Cheap beauty secrets - or cheap n' nasty?

Supermodels and movie stars swear by it: Vaseline as a facial moisterizer.

I typically use it as a lip moisterizer before bed, but the other night I tried it on my face. And reader, after a few days of using it, my face looks and feels like a baby's bum.

I bought two more mini tubs at the Dollar Store last night for $1.29 each. They even market it on the packages as the "No. 1 Skin Protection" and "The Ultimate Moisturizer."

Sure, it's 100% petroleum jelly. But are we saying here that the expensive creams we buy at the beauty counters are 100% chemical-free?

In truth we don't really know for sure the potential harmful effects of the chemical ingredients that go into Vaseline or all those expensive creams. Apparently the FDA has approved the former as a skin protectant. As for the cosmetics and skincare industry, the regulations don't appear to be be all that rigorous when it comes to what can go into the products, primarily because there either hasn't been a ton of research done on those chemicals or the research hasn't definitively shown anything.

So until someone tells me that those expensive creams with the mega marketing campaigns are more safe and more effective, I'm sticking with the cheap n' effective Vaseline solution!

Do you have any cheap n' easy beauty secrets, or have you ever used Vaseline as a facial moisterizer? I have some natural ones I'll tell you about tomorrow.