budget beauty

Pick this up for yourself or give this as a gift to any girl who loves a great manicure. This four pack was featured in the J.Crew Holiday Gift Guide. I love Essie nail polish and so does J.Crew, they’re offering 2 different color sets for just $20!

Essie’s colors are effortlessly girlie and chic at the same time. Choose between the Vixen Vermillionare set and the Ballerina Clam Bake set. The Vixen set features statement reds, oranges, and pinks. But, I prefer the unique colors of the Clam Bake set (pictured left). The more subtle set is great for the season and you will still get that pop of color with clambake orange color.

Don’t forget about the little Cheap Chicas in your life, J.Crew also has a set for perfect mini Essie lovers in your life for $20 as well. These colors are fabulously girly…I might even like them better! I love the light blue and festive gold that can add sparkle to any occasion!

And if you’re giving these as a gift, make sure you wrap fast so you don’t keep them for yourself!

No matter which look you are going for 20’s flapper or 90’s grunge, there is a Hat out there for everyone. The key is to find the right one for your head, hair, and style. Hats do more than just cover up a bad hair day, they can set off a certain kind of confidence in a person.

There are so many inexpensive choices out there that will enhance your wardrobe. The best part is they can go with multiple outfits, which means you get your moneys worth. A hat can transform a good outfit into a great all around eye catching look. My favorite hats of the moment are anything Fur of course, and the cloche. With the roaring twenties coming back in full swing there is nothing more Gatsby that a Cloche Hat.

If you are a dedicated hat person it might be worth putting the money towards having a milliner make you a hat, but if you’re a girl who loves to follow the hat trends but doesn’t have a ton of money stick with ASOS, Urban Outfitters, and Forever 21 for now. Try out all the choices from Classic to Comfy: felt cloche, snap-brim fedora, slouchy felt gaucho, Panaima, aviator/hunter cap, turban, fur, beret, and knits in all shapes and sizes. Be Bold and try one on!

More Urban Outfitters…

Tresemme Fresh Start Dry Shampoo: Around $4 or $5; available in all drugstores and beauty aisles

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Let’s face it ladies, we don’t all have time to wash, dry and style our hair everyday so on those lazy mornings my life saver and inexpensive dry shampoo has always been baby powder.

I recently saw the commercials for the Tresemme Fresh Start Collection so I decided to test it out.

The dry shampoo smelled like hair spray. It did not have a “fresh/clean” smell or feel. I felt like it was absorbing the moisture but then making my hair really stiff…kind of  like hair spray does. Then, the next day after wearing the dry shampoo, it had caked in my hair making it difficult to brush through.

Shopper’s Notes: I have light hair, so I will be going back to inexpensive and reliable baby powder for those greasy hair days…but if you have darker locks, I would suggest trying PSST…this product gets rave reviews, it’s super cheap and every person I know RAVES about how it just zaps the oil out of hair!

Maybe its just me or my hair, but ladies if you have tried this product and liked it let us know what you thought!

Physician’s Formula Healthy Wear Bronzer w/ SPF 50: $12.99

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I’ve always hated the greasiness of sunscreen.  And b/c of my olive skin I used to think I could just do with out it…but just b/c I’m not pale, doesn’t mean that those harmful UV rays weren’t working their evil on my skin!  Girls, no matter how burn resistant you think your skin is we always need to have some kind of protection from the sun.

Physician’s Formula Healthy Wear has 3 products with an SPF 50 built right in. The line includes a powder foundation, a bronzer (the one I tried) and a tinted moisturizer.

Its hard to find products that protect, last long, and work well. I’ve tried all of these and I have to say that I love them all, but my overall favorite was the bronzer! It adds just the right amount of color without turning your face a different color than your body.

Shopper’s notes: All three come in 4 shades each to enhance your natural color and I felt like the formula gave my face a natural glow without looking orange.  Even if you don’t use these as your every day bronzer, they’re great for beach days when you want to protect your skin AND add not go totally make-up free!  If you want to check out the shades in person, you can find these products in most drug stores and your might even be able to find the line on sale!

Am I the last to know about this, or what? Why is it always those two or three days that you—God forbid—neglect your email, something of note happens? Ah, c’est la vie, I guess.

Anyway, apparently, a few weeks ago, Urban Outfitters started carrying beauty!

And guess what, there are some awesome (and adorable) buys.

First, let me say that there is a pretty wide variety of brands available (some you might recognize, some you might not, and there is also an Urban brand for some categories), and many of the items are ‘online only’…

I will also say that the selection is pretty good, and they even carry Anna Sui, which, surprisingly, isn’t as expensive as you’d expect compared to many department store brands (all her items are under $30.00, most around $20.00)…

But my two favorites are definitely amazing buys…

First, there is this NYX 5-color eye shadow palette, sold at $8.75, which features this season’s hottest colors (love that jade color!), and perhaps the cutest of them all, this adorable pack of lip gloss, nestled literally in … cupcakes. Four of them, for $10.00! Kitch-y, I love it… and what a fun (and affordable) gift! Psst: they also carry a the infamous Rosebud Salve I wrote up a couple weeks ago!

