60 Cheap, Clever Things That Make You Look Prettier

Keeping blonde hair healthy and free from brassy tones can feel like a full-time job. This purple mask helps improve both the look and feel of your hair in 10 minutes or less. Purple pigment cancels out orange tones for cooler blonde color, while the conditioning mask supports stronger strands with keratin, panthenol, and hydrolyzed wheat protein.

For full, fluttery lashes that almost look fake, several coats of mascara are usually required. But that also means dealing with clumps. This mini lash comb helps to separate lashes and brush out clumps in between coats of mascara for a fanned-out effect that looks more natural. It’s the type of no-brainer purchase you won’t regret making.

Victoria’s Secret-style bombshell waves will always be in style, though getting them typically involves a fair amount of effort. That said, the style can actually be quite effortless when you have a heatless curling set like this one. While you sleep, the velvet curling rod does all of the work for you, letting you wake up with bouncy, voluminous waves — no hot tools required.

If brow gels are no match for keeping your arches brushed up all day, it’s time to bring in something stronger. This hybrid formula pairs the staying power of a wax with the invisible finish of a gel for better brow sculpting. Also helping to ensure that every last hair is set in place is the dual-sided comb and brush.

These tanning drops let you decide exactly how golden you want your glow. Designed to work with your favorite moisturizer (face or body!), the drops will develop into a deeper tan the more you mix in. They help care for your skin, too, as they’re made with moisturizing ingredients like aloe vera, squalane, and pomegranate extract.

Slicked-back ponytails are made even more polished with these metal-embellished hair ties. Gold-covered geometric shapes look like a chic accessory, but they’re attached to elastic bands to serve as a hair tie, too. The set of three also gives you more versatility; choose a single geometric shape or stack the hair ties up for a bubble ponytail with some extra adornment.

If “glass skin” is your goal, this peel-off mask works while you sleep to improve tone and plump up fine lines with PDRN (fragments of DNA extracted from salmon sperm). Creating a spa-like experience at home, the mask comes with a silicone brush to ensure an even layer is coating your skin. As the mask dries down, it locks in moisture and can be peeled away to reveal glowing skin.

This vegan and cruelty-free conditioner restores hair’s softness and shine with more than a half dozen moisturizing ingredients like shea butter, avocado oil, and coconut oil. But it also saturates hair in semi-permanent color for a non-damaging way to experiment with pastels and bright berries (if you’re blonde) or rich chocolaty and auburn hues (if you’re brunette). You only need to wait 15 minutes for the color to deposit, and it will gradually wash out over the next few weeks.

Another lip liner option for those who love an overlined look, this drugstore find features a unique design. The slightly larger size and domed tip does most of the overlining work for you, creating a blurred effect that makes your lips look fuller. It features a retractable tip, so you never have to worry about resharpening, and the liner comes in a range of neutral tones that you can wear alone or pair with a gloss.

Tying a silk or satin scarf over your head is the chicest way to protect your hair (and scalp) from sun damage. But the dainty accessory can be styled multiple ways to bring some personality and elegance to your look. Try braiding a colorful scarf through your hair or keep it classic by knotting a scarf around your neck or looping it onto the handles of your handbag.

Not just for your body, a sea salt scrub can also be used to exfoliate your scalp by removing product buildup that can otherwise lead to irritation and increased shedding. This weekly scrub features a precision tip that allows you to apply the mineral-rich formula directly onto your scalp. As you massage the scrub into a lather, additional ingredients like peppermint, rosemary, and niacinamide provide cooling and soothing benefits for a full scalp refresh.

For intense moisture that won’t leave skin feeling greasy, there’s this K-beauty jelly cream. The formula combines 10 types of hyaluronic acid with peptides and ceramides to flood skin with moisture and lock it in place for a plumped-up but non-greasy glow. At the same time, it has a light, jelly-like texture that feels cooling and absorbs fast.

This cheek and lip tint has a pudding-like texture that melts right into skin to deliver color without any shine. The K-beauty tint was formulated to give you maximum color payoff with the smallest amount of product possible, and its matte finish creates a long-lasting airbrushed effect. You’ll also never be short on color choices, as the cheek and lip tint comes in more than two dozen neutral, pink, and berry shades.

