Stretch Your Beauty Dollar

Cheap Tricks: Great Ideas from Your Peers

FITNESS asked readers how they stay their most beautiful during tough times. Borrow these bright ideas -- we already did!

"To buy time between color appointments, I brush eye shadow -- one that's the same shade as my hair -- onto grays to conceal them." -- Jaime Maser, 30, New York City

"Instead of a manicure, I buff my nails. It gives them a nice sheen without a drop of nail polish." -- Lindy Mishler, 28, Johnstown, Pennsylvania

"Rather than buying my signature perfume, I've been scenting my skin with body sprays. They're less expensive and smell great." -- Jenny Milton, 36, Lee, Massachusetts

"I keep a basket of hotel toiletries. I use them to replenish empty full-size bottles or throw them into my travel bag." -- Carrie Jablonow, 33, Los Angeles

"I started a 'beauty collective' with two friends. We chip in to buy oversize bottles of shampoo and conditioner from beauty-supply stores, then divide it up." -- Nafeesa Saboor, 29, Jersey City, New Jersey