Budget Style
The magazine of home and personal style on a budget
How to Avoid Chapped Lips
1) Adhere to what some say is an old wive's tale about licking your lips. According to Mayo Clinic dermatologist Lawrence Gibson, M.D. in an article on MayoClinic.com, "Saliva evaporates quickly, leaving lips drier than before you licked them."
2) Hydrate yourself and your lips. Drink plenty of fluids and keep lips moist by using lip balm. Ask your doctor or pharmacist to recommend a good lip balm or ointment for particularly chapped lips.
3) Avoid exposure to the elements, including wind, sun and cold or dry air. At home, try using a humidifier to keep the air moist. Use a lip balm with sunscreen when going outdoors.
4) Shut your mouth. Breathing through an open mouth is a quick way to dry out your lips.
5) Avoid salty snacks. Salt-laden foods rob your lips and body of much-needed moisture.
6) Change your skin-care and/or cosmetic products. Chapped lips can sometimes result from an allergic reaction to or irritation from chemicals in these products. Never apply any product to your lips that isn't specifically designed for that delicate skin.
7) Very gently exfoliate excessive dead skin from the lips by rubbing them with a clean, warm wet washcloth. Don't rub too hard as you will only irritate your lips further by using too much pressure.
8) If you wear lipstick, apply lip balm or ointment before you apply your color or look for a lipstick with moisturizers and sunscreen as part of the formula.
9) Talk to your doctor or healthcare provider if chapped lips become extremely severe or do not respond to any of these prevention and treatment tips. In rare cases, chapped lips can be an indication of an underlying medical condition or problem.
Understanding the causes of chapped lips can help you avoid them in the first place. The most common causes are licking your lips, dehydration, exposure to the elements, breathing through an open mouth, eating salty foods and irritation or allergic reactions from cosmetics or other skin care products used on the face. Take steps to identify which of these factors are causing your particular problem and then address it accordingly.
Be proactive in treating chapped lips before the situation becomes severe and potentially painful. Dry, cracked lips are more than just embarrassing, they can be quite uncomfortable. At the first sign of chapping, be sure to slather on your favorite lip balm or ointment to soothe and hydrate your lips. Also, be sure to drink more water as this will help hydrate your body and your skin and diminish the severity of the chapping.
We often tend to neglect our lips. Make applying moisturizing lip balm or ointment and lip care products with sunscreen part of your daily routine. By doing so you will more than likely be able to stop lip chapping before it ever has a chance to start.
More Fashion and Beauty Articles at a Glance
Why Snow White Skin Has Become the Latest Must-Have Accessory
The snow white look was big in the 80s as a status symbol. It was often said that the lack of a tan showed the world at a glance that you did not have to labor outdoors. It was snobby chic at its best and was the bane of the tanning industry for quite some time. READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE
Does What You Wear Reflect Who You Are?
What you wear is absolutely a reflection of who you are. Some will mistakenly take that to mean that what you wear defines who you are, but here is a huge difference in those two statements.
Take an example of two different women walking down the street. The first woman is wearing a crisply pressed... READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE
Tips for Maximizing Your Style on a Budget
Maximizing your style on a budget is as easy as knowing where to shop. The malls and high-end department stores are great for window-shopping and seeing the latest trends, styles and colors. However, they are not the places to actually shop for clothing and accessories... READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE
Why Designer Fragrances Are So Popular
The answer is quality. While a fair amount of the popularity of designer fragrances is owed to marketing and promotion along with snob appeal and the desire to emulate celebrities, the deciding factor is the fact that they are better. Some may argue this point, having found some type of generic fragrance that they simply adore, but anyone who has smelled or worn a higher priced designer fragrance knows the difference... READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE
Some Great Finds...
Slainte Vintage Fabric Coin Purse - Repeat Design
| Slainte Vintage Fabric Hip Bag - Repeat Design
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Positive Emotional Effects of Body Fragrance
Fragrance is an often overlooked accessory. Just as completing your look with the perfect handbag, jewelry and other accessory items can make you look and feel better, so can the application of your favorite body fragrance.
