Makeup Remover on the Cheap

Didya know that you can use baby oil as an eye makeup remover? Yeah, I didn't either. I came across that little factoid a few months ago, (magazine? blog?) and a light bulb went off. I don't wear a lot of makeup, but I do always wear mascara, and waterproof stuff at that. It's always a bear to take off, and that makeup remover stuff is expensive. The best I had found was the Almay pads, and I would buy them at BJs in a double pack for about six dollars. Two packs would last me about two months.

So when I came across this little tip I was all over it. A bottle of baby oil is under two dollars at Walmart, especially if you buy non-brand.



I've been using the stuff for the last few months, and I have to say, I love it. It has the sweetest scent, and works like a charm. I find it works best if I wipe it over my eyes with a cotton ball, then brush my teeth, then go back and swipe my lashes again. Now, it is oily, obviously, but I have combination skin, and I've found that the skin around my eyes is a lot softer since I started using this. And all the oiliness comes off when I wash my face, so everything is copacetic.



Oh, but you know I couldn't leave that ugly bottle sitting around my sink, right? Well, a trip to Goodwill provided a cut glass decanter that I promptly filled with oil. Obviously, you might not want to do this with kiddos around, but you could also put the oil in a soap dispenser, and then just pump a few squirts onto a cotton ball.





So that's my easy breezy beauty secret that saves me a lot of moolah. I'm all about finding deals on the stuff that keeps me beautiful, so if you've got any awesomely frugal ideas I'd love to hear them!

Dare to DIY: A Creative and Simple Table Setting

It's time for another Dare to DIY party! I am having so much fun creating stuff for these parties! Too bad there are only four left! This week's dare was... Dare to Entertain!

I could have set up the whole table for a big Thanksgiving dinner, but instead I made a pretty little setting for two. Lover and I love to have romantic dinners together, so I thought I'd set the scene for dinner. Lover will probably cook for this dinner, as he is the gourmet chef, I am just the regular chef who subs in every once in a while :-)

I purposely went for rich, saturated colors, as our everyday dishes are a smooth creamy color and I use a lot of neutral colors. Every once in a while I get in the mood for color and today was one of those days. :-) So we have big red dinner plates, mustard colored salad plates, and little fall colored bowls for soup.

The star of this table is the happy little centerpiece. Obviously, this is the time of year we focus on giving thanks, but you could easily adapt this idea for any time of year! The back row (Give) is held up with large pinecones, and it was super easy to slip the letters for Thanks into slits I cut into the apples. The apples are resting on split green peas on a tray that I made over about a month ago. I made the letters by printing out the words in MS Word, in the first font that caught my eye. I printed them on cardstock so they'd be a little sturdier.

Speaking of being thankful, as I looked at this table setting, I realized that almost everything there was a gift to us! The placemats were a Christmas gift from Lover's grandma, the plates from some dear friends of ours, the bowls and silverware were from my mom. The napkins were a wedding gift, and the little wine glasses were from Lover's mom. Isn't that neat? We are so blessed.

There are a couple of details that really make a table, in my opinion.

Real dishes. There's just no substitute for real dishes, glasses and silverware, and it really classes things up.

Real napkins. I usually just roll them up and slip them through napkin rings, but if you are feeling fancy (like I was today!) you can fold them in a pretty pattern. I found this site online with tons of ways to fold napkins.

Candles. Candles are indispensable, at least to me! These little amber glasses are holding tea lights, and they're doing a great job of bringing the ambiance and romance!

So there you have it. A simple yet creative table setting for two. Obviously you could adapt this for a whole table if you needed to. Now that you are done reading about my fun this week, go check out the other creative table settings!

Linked to the Dare to DIY Party @ Newlywoodwards

It's So Very Creative @ It's So Very Cheri

DIY Day @ A Soft Place to Land