#GoodIdeas: Simple Life Hacks For Better Living

Try Concealer for Pigmentation

Consider an orange concealer to mask pigmentation. It helps hide dark circles too. When the skin has many fine lines and wrinkles, especially around the eye area, an orange concealer can come to your rescue because in make-up, this colour neutralizes pigmentation that is dark, blue and green.

Back to Nature

Avoid chemical exposure through harsh cosmetics and other products. Use natural alternatives as far as possible. Apply overripe fruits such as apple, banana or papaya and vegetable peels such potato and pumpkin or use yoghurt, milk cream, honey and besan (can be used individually or combined to form a pack) as a rejuvenating face pack. Oil your hair and body 2 to 3 times with a week virgin coconut oil before taking a shower.

Pre-cycle to Reduce Waste

Discarded packaging materials make up for about one-third of the waste clogging our landfills. Vast amounts of natural resources and fossil fuels are consumed each year to produce the paper, plastic, glass, aluminum and styrofoam that wrap our purchases.

Some degree of packaging is essential to transport and protect products, but all too often manufac­turers add wrappers over wrappers and layers of unnecessary plastic. Take a stance: Do not encourage individually-packed veggies or one bag for each variety you buy at su­perstores. Speak to the manager and introduce the idea of recycled paper bags instead. When possible, buy in bulk instead of smaller quantities (5 kg canister of oil, bigger jars of lotions and creams, a carton of lassi instead of 100 ml plastic bottles) and look for refill packs or bottles and jars that are refillable.

Prevent Soil Erosion

Gushing rainwater can cause the soil to pour out of small pots. Keep soil erosion in check by placing pebbles on the surface. Worried about the flower beds on your verandah? Proper ground cover will hold the soil better. So plant as many small plants as possible. Though this will not prevent top soil erosion entirely, it will reduce it by some measure.

Is Your Smartphone Making You Slow?

Relying on your trusted phone for every answer or reminder may stop you from thinking for yourself, and slow down your brain. While uncertainty may be the driving factor, laziness is the most likely reason to reach out for the handheld device. What can you do? Maintain a balance between relying on your phone and your brain. And keep your mind active by playing brain games (sudoku, crossword puzzles, memory challenges, etc.).

Collated from articles previously published in Prevention magazine