The emotional benefits of body fragrance are many. First and foremost, you get the boost to your confidence in knowing that you smell great. Your favorite fragrance can also be a calming, comforting influence as you go through your busy day. Our sense of smell is one of the strongest of all senses and can actually trigger memories more powerfully than any other sense. Most of us have a favorite perfume or cologne and when we spray it on, we are immediately reminded of pleasant times associated with that fragrance.
Yet another benefit of body fragrance is that of making a positive impression on others. Of course, there are those who find strong perfumes and colognes offensive, so we have to be careful not to overdo it. Most high-end fragrances require only a small application for maximum effectiveness. There is nothing worse than drenching oneself in any fragrance.
There are a couple ways you can make sure you don't go overboard. First, consider using a powder or lotion version of your favorite fragrance for daytime wear when you might be closely confined with others. You still get the benefit of the fragrance, but usually in a much lighter concentration than with a spray cologne or perfume. Plus, you'll save money, which is always good, because powders and lotions of the exact same fragrance usually cost a fraction of what the perfume or cologne does.
Another way to avoid overuse of colognes and perfumes is to use the technique of spraying the mist into the air directly in front of you and walking through it rather than spraying it directly onto your body or clothing. If you're using a good perfume or cologne, this is all it should take to give yourself a lasting and appropriate amount of scent. If you're not using a good perfume or cologne, throw it away and invest in something of quality. Cheap perfume or cologne is simply bad in any concentration and sends its own message. If you can't afford the more expensive colognes, use the powders or lotions as mentioned earlier.
The fragrances you choose to wear can say a lot about your personality, helping you to make a statement about yourself and therefore adding another emotional benefit of establishing your uniqueness. While you should, of course, choose what you truly love, there are a few things to consider about appropriateness of scent. Everyone's body chemistry is slightly different, so you should always try the fragrance out before you invest in it. Go to your favorite department store and spray on a little. Walk around for a couple hours and see how the fragrance changes and evolves on you. It may smell great when you first apply it, and it may even smell fantastic on your best friend, but as it reacts with your particular body chemistry and the undertones and base notes of the fragrance emerge, it may turn out to be completely wrong for you.
Another note on appropriateness of fragrances is when and where to wear them. You would probably, and definitely should, choose to wear a completely different type of fragrance to work than you would on a special date or a night out on the town. Most better fragrances offer a "suggested use," such as daytime wear, evening wear or romantic wear. Use these as guidelines if you have trouble distinguishing which scents are appropriate for different situations. Your co-workers at the office probably won't appreciate your "Red Hot Passion" nearly as much as your significant other might.
Feel great about yourself, relish a cherished memory and let everyone know just who you are by your choice of body fragrances. What could be better?