As essential as exfoliating is for skin that looks and feels more even, it can come with a side of dryness and redness if you overdo it (or if you have more sensitive skin to begin with). That’s not a cause for concern with this exfoliating toner, which swaps out salicylic and glycolic acids for gentler options like azelaic acid, rice extract, and licorice root extract. In addition to brightening the complexion and breaking down dead skin cells, these ingredients help to soothe irritation and strengthen the skin barrier.

This cushion compact was formulated to cover imperfections and blur pores for a luminous finish that feels lightweight on the skin. It was also made for on-the-go use with its mirrored compact and puff applicator. Though it enhances skin with a peptide complex, the foundation won’t leave your face shiny.

If you swear by a nude lip liner to create the illusion of a slightly fuller pout, this retractable pencil is about to become your new go-to. The velvety formula glides right over lips, adding color and keeping lips smooth with a ceramide- and peptide-infused formula. It also has a slight plumping, tingling effect courtesy of ginger and peppermint.

Natural blondes can play up their sun-kissed highlights with this lightening and toning kit. Made with lemon extract, pineapple extract, and hydrogen peroxide, you can spritz on the hair lightener spray before you hit the beach or plan to spend some time outdoors to help enhance the sun’s brightening effects. Then, to help prevent orange and yellow tones from setting in, mist the blonde tone enhancer through your hair after you shampoo and condition to neutralize any brassiness and nourish hair with blue spirulina, violet extract, and argan oil. (FYI, color-treated blondes can certainly benefit from the leave-in toner as well, but skip the lightening spray to avoid messing with your pricey color.)

You don’t need any makeup brushes with this cheek and lip stick, which comes in several pink and coral hues to impart the subtlest burst of color. The creamy formula melts right into skin (with a few light taps of your fingers, of course), blurring imperfections and adding a dewy finish with acai palm, mica, and silica.

This rollerball helps to take down puffiness in multiple ways. First, there’s the cooling metal applicator, which soothes the delicate skin around the eyes and improves circulation with its mini massaging motions. The rollerball also dispenses a serum that contains caffeine, niacinamide, and peptides to subtly brighten and smooth. You can store it in the refrigerator for even more of a cooling effect, but the eye roller’s smaller size makes it especially well-suited for helping to relieve puffiness and tired eyes when you’re traveling.

This mirrored compact may look tiny, but it comes with both pressed and loose setting powders. Reach for the pressed powder to smooth the under-eyes and lock concealer in place, while the loose powder can be dusted all over the face to set makeup and nix shine. What’s more, the powders come in a soft lavender shade that works to brighten (rather than actually tint) the skin.

Teeth whitening strips are an easy way to give your teeth a quick polish from home, but they’re not exactly known for their flavor options — until now, that is. These teeth whitening strips still use hydrogen peroxide to brighten your smile, but they cancel out the funky taste from the active ingredient with a refreshing watermelon flavor. And if watermelon isn’t your favorite, the strips come in several other fruity (and minty) options.

Room service and plush bathrobes are undeniable perks of staying at a hotel. But poor lighting (and fighting for limited mirror space during a girls’ trip) also comes with the territory. This portable mirror gives you good makeup lighting wherever your travels take you with its rechargeable LED design. Though the freestanding mirror is only the size of an iPad Mini, it gives you 72 LEDs with three color settings and adjustable brightness.

Peel-off lip stains have become the must-try beauty product of the moment. This updated take on the viral original pairs the lip liner with a coordinated stain at the opposite end, so you can line and fill your lips with a single product. Though the lip stain looks intense when you first apply it, after you’ve let it fully set and peeled it off, you’ll be left with a softer color that’s transfer-proof and water-resistant for 24 hours.

This serum has a bouncy texture that’s more akin to a moisturizer, but its concentrated formula was designed to deliver noticeable results, faster. Antioxidant-rich mushroom extract is the hero ingredient in the serum, which helps to protect skin from free radical damage, but there’s also a peptide complex and vegan collagen to smooth fine lines and stimulate collagen production with continued use.

