Beauty in a bad economy: The only 5 products you need for an incredible-looking face
So, while it seems kind of lame and small to be talking about beauty during such a monumental week, the show, as they say, must go on. And right now, the show for me is all about makeup. Or, more accurately, a lack of it.
While I was on my honeymoon last week, I realized I had forgotten my real makeup bag-the one with everything I love and swear I need to feel pretty. So, for 12 days, I had to work with whatever products I found scattered in my coat pockets, the side pouches of my suitcase and at the bottom of my purse. It was either that or try to find a store that sold makeup and ask my new husband to go shopping for cosmetics on our honeymoon.
Things actually worked out really well. In fact, I feel like most days I could pare down my beauty regimen to just the 5 items I had on this trip. They were all surprisingly effective and versatile and there was never a day I felt "I have the wrong makeup" ugly. It made me realize that, with the right products, I could spend a lot less on putting on my face.
Perhaps my picks will work for you as well. Check them out.
At $36 it's not really cheap, but what you're getting is the best tinted moisturizer of all time. It's subtle, lightweight, and provides sunblock, re-hydration, and an evening of your skin tone all at the same time. I love it. I used it every day.
Stila Sheer Tinted Moisturizer SPF 30 Oil Free, at Sephora
They don't make the crusty, nude-pantyhose-
colored concealer stick I found at the bottom of my suitcase anymore, but this one appears to be an upgrade. I was glad to find mine-I needed some kind of cover-up for under-eye circles and the occasional, I'm-eating-weird-foods blemish.
Neutrogena Skinclearing Concealer, $7.59, at drugstore.com
Another item that looked terrifyingly beat-up when found in my purse, my old tin of Rosebud Salve was seriously a miracle worker. I used it on my lips, my cuticles, chapped areas of my face, and to give a little sheen to my eyelids when we went out. All this, and it's just $6. If you don't know about this very popular, been-around-for-a-billion-years product, you should own one right away.
Rosebud Salve, at Sephora
I own about 15 different mascaras at varying degrees of dried-up-ness, but I really learned to love this one from CoverGirl. It gives amazing, long, thick lashes, even if it does flake a bit.
CoverGirl LashBlast Mascara, $7, at drugstore.com
Red lipstick is the only product I would have definitely bought if I didn't have it with me. I dabbed it on during the day (on my lips and even a little on my cheeks) and used it for a more dramatic look at night. The thing about red lipstick is it's "dressy" makeup and everyone should own a red that looks good on them for special occasions-or emergencies.
Revlon Super-Lustrous Lipstick in Certainly Red, $10 at drugstore.com
