Beauty on a Budget

Today I will share with you, some products I have picked up throughout the years on a low budget that have come to find to be of great quality for their price. Disclaimer: since this is a list compromised of over the years, not all (and probably most of these products) are cruelty-free.

1. The Nudes Palette- $9.99

Ten dollars seems like a lot for eye shadow considering not everybody wears eye shadow but this palette is well worth it, it has plenty of nude and neutral shades to just complete your eye makeup and set off your eyeliner.And honestly, eye shadow isn't cheap. Unless you buy e.l.f. but then it all ends up in the crease of your eyelid anyways and that't no good. All the colors are long-lasting and non clumping. Consider it an everyday essential- I do.

2.  E.l.f. eye pencil- $1.00

Yes one dollar. No, it's not THE MOST amazing pencil I've ever used, but for waterlines, it gets the job done if you're planning on not doing too much crying or sweating that day. It goes on smoothly but does have some smudging throughout the day. As far as liquids go, those just run more higher-priced too like eye shadow, but I suppose e.l.f. liquid is alright if you're cool with a pot and brush instead of a felt tip pen. (but, hey, on the bright side, e.l.f. is cruelty-free.

3.Rimmel London Stay Matte liquid mousse foundation- $4.99

Rimmel London Stay Matte pressed powder foundation-$3.99

This duo of products is what I would call the diamond in the rough. They have it all. They are made by Rimmel London so they're cruelty-free, they're very inexpensive, and they're high performance, all-day matte wear. There is nothing more to say than that. It should go without saying that I highly recommend this product. I might also add as a tidbit that these are the foundations I use on a daily basis.

4. Baby Lips by Maybelline- $2.99

I used to be an incredibly strong and avid user/supporter of Baby Lips and have purchased many of their colors including some of their "special collections" now, I personally use just a plain balm made by EOS but if you're looking for something with with a tint or color, Baby Lips will not dissapoint. The product is good as a balm and as a lip color with a good scent. All around, a good product for health and beauty of your luscious lips.

Update: L'Oreal Lab Testing (Buycott)

For those of you who were/are as passionate and enraged as me about the fact that L'Oreal uses animal testing in the production of their products, I give you... Buycott. Buycott is an app to help you boycott certain products from companies whose production processes you don't agree with. For example, I choose not to buy from L'Oreal because they test their products on animals.

It is kind of shocking and somewhat horrifying to just simply go through your home and scan all of your products you use every day that you have come to know and love are acting against the very ideals you stand for. I scanned the lotion and even the vitamin supplements I take to sleep at night and they were both made by companies who tested on animals themselves or the company of that product is owned by another company or group of companies that tests on animals. This is important because really your money is all going to the same place in the end. Even if I don't directly buy from L'Oreal, if I buy from The Body Shop, that money, or a portion of that money, still goes to L'Oreal who owns The Body Shop.

I think that even though at first it may be hard to find substitutes for the products you're so used to using on a daily basis, but it's important that you do it. For the longest time, my lotion, my eyeliner, and my mascara were all products that according to Buycott, I should be avoiding. I've found substitutes, and you can too. The substitute I found for my eyeliner may not be as luxurious and high-performing as what I was used to, but it's less money being put into the hands of cruel and careless corporations. In all honestly, the new eyeliner, ScandalEyes by Rimmel London isn't even that much worse, it's just a little more faded by the end of the day, which is something I can deal with (especially since it's almost $4 cheaper).

Fashion Donts

In all honesty, you can wear whatever you want..... even fedoras I suppose.

but there are some things that I see people wearing that really make me cringe and serve as a reminder for me that I should really maybe not care so much about what other people wear. Allow me to highlight some of the few shining and stellar examples

I'm sorry to anyone whom I may offend when I say this, but.... Fedoras? No... just, no. You're not Frank Sinatra, you're not from the New York press in the nineteen fifties, and you're not Bruno Mars either. Who, I might add, is mystifying the whole world at this very moment as to how he can still wear fedoras and seem slightly acceptable. (or write songs about how he'd catch grenades and jump in front of moving trains without concerning his mass audience about being suicidal)

All Camo...
Look I get it, the deer you're hunting in the woods aren't gonna call up Joan Rivers' ghost and tell on you for being such a fashion disaster. But at school? I see you. The deer don't see you, but I do. Even though you think I can't see you, I CAN SEE YOU AND IT LOOKS BAD.

