Quick and Affordable Tips to Look and Smell Radiant: Polished and Refined

Polished and Refined

When it comes to grooming, little things can make a big difference. A cleanly plucked brow, clipped nose hairs, neatly filed fingernails, or a close shave can mean the difference between looking good and looking great.

No one wants to spend hours in front of the mirror primping or spend hundreds of dollars at a salon. So here are some grooming tips that will help you look polished, refined, and youthful -- without investing a lot of money or time. Some are for men only, some for women only, and some for both.

1. Track the amount of time you're spending on "grooming," and stop at 45 minutes. That's the most it should ever take to shower, take care of your skin, apply makeup, and style your hair. Any longer, and you need to get an easier haircut, use less makeup, and cut down to one skin-care product.

2. If you're prone to ingrown hairs, lather with shaving cream or gel for five minutes to soften hairs. Then shave in the direction of the hair growth with a new blade, says Andrea Lynn Cambio, M.D., a New York City dermatologist. Follow with a gentle moisturizer.

3. Shave slowly, with short strokes, and rinse the blade often in hot water. Your skin is not flat, so long strokes increase your chances of cuts or scrapes. Try not to press down with the blade, especially around sensitive areas.

4. Apply your shaving cream with a shaving brush for an extra-lustrous shaving session (whether for your legs or your face). It will create tons of lather, which will make the hairs softer and easier to remove.

5. If you have no time for a shower but need to be at your freshest, fill your sink with water and add 4 tablespoons baking soda. Then dip a sponge or washcloth in the sink and rub yourself down, recommends Susie Galvez, owner of Face Works Day Spa in Richmond, Virginia, and author of Hello Beautiful: 365 Ways to Be Even More Beautiful.

6. Ward off smelly feet with odor-absorbing insoles. Foot odor is a very common problem. Keep your feet smelling fresh by scrubbing them daily and drying them completely when you get out of the shower. Then insert odor-absorbing insoles, such as Odor-Eaters, into your shoes.

7. Schedule a weekly manicure and a monthly pedicure. This works for men and women. You can do it yourself, but a pro will always do a better job. The simple detail of well-filed nails, clean cuticles, and smooth toenails (if you're wearing open-toed shoes) goes a long way toward telling bosses, coworkers, and clients that you're a person who cares about the little as well as the big things.

Reduce Odor

8. Wear loose-fitting clothes to allow air to circulate around your body and perspiration to evaporate. Tight-fitting clothes cause sweat to be trapped in a film on your skin, which can result in body odor or noticeable embarrassing perspiration stains.

9. Buy clothes made from natural fibers like cotton. They allow skin to breathe, reducing body odor, says David Bank, M.D., dermatologist and director of the Center for Dermatology, Cosmetic, and Laser Surgery in Mount Kisco, New York. Avoid synthetic, man-made fibers, such as nylon or spandex, which tend to limit ventilation.

10. Apply antiperspirant when your underarms are a little moist and wet, like right after a warm shower or bath. It enables active ingredients to enter the sweat glands more readily.

11. Avoid sitting in direct sunlight. It heats your body and causes perspiration, especially in warmer weather.

12. Apply a cornstarch-based body powder in the morning to help skin stay drier throughout the day and reduce odor.

13. Take a yoga class. The education you get in stress management will help you better control perspiration and body odor. After heat, stress is probably the top cause of sweating.

14. Wipe a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol, vinegar, or hydrogen peroxide onto your underarms during the day to cut down on odor-causing bacteria. Or try witch hazel or tea tree oil, both of which help keep you dry, kill bacteria, and deodorize.

15. Fix some greens for dinner each night. Dark green leafy vegetables like spinach, chard, parsley, and kale are rich in chlorophyll, which has a powerful deodorizing effect on your body.

16. Roll antiperspirant across your feet before putting on your socks to control foot odor.

For Women Only

17. Tweeze your brows right after you step out of the shower. Your pores are open, enabling the hairs to slide out when you pluck. Avoid brow shaping when your skin is most sensitive: first thing in the morning, after you've been outside in extremely hot or cold weather, or during your period, when your nerve endings are at their most sensitive, says Galvez.

18. Carry a makeup touch-up kit with you wherever you go. Look for double-duty products, like a lip/cheek/eye cream or a two-ended product with mascara on one end and eyeliner on the other. Other good kit items include cotton balls soaked in makeup remover and then stored in a film canister, pressed powder, nail file, and lip gloss.

19. Check out your face in a small hand mirror in front of a window at least once a day. You'll catch a glimpse of any sun spots or wrinkles you need to cover up or facial hairs you need to pluck, makeup that's uneven, even long nose hairs, says Galvez. The natural sunlight makes the inspection more revealing.

20. Apply makeup in natural light. Even if this means bringing your makeup and a mirror into the living room. The light from a bulb is often a different shade from that of natural light, and rarely does a bulb-lit room have evenly distributed light. If you must do your work in a bulb-lit room, make sure you are using the correct wattage -- at least 60 watts for overhead lights and 25 watts for makeup mirrors.

21. Rub some olive oil on your bikini line to keep it soft and free of those unsightly red bumps. For best results, apply the olive oil to the area immediately after shaving.

22. For instantly fresh feet, spray your soles with chilled cologne or chilled peppermint or rose geranium herbal water. You can make your own by adding a couple of drops of the essential oils to a spray bottle of water and storing in the refrigerator.

23. To make eyes appear closer together, tweeze your brows on the outer edges and let them grow in closer toward the nose. To make your eyes appear farther apart, tweeze your brows to expand the open space above the nose, advises Gina Michele Bisignano, a model and beauty consultant in Los Angeles. "In other words," she says, "make the brows shorter."

24. Wait a few minutes after applying your daily moisturizer before starting on your makeup. If your moisturizer doesn't have time to penetrate your skin, your makeup may smear or go on unevenly.

For Men Only

25. If you have a unibrow, consider laser hair removal to tidy up the area. This procedure can also be used to remove stray nose and ear hairs. Excessive or unruly facial hair is generally considered unattractive.

26. Shave after your shower. Steam and hot water soften the bristles of your beard and open up the pores of your skin, making shaving easier and less painful.

27. Or, shave in the shower. Most men can get a terrific shave without any lather or cream whatsoever by shaving as the last part of a shower. Five minutes of hot, steamy water provides all the moisture and hair softening your beard needs, and the rinse-off and cleanup take just seconds.

28. Change the blade in your razor every three or four days. You could be shaving with the most expensive razor on the market, but if the blade is dull, it will leave you with a red, blotchy face and neck.

29. Shave some or all of your facial hair off for a more youthful look. If you have a full beard, try a goatee. If you have a goatee, go for the clean-faced look.

30. Trim the other hair on your body. Many men losing the hair on their heads start to gain it other places, like on their ears, nose, or back. To look clean and contemporary, trim, wax, or pluck unwanted hair.

31. When the weather gets warmer, trim your armpit hair. There will be less hair to trap bacteria and hence, less odor.

32. Extend the life of your razors by soaking them in mineral oil. Fill a shallow dish with mineral oil and soak them for a few minutes -- the oil will stop the oxidation process that can dull edges. Then use a little rubbing alcohol to clean off the oil.