If you're like me, you hate shopping for new beauty supplies. You cringe even at the idea of it. The aisles upon aisles and rows upon rows of mascaras and eye shadows and lotions and potions that all seem to look... well, the same. "This will make your lashes longer!" "This will make your eyes pop!" "Trendy!" "Flattering!" AHHH! Which is better? Which actually works? What will look right on me? The list of questions never seems to end!
All I want is a big flashing sign that says pick me! That tells me which is the right one for moi. But obviously, that doesn't happen (sigh). There are magazine articles and websites and reviews and so many things that are supposed to be helpful but aren't. Or only point to the expensive products which may in fact be miracles, I don't know. I don't buy them. I can't wrap my mind around shelling out $50 on a foundation that makes you look like an airbrushed supermodel when I could buy 5 other things or better yet, new shoes.
If you already forgot from my first paragraph, I hate dealing with beauty stuff. I guess I can't say it enough. The things I hate the most are the time it takes to find it and use it and feeling like I have a bunch of stuff on my face. I want to look like myself... not be unrecognizable when I wipe it all off.
SO, in my quest to find products that don't suck, cost a ton, or make me not look like myself, I've actually found some winners (hurrah!). The products I've listed below (along with some helpful hints and info) are wallet-friendly, easy to apply (even I can do it), and make enough of an impact where you look like even more of a natural beauty! Enjoy!
Got 2b 2 Sexy Hairspray is my all time favorite hairspray. I used to completely hate all hairsprays because they made my hair feel heavy or sticky or crunchy or whatever. This stuff is lightweight but still holds every hairstyle I've tried, while also giving my hair volume and shine. I especially love that when my curls start to fall out or my waves die, I can mist this stuff on and scrunch my hair and it brings them right back--even better than before!
Garnier BB Cream is my heaven in a tube. I've used it all summer long and I haven't touched my foundation once--there's no need! Wash your face, rub a thin layer of it on and voila! Your skin looks luminous, perfect, and it even gives you a healthy dose of color!
I personally like to mix it with a dab of sunblock or my favorite daily lotion (which you'll find below) to tone down the color a little bit--I'm not the tannest person around, obviously--and to give it a slightly sheerer finish. That way my skin can shine through a little bit more.
Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Cream is my secret weapon. It evens out your skin tone and tones down shine while still giving you a pretty glow. As I said above, I love to mix it with the Garnier BB Cream--the two creams compliment each other perfectly.
Every girl needs a good dry shampoo--something that I wish I would've learned a long time ago. Ever since I stopped washing my hair everyday (initially it sounded awful to me but I can't imagine any other way now!) and started using this in between, my hair looks so much fuller and healthier! I've tried quite a few dry shampoos but Got 2b Rockin' It Dry Shampoo makes me the happiest, giving me volume and the least amount of limp, greasy strands at the end of the day.
Dickinson's Original Witch Hazel Oil Controlling Towelettes. OH MY GOSH do I love these. I saw them in an article as something that Miss USA likes to use and decided to give them a whirl. I completely understand why Miss USA recommends them so much, they make your face look awesome! It gives you a great glow and removes all of the impurities on your skin--my face feels so unbelievably fresh and clean once I use one. They do take off your makeup though so it's not something to be used during the day. I like to use them after the gym or if my makeup is looking cakey or greasy or gross in any other way, I use them to wipe it off and throw on some more bb cream and powder.
Covergirl Shadow Pencil in Flamed Out is perfect for when I want a wash of shimmery color on my lids but don't feel like dealing with eye shadow. It stays on all day, looks gorgeous, and is super versatile--use it all over your lids as a shadow, rim your eyes with it like a liner, or apply a thick line on the lid and use a darker eye liner on top of it along the lash line for extra definition (my preferred method).
Maybelline Great Lash BIG Mascara has been my tried and true mascara. I've tried a million and 1 different kinds but I always go back to this one--nothing seems to compare! It makes your lashes long and full, your eyes pop, and hardly clumps! Even more, it's only $3. You just can't beat it.
L'Oreal Professionnel Paris Mythic Oil was actually introduced to me by my mom (which is why the $30 price tag is justified). I was wary of trying it because I didn't want to get into the habit of buying this deep conditioner but sure enough, I loved it. It's the best deep conditioner I've ever tried in my life and again, I've tried a lot.
I have very, very dry hair but it's also fine and curly (what a fun combination!) and this conditioning treatment makes my hair silky, soft, shiny, and all around awesome. Because of the price tag, I only use it once a week or I combine a little bit of it with my regular conditioner to hydrate my hair and savor the stuff. However, you don't need to use much per application so it lasts a really long time, meaning you don't have to shell out that $30 very often.
So, in conclusion. If you're going to splurge on something, this is definitely the product to choose!
There are so many scrubs out there. SO MANY. But there are few that are gentle on sensitive skin (like mine) and still do the job. Aveeno Positively Ageless Resurfacing Scrub is a miracle scrub to me. It buffs out any rough patches and dead skin, evens out your skin tone, and I've found that it even helps my blemishes appear a lot smaller.
I first used this stuff right before a date I had with my boyfriend a little while back. I was putting my makeup on about 10 minutes before he was supposed to be picking me up (yikes!) and realized that I had all of these dry, flaky patches around my nose and mouth and cheeks. Ew! That's not exactly what I was hoping to get attention for on our date!
I quickly grabbed this stuff and washed my face off with it, rubbing it in circular motions on my face, paying special attention to those dry spots. When I rinsed it off, my skin looked amazing (if I do say so myself). The dry patches were completely gone and my skin tone was totally even and my face even had a little bit of a healthy glow. Smooth skin is definitely a prerequisite to makeup application, ladies, and this is surely the scrub to get it!
Thanks for reading and I hope some of these products work for you as well!
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