I can’t be the only one that gets a panic attack when they walk into Sephora or stroll down the makeup aisle in Walgreens. Today, there is an over-flowing cornucopia filled with a plethora of beauty options, magazines, and advertisements. This makes it incredibly difficult to choose which source of information to listen to or which products to buy when trying to fabricate your daily makeup regime, especially when you’re a college student on a budget. However, the good news is that I spent my spring break reading numerous magazines and blogs to figure out the essentials (what a crappy spring break, reading magazines on the beach, right? Ugh, the things I do for Her Campus). Here are the top 7 beauty products/regimes every college student must own, regardless of price, skin type, or personal makeup preferences.
1. Número uno will actually make you look alive when you roll out of bed after a long Thursday night (Harry’s anyone?) and schlep to your 9 am language class. No gracias is all I have to say. In this scenario, and every day for that matter, tinted moisturizer should be your go-to beauty product. It provides sheer coverage, but just enough to mask any flaws or dark under-eye circles. Picking one with SPF is a must because no one wants to experience the damaging effects of the sun. We are young, people! Protect yourself now so you don’t regret and feel the pain for not taking care of yourself when you had the chance. My personal favorite products are Laura Mercier’s oil free (we all want an ethereal glow, not oil induced shine, am I right?) tinted moisturizer. This is always my first step in my makeup routine, because it creates a clean, even canvas for me to work with and is perfect under foundation or alone, so you can just throw it on and run out the door. Another great option is BB creams from Revlon, Garnier, and L’Oreal that are packed with antioxidants for your skin and offer a touch of color and coverage, at a fraction of the cost.
2. Oil blotters could potentially assume the precious position of your chemistry study guide that you religiously clutch to. The dreadful trek from the 40 to Olin in 100-degree weather has proven time and time again that we all sweat. No matter how much make up we put on, it seems to disappear by the end of the day because of sweat and oil. Using oil blotter papers throughout the day allows makeup to last longer and doesn’t make you look like a shinny blob. Clean&Clear papers are a great solution and you can put them in your backpack, purse, and shorts’ pocket because they are so slim and useful.
3. The sun and wind can really wreak havoc on your lips, and any boy will tell you that kissing chapped lips on the dance floor of Linus is not attractive. Moisturize those puppies! Fresh is the only lip balm I’ve really found to promise moisture and a nice lip color, as agreed by the beautiful Kate Bosworth, but it can be pricy. Burt’s Bees and Blistex offer amazing, more affordable products, available at our bookstore. Now you have no excuse ladies. Heck, guys should read this tip too because no one likes making out with dry, scratchy lips. Boys and girls alike should go stock up on lip balm ASAP.
4. Whether we spent all night up in architecture studio or writing our group case study, we all want to look semi put-together and pretty. Focusing on the eyes is one of the most strategic and simple ways to do just that. My suggestion: invest in waterproof mascara. Now, some people may be crying in anticipation for finals or when their dream date doesn’t ask them to his frat formal and actually need waterproof mascara, but a few may question why they should wear it daily. I’ve found that it lasts longer and no matter how hard you rub your eyes out of sheer exhaustion, it will absolutely stay in place. My go-to mascara is Maybelline waterproof Define-A-Lash. Affordable, long lasting, and natural looking makes this mascara a no brainer.
5. This next beauty product is a delicate subject matter. Too much and you look like an Oompa Loompa or a Jersey Shore cast member. Focusing on just your face and disregarding your neck and chest area makes you look like a black and white cookie. And not wearing it all gives others the impression that you’ve spent the last semester building igloos in Greenland and haven’t seen the sun in months. I’m talking about the infamous product of bronzer. Here are my suggestions when applying it: blend, baby, blend. The more you blend and buffer, the more natural your instant tan will look. Tip two: no sparkles. Avoid buying bronzers that have little specks of shine in them, promising to “add a luminous glow”. Uh, no. You will look like Honey Boo Boo and her other ridiculous, clown-faced pageant counterparts. And my last piece of advice: seriously, don’t forget about your neck and chest. It looks so obvious when you’re wearing bronzer if your neck is a completely different color than your face. The simple solution is just to sprinkle some bronzer on these areas and blend them together with your now lovely tanned face.
6. No one told me about the humidity in St. Louis when I was applying to WashU. Good thing too, because if they had, I probably would’ve rescinded my application. Here are some tricks of the trade when trying to deal with fly-aways and “quirky” hair cowlicks: while hair is damp, apply a no-frizz serum to you problem areas (I like Bumble and Bumble, but L’Oreal makes some more affordable and equally as effective products), blow dry these sections straight, and once they are dry, blast them with the cool air function on your drier. This closes the hair cuticle, locking the moisture from the frizz serum in, and blocking excessive condensation from the humidity. Another great solution is using John Frieda’s flyaway wand that upon first glance looks like a bottle of mascara, but is actually filled with hair-taming gel. It’s inexpensive; it’s portable; it’s perfect.
7. Having one eye shadow palate that offers colors for day and night is quintessential for college students. It’s affordable and practical, so why wouldn’t you? Urban Decay offers beautiful palates that are perfect for creating a natural look during the day, such as the rose and gold colors, and more dramatic options, like the smoky grey and black, for a night out at Jive and Wail. Dab on some liquid eyeliner and waterproof mascara (don’t forget the lip balm for those dance floor make outs!), and you’re good to go.
Those are my seven make up necessities and solutions, and now that one of your peers has told you how to apply bronzer, if I ever see a walking black and white cookie because someone didn’t bronze their neck and chest, this article gives me the authority to come up to you and to start blending. Call me the Bronzer Blending Control Police, or BBCP for short. I’m out there, looking for you, with bronzer brushes at the ready.
Image courtesy of DailyMail