You might not know it to look at me, but I’m somewhat of a girly girl. I like make-up, scented lotions, and pretty things. What I don’t like is spending a lot of money on them. In my search for the perfect shampoo, lipstick, body scrub, et cetera, I have come across some great, and surprising, finds that won’t break the bank but will make you feel like a million bucks.

It’s All About the HairFor years I had short hair that was easy to manage. Wash and slap some gel into it and I was ready to go. Two years ago I decided to grow my hair out and right now it’s the longest I have had it since I’ve been seven years old - a few inches past my shoulder. And I now realize why I usually keep my hair short: tangles.

And I’m not just talking a few here and there. I’m talking “not able to get a comb through it” tangles. “An hour to work through after washing” tangles. And even if I detangled it wet, it would dry and then revert back to a bird’s nest.

In my bid to not bald myself combing my hair, I tried everything I could think of: deep conditioners, leave in conditioners, expensive detanglers. Nothing worked until I hit the kids section of Walmart. L’Oreal Kids Tangle Tamer is by far my most cherished hair care product. Sprayed through towel dried hair it takes care of all of my tangles. For about 3 bucks it’s a steal and I can’t live without it.

Tasty TreatsI have dry lips. Summer, Winter, Fall, it doesn’t matter. When my lips are really bad, any lipstick I put on looks horrible and gloppy and in some cases makes the dryness worse. I hate going out with pale, dry lips which is why I love Bonne Belle lip Lights Glossy Tints.

These guys not only taste great, but they look great too! I don’t wear a lot of make-up as a rule and I find that the sheer color the lip tints add to my lips is perfect. It also eliminates embarrassing ring around the mouth you can get with other lip glosses and lipsticks. They retail for around 3 to 4 dollars and come in a variety of yummy tastes like Cappuccino, Berry Smoothie, and my favorite, Mocha Creme. Of course, if you’d rather go with beauty lips, Bonne Belle Lip Smackers are a must have and come in oodles of great tastes. Just because I’m no longer 10 doesn’t mean I’m going to give up my love of Bonne Belle.

A Homemade SolutionBody scrubs are great. Body scrubs are a God send. Body scrubs are expensive.

I love using a body scrub a couple of times a week to exfoliate but, man, oh, man they can cost a bundle! That’s why I started making my own. It’s so easy I was actually embarrassed that I used to buy it. Here’s the basic recipe:

- course salt- sugar- oil- scent

I put equal parts salt and sugar together and mix them up. Then I add a bit of oil at a time (I use olive), mixing until I get the consistency that I like. I then add my fragrance oil and away I go. Sometimes instead of the fragrance oil I’ll add ground coffee or hot chocolate for a wonderful wake up smell. Mint chocolate body scrub is to die for! If you do add food like things to your scrubs, just make enough for one use. You can find lots of recipes for scrubs online.