LilSugar

Five Ways Q-tips Can Save Your Beautiful Day

BellaSugar — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 08:00:17 PST

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a . . . Q-tip? Now since my makeup application with this product didn't go quite so smoothly, I decided to focus on ways this little swab can swipe all your problems away. (Well, maybe not all of them, but quite a few.)

Stop nail polish from sealing shut. One of my favorite tricks is to dip a Q-tip in vegetable oil and do a once-over on the rims of my nail polish bottles. The oil coats the top and prevents the polish from stopping my painting plan by sticking the tops on tight.

Get more quick beauty fixes from Q-tips when you

Prevent lip color from bleeding. To achieve a polished look that lasts, dip the cotton swabs in translucent powder and apply it along the outer edge of the lips, helping to keep the lipstick where it belongs . . . on your lips. You can even dab lipstick from your teeth with these, too.
Correct minor makeup flaws. Q-tips dipped in makeup remover can help fix a mascara smudge, eyeliner that's turns out a bit too smoky, or shadow that's all out of line. Similarly, dipping a swab in polish remover can correct a small error without putting your other painted fingers at risk.
Conceal blemishes without fingers. Pimple? No problem. Dip a tip into liquid concealer or the concentrated liquid makeup along the rim of a foundation bottle and dab over the affected area. This keeps your dirty fingers off your face and your fingers clean, too.
Mix your own makeup with leftovers. Got just a stump of lipstick that you can't quite get onto your lips? Instead of tossing, remove the cotton swab and dip the tip into the tube to get the excess out. If you're feeling extra DIY, you can dig out several shades, mix them together, and add some gloss to a leftover jar all with this stick for a custom creation.

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Mommy Dearest: Can I Clean My Baby's Ears With a Q-Tip?

LilSugar — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 08:00:51 PST

Mommy Dearest,

I've been noticing a little earwax in my 3-month-old daughter's ears. Is it OK to clean it out with a Q-Tip?

- Wax Woes

To see the response from Mommy Dearest,

Wax Woes,

I know it's tempting to grab a cotton swab and clean out your lil one's ears, but you should avoid the temptation. Inserting something into a child's (or adult's) ear canal could do more harm than good by easily puncturing the eardrum - even if you're super careful. Plus, according to WebMD, earwax is nature's protection for the ear canal, and there's no reason for you to try to get rid of it, especially since you could end up packing it against her eardrum instead of removing it. To clean the outer part of your baby's ears, just use a washcloth moistened with warm water. If you're still worried about buildup, talk to your daughter's pediatrician.

Submit a question for this feature at the Mommy Dearest Group on TeamSugar.

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Exclusive! Proactiv Names Jurnee Smollett Its Newest Spokesperson

Jaime Richards — Tue, 01 May 2012 06:00:00 PDT

You might remember her as Michelle Tanner's feisty friend Denise on Full House or as hard-working high school student Jess Merriweather in Friday Night Lights, and now actress, singer, and activist Jurnee Smollett has landed a new role: Proactiv's newest spokesperson. Jurnee, who has battled acne since she was 10 years old, admits she tried just about everything, from facial treatments to doctors appointments to peels, before she had the consistent success she has found with Proactiv.

"It goes back to a few months before I was getting married," she explains. "I was shooting Friday Night Lights in Austin, [and with] the humidity, the great Texas food, the hormones, and the stress of me planning the wedding, my skin was freaking out." Although frustrated, Jurnee felt her complexion issues added a realistic element to her character. "I kept telling myself, "'I'm playing a 16-year-old high student. It's OK; high school students break out,'" she reveals. "But no one wants to break out, whether you're a teenager or not!" See the rest of Jurnee's story now.

10 Ways to Reduce Swollen, Puffy Eyes

Anna Monette Roberts — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 02:24:58 PDT

Have you ever woken up with your eyes feeling heavy and are shocked to discover they're twice their normal size? Allergies, too much salt or alcohol, lack of sleep, crying, and even makeup can attribute to swollen, puffy, and red eyes. While it may take hours or even a few days for them to return back to normal, take these 10 steps to help shrink the swell. Remember, even though it's tempting, don't rub your eyes! It will only make the irritation and redness worse.

