Surviving Sweaty Summer Weather

I don’t sweat, I glisten. That has always been my girly philosophy…

And then July happened.

Washington, DC has been a blazing hot oven this summer and on top of the heat, I can’t seem to escape the humidity that has come with it. I feel like I’m living in someone’s sweaty armpit!

So how is a girl supposed to beat the heat and look good while doing it? Here are Style Me Thrifty’s secrets for surviving this super sweaty summer.

Pack Your Purse with Oil Blotters
My good friend, Susanna, got married last month on hottest day of the year — it was an insane 104 degrees, gah! I kept a packet of oil blotting papers in my purse (reviewed here) and they were a life saver for soaking up the shine – which is a must if you’re taking photos. My boyfriend’s clever trick for survival was to put a handkerchief in every single pocket (no joke, he bought 13), so consider getting your man a few.

Embrace your Natural Hair
Summer is the perfect time to embrace what your momma gave you and go au natural. Humidity is your hair do’s worst enemy, so save yourself the headache of trying to tame your mane and wear your hair natural. Don’t fight humidity. Let your curls go wild or pin back limp bangs so they’re off your sweaty face.

And Keep a Ponytail Holder Handy
If you wear your hair down on a hot and humid day, it’s a nice sense of security to have a ponytail holder “on call” in case things start to fro, frizz, or otherwise rebel.

Wear a Color and Fabric that Will Conceal Sweat
This one may seem counter intuitive — black in the summer time? — but a dark color will hide any back or armpit sweat. And go with a cotton fabric so it has a better chance to breathe. Silk is the worst choice you could make! I’m mortified by the photo below, but I’m sharing it because it proves my point exactly. Black would never have shown that sweat ring after a long night of dancing! Ick.

Switch to a Non-Leather Purse
This is an odd little pet peeve of mine but I have to share: I hate standing in a crowded bar or overheated Metro with a leather purse making my side all sweaty. Stay cool and choose a fabric wrislet or straw clutch instead.

Keep Your Makeup Light
If you start to glisten, or sweat, you may feel like compensating by putting more makeup on to hide everything. Don’t do it! Keep your foundation and eye make up light so that it won’t run.

The Buzz on Burt’s Bees Tinted Lip Balm

Is it a lipstick? Lip gloss? Chapstick? Lip chap? Lip balm?

Who knows and who cares! Burt’s Bees Tinted Lip Balm is $6.99 and a lovely little treat for your lips.

Packaging
I must admit, the cute packaging of this product is what first caught my eye. I know I’m not supposed to be “judging a book by its cover” on most things in life but that rule never seems to apply to makeup! The prettier the packaging, the more likely I am to buy it. I just can’t help myself! Burt’s Tinted Lip Balm comes in a cardboard recyclable package and a chapstick tube is hidden inside. It’s cute, it’s eco-friendly, and it’s now in my shopping cart.

Color
This lip balm comes in 6 different perfectly girly shades. I picked up the Hibiscus color because it seemed to be the most middle-of-the-road: not too red, not too pink. I’m pleased to report that the color displayed on the package is actually a pretty spot-on representation of the actual color once it’s on your lips (I feel like that rarely happens!) so that’s a nice little tidbit to keep in mind if you decide to try one.

Coverage
Since this is a tinted lip balm — not say, a liptstick — the coverage is sheer. There is just enough color to enhance your features but in a very subtle, natural way (think of it like blush!). My lips were a little rosier and I can put this on without a mirror. This is a low maintenance lip product. Perfect for a thrifty girl on the go.

Feel
The feel is smooth, moisturizing, and light. If you are a daily chapstick wearer, then you’ll love this. Feels like any old chapstick, but the added color makes a whole different ballgame. Mmmm and the taste is nice, too.  Slightly fruity but nothing near the overpowering taste of say, Lip Smackers.

Overall Verdict?
Believe the buzz, this lip balm is worth trying!

The Best Drug Store Beauty Products

CVS. Walgreens. Target. These are my happy places. I love the endless aisles of affordable makeup, rows of lotions, potions, and cheap hair products!

Every once in awhile on my lunch break, I wander into CVS and pick up a new beauty product to try. It’s amazing what a fresh bottle of nail polish or tube lipstick can do to brighten up the day. And with such low prices, you never have to feel guilty if that new lipstick is not a perfect match! Life is one big experiment anyway.

The next time you’re having a blah day, why not hit up your local drug store for a thrifty treat? Here are a few of Style Me Thrifty’s go-to drug stores beauty products, in no particular order.

1) St. Ives Whipped Silk Lotion – $6.75
The light scent of this lotion makes it great for daily use (it doesn’t interfere with your perfume!). It delivers just as much moisture as a pricier brand and soaks into your skin nicely, with no greasy feeling afterwards.

