorane dry shampoo