Don't underestimate water. Splash your face with cold water as you wake up to help calm puffiness, then drink a few glasses to hydrate yourself.
Remove any and all eye makeup using cotton swabs and eye makeup remover. Makeup caught in the tear ducts and waterlines will continue to cause inflammation and potentially infection unless you remove it.
Dip a cold rag or cotton balls into an ice bath. Apply to the face for five-10 minutes.
If you can think ahead, keep an ice pack or gel face mask in the freezer. Place on your eyes for 10 minutes.
Chilled chamomile, mint, ginseng, or black teabags sooth and tighten up the skin around the eyes. Set them over the eyes until the teabags are at room temperature.

Click here to read more.

31 Days of Spring Cleaning: Clean Your Cell Phone

Kristy Korcz — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 11:32:47 PST

Neglecting to clean your cell phone is a nasty tech habit to break this year. Cell phones have been proven to carry bacteria, germs, even feces. Yes, feces. If there's one new routine to create for yourself this Spring, it's keeping that smartphone shiny and clean. Your health will thank you. Check out a few of our tech-friendly tips to clean that gadget, below.

Cleaning your touch screen smartphone is kind of like cleaning your LCD monitor - you don't want to use any harsh chemicals or, even more damaging, water. Using a tried-and-tested cleaner like iKlear ($21) will ensure you won't damage your phone's sensitive bits. Use the included microfiber cloth (or one of your own) and shine that baby up.
If you don't want to spring for a special formula, a 40/60 alcohol-to-water mixture on solid phone parts and keyboards should be OK for your devices (use a damp cloth and/or cotton swab for small and hard-to-reach places). However you do not want to use any sort of alcohol, ammonia, or harsh cleaning agent on touch screens.
If you're in a pinch and want to quickly rid your phone of dirty crevices and fingerprints, use a piece of Scotch Tape to peel away dirt and dust in between keys, and rid your phone of fingerprints. Perfect for when you're at the office (without a microfiber cloth), but unfortunately it won't help the germ situation.
Serious germaphobes can ensure a clean device with the UV Cell Phone Sanitizer ($50), which wipes your device clean of 99.9 percent of strep, E. coli, salmonella, listeria, and H1N1 viruses in three minutes flat. Just drop it in once a day for germ-free surfing and calling.

In the mood to refresh your tech life? Here's nine more bad tech habits to break this Spring!

How to Work Out at Lunch

Health — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 04:15:40 PDT

We are pumped to share one of our favorite stories from Health.com here on our site.

By Su Reid-St. John

With my early-morning workouts getting depressingly darker as the year draws to a close, I’m starting to wonder if I should try to squeeze in some of my sweat sessions at lunch. The "sweat" part is what gets me, though: how do I do my exercise, stop sweating, clean up, make my hair presentable again, and fix my makeup - all in just one measly hour? In need of some woman-to-woman advice (because, let’s face it, guys have it way easier in the cleanup department), I turned to my four favorite trainers (and great gals to boot) - Ramona Braganza, Amy Dixon, Kristin McGee, and Michele Olson. They responded with a bunch of savvy tips that have left me thinking, Yes, I could do that! Allow me to share them with you.

Choose strength
You'll sweat a lot less while doing resistance training than you will during cardio, says Braganza, a Los Angeles-based celebrity trainer who counts Jessica Alba and Halle Berry among her clients. If you can, save the cardio sessions for when you have more time to clean up and shower.

Health.com: 10 Fun Ways to Get Fit Without a Gym

Stay cool
If you do choose cardio, keep sweat to a minimum by drying off with a cold towel, suggests Amy Dixon, a trainer and exercise physiologist based in Santa Monica, Calif. Freeze it overnight at home and pop it in the fridge at work (or keep it in an insulated bag with a cold block) until you need it. So refreshing! To halt sweat faster post-workout, drink very cold water (keep that in the fridge too) to reduce your core body temperature faster, says Michele Olson, PhD, a trainer and professor of exercise science at Auburn University, in Auburn, AL.

There are more great tips, so keep on reading!

9 Tips to Make Your Computer Last and Run Fast

LearnVest — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 00:15:00 PDT

We're thrilled to present this smart LearnVest story here on Savvy!

Cute bathing suit vs. medical co-pay. Yummy organic blueberries vs. credit card late fees. Beachside mojitos vs. laptop repair.

When it comes to certain expenses, it’s clear which we’d prefer. So, as a public service to help you fund all of your summer cocktails, we recommend taking a look at your Old Faithful–your computer, that is.

It’s your buddy, your confidant, and it brings you all the great info out there (like, ahem, this article). And at a grand or more apiece, it’s worth your while to make sure this expensive electronic goes the distance–if only to keep your summer funds going where they should be.