Like a makeup primer for your lashes, this mascara fixer works in a single coat to keep lashes curled all day long. The mascara fixer is clear, so you can wear it on its own for makeup-free days or use it as a base alongside your favorite mascara when you want more volume and definition. Either way, the waxy formula prevents droopy lashes (without having to layer on the mascara or turn to a stronger waterproof option).

There’s less mess with this clay mask, which comes in a solid stick formula that you can swipe right onto your skin. Suitable for a full-face mask or as a spot treatment along oily areas like the T-zone, the mask combines five types of clay that draw out excess oils and impurities from the skin. The five-minute treatment gives you gentle exfoliation with red bean powder, as well soothing moisture with centella and aloe vera.

To speed up the time it takes to curl your hair, this automatic rotating wand twirls each section of your hair for perfect waves with the press of a button. Designed for medium to long hair lengths, the curling wand lets you know when it’s time to move onto the next section with a double-beep to avoid unnecessary damage (though that doesn’t mean you can skip the heat protectant!). It still gives you the best features of a traditional curling iron, too, including three temperature settings, automatic shut-off, and a dual-voltage design.

Anyone after a dewy pop of color can use this multipurpose makeup balm, but its moisture-packed formula makes it an especially good option for those with dry skin. Shea butter, jojoba oil, and oat kernel oil are behind the balm’s smoothing abilities. Then, there’s its slightly shimmery finish and sheer tint that adds a flush of color and soft glow to cheeks, lips, eyelids, or anywhere else you choose to place it.

Because healthy hair starts with a healthy scalp, it’s important to incorporate a clarifying formula into your routine if you’re someone who regularly uses styling products or dry shampoo. This apple cider vinegar rinse helps to remove impurities without being overly harsh. As the apple cider vinegar teams up with lactic acid and glycolic acid to break down debris, ingredients like rice extract, panthenol, and rosemary extract soothe the scalp and may even help to promote hair growth.

For pillowy-soft lips, exfoliation is key, as it removes the dead skin cells that can otherwise interfere with a smooth texture. This lip serum ensures that you don’t overdo it with the exfoliating, using lactic acid and hibiscus flower extract to gently increase skin cell turnover. Meanwhile, ingredients like PDRN, rice bran oil, and macadamia seed oil boost hydration and add a gloss-like shine to lips.

Considering that the effectiveness of collagen supplements is still up for debate, you may not be willing to commit to mixing a chalky powder into your morning coffee or smoothie. For an easier way to reap the potential benefits of firmer skin and stronger hair, consider this candy-like supplement. Two peach-flavored gummies per day give you a blend of hydrolyzed collagen, biotin, and other vitamins and minerals that are thought to support healthy skin, hair, and nails.

Ask any makeup artist, and they’ll tell you that proper skin prep is key for achieving the most seamless finish possible. For those with oily skin, layering on more products gets tricky. This mattifying makeup primer gives you that smooth surface to blur pores and lock makeup in place, but it also keeps skin from looking greasy. The powdery texture leaves skin silky without any dewiness, while silica helps to absorb excess oil and sweat to fight that midday shine.

Like a skin-perfecting primer for your pout, this lip oil has a bright yellow tint that sheers out as you apply it, working to color correct uneven tones. Ingredients like jojoba oil, hyaluronic acid, and ceramides boost hydration for lips that feel smoother and fuller, but the scent is dessert-inspired with a sweet cake fragrance. You can wear the lip oil on its own or over your favorite liner and lipstick combo for a high-shine finish that isn’t sticky.

Between back-to-back manicures and general wear and tear, nails can become fragile. To rehab nails that feel dry and have a tendency to break, there’s this strengthening treatment. The clear formula is best used as a four-week fortifying treatment, but you can also apply it as a base coat ahead of your usual polish. The strengthener is vegan and cruelty free, and it’s free from 17 potentially harmful ingredients, including acetone, camphor, and toluene.

If glowy skin is a mandatory part of your going out look, you need this highlighter. The liquid formula comes in a pump bottle that makes it easy to apply sparingly along your cheekbones or more generously to your décolleté and legs. No matter where you apply it, the metallic highlighter adds a touch of shimery color that’s both water-resistant and transfer-proof.

