I love accessible (meaning affordable) beauty products. I live for them, really. And the great thing is that there are SO MANY GREAT products you can get for a reasonable price. They offer superb performance and you don’t have to wince every time you think about repurchasing them.

Part of my motivation in sharing my love of accessible product is that there is this general perception in beauty that expensive means better. Hey, there are a TON of awesome products that are fancy and work really well. As a beauty product developer, I buy from the drugstore and Sephora. I’ve tried the $8 foundation and the $45 foundation. This is just part of my job. But the products I find myself repurchasing over and over often times are the drugstore products.

And these days, high end foundations can set you back $40, $50, and even $60 or more dollars. I use foundation pretty sparingly so a bottle will last me a couple of months, but still, it’s just crazy to me to be regularly spending that much money on my favorite foundation.

At my core, I believe you don’t need to spend that much to look good. You really don’t. Secondly, my money is a limited resource. My husband and I have SO MANY lofty financial goals. We are paying off his student loans. We are saving as much as we can for a home one day. And I know our goals are similar to those of other folks, for sure.

Since money and time are limited resources, of course you want to use these resources wisely. And you can absolutely love beauty products, look great, and still meet your financial goals. My mission here on this blog is to showcase these great products so you aren’t wasting your time and money. And believe me, I know how to identify and evaluate great products since I do this for a living as a product developer!

Maybelline Fit Me! Matte + Poreless Foundation (in Classic Ivory) ($7.99) is an example of a great product that is under $10. It offers build-able medium coverage with a beautiful, soft matte finish. I apply it with my Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge ($5.99) and it is very easy to blend out to achieve a natural yet perfected complexion. It also wears well with my oily combo skin throughout the day which is a much added bonus. I simply set it with MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural ($34) (a product that is not necessarily cheap but I love) which helps with overall longevity.

If you have oily combo skin like myself, and struggle with pigmented acne scars and hyper pigmentation, I highly recommend this product!

NERD TIME: In this section, we can nerd out together. A major part of my job is looking at ingredient lists (IL’s) and quite literally dissecting them. Nothing gives me more pleasure than picking up a product, flipping it over and looking at the ingredients 🙂

INGREDIENTS: Aqua/Water/Eau, Cyclohexasiloxane, Nylon-12, Isododecane, Alcohol Denat., Cyclopentasiloxane, Peg-10 Dimethicone, Cetyl Peg/Ppg-10/1 Dimethicone, Peg-20, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Phenoxyethanol, Magnesium Sulfate, Disodium Stearoyl Glutamate, HDI/Trimethylol Hexyllactone Crosspolymer, Titanium Dioxide, Methylparaben, Acrylates Copolymer, Tocopherol, Butylparaben, Aluminum Hydroxide, Alumina, Silica, Glycerin, [+/- May Contain/Peut Contenir, CI 77891/Titanium Dioxide, CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499/Iron Oxides, ] D166390/3.

A number of the ingredients (Water, Cyclohexasiloxane, Isododecane, Alcohol Denat., and Cyclopentasiloxane) are extremely lightweight and will essentially dry (and evaporate) without leaving any heavy, oily residue. This combination of lightweight ingredients helps with BLENDING. You have the pigments dispersed in extremely lightweight liquids so you can blend out the pigments evenly over your skin, without having a super heavy, cake-y feeling or appearance after the product dries. The third ingredient, Nylon-12, is a powder ingredient that is likely added to provide the additional matte effect. It is known for filling in pores and adding “optical blurring” benefits. No wonder I love this product so much!!!

What is your favorite drugstore foundation? Or do you prefer higher end foundation?

xo megan

I know what you’re thinking: “You’ve been working PROFESSIONALLY for SIX YEARS behind the scenes in beauty in Los Angeles… and your first review is on LIP SMACKERS?!? Are you 12?!”

So, I love beauty products. And more importantly, I love beauty products that are accessible – meaning that they are AFFORDABLE, and hopefully, available at a number of retailers (Target, CVS, etc.). This is really important to me, and I bet it’s important to you, too.

