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)
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Eyeliner makes a great pen
Need to jot down a phone number and don't have a pen? Grab a lip or eyeliner -- it'll work just as well in a pinch. Just don't use lipstick, since that can break easily. (Source: makeup artist and author of "StyleEyes," Taylor Chang-Babaian)
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.