Pajama pants in public...
you know, to be quite honest, I don't even know why I'm writing this for you; you obviously don't care. You know how I know you don't care? You're wearing clothes that are meant for sleeping and lounging in the house, where minimal amounts of people are supposed to see you IN PUBLIC. I must give you props, it takes a lot of self confidence to do that; I can't even send a selfie-snapchat to my best friend if I have too obvious of a pimple or greasy hair. My favorite part about the people who choose to make every day pajama day? Their true self-expression. I get to see what things you're really into by what print is on your pants. It is now public information how much you love Christmas by your fluffy, fuzzy snowman pajama pants. Thank you.  It's usually "Family Guy" or Xbox which gives me just a tad of insurance because I kind of had a speculation that you were a type of person that sat around and played xbox all day, but now I know for sure.

But scarves? Okay seriously, here's the thing. Picture yourself in the year 2003, Hollywood's red carpet. there's a lady. Gwenyth Paltrow, wearing a light and flowy strip of fabric wrapped around her jugular. She looks great. This is an instant trend. Stores are selling these long tapestries for women and men everywhere to strangle themselves with, like sheep following behind the rest of the herd, yet somewhat lion-like with their brightly colored manes. Flash forward 12 years. It's 2015. three proposed raptures and 2 expected apocalypses came and went, yet the one thing to remain? Scarves. WHY?

Like I said, wear whatever you want, it's your civil liberty, but with great freedom comes great power.

L'Oreal Lab Testing

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't buy anything from L'Oreal.

I have recently found out via the social justice elite of Tumblr that L'Oreal does horrible and cruel testing on animals in order to perfect their products. It almost goes without saying that the less people buy from them, the less animals are harmed.

People are under the misconception that lab testing is just simply putting lipstick on a bunny or mascara on a monkey. It's nothing like that.

 They lose their fur and their eyes become horribly irritated. They use innocent animals to test on and the poor little things can't do anything to stop them from hurting them. Because of this, it will continue to go on until people demand it to stop. Would you want your pets to be tested on and used as someone's toy to mess around with and purposely hurt? 

I strongly believe that animal testing is unnecessary and down right cruel. There are plenty of companies that create perfectly good products without testing on animals.


picture creds: https://www.pinterest.com/hannahkandil/activism/

Waxing

It would be an interesting factoid to know how many thousands or even millions of dollars per year are spent on facial waxing, body waxing, and other means of hair removal. Given that there's home remedies, DIY kits that are sold and cosmetic stores and supermarkets, and professional salon waxing, its probably a lot more than someone would estimate.

People use waxing as a way of hair removal to get the look of completely clean and hairless skin and to avoid stubble. So if you didn't know, that's why girls don't just shave their eyebrows and lips like guys do. This is because waxing completely removes the hair from its follicle where shaving just cuts it short.

It is important with any waxing to always make sure to melt the wax completely and that it is completely adhered to each hair so when you pull the wax off, it takes off every single hair in the applied area. This can be done by simply rubbing the wax strip on the applied area for a while until you feel it get warm. It is also always important to pull the wax off in the opposite direction of hair growth.

I've tried Sally Hansen, other brands from Ulta including the $3 vanilla scented stocking stuffer type brand, and Nair. I used Sally Hansen for the longest time just because I liked the nail polish that company makes and the wax strips got the job done sufficiently. But then, one day I decided to try Nair brand wax strips and they actually work a lot better in my opinion. The Sally Hansen brand strips are clear colored wax on plastic sheets, where as the Nair brand strips are a pale green colored wax on a sort of paper that I believe to be more suited for the wax. I like the fact that the Nair brand strips have colored wax and opaque backing which makes it a lot easier to go back and look at all the hair you actually picked up. I also think the Nair strips' wax is a lot easier to melt but that might just be total false speculation.