Listen, I love my $20 First Aid Beauty lip balm. It comes in a cute little box. It comes in a cute little jar. The IL (ingredient list) is really beautiful (luxurious ingredients, many of which of plant derived, mixed in with some effective synthetics). I can go on.

But do you know what I really love? And will likely always have on hand? Because it makes me happy? And above all else – WORKS LIKE A CHARM? My Lip Smackers Vanilla Lip Balm. It is so buttery, so moisturizing, and has this super delightful, sweet vanilla flavor.

In college, during one of my two (COUNT ‘EM, TWO) rounds of Accutane, my lips were peeling, and bleeding, and essentially falling off of my face. It was just awful. If you haven’t heard of Accutane before, it’s a very intense oral acne prescription drug that you take for months at a time, and it dries out your whole body. Everything, your skin, your lips, your eyes, everything feels hopelessly parched.

I remember buying and trying any lip balm I could buy at CVS. I was just so uncomfortable, to the point where EATING was hurting my mouth. I couldn’t eat a sandwich because I was NOT ABLE TO OPEN MY MOUTH THAT WIDE without extremely painful cracks opening up. I was beside myself. Until I found this lip balm. I would layer it on multiple times a day and it felt like the only thing that would provide any type of comfort. Simply put, the stuff works.

One of the things I love about beauty products is that you almost develop a relationship with them. You look at your stash and think, “My grandmother used this moisturizer for 40 years and now I use it from time to time because it reminds me of her” or “This shampoo smells like my mom so I use it because it brings me memories of growing up.”

During college, I was so deeply insecure. I thought Accutane would solve all my problems. Super secret PRO TIP: No single thing will ever solve all your problems. Ha!

Around this time, I found MakeupAlley and just started researching as much as I could about beauty and skincare. I was beyond hooked. I was just determined to be the most knowledgeable I could be. So, this little Vanilla Lip Balm reminds me of that. The taste, the feel, and how the simple packaging would fit right in my little jean pocket. I would apply it religiously, even after finishing my second round of Accutane.

And now, nearly a decade later, I take it out from time to time. I pop off that little cap and apply it, feel the buttery texture between my lips, and revisit that sweet vanilla flavor. I also do this in winter, when I’m less concerned with nostalgia and just want some comfort for my extra chapped lips.

NERD TIME: In this section, we can nerd out together. A major part of my job is looking at ingredient lists (IL’s) and quite literally dissecting them. Nothing gives me more pleasure than picking up a product, flipping it over and looking at the ingredients 🙂

In looking at these ingredients, the (likely) main driver of efficacy is the petrolatum. Petrolatum is a funny ingredient. It’s not necessarily earth friendly (since it’s derived from petroleum), but it is the gold standard for “barrier repair.” The magic of petrolatum is that it actually increases the rate of skin renewal, so it’s used medically in burn units to heal damaged skin. It’s kind of a miracle ingredient, so it’s very common in applications for extremely dry, cracked skin.

The rest of this formula includes a number of emollients (think oils) (Castor Seed Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride) and some waxes (Carnauba Wax, Beeswax). These will also provide “occlusive” benefits – meaning that they create a type of oily/waxy barrier to trap in moisture and hydration. The formula also includes a touch of sweetener (Stevia & Sucralose), and lastly some colorants and flavor. It’s not necessarily a complicated formula, but most great products aren’t!

INGREDIENTS: RICINUS COMMUNIS (CASTOR) SEED OIL, CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE, PETROATUM, BEESWAX/CIRE DABEILLE, OZOKERITE, POLYBUTENE, FLAVOR/AROMA, COPERNICIA CERIFERA (CARNAUBA) WAX/CIRE DE CARNAUBA, OCTYLDODECANOL, PROPYLENE GLYCOL, TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, STEVIA REBAUDIANA LEAF/STEM EXTRACT, SUCRALOSE. MAY CONTAIN/PEUT CONTENIR BLUE 1 LAKE (CI 42090), IRON OXIDES (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), RED 6 LAKE (CI 15850), RED 7 LAKE (CI 15850), TITANIUM DIOXIDE (CI 77891), YELLOW 5 LAKE (CI 19140).

