Every woman has a handful of beauty products that are always in their purse or packed for a trip. There are a few high-end products that I absolutely love, but being a college girl, I typically make do with what I can find that's relatively inexpensive. I've also included a few links to some amazing websites that have good quality products for the low.
1. Big Sexy Hair Powder Play Volumizing & Texturizing Powder
I have extremely thin hair, so unless I use damn near a third of the can, hairspray doesn't do the trick for me to keep my hair voluminous and less stringy-looking. This powder from Big Sexy Hair is amazing because, unlike hairspray, the more you tousel your hair, the better it works and the more volume you will see. Because it's a powder and not a spray, you have complete control of where you are putting the product, and how much you're using. You can buy it at Target for $9.19.
2. Stacked Skincare Collagen Boosting Micro-Roller
For those of you who don't know, a micro-roller is a tool that has a ton of needles on its surface that are about 2 millimeters long. You roll the tool all over your face and lips in horizontal, vertical and diagonal directions, and the needles slightly prick your skin. This sounds really scary, but I promise it only hurts if you are literally digging the micro-roller into your skin. You're just supposed to lightly guide it across your skin to remove dead skin cells from the top layer of your face, which ultimately creates smooth, plump and less wrinkle-prone skin. My suggestion is to thoroughly wash your skin before using, micro-roll, then apply your favorite facial moisturizer. Be sure to clean your micro-roller extremely well after each use otherwise it will eventually deposit those dead skin cells and oils right back into your pores, which will most like create some bad breakouts. It is also recommended to use it no more than 2-3 times per week. I bought mine online at stackedskincare.com for $30, but you can get similar models from different brands at Walmart that are probably a little cheaper.
3. ArtNaturals Enhanced Retinol Serum
This serum goes hand in hand with the micro-roller. Since the roller is a collagen booster, incorporating a retinol serum (used for age-defying) is an excellent way to keep your skin looking young and healthy for as long as possible. There is a wide range of retinol serums you can buy, but I bought this on Amazon for $10.94 because it also contains vitamin C and hyaluronic acid (naturally present in the body, great source of moisture). For my routine, I typically cleanse my skin with warm water, rinse with extremely cold water, use my micro-roller, then apply a very thin layer of this serum in place of my every day moisturizer.
4. NYX Professional Makeup Soft Matte Lip Cream
NYX is one of my all-time favorite brands, especially their lip products, and they're so cheap. Normally I either do a nude or a pinky salmon lip color, which is why I love this product in the shade Cairo because it's a very nice blend between the two. I have extremely pale skin, so it's really easy for me to overdo it with my lipstick. Finding this product was like finding the holy grail. I got it at the Student Center on the University of Missouri's campus, but you can buy it at Ulta for $6.
5. e.l.f. Eyeshadow Palette Mad for Matte
Guys... I bought this at Target for $10. I use it every single day almost, it's lasted me almost two years, and it's still nowhere near the end of its life. From the left, the third and fourth shades are my absolute favorite and work really well with my pale skin and blue eyes, but this is a palette that can compliment any skin tone or eye color extremely well in my opinion.
Obviously, there is much more to my beauty routine than these five products, but these are staples that literally ruin my day when I go to get ready and don't see them in my bag. If you buy them, you definitely will not regret it! I also just wanted to share this website that my friend @norahokilee showed me a while ago; they seriously have so many makeup products and tools and are ridiculously cheap.
Happy Shopping!
xoxo