... All of the above are tricks and tips of information taken from the instructions on many different types of hair removal kits I've used over time (and the expertise of my mother). Many of which are usually looked over by most when trying these kits at home.

Leggings, tights, and yoga pants

Leggings , tights, and yoga pants seem to be clumped together in today's society as "lazy pants". Some people even go as far to call them "provocative" or "revealing". These pants all have elastic waistbands making them not only comfortable, but effortless, therefore "lazy". All these types of pants also can be tight and contour the body or be slightly to moderately opaque, making them "provocative" in some people's opinions. Love them or hate them they're back to stay for now, but I don't hear many complaints from girls about it.

 In the last 5 years or so, leggings have made somewhat of a comeback since their last big boom in the fashion world in the 80s when they were paired with leg warmers and oversized sweatshirts. Leggings can usually be seen paired with long blouses or sweaters and sweatshirts. If you can think of a pattern for leggings, they probably have a pair out there. I personally have even seen leggings with sharks on them and a pair with a design from the popular Disney movie, "Frozen".

 Nowadays tights are quite popular for more everyday fashion than they have been at other times and are most commonly worn with dresses and skirts. Not only black and nude tights either- crazy colored tights and tights with patterns are highly popular and can be found almost anywhere nowadays. Sometimes girls wear tights with shorts for fashion. An example of this would be corduroy shorts or some other type of shorts, usually high-waisted and a crop-top or other top. A winter trend, mainly for warmth is to wear tights under leggings or yoga pants. This can also help your yoga pants or leggings from possibly being see-through.

Yoga pants are worn more than just for doing yoga these days so their designs have grown with the rising demand for yoga pants. They can be found in capri length, long length with fitted ankle cut, or long with flared leg cut. They also come in more than just your standard black anymore and are really known for have cute patterned fold-over waist bands that make each pair stand out from the others.

With more types, colors, patterns, and styles than you could possibly imagine, all three of these types of pants are a must-have for your winter wardrobe.

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Blush

Blush can be a great makeup essential for some, especially for people in theater, show choir, and the Hollywood. But, simply put- not everyone needs blush.

I don't wear blush- I never have. Maybe someday, after my teenage years when my face doesn't look like it has craters comparable to those of the moon and I've lost my young glow, I might find a use for blush. Certainly not now, though.

Blush is just one of those things that looks great... if you apply it right. Too much and you look like a clown. The wrong color and you look like you have some concerning skin disease.

Blush is the thing that gives singers and actors that beautiful and lively, rosy freshly-pinched-cheeks look. Since I, and I'm sure many others don't live in a TV show or movie, that's just not necessary for us. I get enough color in my cheeks from being winded by walking down a big flight of stairs or embarrassed by accidentally spilling my coffee.

There are people that should thank their lucky stars that have naturally smooth skin with maybe one pimple residing on their chin once in a while. These people are truly blessed. They save money on four layers of foundation. They also can use blush. Don't get me wrong, blush isn't bad. I might just be a bit bitter about not being able to use it without looking like I have Rosacea.

It's also quite easy to look like what we'll call a tart if blush is not applied correctly. Traveling back to the nineteen eighties has never been so close as just one palette and brush away.(except of course unless you're counting blue eyeshadow).

In case I am so fortunate as to have a person that meets the qualifications for blush-wearing, application is plain and simple. Don't let anyone see you apply blush as they might give you a dirty look- make a "fish lips" face to start. Apply blush in an extremely light layer, and preferably a light shade for best results. Powder is probably the most common form of blush and should be fairly cheap as well as last a long time.

With blush, the best thing to keep in mind is always "Less is more."