Movie stars and celebrities always look their best, due to a retinue of makeup artists, stylists, and the most expensive makeup. But anyone who wants to look good while sticking to a budget can do so, as long as they learn the best ways to keep skin healthy, find good deals on makeup, and use what they already have. It doesn’t take the bank account of a rock star to look like one when you’re going out for a good time.
Beauty starts with clean, clear skin. There’s one major way to keep your face glowing and blemish free, and it doesn’t even cost a dime. Drinking at least eight glasses of water a day keeps impurities and toxins moving through your bloodstream, and helps your skin cells regrow and shed easily. This makes dead skin slough off easier during cleaning, reduces the redness and formation of pimples, and keeps your circulation up. If you can’t tolerate the taste of plain water, add lemon or a little sugar free fruit juice.
A good skin cleanser is also important. Try to find oil free products, as excess oil will cause more blemishes. Be aware of how much salicylic acid, a popular acne treatment, or alcohol and soap are in the cleanser. All of these can dry or irritate your skin. Neutrogena produces oil free, alcohol free cleansers for all skin types, and their products are very affordable and easy to find. Follow up your cleaning routine with a good moisturizer. Many cheap moisturizers use oily ingredients to make your skin feel smooth and hydrated, but they also block pores. Look for products that use the term noncomedogenic, which means it won’t clog pores.
Keep your eyebrows shaped and in line with regular plucking. If you’ve got thin and perfectly shaped eyebrows, this may not be necessary. But if your eyebrows are thicker than you like or have stray hairs, call a local salon. Most hair salons offer eyebrow waxing, or a less painful method known as threading, for under $7. This is an inexpensive way to improve your overall look. You can perform maintenance on your eyebrows at home with a good pair of tweezers. Just pluck any out of line hairs as they appear.
Good quality makeup can be very expensive. Before going out and blowing a whole paycheck on foundation and eyeshadow, do some research. Pick a few brands, and search for customer reviews online. Makeup lovers and very vocal and it’s easy to find whether your prospective purchase will be worth your money. In general, it’s better to put more money towards foundation and lipstick, while eyeshadow and nail polish can be of a lower price. Cheap, low quality foundation looks cakey or greasy, and lipstick will fade too quickly if not made to last.
Not all expensive eyeshadow is worth the price. If you’re not afraid to reapply regularly, it’s possible to use an inexpensive eyeshadow such as CoverGirl and get good results. Nail polish all generally start to chip around the same time, regardless of claims. To lengthen the life of nail polish, buy inexpensive colors and a good quality clear coat to top them with.
If you’re still set on buying only high quality makeup but lack the budget to do so, become a bargain hunter. High end makeup retailers like Sephora and MAC are always offering discounts and sales. Sephora is also a good source for high quality makeup kits, which often come at a drastically lower price then if bought separately.
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If you’re a lipstick addict like me and love eye shadow too, you’ll want to go with a strong and weak color combination to give you a dashing look without becoming overwhelming. Try a lighter plum shadow with a stronger red lipstick. Personally, I love YSL’s Rouge Pur Couture SPF15 Pure Colour Satiny Radiance line in Le Rouge color and Clinique Colour Surge Eye Shadow Duo for eye shadow. Done properly, the look will be very sexy – you’ll be turning heads everywhere you go!
The contrast of color will be marvelous to say the least. You’ll look beautiful and all eyes will be focused on the radiance of your lips. A great idea if you plan on going on a hot date sometime soon.
