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updated 3/2/2008 3:01:36 AM ET 2008-03-02T08:01:36

Using toothpaste to calm a zit? Slathering avocado on your body? These tips might sound strange at first (you put diaper cream where!?), but there is a logic to them. Cosmo magazine rounded up 10 helpful but odd-sounding pointers, from professionals as well as real girls, that will help your beauty routine:

Powdering your roots
If your hairline starts to look greasy, dig up a big fluffy makeup brush and dip it into a pot of loose powder (using translucent powder on your greasy roots). This is something you want do when you don't have time to shower; it blends into all different hair colors — don't use baby powder, use translucent as it absorbs oil.

Shave with conditioner instead of shaving cream
Ran out of shaving cream? Do double duty by coating your stems with a thick hair conditioner. It softens the hair so it's easier to shave off and it makes legs feel amazingly silky.

Make an egg white mask
To revive tired and dull skin without hitting the spa table, try this: Crack open an egg in a bowl, separate the yolk, and use the egg whites to make a face mask. The proteins help to heal and restore skin's moisture. Leave it on for five minutes, rinse off!

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It's the protein in the egg white that seals in moisture in your face. So leave it on, then take a turkey baster and rinse off. Its gentle for any skin type.

Heat up your eyelash curler
If you have stick-straight lashes, try blasting your metal eyelash curler with a hair dryer for a couple seconds to heat it up so your lashes bend more easily. And use a waterproof mascara — the formula dries faster than other mascaras, so it sets the curl more effectively. It works like a mini curling iron!

Spike lotion with bronzer
If you don't have time to book a self-tanning session, mix a few pumps of body bronzer with regular hand lotion and pat it on your legs for a gradual dose of sexy, beachy color.

Soften your body with avocado
Take a ripe avocado, remove the pit and skin, and mash it up in a bowl. Slather all over your body, let it sit for 20 minutes, then rinse off. Your skin will be so soft, since avocado is a natural moisturizer.

Amp shine with vinegar
Mix one part vinegar with four parts carbonated water, and soak dry hair. Leave on for 15 minutes before you shampoo to lock in shine and combat dullness.

Press a tea bag on splotches
If you're sensitive or just looking irritated or puffy for some reason, steep a bag of green tea for a minute or two, let it cool down and dab it over your face. The antioxidants in the tea take down inflammation.

Use eye makeup remover on stubborn lipstick
Don't try to rub off red lipstick (which makes it smear across your mouth, which isn't too sexy). Instead take a cotton ball or tissue and dip it in makeup remover, and just dab to erase the dark stain fast.

Use toothpaste on a zit
Use just a pea-size amount, let it sit for 15 minutes to absorb the oil so the pimple won't get more clogged, then wash it off.

For more great beauty tips, visit Cosmo magazine online.

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