Cleo Tips

Mend broken lipstick by softening the broken bit with a lighter, attach it to the stump and freeze for about 10 minutes.

Added too much salt to the soup or stew? Instead of resorting to diluting the soup, drop in a raw potato and boil for five minutes. When you remove the potato, the overly salty taste will be gone.

Prolong your mattress’ life by turning if over every two weeks for the first few months and thereafter, once every two months. Don’t clean it with dry cleaning fluid as this can damage surface materials – brush, vacuum and air the mattress regularly to prevent dust mites and bed bugs. To prevent stains, use a quilted mattress protector under the sheets.

To remove tomato based stains, heavily coat with baking soda to absorb liquid. Then lift solids and use a spot remover. If a spot remains, use a red-stain remover. Do the same for pasta sauces.

Red stains need fast treatment. Lift solids, blot with soda water and use a red-stain remover. Don’t have any? Try 125ml hydrogen peroxide plus 5ml ammonia, rinse with water and blot dry. Also works with red wine and red punch.

Suds from beer spills turn brown if not treated before they dry. Blot, flush with soda water, blot again, then use spot remover. Dry with a hair dryer to prevent a brown ring from residual alcohol.

Light and durable, dental floss can double up as sewing thread to mend rips and tears in clothes. A clothes line for when you’ve no place to hand you’re washing in hostels, or even as a replacement for a broken shoelace.

To achieve flawless feet, avacado skin is used in Australia to slough awat rough patches.

Instead of cucumbers, the Spanish place thin slices of potato on eyes for 10 minutes to eliminate unflattering dark undereye circles.

Brazilian women are knows to fub handfuls of sand on their bodies to help smooth away cellulite and stimulate circulation in the skin.

In Poland, honey is used warm as a mask or applied directly to lips as a lip-softening treatement.

The chinese believe that white tea is the key to youthful skin.

Banana peels are the answer to soothing sunburnt skin in Jamaica. (haha! Looks like I got my answer)

As garlic contains anti-bacterial compounds, Russians rub it onto their cuts.

The secret of the Japanese geishas' porcelain-like flawless complexions is camelia oil.

You dread hot weather because you know you'll get an itchy rash that leaves you miserable! A heat rash, or prickly heat, is a skin irritation caused by too much hear and moisture. To prevent it, stay out of the sun and indulge in cool showers and dry yourself properly after. Also, wear clothes in natural fabrics that let sweat dry such as cotton. If you have a rash already, here's a remedy you can make at home: Take three parts bicarbonate soda and one part water and mix into paste. Then apply it on the rash for relief. Alteratively, dust on prickly heat powder as a quick fix!

Ever tried on a bangle only to have it stuck on your wrist? instead of making a quick dash to the toilet to soap it off, grab a plastic bag and place your hand in. Pull the ends of the plastic bag through the bangle - now you should be able to effortlessly slip the bangle over the bag and off your wrist.

Want to keep your nickel-plated fixtures and stainless steel surfaces shiny? Clean and dry as usual, then apply a coat of car wax and buff as you would a car. This will keep stains away until the wax wears off.

When renting a car in the US, beware - most rental cars there have the clobal positioning system (GPS) installed, which can be used by the car rental agency to check if you've broken any speed limits.