Have you ever looked at your collection of beauty products and realized that they have got out of hand? They’ve taken over your bathroom and sprawled across all the surfaces in your bedroom. Surely there has to be a better way to stay beautiful? To save on space in your home, and to help save you money, you can buy products that do more than one job at once. Instead of having ten different creams for moisturizing, anti-aging, sun protection and more, you can roll them all into one. Using fewer products is kinder to your skin too, so you won’t have to keep applying products to combat the problems caused by others.

Sun Protection

Lots of moisturizers, foundations and BB creams not come with added UV protection. That means that just by putting on your foundation in the morning, you’re protecting your skin from sun damage. They’re usually around SPF 15, so while they won’t protect you at the height of summer they’re excellent for day-to-day. You can also find lip balms and glosses that have SPF protection too. Sun protection will stop your skin from drying out and protect it from sun damage.

Anti-aging Cleansers

You can also find skin care products that both clean and help to keep back the signs of aging. For example, Ecco Bella‘s skin care products claim both anti-aging and anti-blemish properties. This is because of their richness in vitamins and minerals. You’ll also find anti-aging moisturizers, toners and, scrubs and lotions.

Maria Morri

Natural Oils

When you use natural oils, you can set them to the task of moisturizing you all over. They can benefit your body, face, hair, hands and feet. Use them on your cuticles to stop them drying out or use oils as a luxurious hair conditioning treatment. Oils like argan oil or coconut oil are very popular, and they can do so much. Mix them with brown sugar or sea salt to create a body scrub that will exfoliate as well as moisturize.

BB Creams

BB creams are a cross between a foundation and a tinted moisturizer. They don’t give as much color as a foundation, but they’re better than a moisturizer. Instead of just coloring your face like a foundation, they have formulations that are supposed to help you correct dark spots and brighten your skin. They can even help to prevent aging and repair your skin. You may even find CC or DD creams that claim to do even more at once.

Multitasking Colors

Instead of having different tubs and tubes of makeup for different purposes, why not use one product for everything? You can buy products that you can use to add color to your eyes, lips and cheeks all at once. You get them in the form of sticks or creams, and you can use them to give you that extra glow when you’re feeling a bit plain. They save a whole lot of room in your handbag!

If you start combining your beauty products, you’ll soon be able to take your bathroom back. Not only that, but your purse will have more room for the money you’ve saved.

Having a beautiful home is not a luxury, it is a necessity. If you are keen to update your home, but you don’t want to remodel your property, there are ways that you can achieve a brand new look.

Floors are often overlooked in the home. Our homes would look pretty strange without them. But, we often forget to update them when are in the midst of decorating. After all, flooring solutions can be expensive. This is why they are often neglected.

There are cheap and fantastic ways that you can update your flooring and transform the entire look of your beautiful. You don’t have to stick to carpet; you can have something different and make your house a home.

Credit: BCCNYC

1.    Back to Basics: Paint Your Floorboards

Painting your floorboards is one of the easiest ways to ensure that your room is modernized and looking fabulous. Wooden floors work well in rural homes. If you are a fan of the rustic look, taking up your carpet and exposing the bare wooden floorboards is a great way to update your home.

Many people do this and choose to simply varnish the wood. This can look nice, but let’s face it; it can be a little dull. You can sand down the wood and paint the flooring in a vast array of colors. Many people are choosing to opt for pastel blues and sea greens. But, if you are a little less adventurous, grey muted tones and soft creams can look divine. You don’t have to have an expensive floor in your home to make it look beautiful.

2.    Tiles Are Not Just For Kitchens and Bathrooms

Tiles are popular in bathrooms and kitchens. But, what about bringing tiles into the living room? Throw on a huge rug, and you are on to a winner. Ceramic tiles are perfect for living rooms. They can be a little cold, but in the warm summer months, they can be an advantage to your home. You can choose to have tiles with patterns, alternating colors or simple plain tiles. Whatever you choose, it is sure to look different. Having a unique take on your flooring is a great way to update and modernize your home. Don’t let tiles be unseen. Have them loud and proud in your living space. You can do this yourself at home with a pack of tiles and some ceramic glue from Glue Guns Direct.

3.    Wooden Flooring Just Got Interesting

Wooden flooring has been very popular in the last few years. Many people have opted for beige wooden tones. If you want something a little different, there is now a range of wooden flooring options. These come in dark mahoganies, blacks and rich brown tones. These look exquisite in larger rooms. A light rug can really show off the nature of the flooring. The key to making wooden flooring work is to make it the focal point of the room. Colored wooden flooring looks great in bedrooms. But, if you want an opulent feel within your living room, you need to go dark. Contrast with light colored walls for a truly decadent look.