How to Dress Like a Queen on a Pauper's Budget
| Study, study, study. Research, research, research. Those are the first steps in dressing like a queen on a pauper's budget. Study the fashion magazines for the latest trends and hottest looks and learn who the top designers are. Research current fashion trends online and by any other available means. Once you know what's in style, you can then go searching for your own version. My mother was one of the most stylish people I ever met and she was the queen of bargain shopping. She always knew what was cutting edge by doing her research and keeping up with the trends in fashion magazines. She would then bend those trends to her own will by utilizing the basics but giving them her own personal twist. I was never with her when she did not receive a compliment on the way she was dressed, and she didn't spend a fortune on her wardrobe. On the contrary, she actually spent a relatively small amount to look glorious. Her secret? Sale racks and thrift stores. Quite simple, yet highly effective. Once she knew what the season's hottest look was, she would head out in search of pieces in nice department stores that were on sale and then she would hit her favorite thrift stores to get complimentary pieces to complete the look. You can create the look of a fashion queen by going to your favorite high end department store and purchasing, for example, a blouse from the clearance rack. Make sure it's a high-quality piece, perhaps even by one of the better designers. Next, armed with your knowledge of the season's hottest trends and the better brand names, head to a thrift store. This is where the work comes in, because the best items won't always be neatly laid out before you. You will have to do some hunting and searching, but it's not uncommon to find a very expensive piece of clothing by a top designer that others have overlooked just because they didn't know the true value of the piece. And, it's not uncommon to be able to pick up such a piece for a few dollars. Another good way to dress like a queen on a paper's budget is to invest in a few good-quality classic pieces that never go out of style. If you own one dress, it should be a simple, elegant black dress in a clean, classic style. Liz Claiborne is an excellent choice as her designs usually endure the test of time. You can always update the look of that simple black dress by adapting your accessories to the current hottest trends. One purse you should own is a designer leather handbag in either black or brown. Scour the thrift shops until you find a classic leather Coach purse. This is something you can carry with anything that will instantly make you look like you "came from money." And don't forget the shoes. You should own at least one pair of gorgeous leather pumps in a very simple, elegant style that will take you through numerous seasons. Perhaps the best advice on dressing like a queen on a pauper's budget is just to have fun. Have fun with your research and your shopping and never be afraid to adapt the current fashion trends to reflect your own unique personal style.
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How to be Classy Without Being Rich
Being classy has absolutely nothing to do with being rich. There are plenty of rich people who have no class at all. A young lady with the name of a certain major French city comes to mind immediately. Conversely, there are plenty of people who are barely making a living who exude class. My mother, the late Bettye R. Coffman, was married to a coal miner and our family had what we needed and more, but we were by no means wealthy. No one would ever have known that by the way my mother carried herself, dressed, spoke and acted. She was a classy lady, regardless of our economic situation. Being classy involves all those things I watched my mother embody. Anybody can do it if they pay attention to details, educate themselves and have a healthy dose of self-respect. How you carry yourself goes hand in hand with self-respect. If you respect and care about yourself, it will show. You'll walk with your head held high, shoulders back, never slumping or slouching. Your positive self-image will show to the world that you know you are somebody, regardless what's in your purse or wallet. The way you dress is another indication of class. Your clothes don't have to be the most expensive, latest designer pieces, but they do have to be clean, well maintained and stylish. Anyone can achieve a great look on a budget by knowing quality when they see it and mixing in a few good pieces with good looking more inexpensive pieces. If you're sloppy and wrinkled, it doesn't matter how much money you have because you will look like a slob, not someone with class. The way you speak, including word choice and enunciation says a great deal about you as a person and can quickly convey class or trash. You'll notice most truly classy people keep the swearing at a minimum, at least in public. They also speak clearly and distinctly. Learning to communicate well is a skill that will help you in all aspects of your life, plus having the added benefit of making you appear classier. Never stop educating yourself. The wealthy, and those we assume to be classy, are usually quite well educated. The fact that you didn't attend an ivy league college should not stop you from gaining all the knowledge you can. Read. Surf the internet. Learn. Teach yourself. You don't have to have attended a high priced higher learning institution to be able to hold an intelligent conversation. You simply have to be willing to do a little work on your own. Acting the part is the final key. This does not mean being fake or putting on. If you truly respect yourself, care about your appearance and communicate well, you're already acting the part. Keep in mind that our actions say as much if not more than our words and you're well on your way to being the classiest person in any room. Using good manners and self-restraint is another good way to act classy. I once heard it said that being rude indicates a lack of class because the truly rich are too well-bred to ever be rude. So, being snippy with a waiter or sales clerk isn't going to make you appear classy. It's just going to make you look like an ass. The bottom line is that true class is something anyone can have. It isn't an automatic birthright of the rich and it definitely is not out of the grasp of the poor. It's all about the choices we make every day in how we act and portray ourselves to the world. Choose to be as classy as you can!
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