More than meets the eye.

Aside from the one way we all know vodka can be put to good use, it’s not a completely pointless liquid otherwise. In fact, the alcoholic beverage spreads itself quite thin on the usefulness scale. Vodka’s anti-bacterial properties are what give it such potency in combatting a lot of common ailments and household issues – from earaches to carpet stains. Grab yourself a bottle, or two, and redefine what it means to booze.

Poison Ivy Reliever

Apply vodka to an area affected by poison ivy and it will dry up surrounding skin, getting rid of any oils that are causing the poison ivy to inflame and itch.

Laundry Freshener

Fill a small spray bottle with vodka and lightly spray clothes. The vodka smell goes away when the clothes dry completely. The vodka helps to remove any unwanted odors.

Flower Preserver

Plants produce the ripening gas ethylene, which promotes maturation. Vodka stunts ethylene production and allows for flowers to stay fresher, longer. Spray flower stems with a 2:1 ratio mix of vodka and sugar. Repeat every few days.

Insect Repellent

Keep the insects at bay by squirting some vodka on your skin before going outdoors. Add essential lavender oil. Insects hate the smell of lavender, and you will prefer it to the smell of vodka lingering on your skin. You could also mix vodka into your scented moisturizer.

Jelly Fish Bite Soother

Much like vodka helps to treat poison ivy on the skin, the liquid also helps to alleviate the pain and itch that come post nasty jelly fish bite. Bring along a 1:1 mixture of vodka and water in a spray bottle to the beach just in case of an attack.

Hair Shiner

Add 1-2 ounces of vodka to your shampoo and watch as your hair emerges from a shower feeling cleaner, silky, and shiny.

Band-Aid Remover

Vodka will help to dissolve the sticky edges of a band-aid and allow for a painless removal. Not that you would, but a few swigs before peeling the adhesive off won’t hurt either.

Computer Screen Cleaner

Using water to clean a computer screen often leaves behind distracting smears. Apply vodka to the screen and wipe away for a seamless and clear complexion.

Eye Glasses Cleaner

It may not be the best idea to carry around a bottle of vodka, but a small spray bottle may be less conspicuous and prove to be very useful. Your glasses will get star treatment on the go.

Air Freshener

Mix equal parts water and vodka in a spray bottle and spray around the house. The vodka dissolves odors and the solution is completely odorless.

Razor Blade Cleanser

Soak razor blades in vodka and dissolve away build-up and buff the razor all in one. This trick will keep your razor blades clean and disinfected whilst extending the lifespan of your razor collection.

Jewelry Cleaner

Let your jewelry sparkle and shine. Soak and lightly scrub them in some vodka to remove any impurities.

Pore Reduction

Lightly soak one side of a cotton ball in vodka and dab your face. The vodkas acts as an astringent, tightening the pores and removing excess oils.

Homemade Mouthwash

Because of vodka’s capacity to fight bacteria and prevent infection, you can gargle it in the A.M. (without swallowing) to clean your mouth. Vodka may not be the first thing you want to taste on a sensitive morning stomach, so dilute it with equal parts water add a few drops of mint oil.

Cold Sore Treatment

Vodka can help to reduce cold sore inflammation and redness by drying the affected area. Dip one end of a Q-tip into vodka and use it to dab sores.

Shower Cleaner

Attack those moldy, dark crevices with a toothbrush and some vodka. Spray vodka onto moldy areas, let sit for 15 minutes, and then scrub away. The vodka kills the mold.

Antiseptic

Vodka is a great disinfectant and antiseptic. Apply to minor cuts and burns to kill bacteria.

Stickiness Remover

Vodka works wonders on removing all that is gooey! From stickers on car surfaces to gum on the bottom of a shoe, a little vodka goes a long way.

Treat Ear Aches

Put a few drops of vodka into your ear. Let the alcohol sit in the ears for a few minutes each and then drain. The vodka kills bacteria that causes pain.

Stain Remover

Vodka effectively gets rid of ink, grass and lipstick stains. Dab stain with vodka and rub the stain away. Add the stained garment to the laundry afterwards for a more thorough clean.

Tooth-Ache Reliever

Gargle vodka without swallowing, unless you want a buzz. The vodka will prevent infection and reduce inflammation and soreness in the mouth.

Foot Odor Cure

For those of you who suffer from foot odor, consider vodka your new best friend. Soak your feet in a shallow bucket of vodka, which will kill bacteria-causing odor. Let your feet dry to get rid of the vodka smell or wash your feet with fragrant soap directly after the treatment.

Fever Alleviation 

Vodka works well as a liniment to reduce a fever, because it evaporates very quickly and can provide a cooling relief. Apply vodka to a soft cloth and place on your chest.

Images: Karola Riegler, Bark, Tasumi1968, Marcus Vegas, Seishin17

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

The post 20 Unusual Ways to Use Vodka appeared first on EcoSalon.

The latest trends in eye makeup start with eco-friendly products.

Delicious, creamery eggnog in a frosted glass. Pumpkin pies baked from scratch. Spiced rum cakes served next to a crackling fire. Oh, those holidays will soon be upon us. For many of us, this means a whirlwind of feted parties spent in stacked heels and vintage cocktail dresses. And what will be splashed across our faces this holiday season? The latest trends in eye makeup with lots of drama and shimmer.

