Grandma's tips!

If you're like me, you sometimes wonder how much time you need to put in your beauty/style routine to look flawless everyday. While some people probably really get up at 5 to make everything perfect, some other people prefer to sleep in and snooze too many times (like me). I'm the kind of person who always looks clean and put together, however, if you look at me closely,  you will notice minor flaws.

1. Cat hair

I have a cat, and until recently I had no idea how people with cats ended up at work with no cat hair on their blazers.

This was, in fact, my motto. My only trick was to wear blazers of other colors but sometimes, you really need to wear black... I can't even recall how much money I spent on lint rollers over the past 2 years and I always ended up with a homemade mohair blazer at work. Until I discovered the genius of the "air fluff" option in the dryer. It litterally saved my life. Put your blazer in there for 10 minutes and see for yourself. You might need to use a lint roller for stubborn hairs but I guarantee you will use only 1 sheet.

2. Nails


(image source: awaywiththefairiesblog.com)

I loooove nail polish! But I'm a very busy person and I rarely have the time to paint my nails. Everytime, the same thing happens. I paint my nails, and then I can't sit still and start doing something else. Bam! I stratch my polish and have to start over again. I also paint on the skin around my nails on my right hand (I'm far from ambidextrous). I end up with a bad nail job and try to hide my nails at work. My best grandma trick for that is to paint your nails before you shower (and shower at night, right before bed). You have to wait 5 minutes before showering and when the polish starts to set, the water will help it finish the process. And will wash off any excess polish on your skin! Be careful if you wash your hair though, try not to get your finger stuck in it.

3. Hair/Frizz


(image source: ihomeremedy.net)

I have the frizziest hair on earth! My hair is naturally blonde so it's very dry (I have this unverified theory that blonde hair is dryer than dark hair). My tips are bleached right now (I have a subtle ombré) which makes my hair really tangly and frizzy. I don't like spending an hour doing my hair so I usually tie it up in a low bun and go to work. I've recently discovered a new way to towel dry my hair that makes it 3x easier to style afterwards, so I can leave my hair down without people thinking "wow, she really needs a haircut". Thanks to Lauren Conrad, I now dry my hair by wrapping it with an old, soft t-shirt. It's so much easier on your strands than a towel that causes breakage! I started this week and see a huge difference!

4. Wax on clothing

Ok, this rarely happens unless you're clumsy like me (and love candles or lack outdoor lighting). But if you end up having candlewax on your clothes (which happened to me on a brand-new trench coat), it can be removed super easily! You just need to wait until it dries and put a paper towel on top of it. Then, you iron it and poof! the wax has completely transferred on the paper towel (p.s., it does NOT work on suede shoes, I tried). If you don't have an iron (which was my case for the last few months, don't judge me!), just use a flat iron for hair! Which leads me to my next tip!

5. Wrinkled shirt, 10 minutes late, no iron/no time/nothing else to wear!

Let's say you have a very corporate job. And you snooze too much. And you don't have much free time to do your laundry. It is possible that one morning, you are late and need to wear a dress shirt and that you don't have any ironed shirts. Tip: wear a blazer on top (Thanks, The Lady Olive). If the shirt still looks wrinkled, use your flat iron on the front placket and on the collar and poof! Magic happens again! And it literally takes 30 seconds since most flat irons heat up in 2 seconds! (Ok, I'm really proud of that one because I invented it. Well, maybe other people use it but nobody actually gave it to me).

I think living a balanced life is all about shortcuts. Until 50-hour days happen, I guess!

Enjoy your weekend, the time of the week where you don't need to use any of those tips! :)