Do you have a lip balm that you love? Or do you have a specific product in your arsenal that you have been buying for a long time? I would love to hear from you 🙂

xo megan

This post is about one of my all time favorite songs, and it’s relevant to this blog because it’s about makeup.

I think sometimes makeup gets a bad rap.

“What are you trying to hide?”

“Why are you wearing a mask?”

“Why are you so vain?”

I think one of the most valuable things I learned in college (art school, specifically), is that most things aren’t black and white. Of course, I want to just flat out deny the above questions, but meaning is often found in nuance, and potentially there is some truth to these things.

I think what initially drew me to makeup was the ability to buttress my self esteem a little bit. I was young, dealing with acne and full of teenage hormones. Later in college, it was essentially the same situation. Low self esteem and wanting to feel just a little bit more comfortable in my own skin.

What propelled me into a career dedicated to beauty was wanting to know, quite literally, AS MUCH AS I POSSIBLY COULD about the beauty world. And make some money to, ya know, live on.

When I wear makeup, I feel a little more presentable. I feel a little more polished. I feel more like an idealized version of myself. I just feel better.

I hope you enjoy this song. It’s so beautiful. Makeup is magic. It has the ability to transform, highlight, support, modify, enhance. It has changed my life. I bet it has changed yours as well.

xo megan

Bonus song: Just A Girl. Because this song is relevant to, like, pretty much everything.

So, I’m a bonafide beauty junkie. Actually, I’m more appropriately labeled as a beauty guru. ACTUALLY, I’m technically a beauty product developer. Wait. Okay, let me back up.

Around age 12, I started developing my big girl skin. Oily, blackheads, and yes, pimples. And it SUCKED. Acne is an inflammatory skin condition, so my little pimples were accompanied by some ruddiness aka redness. It was just crushing. Add to that my curly hair that is just never easy to tame, and well, you just have an awkward middle schooler.

My mom taught me how to apply some “cover up” (it was a tinted Clearasil benzoyl peroxide treatment) and later she taught me how to apply eyeliner and mascara (both were Covergirl). The rest was pretty much history. From age 12 onward, I was pretty much obsessed with beauty products. Lotions, potions, makeup, perfume, essentially anything I could get my tiny hands on.

I would save up money for trips to Rite Aid, and later in high school, my mecca, Sephora.

I remember saving up money and buying my first set of makeup brushes at Sephora as a freshman in high school. They were pink and just wonderful. I felt like such a pro. I also bought a Shu Uemura eyelash curler and NARS Orgasm blush. I remember the man at check out looked at me and my purchases and said, “Someone’s been reading her beauty magazines,” implying that I was well informed in buying all the best products. I bashfully smiled at what I took as a MAJOR compliment. Ha!

In college, my skin progressed to get worse. Years of acne were turning into some pigmentary and textural scars. Mix in a pinch (or heaping barrel full) of low self esteem and you had a girl who was absolutely RAVENOUS for information on skincare. Between classes and papers, I was CHUGGING as much of Paula Begoun’s COOL AID (http://cosmeticscop.com/) as I could. I didn’t partake in beer pong, but if the online beauty community were a reckless activity, I was all in. I was scouring product reviews, and posting in MakeupAlley’s messages boards daily. I found this whole new world and it was transforming the way I bought product. That fear of buying a product and not being sure if it was the best, or right for my needs, or did what it said – all those concerns became diminished when you could crowdsource product reviews and interact with other junkies in real time. It was life changing. It was addicting. It was like I was in love.

The beauty nerd in me continued to read, continued to consume, continued to test, continued to gleefully nerd out in my own, little beauty world. And as college was wrapping up, I had to figure out what to do with my life. I was torn between continuing my education in painting (I studied art in college) and/or pursuing a career in beauty. It was really an obvious choice. It just made more sense from a financial point to go into beauty. It was a continuously burgeoning industry, with no signs of slowing down. And on top of that, I had the unquenchable passion for it.

So, the search started. And it took a while. I remember one interview in particular, for a job at a Macy’s counter. The woman interviewing looked me up and down and said, “Are you even wearing any makeup?” Looking back, it was funny. Her viewpoint was the makeup should be VISIBLE, whereas my philosophy has always been, it should be closer to natural, or less perceptible. Some natural looking foundation. A pretty blush. A touch of bronzer. A full yet natural lash. A hint of eyeliner. Maybe a soft lip. I didn’t get the job but it all worked out in the end.

