ONCE AGAIN, FOR THE CHEAP SEATS IN THE BACK‼
So, if you’re anything like me, you have a separate stash of makeup in your car that you exclusively use only in the car. These are the “cheap seats” of what I call OTC (over the counter) makeup, aka tried and true drug-store buys. This collection resides in my center console and cup holders for a quick, red-light touch up between my illegal texting...
(Just kidding, texting and driving is a dangerous finable traffic faux pas -- don’t do it!) I have to assume that I can’t be the only one out here driving around among us with questionable car makeup behavior. So, I’m going to share my cheap-seats OTC car makeup choices with you!
Mascara
Anyone who knows me knows that I only use YSL Faux Cils Mascara $32. I have been donning this gem since Britney and Justin wore matching denim Canadian Tuxedos on the red carpet. (For you younger folks, that’s 2000.)
However, my car mascara game is a little different. Right now, I have two other mascaras in my cup holder dying to get off the bench and into the red-light application action! The first mascara is a cheap-seats option; and the second mascara is just an extra mascara that I happen to love. Now, I should mention, I do come from the more-is-better school of thought when it comes to mascara, so both of these are amazing toppers to my original morning bathroom application. Of course, if I have someone in the car with me, I shove these marvels deep in the center console and try to blend as a natural-beauty commuter! Nevertheless, if I have been working all day and want to zhoosh up my makeup, I immediately grab my cheap-seats L'Oreal Voluminous Carbon Black Mascara. For $7.99, you can’t beat it!
My next go to is more of a recent favorite of mine: Younique’s Epic Mascara $24. She’s been hanging in the cup holder, too. I use her on the days I may not have initially applied a lot of mascara, but want to bump up my lashes later in the day. This mascara builds amazingly well for a fuller lash look!
Tweezers
This has happened to all of us -- that 8:00 a.m. sunlight bounces off the three brow hairs that somehow escaped the overhead bathroom lighting pluck job. I have a pair of Beauty 360 Slant OTC Tweezers that are always ready for red-light duty. For $5.00, these are the perfect cheap-seats option for those sneaky suckers.
Lip Plumper
Soap and Glory makes my absolute favorite -- XL Extreme Plump!
This "sexy mother-pucker" is the best to pop on right before you leave the car for a dinner, coffee date, or grocery store run. For $14.00, this is the best cheap-seats option for pouty lips; in a pinch, it certainly beats $600 for lip injections!
Powder
Right now, I have two powders in my car. Both are in retractable/refillable brushes and, with just a click, you’re in business. The first is an important product that I believe everyone should have. Peter Thomas Roth makes the Instant Mineral SPF 45 Translucent Powder $30 that comes in a retractable brush. Don’t forget -- that the SPF that you applied before you left your house this morning only lasts a few hours, so this is the perfect product to keep with you in the car, purse, and while you’re traveling for an extra bit of protection.
My other powder is my cheap-seats bronzer. So, picture it (Sophia Petrillo voice), I just bought a gorgeous new bronzer. I get it home, and I immediately drop it on the floor, leaving it, and my heart, in 200 tiny little pieces.
So, being inspired by SPF powder, I went on Amazon and
bought a cheap-seats empty retractable/refillable powder brush for $4.00, popped in my smashed up bronzer and VOILA! -- a loose powder red-light bronzer it became.
Here’s a tip: Take the smashed-up bronzer, pour it into a zip lock bag, and run a rolling pin over it until it’s completely refined without any chunks. This works great with broken highlighters too!
Makeup Eraser Sticks
I’ve been carting around a case of these for a month, and it’s a complete game changer. I love love love a heavy eye cream, and no matter what I do, there will be a faint black smudge underneath my eyes by the end of the day. Cut to me rubbing a dry tissue, napkin, or those awful sandpaper texture bathroom paper towels under my eyes to remove said smudgies.
Ladies, meet your new favorite secret weapon! Almay Oil-Free Make-Up Eraser Sticks, which is a bad ass Q-tip that has eye makeup remover in the stick! You simply break off the marked end, which releases the fluid into the other end… Swipe that under your eye and BAM -- smudges begone! The best news yet? They’re totally a cheap-seats option at $5.50 a pop. Meet your new summer staple.
Aquaphor
Finally‼ My MVP of cheap-seats car products: Travel size Aquaphor! I use this as a hand moisturizer in the winter and a lip balm year-round. You can: (i) run this product through your ends to disguise split ends; (ii) apply the teeniest bit to cheekbones, collarbones, and inner corners of eyes (teeny tiny bit needed for inner eye corner near the bridge of your nose) for a quick glow; and (iii) use it to tame some unruly brows in a pinch too! This travel size OTC cheap-seats product is an absolute treasure for $5.00!
So, there you have it! Two mascaras, a pair of tweezers, a lip plumper, two powders, makeup erasing Q-tips, and a travel size Aquaphor! Unlike Bey, I didn’t wake up like this, and need some affordable red-light beauty tricks, once again, for the cheap seats in the back‼
Hope you found this helpful! Remember, hit me up with your questions and comments, and let me know what you’d like me to cover in one of my future blogs