Much of the make up that we buy today is full of chemicals and toxins that block the pores of our skin, get into our eyes cause a wide range of long term problems. Indeed, not letting our skin breathe and drying it out with too much powder can cause premature wrinkling, or from the other side of the spectrum too much oily make up gives us spots, This is why many women are looking to much cheaper, 100% natural techniques to get almost the same effects.

One of the best natural tips involves the lips. It's thought that humans perceive women as looking better when their lips are red or pink because it imitates the way they look when they are sexually excited. We all know that someone with lips almost the same color as their cheeks looks ill, so it makes sense to avoid that. Instead of using lipstick or lip gloss, invest in a tub of Vaseline. Use an old, soft, splayed and dry toothbrush to rub over your lips in small circular motions. This gets rid of dead skin cells so that they are smooth, it also stimulates blood flow to that area so that it becomes redder and plumper. Simply apply a layer of Vaseline to moisturize and your lips will look better than ever. Of course this doesn't last for hours as some lipsticks do, but it allows your lips time to breathe and become moisturized naturally.

Secondly, use porridge oats as a natural exfoliant. They're completely natural and very inexpensive when bought in large value bags. Simply mix a tablespoon full with two tablespoons of milk and either apply the mixture to your face to dry and then be rubbed off, or apply it to your face in the bath/shower and use as you would a normal exfoliant. Oats are a natural anti inflammatory so if your face is puffy from a night out, or dry and inflamed because you've reacted badly to something then do a wet porridge oat face mask and gently rub it off with your fingertips once it's dried a bit.

For a completely natural moisturizer to follow up your face mask and exfoliate, buy a tub of coconut oil. This needs to be kept cool so that it doesn't just melt into oil, but not so cold that you can't get a bit out with your fingers. If it's a bit hard just rub it between your fingers for a few seconds and it should loosen up. You can apply this to damp hair after shampooing and leave on for 20 minutes before rinsing for a natural shining conditioning treatment too.

Lastly, when using natural oils as moisturizers it is possible to get shiny looking skin, but rather than covering it up with powder, blocking the pores and causing spots, why not actually get rid of that excess surface oil? Invest in some make up blotting paper? This is like extremely delicate baking paper that you just dab all over your face and it will go see through when it has absorbed the oil.

Stan Tian

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