The Broadsheet Team’s Best Budget Beauty Hacks

Cost-of-living crisis or not, there’s something deeply satisfying about discovering a cheap-but-effective beauty product, or coming across a beauty hack that actually works. And we reckon everyone has a beauty secret they pull out behind closed doors. So, in these financially tricky times, we’ve decided to share ours with you, from budget products to DIY treatments and more.

DIY body powder

In case you’ve been living under a rock, talc is bad – it is linked to endometrial and ovarian cancer and can cause serious respiratory harm if inhaled – which means old-school baby powder is no longer as innocent as it sounds. Unfortunately all the alternatives appear to be 20 times the price – until you look at the ingredients and realise you can make your own. Mostly it’s cornstarch (sold in Australia as cornflour) – yes, that silky white stuff in the baking aisle of the supermarket – and clay powder, like bentonite or white kaolin if you’re feeling fancy. Plus a touch of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) for deodorising. Get a pepper shaker with a closable lid and scoop alternative teaspoons of cornstarch and clay into it until about 95 per cent full. Top with a pinch or two of sodium bicarb and then roll or shake it to mix thoroughly. Store the remaining ingredients in your pantry or bathroom for when you need a refill.
– Adeline Teoh, subeditor

Earjobs eye mask

I wish I could tell you this: I wash my face with rice-soaked water daily (for cheeks that feel like a baby’s bum) and rinse my teeth with apple cider vinegar (for peak-sparkly chompers). But I’d be lying. While I am a total tight-arse, I’m not beauty disciplined. HOWEVER, I’m fairly strict about getting eight hours each night, which some scientists say helps with anti-ageing. My number one hack for this is the industrial and extremely un-sexy Dozy eye mask by Earjobs. It stays on all night (I’m, let’s say, an “active sleeper”). And it applies the perfect amount of pressure, like a parent resting their hand on your face as you nod off. Thank me later.
– Holly Bodeker-Smith, directory editor (app)

Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Moisturising Body Oil

I was watching a doco years ago about an eccentric and slightly deluded New York woman who went off on a huge tangent about how she rubbed down with baby oil after a shower instead of moisturising. I cannot recall anything else about that film, but it obviously made an impression because I tried out this Palmer’s body oil not long after and I’ve been using it ever since. It’s a supermarket cheapie, but it smells great and leaves skin nourished even through the dry, crackly depths of winter.
– Jo Walker, home and lifestyle editor

Cerave SA Smoothing cleanser

My skincare routine is basic, to say the least. I’m one of those people who thinks shampoo run-off is a perfectly suitable face wash (it’s good for the beard). But recently a friend came to stay and left a half-full bottle of CeraVe SA Smoothing cleanser in the bathroom. ($20.99 from Chemist Warehouse. Thanks Ben – I assume you left it by accident and not as a message). It’s formulated with “gentle salicylic acid to exfoliate without disrupting the skin moisture barrier”, and they were smart enough to hire Michael Cera for a brilliantly self-aware, Zoolander-ish Superbowl commercial. My partner says my face has been glowing lately. I’ll take it!
– Michael Harry, features editor

All the rest

My best beauty hacks fall into the “high-maintenance habits to be a low-maintenance girlie” school of thought: a lash lift and eyebrow tint makes you feel alive on no-make-up days; regular skin needling or facials take the place of complicated skincare routines; and a really good haircut goes the distance. Personally, I haven’t ventured into self-tanner as face contour territory because of my redhead complexion, but I’ve seen friends have success. Oh and a spritz of dry shampoo in clean hair – especially if you’re a hair toucher – to cut down on wash days.
–Alice Jeffrey, shopping editor

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