For those who often wake up with puffy, tired skin, under-eye patches are a must — and these jelly-textured patches add several other benefits into the mix. While caffeine brightens and depuffs temporarily, the patches also work to boost elasticity and luminosity with continued use, thanks to PDRN and niacinamide.

Lipstick doesn’t get more moisturizing than this hybrid formula, which combines color with serum-level conditioning. The satin-finish lipstick helps to make lips look fuller by keeping them nourished with hyaluronic acid and a blend of jojoba, avocado, and moringa seed oils. Despite its conditioning formula, it wears like a lipstick (though you’ll still want to trace and fill your lips with a liner first for more staying power).

Finding a body moisturizer that leaves your skin silky-soft without looking (or feeling!) slimy is no easy feat. This body oil was created with that in mind, pairing fermented Saururus oil and squalane with other plant-derived oils and extracts to nourish skin sans the greasy residue. The fast-absorbing formula also comes in a range of elevated fragrances, like Driftwood’s earthy blend of bergamot and sage, or Pink Beach’s sweeter coconut, almond blossom, and vanilla notes.

No time for a traditional hair mask? No problem. This spray-on mask was created to be used on dry hair, adding hydration and shine back to lifeless locks without messing with your blowout. While the vegan silk proteins work immediately, the mask also includes a bond-building technology to help repair damaged hair over time.

At less than $5, this sheet mask is one of the most inexpensive finds on our list, but it contains one of the most luxurious ingredients: pearls. When ground into a fine powder, pearl extract helps to immediately enhance skin’s radiance, while glycerin and a host of plant extracts provide additional moisture — all in about 20 minutes.

The slimmer size of this contour pen gives you the precision needed to sculpt your nose, but you can still use it on your forehead, cheekbones, and jawline, too. The dual-ended tool includes a highlighter on the opposite end to complete your sculpting; both formulas have a creamy texture that’s easy to blend out but becomes budge-proof once it sets.

For the skin care obsessed, this facial steamer helps to increase circulation and allow your pricy products to better absorb. A few minutes with your facial steamer can also loosen pore-clogging debris, which can then be more easily extracted with the included stainless steel tools. In keeping with the spa theme, you can even use the steamer as a moisture-boosting room humidifier or towel warmer.

Sure, self-tanner lets you fake a sun-kissed look, but freckles can help you get there, too. This felt-tip pen lets you dot on freckles for a fresh-faced finish that doesn’t involve any sun damage. And because it’s a waterproof liquid formula, you can also use the pen as an eyeliner for a softer brown color that perfectly complements your faux freckles.

There’s no need to plan out a self-tanner routine with this gradual tanning lotion. The drugstore formula was designed to replace your daily body lotion, moisturizing skin with ingredients like jojoba oil, shea butter, and hyaluronic acid, as it slowly builds into a medium bronze shade. The gel-like lotion absorbs right away, so you can get dressed faster and carry on with your day, and the brand notes that it’s gentle enough to be used on the face, too.

As anyone with oily skin can attest, you can do all of the recommended prep steps and still end up with shiny skin by lunchtime. Oil blotting tissues are a must-have for quickly mattifying skin without disturbing your makeup. Small enough to fit in the side pocket of your purse, these double-sided sheets feature a smooth side for blotting away excess oil and a more textured side with rice powder that sets makeup with a matte finish.

The next time you’re dealing with redness — whether from breakouts or dry skin — have this serum on hand. Its soothing powers work in just a few drops to reduce signs of inflammation with azelaic acid and a calming complex unique to the brand, which includes green tea leaf water, aloe, and cica. Because it was formulated with sensitive skin in mind, the serum is free from common irritants like fragrance, drying alcohols, and parabens.

This eye cream won’t replace the need for concealer entirely, but it does help to brighten the under-eyes right away with its color-correcting pigments. Suitable for both morning and evening use, the eye cream uses niacinamide to more effectively brighten unwanted dark circles over time. Plus, it’s formulated with peptides to help make skin look firmer and more plump.