The key to a spectacular eye can be an excellent eyeliner. Accordingly, we’ve picked three of our favorite eye enhancers to help us all through the holiday season.

Alima Pure Luminous Eye Shimmer ($11.00)
This rich, intense eyeliner brings a smoky shimmer to your lids and lashes. From husky blue to oceanic gray to simmering purple, it’s a mineral-based makeup which invokes some of the most romantic Earth hues around. Also available in matte colors, this eyeliner easily fills in for a shadow if you’re so inclined.

Alima Pure offers a BDIH-certified product, which means it has been deemed safe and natural by the rigorous European standard of beauty care. Cruelty-free, Alima Pure donate 1% of all profits for the planet and offsets 100% of corporate carbon emissions through Carbonfund.org. Skin Deep gives it a highly-coveted rating of 2.

Living Nature Eye Pencil ($20.00)
Want to get the job done with an old-school pencil? Living Nature offers this vegetable wax based product to provide a smooth line in smoldering hues. The pencil-like application allows for a sharp line or a broader smudge if desired.

Living Nature offers up the native botanicals of New Zealand. They are free of parabens, phthalates, and any genetically-modified ingredients. This product receives an excellent rating of 1 from Skin Deep.

Jane Iredale Mystikol Eyeliners ($20.00)
These innovative eyeliners can easily become the star performer in your makeup bag. On one side, we have powdered eyeliner ending in a pointed wand. On the other, a powdered highlighter doing the same. What this means for us, the users without the steadiest of hands, is that we can easily outline our lash lines or lids with professional-looking end results. From bright blues and dusky purples to deep greens, these eyeliners enhance your eyes under holiday lights.

Offered up by mineral makeup guru Jane Iredale, this product scores an excellent rating of 1 from the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database.

Want more information on great, green eyeliners? Check out some of our past picks.

Image: liquene

FTC Compliance

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Myths abound when it comes to our health. Back in the olden times, before the internet made data instantaneous, information was found in books and microfiche. If we had a strange bump on our hands, we’d have no choice but to actually go see a doctor for it. And not Google “hand cancer symptoms” only to discover that the bump was dried cupcake frosting.

Has the internet made health myths worse? Probably not. But they have made them much easier to explore! Check out five of our favorite health myths to see if they are very true, so false, or somewhere in between.

You must drink eight glasses of water a day.

And this is – false. The average person loses ten cups of water a day, a cup being eight ounces. But you regain four cups from simply eating. So you just need to drink six cups of water to make up the difference. Some nutritionists think you don’t need more than one liter a day. Others will go to their death bed swearing that eight glasses a day is the key to all good health.

The final word comes from Heinz Valtin, a doctor who specialized in kidney research for 45 years. He recently told Scientific American that the answer is no – there are no health benefits to drinking an excessive amount of water daily.

You will ruin your eyes reading in dim light.

I was a big reader as a kid. To the point that if I didn’t get my daily Judy Blume/Laura Ingalls Wilder/LM Montgomery fix, I went a little nutty. Needless to say, there was a lot of reading at night in dim light. When my eyesight went from good to “legally-blind with corrective vision” (Thank you, Lasik!) in a matter of a couple years, some blamed my excessive reading in bad light.

Where they right? Apparently not. But reading in dim light can certainly strain your eyes – it’s just that those itchy, burning tired eyes will restore themselves. No permanent damage is possible.

Pregnancy makes you crazy.

This health myth is common among my friends, who are bearing progeny like there’s no tomorrow. (It’s true – last Mother’s Day I had six friends celebrating their first one, not to mentioned the seasoned mommas among my peeps.) And most of them reported the worst emotional manipulation since kittens started starring on YouTube.

But does pregnancy make you crazy? Not permanently. But if you have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD,) new evidence shows that pregnancy hormones can make it worse. In a study that looked at women’s symptoms, researcher found that they worsened, a good one-third of the time during pregnancy.

If you pluck your hair, more grows back.

On an episode of Sex and the City, or “The Show That was Great Before the Second Sequel,” Samantha is upset over a grey hair. She goes to pluck it but decides against it. As she tells our heroine Carrie Bradshaw, “If you pluck it, ten more will come to its funeral.” Now quickly skimming over the fact that I can recite Sex and the City from memory – is Samantha’s anxiety based in truth?

No, no, and more no, according to experts. When your shaved hair grows back, it is initially short and stubbly. The longer hair is, the softer it becomes. So while it may seem like the gods are punishing you for taking a razor to unwanted hair – it’s really just the biology of your body.

Using a cell phone will give you a brain tumor.

Cell phones channel dirty electricity, and all of this dirty electricity has evolved into what experts called “electro-smog.” According to sources, electro-smog is the invisible pollution or smog in the form of EMFs from the now widespread microwave-emitting devices such as mobile phones, their masts, wireless routers and DECT phones. Wired Child is a group that provides a comprehensive guide on how to protect themselves and their children from EMFs and transients.

So will your cell phone give you a brain tumor? Frankly, it seems that the jury is still out on this. Would I invest in a device that keeps “electro-smog” away from your brain? I’m calling Verizon Wireless to order one right now. Or not.

Image: flickr4jazz

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