How to Feel Like a Beauty Queen in Confinement – Beauty on a Budget

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The pandemic and confinement have definitely been strenuous  on everyone’s mental and financial stability. Job losses, remote work, restrictions, breakups, sickness, and more fun stuff are rampant around me, and I am guessing it is rampant around you too. So you escape to books, TV shows, video games or….social media. The place where truth is queen and  intelligence is her right arm (yes, I am being sarcastic).

You scroll down your Instagram feed and all you see are perfect pictures of perfect faces and perfect bodies taken with perfect cameras in perfect houses. You look around the tiny apartment in which you have spent most of your time the past twelve months and wonder where you went wrong. The thing is, if you did not know social media is fake yet, I have bad news for you, my friend.

Now, you might know this $60 foundation will never make you look like Barbie’s twin (and honestly, better that way), but you might still wanna pamper your beautiful face once in a while amidst all this chaos and maybe even try that new eyebrow tip you saw on Tiktok. 

I am all for countering social pressures and not giving in to useless trends, but if confinement taught me anything, it is that I truly enjoy centering myself while playing with my appearance, even when (or especially when) no one else is around for the foreseeable future. 

So if you wanna pretend for even just a second that your cat eye is the only thing that matters right now, and are looking for fun options to try at home without breaking the bank, I got you.

You might not be going on a fashion haul for a minute, but you can repurpose what you already have and save a few bucks. Here are 5 budget-friendly tips for the broke ass beauty queen in your heart.

• Turn that concealer into a tinted cream

You ran out of foundation eleven months ago and haven’t bothered buying some since? Not a problem! 

Take a drop of your cream or liquid concealer and mix it with a few drops of a light moisturizer on the back of your hand. Depending on the consistency and coverage of your products, the proportions might differ, but generally speaking, less coverage is more with tinted creams. Mix it at your desire and add it to your morning routine or your evening-night-in-with-your-cat routine.

• Use that pink lipstick as a blush

Now, if you are like me, you probably dropped your powder blush on the floor more than you would like to admit while getting ready in the morning (seriously). Although saving it with rubbing alcohol or vodka is a good idea, you might wanna stop using powder blush altogether and move on to a slightly more durable option.

You know that lipstick shade you don’t really like to wear on your lips that has been hanging in your drawer forever? You might wanna think about turning it into a blush stick. 

Now, you probably don’t wanna look like a toddler who just found their parent’s makeup stash, so keep it light. 

A gentle stroke on the apples of your cheeks before blending it with your ring finger or a beauty blender will give you a beautiful glow without reminding you of your diaper days.

• Blend that powder contour on your eyes

If you are not an eyeshadow connoisseur but still wanna try to add shape and definition to your eyes, using your contour powder will save you the hassle of spending on overpriced eyeshadow palettes. 

To follow this tip, take any fluffy brush – or your ring finger if you don’t have a set – and gently blend the powder in your crease. If your eyes are hooded, you can blend the powder slightly above your crease, so it is still visible when you open your eyes. You will have gorgeous defined eyes without the added cost.

• Make your hair smell like a baby’s butt

Now, this beauty tip may be a bit of a cheat, because chances are, baby powder is not much cheaper than your regular shampoo, but it will definitely satisfy the lazy beauty queen in you. I started washing my hair less often in confinement in hope of maintaining its health, and, let’s be honest, out of pure laziness. 

Running out of dry shampoo when your hair is a mess and you have no intention of washing it, can be frustrating when you still wanna look damn good. 

I present to you : baby powder! It will absorb the extra oil on your mane and you will smell like a pretty little crotch goblin.

You will want to use a light hand if you are using it from the bottle, or dip a makeup brush in the powder to bring it to your scalp. The darker your hair is, the more you will have to brush it out to avoid the powder colouring your hair white.

• Dip that eyebrow gel in eyeshadow

You ran out of mascara and you cannot put on fake eyelashes for the life of you? Repurpose a tube of eyebrow gel into a custom colour mascara.

I really enjoy plum-coloured mascara, but have trouble finding a tube at a reasonable price. Thus, many years ago, I figured out the best trick to counter that problem : clear eyebrow gel. I started mixing plum eyeshadow in a tube of clear eyebrow gel and realized it also worked with any colour for when I ran out of mascara or wanted to make a custom colour.

Take the powder makeup of your choosing and mix it with the clear gel until you are happy with the consistency. If you want to use the same colour in the future, you can mix the powder with the gel directly in the tube, but if you would rather keep the tube clear, mix it on the back of your hand before applying it to your eyelashes. Et voilà! 

The world may not see your gorgeous face, but you can still have fun with it. Get your products out and keep your wallet closed, so you can enjoy beauty at a budget!