Plush, velvet headbands are an easy way to add an elegant touch to any outfit (just ask the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, who’s turned to them a time or two). Though you can style them atop a more intricate updo, the headbands can also be plopped right over a blowout. And with six colorful headbands included in every set, you can get creative with how you style the accessory.

Picking at your skin is a big no-no, but this spatula device turns water into steam to help loosen blackheads without any aggressive squeezing. The chargeable device uses an automatic five-minute timer to reduce the risk of overuse, and it also features a massage mode to help with applying your skin care products once you’re done cleansing.

Another easy way to switch up your hairstyle is by adding a bow. These oversized satin bows are made even more effortless because each one comes attached to a metal clip that you can slide right into place. The versatile accessory works with ponytails and half-up, half-down styles, and the bows come in multiple neutral and colorful combos depending on your preference.

You only need the smallest sliver of this putty-like primer. Formulated to blur pores and add a luminous glow, the primer also plumps up skin with moisturizing squalane, hyaluronic acid, and vegan collagen. It still locks makeup in place (it is a primer, after all), setting in about 30 seconds to provide a makeup-gripping base for your foundation.

Everything you could possibly need to shape and fill in your brows is included in this brow contour kit. Choose from five different eyebrow stencils to get the arch shape you’re after with the help of the included mini tweezers, then use the double-sided brush to add some density to sparse spots with your powder color of choice. The kit even includes a wax and highlighting powder to set and define your brows.

The eraser-like residue that this exfoliating ampoule creates as you massage it over your skin looks dramatic, but it’s surprisingly gentle. That’s because the gommage formula creates a film that grabs onto dead skin cells as it clumps together without any aggressive scrubbing. It also contains rice extract and niacinamide to further help with brightening the skin tone while still offering soothing benefits, too.

Blow dryer brushes are a convenient way to get salon-quality hair right at home — but they’re typically a bit of an investment. This drugstore blow dryer brush comes backed by more than 200,000 five-star ratings for its ability to transform damp hair into a bombshell blowout. Rounded edges allow the brush to create volume at the root, while the ceramic coating smooths strands for a frizz-free finish. The brush even features multiple temperature and speed settings, so you can tailor its performance to your liking.

Whether your hair is naturally fine or it’s feeling a little flat between washes, this powder can perk your strands back up. Rather than load up on the dry shampoo or texturizing spray, the powder works with just the lightest sprinkle to fake volume. The powder is transparent, so even darker hair colors can use it, and because it creates texture and hold, it’s great to add some grip when you’re braiding your hair, too.

This shampoo helps to support healthier hair with a 1.5% concentration of mandelic acid, which gently exfoliates away buildup that can lead to clogged hair follicles if not removed. But it also contains peptides and hydrolyzed rice protein to support hair growth, prevent breakage, and plump up strands for more density. You can use it like a regular shampoo, or work the exfoliating formula into a lather and let it sit on the scalp for a few minutes as a weekly reset.

There’s not much that this drugstore lip oil can’t do. For starters, it’s packed with moisturizers like squalane, apricot oil, and avocado oil to keep lips smooth. But it also slightly plumps up lips with menthol, which creates a temporary cooling and tingling sensation. The lip oil can be worn over lipstick for more shine, but the shimmer-infused formula comes in several tinted shades.

Whether from allergies or a poor night’s sleep, red eyes can wreck a good makeup look. These eye drops are a go-to among makeup artists for eliminating redness and faking brighter, more well-rested eyes for photoshoots and red carpet events. They only take one minute to work, and a single drop in each eye is enough to banish redness for eight hours.

These tiny patches can be used all over your face or to treat specific areas that are dry or dull. Wherever you apply the patches, you’ll need to activate them with a face mist or serum first, which helps to transfer the concentrated formula to your skin. As its quickly absorbs, collagen and PDRN immediately leave skin looking plumped up and glowy.

Blush sticks are the ultimate makeup multitasker. Not only can the creamy color be used on cheeks, lips, and lids, but the pliable formula is easy to blend in with just your fingertips. These drugstore blush sticks even add some extra moisture (and a dewy finish) to the skin, thanks to ingredients like jojoba oil, mango seed butter, and squalane.