From dusting your USB ports to coddling that battery, we bring you nine tips to make sure that your machine does your bidding for ages to come:

1. Protect Yourself

If your computer were to get a virus, a diagnostic and fix at a place like Best Buy could cost as much as $200. So, protect yourself in advance. Make sure you have an antivirus and that all of your definitions are up to date. If you don’t pay for an antivirus, get a free one like AVG or Avast.

2. Watch Your Water

We can tell you from firsthand experience that one of the easiest ways to ruin a laptop is to reach for a glass of water on your desk late at night. This may sound basic, but prevent spilling on your expensive electronics by investing in a closed lip water bottle to use near your computer. If you’re on the market for a stylish new bottle that will keep your laptop-and the environment-safe, check out our picks.

Read on for more great tips.

Bring Spa Luxury Home With Grapefruit-Infused DIY Treatments

Sponsor — Wed, 04 May 2011 03:00:00 PDT

Leave pricey, processed beauty products behind and simplify your routine with 100-percent Florida grapefruit juice! Incorporating this tangy-sweet beverage into your diet and beauty routine may help you naturally achieve fresh-faced, everyday beauty without the expensive serums, makeup, and spa treatments. The vitamin C in 100-percent grapefruit juice may help support collagen production to help keep skin looking naturally youthful and glowing, so drink up!

Grapefruit juice is also great for creating at-home spa treatments, and a natural, homemade toner is an easy way to wake up your complexion. To invigorate your skin, combine Florida grapefruit juice with one or several herbs (rosemary, sage, thyme, mint ,or marjoram). Combine all your selected ingredients into a squeeze bottle and let set for several hours to allow the ingredients and essence to infuse. Saturate a cotton ball with the mixture and swab the surface of the skin to refresh your complexion, taking care to avoid sensitive skin and the eye area.

Spa-like treatments without leaving the house? Yes, please!

For more tips and DIY treatments, visit www.GoFloridaGrapefruit.com

*Recipe created by Miriam Behar on behalf of the Florida Department of Citrus.

Healthy Dose Link Time: The Power of Power Lifting

FitSugar — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 09:36:38 PDT

Power lifting will not make you a bulky, masculine mess - Blisstree
Just in time for school: snacks to make you smarter - Prevention
Learn how to break your junk food addiction from this family - Shine
Not sure what to do at the gym? Try this lifting routine - Peanut Butter Fingers
Fit fashions to slim your workout look - Shape
Power your morning with DIY muesli featuring in-season peaches - Eating Bird Food
Put the cotton swab down! Reasons to keep the Q-tips away from your ears - Health

9 Things You Shouldn't Do in the Loo

Jenny Sugar — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 12:17:00 PDT

There are plenty of healthy things you can do in the bathroom like stretch in the shower, lube up on sunscreen while naked to protect every inch of your skin, and floss to prevent gingivitis. There are also plenty of things you shouldn't do in the ladies room:

Drink water from the shower head: Not only have studies found that shower heads are breeding grounds for disease-causing bacteria, but the hot water itself is also not safe to drink.The hot water heater is also a place where bacteria thrives.
Keep the shower curtain closed: Mildew and mold love dark, wet surfaces, and breathing them in can trigger allergy and asthma symptoms. Aside from letting the curtain air out, you can prevent mold and mildew by running a fan or opening a window, allowing air to circulate.
Flush with the lid up: Germs and other particles can become airborne when you flush, so limit the amount misting into the air by lowering the lid before flushing.
Store your toothbrush on the counter: Although toothbrush holders look neat and tidy next to the sink, it's healthier to put your toothbrushes away in the medicine cabinet or vanity drawer. Why? Every time you flush the toilet, your toothbrush gets sprayed with bacteria. Even if you put the lid down as suggested above, microorganisms can still be ejected into the air and land on your toothbrush. So gross. Keep your mouth protected by drying off the bristles after each use and putting your toothbrush away.
Use Q-tips inside your ears: The label clearly states, "Do not insert swab into ear canal. Entering the ear canal could cause injury." Along with potentially rupturing the membrane, the swab is likely to push wax deeper into the ear canal, where it will need to be professionally removed. Using cotton swabs isn't even necessary since earwax naturally moves toward the opening of the ear canal and is sloughed off during daily routines and showers.

Keep on reading to find out what other unhealthy habits you should avoid in the bathroom.