Coat the undersides of your shaving cream cans -- or any metal soap dishes or shower products -- with a layer of clear nail polish to keep rust from forming and staining your bathtub. (Source: elle.com)
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Try Vaseline for that shabby chic paint look
If you want a picture frame or cabinet to get that chipped-paint look you could: A.) wait a few years for the paint to actually start chipping or B.) try this cool Vaseline trick. Just apply blobs or Vaseline on the wood where you want it to look distressed (avoid any areas you'd like to keep looking pristine), then apply a top coat of paint. Once the paint is dry, sand off the Vaseline splotches (they'll be easy to spot since they'll be raised). The paint in those areas will come right off when you sand, giving you a weathered look immediately. (Source: sweetpickinsfurniture.com)
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Polish silver with toothpaste
You don't need to buy silver polish; Squirt a dab of regular white toothpaste to polish any silver you have. Just don't try it with a gel or whitening formula -- they won't do the trick. (Source: Good Housekeeping)
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Dust your keyboard with your eyeshadow brush
Those little nooks and crannies in your keyboard can get filled with gunk (especially if you snack at your desk). But a quick swipe with a makeup brush can help you get between the letters and clean things out. Make sure to use an old brush -- or wash it thoroughly before tossing it back in your makeup bag. (Source: squidoo.com)
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Polish wood and leather with baby oil
Use baby oil to polish wood furniture or even your leather bags and boots. It'll give it a nice shine, remove water stains, and even give the wood a waterproof barrier. Do this before a party, when people may end up spilling on your beautiful coffee table. Bonus: It'll smell baby fresh. (Source: instrctables.com)
The other day my co-worker's chair was squeaking to the point of annoying everyone in the office. It was begging for some WD-40. But since our office is long on beauty products and short on tools, we didn't have any.
To the rescue: Senior Associate Editor Cinya Burton and her stash of Saffron James Monoi Oil. It silenced the squeak, restored our collective sanity, and even left the chair smelling deliciously like vanilla (we'd like to see WD-40 do that!).
Admittedly, this probably wasn't the best use for a $40 organic coconut and vanilla bean body oil, but in a pinch it certainly worked. Which got us asking around about what other beauty products we could use to solve our various household problems.
Not surprisingly, we aren't the only ones resorting to beauty products in home-improvement emergencies. But what did surprise us are all the creative ways makeup artists, hairstylists, and other beauty junkies use their favorite products for quick fixes.