2) Sonia Kashuk Double Duty Brush Set – $21.99 for 8 brushes
Sephora tried to sell me a $40 powder brush once. You know what I did? Marched my thrifty butt to Target and bought 8 brushes for $22. Winning!

3) Oil Absorbing Sheets – CVS brand for $4.79
I don’t sweat, I “glisten” (ha). For those particularly shinny days, I use these sheets to soak up a the shine from my face without ruining my makeup. Great to have on hand at a wedding. Clean & Clear sells these sheets, too, but I find CVS brand works just as well.

4) Goody Spin Pin – $6.29
I’ve been raving (and blogging!) about Goody’s Spin Pin for months now. Have you picked this clever product up yet?  With a few quick twists, these sturdy pins deliver a cute, secure bun. Goody now makes Mini Spin Pins for thinner hair. Love that!

5) Burt’s Beeswax Lip Balm – $2.99
I cannot leave the house without a tube of chaptstick in my purse. God forbid! Burts Bees is my fav. The tingly mint feeling is refreshing and I like the feel of it on my lips: smooth, light, and moisturizing.

6) Goody Ouchless Ponytail Holders – $3.99
In the past, I used to wear 2 elastics to my Body Combat class just to keep my mane in place and out of my eyes. Then I bought these hair elastics and I’m consistently surprised how 3 twists around my pony leads to such a secure ‘do. A must have for gym goers.

7) Maybelline Great Lash Mascara – $4.02
I see this mascara on so many best seller lists and it’s for a good reason — not only is the mascara insanely affordable, it gives amazing coverage, doesn’t clump, and the small wand is perfect for the hard-to-reach lashes.

8) Nivea Gradual Tan Moisturizer – $9.99
Best tinted moisturizer out there. It’s very easy to apply, doesn’t streak, and it’s light enough for daily use. I like the scent, too, which I can’t say for other brands.

Do you have any drug store beauty products you love? Sound off in the comments below!

Nail Stickers?!

In a former life, I think may have been a manicurist. I love being girly and doing my nails.

That said, I realize the general female population probably does not share my hidden talent of super steady hands — which is why beauty companies are coming out with a genius, mess-free alternative to nail polish: nail stickers.

Trend-setting celebs like Lady Gaga and Katy Perry have been photographed wearing Minx nail stickers in wild patterns like cheetah print and polka dots. Minx strips are applied at a nail salon without a drop of polish and last up to 2 weeks. Sounds great, right? Unfortunately, Minx comes with a hefty price tag of $40 and up.

Luckily Sally Hansen has come out with cheaper alternative for us thrifty gals: Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips that only cost $8.50 at Target. I’m a sucker when it comes to nail trends (black nails, anyone?) so I picked up the Misbehaved pattern and gave these  a try. Check out my fishnet nails!:

Here’s the scoop on these crazy things…

Application: The box comes with 16 different sized strips that you firmly stick to your nail and then carefully file off the extra to make the strip fit your nail. The strips smell like nail polish but aren’t wet — just sticky enough to adhere to your nail (almost like a stamp).

Time Commitment: THIS is the best part. It took me about 20 min to apply and then I was immediately the door. You don’t have to sit around and wait for them to set or dry!

How Long Did They Really Last? The box promised that they’ll last up to 10 days and I was shocked to find that, sure enough, I went 10 days without a single chip. Perfection. The only reason I finally took them off (using nail polish remover) was because my nails started to grow out a few millimeters and the stickers grew with them. I found that my hair would get caught on the bottom ridge of the nail strip. Odd. Below is a pic at day 9 with the stickers…

Day 9

Overall: I give these a B+. I definitely recommend trying these out, especially for a special occasion. You’ll feel like Lady Gaga for 10 days!

I Brake for Free Sh!t

Writing a blog called Style Me Thrifty clearly demonstrates my love of affordable items. Let’s face it: I’m cheap.

And so, you can imagine how jazzed I get over FREE things. Perfume samples in magazines, cheese cubes at Whole Foods, t-shirts at 5K’s… if it’s free, I want it. Even shit I don’t need! Case and point, this ginormous umbrella that Victoria’s Secret gave me for buying a few things:

Will I ever use it? Probably not! (seriously, it’s SO huge). But it was free and I am excited.

And so it’s only fair that I share my free discoveries with you all. My talented friend, Sarah, is a writer for Allure magazine and tipped me off to an article she just wrote on this exact topic.

Sarah rounded up a cheat sheet of free samples that makeup counters are giving out this April. So plan a trip to your local mall and pick up some free foundation, lotion, eye cream, and more.

Enjoy the freebies, my friends!