With spring in full force, we’ve been getting organized with everything in our lives from our closets to our budgets. If you’re anything like us, your winter may have been a bit indulgent — it was a long one, and we totally get that splurging on bright lipstick and expensive dry shampoo felt like the only way to get through having to wear your coat yet again. Now it’s time for a reality check, but that doesn’t have to mean giving up on your high standards; it may just mean finding more cost effective ways of continuing to look like your glamorous self.
We’ve rounded up our favorite drugstore beauty finds to get you off on the right foot. Not only will you end up saving a pretty penny, you’ll also save yourself a trip to the mall!
Suave Professionals Keratin Infusion Dry Shampoo: Why spend upward of $30 on high end dry shampoo when you can use one that costs less than $5 (and lasts longer)? This one is lightweight, so your hair actually feels clean, not stiff, while adding volume to the roots. As with all dry shampoos, you’ll want to turn on the vent or open a window in your bathroom when using it, or you’ll inhale whatever ends up in the air.
Nads Wax Strips: Thinking that we were getting a better experience out of the $25 wax strips from Sephora, we doled out the cash for years, until finally giving Nads a try. Now, we’re complete converts. These work just like the more expensive variety: rub the strip between your hands to warm the wax, then pull apart, apply, and pull against the direction of growth. The only difference? These cost a fifth of the price ($5) and contain 24 strips.
Biore Pore Strips: We’ve always been fans of these little strips, and we’re even bigger fans after trying the more expensive versions, which actually tore off a layer of skin! To make the Biore pore strips even more effective, make a paste out of baking soda and water, apply it to clogged skin (T-zone and nose) for 10 to 15 minutes, rinse off, and then apply the pore strips. Leave the pore strips on for at least 20 to 30 minutes for optimal results.
Revlon Colorburst Lipstick: After misplacing more than our fair share of lipsticks, we welcomed these $7 tubes of super lightweight ones from Revlon. Unlike the stickier, thicker lipsticks we’ve tried, the ColorBurst lipsticks don’t feel like anything at all, but they provide great, layer-able color. Our favorite shade for spring: Lollipop.
Gold Bond Ultimate Intensive Healing Hand Cream: It’s a good idea to keep hand cream in a few different spots — next to the sink, in your car, and at your desk — and since this hand cream is so inexpensive, it’s possible to do so. It doesn’t hurt that this is one of the best hand creams we’ve ever used. The thick, creamy formula softens skin without getting the least bit greasy. And at less than $6 a pop, this lotion is worth its weight in gold.
Boots Botanics Concealer: While we’re normally pro-splurge when it comes to foundation and concealers, we’ve fallen hard for this concealer because it blends so nicely and it lasts all day long. At $10 per stick it isn’t the least expensive option, but it’s about half what we were spending previously.
Joy Uyeno writes daily at her blog, Frock Files, about simple ways to live a happy and beautiful life. Before succumbing to her true nature as a freelance writer and designer in her late twenties, Joy held fourteen jobs in eighteen years, which she wrote about in aLove for Thirty Project piece. She now lives and works in the woods on the North Shore of Massachusetts, and occasionally from her childhood home in Honolulu, Hawaii.
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