This article was last updated on April 16, 2022
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Ever wonder why we ladies seem doomed to spend one third of our lives getting primped, while our man friends simply need to shower and run their hands through their hair? Primping is fun, sure, but let’s be honest —the hours upon hours we spend getting pretty are kind of cramping our style. Ain’t nobody got time for that!
We at R29 love trying new looks and products, but like most of you, we’re always looking to find the easiest — and fastest — ways to get glam. Thankfully, we’ve picked up some great tricks along the way that help us go from ghastly to gorgeous in no time. Read on to steal our most hush-hush beauty tricks, from a pantry fix for chapped lips to the shortcut to sexy beach hair, and let us know — what’s your top-secret beauty cheat?
Frédéric Fekkai PrX Reparatives Shampoo
“I’m incompetent with dry shampoo (I always end up with white powder in my black hair that somehow doesn’t get blended in), so instead, when my hair isn’t clean, I just wash my bangs in the sink without conditioner and then quickly blowdry and go. As long as you get into the roots with it, your hair ends up looking shiny and new. Plus, once upon a time, I told Mark Townsend this, and he told me Penelope Cruz did the same thing. Sold, even if it’s not true.”
$49, available at Space NK.
Frownies Facial Patches
“This is almost unbelievably dorky, but I swear by Frownies. They’re basically thick stamps that you wear over your glabellar lines — aka the “elevens” between your brows — while sleeping. The idea is that they keep you from furrowing your brow, and they really do make your lines less pronounced overnight. The downside is that, well, you’re wearing a large scrap of beige paper on your face.”
$19.95, available at Frownies.
Evo Salty Dog Cocktail Beach Spray & Bumble and bumble Curl Conscious Defining Creme
“My no-fail trick for coaxing my fine, straight hair into tousled waves involves nothing more than some curling lotion, a spritz of texture spray, and a bit of twisting. I towel-dry my hair, then scrunch in the curling lotion. Then I grab a one-inch piece of hair in the front and twist it outward, away from my head. I’ll do this with all of my hair, section by section, until I have a head full of defined ringlets. I then spray my hair with a texturizing spray and wait for it to air-dry. Once everything is dry, I take my fingers and shake out the ringlets, leaving behind perfectly disheveled, beachy waves. No fuss, no muss, and — best of all — no heat tools required.”
$24.99, available at SleekHair; $29, available at Sephora.
Stila Smudge Pot Brush
“When I take the time to actually do my eye makeup (a basic smoky eye, usually), by the time I get done packing the shadow into my eyelid, I’ve usually run out of patience to do anything else. Thankfully, the brush I use is this dome-shaped one, and there’s usually enough black or dark brown shadow in it to darken my eyebrows. It always goes on really smoothly and evenly, and since there’s only a bit left on the brush, I never accidentally overdo it in the brow department. Easy peasy.”
$32, available at Sephora.
Green Tea Bags
“I swear by cooled green tea bags for dry lips — every Chicago gal knows about that! Steep a bag of green tea, let it cool, and hold it to your lips for a few minutes. The tannins and antioxidants in the tea help soften and rehydrate, for a perfectly smooth pout.”
Twinings Green Tea Bags, $5.15, available at Soap.com
Gorilla Super Glue
“This is kind of cringeworthy, but occasionally I break a nail pretty deep into the nail bed — I know, ouch — and I’ve learned to use a drop of Super Glue on top of the torn section to keep the nail together until it grows out. Who needs nail glue when you can use what you have lying around the house?”
$6.57, available at Home Depot.
Klorane Extra-Gentle Dry Shampoo With Oat Milk
“To add texture to my hair, I spray my hairbrush with Klorane Gentle Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk and brush it through my wet hair when I get out of the shower, and end up with just the right piece-y, tousled look — minus the sticky feel that often comes with beach sprays.”
$7.50, available at Drugstore.com.
Clarins BB Skin Perfecting Cream in Light and Clarins Skin Illusion Foundation in Sand
“When the weather warms up, I tend to become hyper-aware of my pale complexion. To warm up my skin without going full-on bronzer in these awkward transitional months, I’ve started mixing a blob of BB cream that’s a little darker than my skin tone with my favorite foundation (Clarins Skin Illusion forever — it totally and completely disappears into my skin). I squirt the two products right onto my foundation brush and just blend away. I end up with a perfect hint of bronze, without the hassle of layering on a bunch of products.”
$40, available at Clarins; $38, available at Clarins.
Lipstick Queen Lipstick in Saint Eden & Revlon Just Bitten Lip Stain in Flame
“I absolutely love a bold red lip, but I’m the worst when it comes to reapplying. My fellow morning commuters get to see me all gussied up, but by lunchtime it’s probably hard to tell if I’ve applied any makeup at all. In an effort to help my rosy pout stay put, I’ve started to layer in a lip stain. First, I’ll apply Revlon’s Just Bitten Lip Stain & Balm, and follow it up with my regular red lipstick. The stain color is just subtle, but somehow helps my lipstick stay bold and stay in place without a lip liner. It may not be the most revolutionary trick in the book, but trust me, it works!”
$20, available at Barneys New York; $9.15, available at Soap.com.
Revlon Lip Gloss in Shine City
“To look more awake and dewy when I’ve gotten zero sleep, I sometimes dab the inner corners of my eyes with lip balm or gloss to add some shine — a trick I learned from Revlon’s Gucci Westman. This sheer, shimmery lip gloss from Revlon is what Gucci used (and therefore what I swear by), but in a pinch, I’ll even use my trustyEgyptian Magic — gotta love a good beauty multitasker!”
$5.94, available at Walmart.
Designed by Darcy Moore & Zhang Qingyun
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