During my search, I saw a craigslist ad, vaguely asking, “Do you like beauty, and did you study science in college?” I didn’t study science, but boy, did I LOVE beauty. I applied. And a few weeks later, I got an interview. It was for a company specializing in manufacturing and selling beauty raw materials (meaning, ingredients) in Chatsworth, CA (a West Coast epicenter for beauty manufacturing). I went in and showed a presentation on how the internet (via blogs and sites like MakeupAlley) were transforming how women make purchasing decisions, and how consumers are more well informed than ever before. (This was in 2011, and consumers are even MORE savvy now!)

I toured their facility. I saw their big warehouse. I saw the big drums and totes of fatty alcohols and silicones. I went into the lab, where I nearly lost my mind. There were mixers whirring, and cabinets upon cabinets filled with cosmetic ingredients. They explained, “Here we make prototype formulas using ingredients we sell. This way beauty brands and companies can test our ingredients and then use our ingredients in their formulas.” I had done so much independent research that when he said “fatty alcohol”, I had a general idea of what that was. I understood, very generally, what a “silicone” was. He grabbed a bottle of dimethicone (a certain type of silicone), and applied a tiny drop to the back of my hand and his hand. We both proceeded test the sensorial nuances of this ingredient with gentle circular motions with our opposite hand. There was a moment of silence – and then I exclaimed, “It feels like a hair serum!” Honestly, it was such a wonderland. This place was so much more magical than Sephora ever could be. I could learn here. I could learn about ingredients. About how it all works. And I did just that.

I worked in that little lab for 2 years. The company was a small team of under 30 people. It was like a little family, with a bunch of science lovers. I had been, and continue to be, the only person they hired to be a part of their elite lab and/or sales team who technically did not have a science degree. They brought me in based on my grit, passion, and flair for marketing and products. This was honestly the luckiest break I could have gotten.

Here, I was trained very rigorously in ingredients and formulation across all categories in beauty, including skin care, body care, hair care, and color cosmetics. I was trained in skin and hair physiology. I was trained in lab protocol and quality assurance procedures. I was trained in operating and maintaining the lab equipment. And most importantly, I made some of the best friends I still have to this day (two of them were my bridesmaids, in fact <3  ).

Even though I loved being in the lab, I felt held back. I understood how to make a shampoo or a facial cream, but, to rise up an someone specializing in R&D (Research & Development), it’s typically essential to have a science degree (usually Biology or Chemistry). Also, I gravitated VERY strongly towards the marketing side of beauty products. What will this product smell like? What will it feel like? What can we say about it? How do we talk about it? I wanted more than ever to be a part of what we called “finished goods” aka the items available at large retailers through brands. I loved working in raw materials, but what I loved more was real product, sold to real people. How could I be a part of that?

My next venture was into the glorious world of Product Development, a world that I live in today. Product Development can mean a lot of different things, depending on the company you’re talking to. My specialty is working within the intersection of Product Development (think of them as product specialists, tinkering on how to make a product and formula perfect), Research & Development (think of this as the lab, full of chemists mixing lotions and potions and formulating), and Marketing (think of these folks as the relayers of the grand message of the product, what it will do for you). My experience includes both the creative (marketing) and the technical (the lab). Believe it or not, this is a rare combination in my world. Usually folks are mostly one or the other. But for me, I can’t think of them as separate. They are interwoven and inseparable and I love them both dearly and crave them both.

I’ve been working professionally in the beauty industry for over 6 years, and my workload has consistently been in fast paced environments. I’m VERY proud to say I’ve helped launch hundreds of products, across over a dozen brands, and available on shelves at some of the largest US national retailers 🙂

My goal for this blog is to use my knowledge to help YOU navigate the beauty aisles. I’ve dedicated my entire adult life to testing, building, and perfecting beauty products. I am a literal expert in the field. And believe if or not, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SPEND A LOT TO LOOK GOOD!

I’m so excited for our journey together!!!

xo megan