Everybody’s had one – a beauty emergency. Whether you’re out and about and break a nail or simply run out of conditioner and can’t make a trip to the store, it happens to everyone sooner or later. Thankfully there are a lot of substitutions and handy household items that can work wonders in a pinch to keep you and your tresses and tips in top shape.

Broken eyeshadow – bake it back to brand new!

Drop your favorite eyeshadow and the color just happens to be discontinued or harder than heck to find? Add a small amount of isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol to it and stick it in the oven at a low temperature. You can also crush it completely, spray it with a fine mist of alcohol and press it between two sheets of aluminum foil or wax paper and let it dry. Once it bakes or dries it will be good as new.

Fly away hair that’s full of static – Bounce back!

When the weather is cold and dry, everything seems to be full of static electricity, including hair. If you’re at your wit’s end with fluff and frizz, run an unused dryer sheet over your hair to help calm the chaos. A light spray of your favorite hairspray on your brush before brushing can help as well.

Chapped lips and no balm – go natural!

For chapped lips that can’t wait until you find a lip balm, the oil that develops on the sides of your nose can make life a little more bearable. As weird as it sounds, if you’re really in a bind, using some of that oil (you can use oil from any part of your face but it collects faster and in greater concentrations on the sides of the nose) on your lips will lubricate and soothe until you can get to a lip balm. Not something you want to do all the time, but can really come in handy for athletes, while working out at the gym, or while camping.

Out of conditioner – grab a snack!

Thought you had plenty of conditioner…until you went to use it? Now, not only are you half showered and not in the mood to go buy some, but your beauty supply, salon or grocery store is closed. Don’t fret! There’s plenty of stuff that you can substitute, and you probably have most of it in your kitchen right now. Vinegar, mayonnaise, beer, honey, avocado, egg yolks and olive oil all make fantastic conditioners. Rosemary tea (for brunettes) and chamomile tea (for blondes and redheads) also make great conditioners that will enhance your hair color by bringing out the natural highlights and depth. Hand or body lotion will also work in a pinch – just make sure you rinse thoroughly to avoid any greasy feeling.

Angry pimple – get the red out!

A drop of any over the counter eye drops will help to eliminate redness in acne flare ups. Toothpaste will help dry a pimple if used before bed, and hemorrhoid cream will not only reduce redness but help reduce swelling and inflammation as well. Just keep the hemorrhoid cream away from your eyes (duh!) and your mouth – the ingredients used to help with pain will make your lips (or your husband/boyfriend’s) go numb.

Torn nail – patch it with paper!

Toilet paper, in fact! If you have a nail that’s torn at the corner and about to break, using a small piece of toilet paper followed by a thin layer of nail resin or nail glue can strengthen and keep it together until it grows out. The surface will be a little rough from the glue or resin, so make sure you buff gently with a high grit buffer to smooth it out without losing the nail completely.

Broken nail that needs to be filed – strike out!

A nail with a rough edge can be painful in more ways than one. Whether it’s just unsightly or is snagging on everything from clothes to skin, if you don’t have a nail file you may think you’ll just have to grin and bear it. But if you happen to have a book of matches handy you can use the strike strip on the outside to smooth any small snags. Don’t smoke? The smooth concrete that pillars and supports on most buildings are made of will also help sand rough edges.

Oily roots and no time to shampoo – be a baby!

Hit the snooze button one too many times and now you don’t have time to hit the shower before work or school? Help hide those oily roots by using a little bit of baby powder or loose cosmetic powder.  Using a large, fluffy brush, dab the powder on sparingly and then brush through. Repeat if necessary. Start with a small amount and work your way up to the desired result – too much right off the top can leave you will dull, pasty white roots.

Out of shaving cream – don’t shave dry, moisturize!

If soap and water just won’t cut it, try using hair conditioner. The thick consistency will give you a nice, close shave and all the emollients and vitamins packed into the average cream rinse will leave you with soft, silky skin, sans the nicks and cuts.

Eyelash curler M.I.A. – spoons aren’t just for soup!

Give your eye fringe a fabulous flip with a large soup soon that has been warmed (keyword here is warm, not hot) with a shot from your blow dryer.  Place the back/convex edge of the spoon on top of your lashes, and push your lashes into it gently with your thumb until it cools. Test the spoon after heating it on the inside of your wrist or elbow to make sure it’s not too hot before putting it anywhere near your eyes.

Lost earring back – think pink!

If you’re at work or school and lose an earring back, chances are you’ll just take your earrings off to avoid looking lopsided. It can be a real damper on any day to lose such a fundamental accessory and very possibly the key piece to the look you’re rocking. Next time it happens, grab a pencil and rip off the eraser. Stab it once or twice with your earring back (so you don’t hurt your ear) and the use the eraser as a back. Assuming you don’t over-stab, it should fit snug all day or night.

Coloring hair and don’t have a processing cap – go green!

Recycling is a hot topic these days, especially with the price of everything from tomatoes to Toyotas going up. If you’re coloring hair and realize you don’t have a processing cap, whether it’s to nix mess or help with lift, a plastic grocery bag will work just as well. Tear slightly between the handles before sporting your sack so it will be easier to tie.

No mascara – fake it with your fringe!

It sounds strange, but if you find yourself without mascara and need the lash definition it provides, a little bit of petroleum jelly (Vaseline) adds gloss and body to lashes. Assuming you’re not wearing heavy eye makeup which can smear and transplant, petroleum jelly adds just enough shine and texture to lashes to make them stand out, despite its lack of color.

Pale lips and no lipstick – indulge your sweet tooth!

If you’re looking a little pale and washed out, but don’t have any lipstick or gloss handy, hard candy in red or pink shades (or purple, blue or orange, if that’s your thing) dampened (whether by your mouth or an outside source of moisture is up to you) and rubbed on the lips can add a natural looking pop of color. Food dyes like Red #40 will stain lips for hours (think about the blue or purple tongue you may get after eating hard candy) and warm up a dull, ashy complexion when lipstick isn’t an option.

Next time you find yourself in a pinch, don’t fret! There’s always an opportunity to turn a fashion failure into a beauty blockbuster, so don’t despair! Beauty perfection is only a matchbook away!