The problem with healthy eating is that many of us associate it with boring ‘rabbit food’ and bland, unappetizing salads. But the reality is that this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Healthy eating doesn’t have to be boring at all, in fact quite the opposite is true. So, instead of wasting money on unhealthy foods that make your waistline expand, why not replace them with some healthy alternatives? By cooking at home, you could help to improve your health, lose a bit of weight and save a few cents along the way.

Courtesy of Flickr

1. Swap Meat for Quorn

Before all you meat-eaters turn your noses up in disgust, hear us out. You don’t have to be a vegetarian to enjoy Quorn. It was introduced into the United States back in 2002, and since then the taste just keeps on getting better and better. Even better than that it’s got a much lower fat content than meat such as pork or beef. So why not consider swapping meat for Quorn in dishes like spaghetti Bolognese a couple of times a week? Maybe try a couple of Quorn sausages or burgers as part of your evening meal. By making just this one simple change, you could soon find yourself looking thinner, feeling happier and enjoying better health.

2. Replace Your Early Morning Coffee with a Healthy and Energizing Alternative

People often forget this, but the fact of the matter is that caffeine is actually a drug. Just because it’s legal in the US, doesn’t automatically mean that it’s not dangerous. In small doses it acts as a mild stimulant, which is why many people rely on it to wake them up in the mornings. But if you consume too much it can raise your blood pressure to harmful levels, and even cause heart palpitations, which can be very alarming. To avoid damaging your health, consider replacing your cup of coffee with an energizing smoothie instead. The great thing is that they’re cheap and require very little effort to make. All you need is a few simple ingredients and a blender. You can look online for recipes, or if you’re feeling creative, you could have a bit of fun and try making your own!

3. Make Homemade Pizza

The great thing about pizza is that you can make it using any ingredients you like so that no two pizzas ever end up tasting exactly the same. If you’ve never made pizza before, it’s worth having a few practice runs first. Check out the pizza menu at your favorite Italian restaurant or takeout, and start with some basic recipes first. Once you start to get an idea of which flavors make good taste combinations, you can then start to experiment with your own ideas. Try and focus on using fresh, seasonal produce, and you’ll soon discover just how delicious healthy eating can be.

Courtesy of Flickr

You have to be prepared to make a few changes to your lifestyle if you want to improve your health. Luckily, the suggestions we’ve made are easy to implement, cheap to make and most importantly they taste delicious. So, what are you waiting for? It’s time to get cooking!

Keeping a clean and tidy home can be something of a chore. But, there is a wide range of technology that can help you with these dull tasks. There are some brilliant gadgets on the market to assist you with your quest of the cleanest home in all of the land. You may not be Snow White standard. You may not have the help of seven dwarves. But, you can have a tidy home utilizing the amazing tech on the market. Link to source
Let’s take a look at some unusual gadgets that will keep your home clean.

1.    Shark Navigator Despite the seemingly strange name, the Shark Navigator will not help you find sharks. But, it will help you keep your home in immaculate condition. This is less techie than some of the vacuum cleaners on the market, but it more than performs to the task. Everyone has heard of the robotic vacuum cleaners. What is more, they are prone to breakages. While the notion of one is great, the reality is different. May we introduce the Shark Navigator? It is much like a traditional vacuum cleaner, except it is significantly better. It is lightweight and unusual in its design. It defies the typical standard of vacuum cleaners. What is more, it is very powerful. If you have pets and children, this vacuum cleaner will take the hard work out of cleaning up. It’s a nifty piece of home tech. What is more, it’s cheap too. Who knew that having a clean home would be so easy?

2.    Robomop The Robomop is something of an inspired name. Not to be confused with the popular film, the Robomop is revolutionising the way that we mop our floors. In fact, once you have one you won’t know how you lived without it. It is a dust and mopping device that tackles hardwood floors without you having to get on your hands and knees. It self-propels via a ball and circuit, thus enabling you to sit back and watch your floors become clean without having to work hard. The great thing about the Robomop is that it changes direction when it comes into contact with an obstacle. You may spend more time watching this fantastic gadget than getting on with other tasks. But, it’s cost-efficient and great to have within the home.

3.    Sonic Scrubber The Sonic Scrubber loves the jobs that you detest. This is a mighty power tool and is efficient within the home. It scrubs at 10,000 times per minute. Wow. You won’t have to undertake arduous household chores once you have one of these within your home. Many people are coveting this piece of tech because it uses a little amount of cleaning solution. For those that don’t like to use chemicals within their home, this is the ideal solution. It’s not as cheap as other models on the market, but it is a brilliant piece of tech that can really help you.

Cleaning doesn’t have to be a chore. Utilise the amazing tech on the market and have a clean house without the backbreaking work.  

