As consumers, we are constantly bombarded by the newer and better beauty cure-alls. No wonder it is such a lucrative business. We are always looking for something to help us feel a little more confident. Like most women, I have the basket full of half used, uninspiring products that cost me way too much money. It is hard. I come from the “convenience generation”. I wanted everything to be faster and better. My beauty products were no different. I wanted something that solved my blemishes overnight. As I got older, I realized nothing moves that fast except time and toddlers.

Now I am more hesitant about shoveling out money for the promise of tomorrow. Instead I find myself hearing my mother’s echo in my head…”you don’t need that!” My mom has the most beautiful skin. We also believed it was because she grew up on a ranch and did all the right things. A minimalist at heart, to this day she can look great with a tube of lipstick and an eye pencil. Never one to buy anything other than makeup, sunscreen, moisturizer and Ponds, I now think that maybe I should have listened a little more to her advice.

However, this week’s OYou Boot Camp is allowing me to revisit the topic. After researching a few experts and sitting down with mom, I have pulled together some of my favorite and easiest tips. As a disclaimer before I begin, my mom is NOT a doctor or skin specialist, but she is a mom full of awesome, timeless advice. Enjoy!

Just a few of my mother’s tips:

• Water, water, water. She has always been fanatical about it and drinks at least 10 glasses a day. Her thoughts….it pushes out the impurities and cleans your body.
• Never go to bed with your makeup on. This was such a great tip. Luckily she told me this before my late night teen and college years and I can honestly say that I have only gone to bed a couple of times in my life with makeup. Yes, those were during my wilder days. Her thoughs….by leaving on your makeup, you age your face and it will take 30 days to get it to look the same.
• You are what you eat. Try to only eat what is good for you. Her thoughts…if you eat healthy, your body and skin will look and feel healthy.
• It’s OK to get egg on your face. To tighten your pores, try putting egg whites on your face and throat. Rinse after it dries and you can feel the difference. Other home facials…a mixture of honey and oatmeal OR a simple avocado. You could always find the rind of the avocado sitting on our counters. She never threw them out until we rubbed all the goodness out of them and onto us.
• Feed a pimple. Put a piece of tomato on your pimple. Her thoughts…it would speed up the process and dry up the pimple.
• Exfoliator with ease. Cornmeal or oatmeal work great as exfoliators. Her thoughts…no need to pay a lot for an exfoliator, you have everything you need at home.
• Don’t touch your face. Do your best to not put your hands all over your face. Her thoughts…you spread germs, bacteria and natural oils to your face causing it to break out.
• Brighten your smile. Brush with baking soda once a week. Her thoughts…by doing this you keep your teeth white.
• Face the cold. Soak your face in ice water or use an ice cube and roll it over your face. Her thoughts…you can give yourself an instant lift by tightening your pours with ice.
• Less is more. When it comes to ingredients or even makeup, opt for less. Her thoughts….don’t put anything on that you really don’t need especially chemicals.

Tips from the experts:

• Eliminate puffy eyes by…placing chilled cucumber slices or a bag of veggies over your eyes will stimulate circulation and reduce the fluid retention; soak a washcloth in chamomile tea and place over your eyes- chamomile has a natural anti-inflammatory and will help with the puffiness; try sleeping on two pillows at night so that gravity will help lead pull water down away from your face.
• Tame a pimple….soak a Q-Tip in Visine and freeze it. Once frozen, dab the pimple with the Q-Tip until it defrosts. This will help to eliminate the redness and reduce the swelling.
• Reduce tweezing pain…put your tweezers in the freezer for several minutes before you start to tweeze. It will numb the skin a bit and help to minimize the pain. Also, tweeze right after a shower when your skin is softer and the hair comes out easier.
• Quick nail make-over…buff your polish-free nails and use a white pencil under each tip to give yourself a fast and inexpensive French manicure.
• Dry nails fast…pain your nails and let them dry for 2 minutes naturally and then dunk them in a bowl of ice water for 3 minutes allowing the polish to harden completely.
• Toned legs in an instance…take a little bit of baby oil and rub a thin line into the front of your calves and thighs. Your legs will totally appear more toned within seconds.
• Appear rested after a hard night of sleep…simply use a peach or nude liner on the lower inner rims of your eyes to offset the redness.
• Get luscious lips…dab a little bit of light, shimmery lip gloss on the center of your lips. It will help your lips to pop!
• Quick fix to visible roots…use a powder eye shadow that is the same color as your hair. Dust the roots and set with hairspray.

Now as I mentioned these are only a FEW of the awesome tips I was able to find. What I have come to realize is that there are a lot of people with really good ideas out there and I need to stop long enough to listen….like I should have done more with my own mother. Better late than never!