My 6 Must-Have Beauty Hacks

Over the years, I’ve definitely tried a lot of beauty products. Products that promised no breakouts, no wrinkles, no puffiness, etc. Many ended up not living up to their expectations, so I tried them and never repurchased. Let’s call them 100% duds. I probably wasted hundreds of dollars, maybe thousands, on crappy beauty products. 

Instead of telling you what NOT to buy, today I’m sharing some of my all-time favorite beauty hacks. I call these “beauty hacks” because I use these items for unconventional reasons. These are the products that I’ve been using non-stop for YEARS now. They are my ride or die, gotta have them, will stop at Target at 9pm to purchase them, type of products. I buy them over and over again because they work. Alright, let’s get into them.

1. L’Oreal Green Clay Mask

First up is the L’Oreal Green Clay Mask, which promises to purify and mattify your skin. Since my skin is really dry on a normal day, I almost never put this mask all over my face. Instead, I’ll use this has a spot treatment if I have a blemish that I need to get rid of ASAP. It’s seriously a life saver. I prefer to use this product instead of the Aztec Healing Clay, because everything is already mixed together and it’s so much easier to travel with. The product dries in 5 minutes, but I’ll leave it on for at least an hour while I’m cooking/eating dinner or watching an episode of Animal Kingdom {that show is SO good}. After I rinse it off, my blemish is significantly smaller and less inflamed. Is it a traditional acne spot treatment? No, but who cares?!

2. Cetaphil Moisturizer

I’ve talked about Cetaphil moisturizer on the blog more times than I can count. I’ve used it since college, because it’s legit the only moisturizer that hydrates my dry skin. It’s also less than $10 and you can purchase it pretty much anywhere. It’s certainly not the more “clean” product in the world, but it gets the job done. I’ve tried more natural moisturizers in the past, but they all ended up sitting on the surface of my skin instead of really soaking in.If you have extremely dry skin, you know what I’m talking about. I even went through a phase of using only coconut oil as a moisturizer, but quickly learned that my skin did NOT agree with it. So, I ended up going back to my tried and true favorite Cetaphil. It’s so affordable and a tub will last you for almost an entire year.

3. Eminence Dermafoliant

Next up is a product by one of my favorite natural beauty brands. It’s the Eminence Strawberry Rhubarb Dermafoliant. I’ve mentioned this product on the blog in the past, but it’s just so good that I need to mention it again. It smells like a Thanksgiving pie, but even better than that… it actually helps remove flaky skin. I use it every single night after cleansing my skin with the Eminence Clear Skin Probiotic Cleanser. {None of this is sponsored. I am genuinely obsessed with these products.} The product comes out like a powder, but when you add it to your wet skin, it forms a paste consistency. I love it especially during the winter months when my skin is super flaky and dry, but it also works wonders in the summer if I forget to put enough sunscreen on and my skin is peeling more than usual. After using the dermafoliant, my skin feels SO soft. It has become a shower staple!

4. Neosporin

These next two products go hand in hand. But first let’s talk about Neosporin. Obviously, most people use this for cuts and bruises. I tend to use this only for my face. Weird? Let me explain. Many times when I have a breakout, I end up touching it and making it worse. I can’t help it, but Neosporin is my saving grace. After the breakout has cleared up a bit, I’m almost always left with an annoying scab. Instead of picking off the scab like I want to do, here’s what I do: I press a tiny bit of Neosporin on the spot and cover it with a Band-Aid overnight. Not just any Band-Aid, but the kind labeled “Clear Spots.” I swear that this works. If it didn’t, I wouldn’t be using this trick over and over again. Ask Bryan. There’s SO many nights when I’ll go to sleep with one or two Band-Aids on my face. It’s certainly not glamorous, but it works. I promise. When I wake up, I’ll remove the Band-Aids and find that the scab is significantly flatter, hydrated, and in many cases almost completely healed.

5. Band-Aid Clear Spots

Every time I’m at Target, I make sure to pick up a box or two of the Band-Aid Clear Spots. I use them so frequently, that I end up going through at least a box every couple of months. I won’t go explain these in detail, because we all know how Band-Aids work. I specifically like the Clear Spots, because they are small enough to cover a scab overnight and won’t hurt when I need to remove them in the morning. 

6. Peter Thomas Roth Cucumber Eye Patches

Last but certainly not least is are the Peter Thomas Roth Cucumber Eye Patches. They are on the pricey side, but I fully believe they are worth the cost. They help with reducing inflammation and cooling your under eye area. I don’t use these every week or really every month, but I always use them before a big event. I’ll put them on while I’m doing my hair. That way, by the time I’m ready to do my makeup, my under eyes are hydrated and certainly not puffy. Earlier this summer, I made the mistake of having a bit too many tortilla chips and guacamole the night before attending a friend’s wedding, so I woke up looking as puffy as Sloth from the Goonies. Haha, I swear. An hour wearing the cucumber eye patches worked wonders. Helpful tip: I like to keep mine in the refrigerator, so they have an even greater cooling effect!

// Alright, those are my six beauty hacks. What are some of your favorite hacks? I’m dying to know, so either comment below or tweet me!