Overall, I was pretty impressed. Good job, Urban!

We’ve all been there. You spend what seems like ridiculous amounts of time on your eye-makeup, you finally get it right… then three hours later, to your horror, you glance in the mirror and realize that there’s nothing left of it but… a duo of colored creases. Ugh! Don’t even get me started on “cream eyeshadow”… who knows where that stuff ends up by the end of the day.

So is there any answer to this problem? Yes. THIS STUFF. Please ladies, believe me when I say I have tried everything to prevent those creases: I’ve tried facial primer, extra powder, no powder, expensive eyeshadow, drugstore eyeshadow… and I’ve had little-to-no no luck until Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion came into my life.

To be honest, I have no clue what is in this product or why it works, but I do know that it works…! My tip is to be sure that you apply it with the wand and not with your finger, which might have traces of excess oil and/or dirt to cause further build-up. It has also recently come to my attention that you can purchase this product in an actual ‘color’ that acts as both a primer and eyeshadow in one and one of which is really pretty shimmery champagne color that looks great on everyone.

I know I say this every time, but a little of this goes a long way… which is why, at only $18.00, it’s CheapChica worthy! Now, I don’t use it every day, but I use it quite often, and I’d say I buy about two, maybe three, of these a year, if that gives you any idea. Retrieve a tiny dab (yeah: really tiny), then spread it out thinly and evenly over your eyelid… that’s all you need!

Finally, it’s time to say buh-bye to inexplicable, ugly creases… they don’t call it potion for nothing… !

As some of you might recall, back at the end of 2009, I wrote a post about this amazingly generous Korres beauty set (for only $30.00) to incorporate into your Holiday gift bags to give to those pesky acquaintances for whom you never know what to buy. Well, I bought the set for just that, and ever since… I literally cannot stop telling people about how much I am in love with this Greek brand’s body butter.

And it’s not just the amazing texture that instantly absorbs into your skin, leaving you soft and smooth all day… no, it’s not just that. And no, it’s not just the fact that Korres, a natural brand, offers you this amazing product void of any parabens or other irritating chemicals. No, not even that (those of you who know me, know I got bananas for green beauty)…

What will truly bring you to your knees about this product is… the array of scents from which to choose. No, seriously. It took me a solid 15 minutes to decide, I’m obsessed. With all of them. I finally decided on the jasmine (whose smell kind of reminds me of Sweet Tarts–yum!), but I swear to you, I would buy any of the offered scents in a heartbeat. I mean… how can you say no to things like: basil lemon, clementine, guava and Japanese rose (among others!)? I sure can’t. They are all so fresh and delicious…

Lately, I’ve taken to buying this product as a gift. It’s a fab present for a girlfriend (believe, me I’ve received the feedback) that’s under $30.00 and which lasts for quite a while.

Remember too that a lot of this product goes a long way, and who doesn’t love introducing girlfriends to new, fabulous beauty finds? Mmmhmm, that’s what I thought.

Also, if you want a smaller, cheaper version to try for the first time, Korres is kind of known around the beauty block for its budget-friendly samples and/or gift sets. I’ve picked out a few for you to try below…

It really boils down to this: every gal out there loves a product that leaves her silky soft and smelling like heaven… this one included.

More Korres…

When it comes to makeup there’s one item that never goes out of fashion…mascara! Its been quite some time since we’ve seen Twiggy’s headline making photograph, but one thing remains the same, we all still crave big, beautiful lashes.  Luckily, you don’t need a supermodel-size paycheck to get them!

Cover Girl’s LashBlast Mascara is my favorite make-up product for getting gorgeous, full lashes and it retails for less then $8.00! Mascara is one beauty item I never spend money on because there’s really no need when my LashBlast does the same thing a department store mascara will, every time!

Here are a few tips for getting ultra-long full lashes:

Start with your favorite eyeliner and line the upper lid of your lashes. This will allow you to reach the root of your lashes and give your eyes a cleaner look.

Next, you should invest in a eyelash curler that you are comfortable using and curl your upper lashes. Many women tend to skip this part because they don’t want to spend money on something they think they don’t need. For all you women who wish you had larger eyes this is the # 1 trick. Using an eyelash curler will open up your eyes since the lashes are curled and lifted away from the eye.

Last but not least, add the mascara! This is your most important step. Remember to always start from the root of your lashes and stroke upward. I also like to wiggle the brush as I go up to make sure I’m coating each lash. One to two coats usually does the trick but if you feel like you need more, no one is stopping you! This is another reason I love the LashBlast formula…it’s thin so it’s optimized for layering and it never gets clumpy or sticky.

And if you have short, sparse lashes, there’s nothing wrong with adding a few fake lashes to enhance your eyes, but I suggest you go for the individual ones and not the full sets.  BTW, You can pick these up for only $13 at most department stores and they last for multiple applications since you’re only using a few at a time!

So… what’s the final step into letting you lashes be your statement look of the night? Keep your foundation soft, your cheeks warm and always, always stay in the nude tones when it comes to your lips. Simple lips and strong eyes will always be on trend!

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