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Finding a base for you and your family is vital for a happy family life. Where you live when your children are small will determine what kind of childhood your children have. You want to make sure that everything is perfect for your little ones when they are growing up. As such, you need to do everything in your power to make sure that you find the right home for your family. This period is likely to be a stressful time for you and your partner. It is important not to let the experience impact your home life. Work together to find the right property, rather than wasting time arguing about small things. Here is a quick guide to help you find the ideal family home.

Decide on a budget

Let’s talk money. Your budget is everything. It will determine how much money you can spend on the property and what sort of properties you will be considering. Make sure that you come up with a reasonable, affordable budget for your family. How much do you and your partner make on a monthly basis? You should be spending around a quarter of your combined monthly income on the mortgage. If you do the math, you can come up with a rough monthly budget. Use a mortgage calculator to see how much your budget equates to in housing prices terms. Search ‘house prices in my area,’ so that you can get a rough guide of how much to spend.

Research the region

You want to raise your children in a good region with a low crime rate and a good authority system. Become a detective and find out all there is to know about your new region. A quick Google search will help you find out about the crime within the area. You can also download state statistics online to see what kind of place the property is in and whether you’d like it. Remember, you can’t find the perfect area, as everywhere has downfalls. Just look for the best area to suit your family situation.

Visit the property (more than once)

You and your family need to get a real feel for your new property. Visiting the house just once won’t do. You and your family need to visit the property a  few times to see whether you can imagine yourselves living there. Take your children along to one of the viewings and see how they react. The chances are that, if your children fall in love with a property, so will you. You should never make an offer on a property based on pure impulse. Doing so could mean you end with a home that does not suit you or your family life.

Look into local schools

What are the schools like in the region? When buying a family home, you need to find out about the local schools. How do they compare to other schools in the state or the country? Are they currently accepting new students? The school that your children attend when they are young will scope their learning experience. Moving to an area with a great education system will give your children the best start in life.

Look into local amenities

What is there in the general area? You are hoping to make a life for you and your family in the region, and so you need to know what the area has to offer you. If you have an interest or hobby, is there somewhere to do it in the area? Are there clubs or classes for your children to attend in the evening? Is there enough entertainment venues to keep you, and the family occupied? You should be asking yourself all these questions and more. When you choose a home for you and your family, you plan to stay there for years or even decades. Make sure that you make the right decision. Choose a place that you can see yourself living for many years.

One aspect of ageing that none of us likes is the effect that it can have on our appearance. Wrinkles, crow’s feet and tired sagging skin don’t exactly lend themselves to a woman being able to feel her best. Whilst we can’t stop the ageing process entirely, we can help to reduce its effect on our appearance by taking action as early as possible. By action, we don’t mean that you should book an appointment with your friendly local plastic surgeon. What we do mean is that there are simple techniques that you can incorporate into your beauty regime today, so you can keep looking your best for as long as possible. Source: Flickr
1. Get Plenty of Sleep We tend to need much less sleep as we get older, but that doesn’t mean that just getting a couple of hours each night will suffice. We all need our beauty sleep, no matter what age we happen to be. Fatigue can cause skin to look dull and lose its plumpness. So, if you struggle to sleep for more than 4-6 hours, then try and take short ‘power-naps’ in the day. They’re great for helping you to feel refreshed, and you’ll find that your skin looks much healthier as well.
2. Protect Your Skin We expose our skin to all sorts throughout the course of our lives. We spend the day in a polluted city, or sit in the sun without wearing sunscreen. We may not notice any damage at the time, but trust us, the damage is being done. So, make sure you cleanse, tone and moisturize your skin at least twice a day. Everybody should do this, no matter if they happen to be 16 or 52. If you’re spending the day out of doors, make sure you wear sunscreen with a factor of at least thirty or above. If you wear make up, try and use products of the highest quality. You can look on the internet to find discounted cosmetics and cheap make up from many of the top-selling brands. You may not be able to improve the damage that’s already been done, but you can prevent further damage from happening.
3. Take Regular Exercise As we get older, our joints are more prone to stiffness than when we were younger. If we don’t work to prevent it, we can lose strength and suppleness. You don’t have to run a marathon in order to stay fit and healthy. You could go swimming once or twice a week, or join a senior yoga class or walking group. The great thing about joining an exercise class is that you get to meet lots of new people, which can help to keep you feeling young in itself! If you’re a little more restricted in your range of movement, any form of gentle exercise would suffice. As long as it raises your heartbeat, you’ll still reap the all-important anti-ageing benefits.   Source: Flickr Remember, getting older isn’t something to be ashamed of, it’s just another stage of your life that should be embraced and enjoyed. So, whatever you do, don’t ever let age stop you from doing anything – there’s just too much fun to be had for that!