After struggling fiercely in college to stay off the streets (I’m not exactly Mrs. Bill Gates) I’ve come to discover that tons of your everyday cheapo toiletries have tons of additional uses. Next to  Rachel Zoe re-runs and chocolate chip cookies, the dollar aisle that’s located in every drug store should be every college girl’s best friend. Who needs all of that expensive Sephora stuff when you have the budget of a homeless man paired with the crafty mind of a student]?

It’s time to take a trip to the toiletry dollar aisle, people. It’s a party back there.

[Click on any image to see the gallery!]

So there you have it. Ten cheap items that will save you tons of dough. Do you know of more products with even more uses? Let us know!

Normally, I don’t get really hyped up about drugstore brands because they don’t meet my high beauty standards. But I guess it’s true that there’s a first for everything because I’ve got a new drugstore obsession: Soap And Glory. The pink vintage packaging caught my eye at Target a few weeks ago, and I’ve been in love ever since.

No joke, I want to climb out my window and scream it from the rooftops!

While I only have a few products (they’re always sold out!), I wanted to share my initial thoughts and praise with you. This brand is incredible not only in quality but also in price. I honestly have no idea how they do it, but Soap and Glory’s products are already some of my favorites.

In this vid, I’m reviewing two of the products I own, and some others I tried and will own as soon as I can get my hands on them. Let’s just hope the people at my local Target don’t get too annoyed with my phone calls asking if they’ve re-stocked yet.

[Please excuse the raspy voice-I am recovering from another college bound illness. I'm shocked I didn't have to edit out any coughing.]

Now in a perfect world an elaborate skin care regimen can be very good for your skin, but let’s get real. When you’re coming back to the dorm at 4am and crashing, your makeup smearing off on the pillow is the closet thing you get to skin care.

It is a good idea to have a solid skin care system, especially if you have an issue like acne or dry patches that need treatment. But with so many steps, it’s all or nothing and you need a back up plan that you’ll actually use and that actually works!

So when time is tight or you are feeling lazy there are three very important steps to hit.

1. Remove makeup

2. Cleanse

3. Moisturize

Here are some products that can kill two (or three) birds with one stone.

Philosophy Purity Made Simple ($10-32 sephora.com)

This great little product dissolves makeup, dirt and oil, so it removes makeup and cleanses your face at the same time! Its also pH balanced so you don’t need a toner. Just throw a little moisturizer on after washing with this stuff and you’re good to go.

Olay Daily Facials ($7.50 in drugstores)

These little miracle cloths do just about everything. Simply wet the cloth, work up a lather, and scrub all the makeup off your face (even waterproof mascara!). It cleanses your skin while exfoliating, toning and hydrating. It’s so effective you might be able to throw out all of your other products all together. Your skin will feel amazing!

Caudalie Instant Foaming Cleanser ($10-26 sephora.com)

This fabulous gentle foaming face cleanser is made from all natural ingredients. Its soap, sulfate, paraben and dye free. It foams up to dissolve makeup and absorb dirt and oils and it’s pH balanced to leave skin feeling moisturized. The best part – you don’t even need water! You can keep this little pump by your nightstand to keep your skin looking great even when you are too lazy (or wasted) to go to the bathroom!

In order to keep your skin clean, glowing and moisturized it is vital to wash off your makeup. If that’s not convincing enough, makeup removal will at least keep your pillowcase clean, and who doesn’t love a clean pillow?

Below are some great products to help you keep clean.

L’oreal Eye Makeup Remover- $6.99. This remover is not greasy (like many products are) and it gets all makeup off (including waterproof liners and mascaras). It’s a drugstore brand so it’s fairly inexpensive, and, best of all, it smells like roses!

Clinique Rinse-off Eye Makeup Solvent: $16.50. This remover is not sudsy or soapy, and leaves behind no residue. Quick and easy (perfect for those late nights). This remover is a tad on the expensive side, but I think it’s worth it. While I love this Clinique remover, I’d stay away from Clinique’s Take the Day Off remover as it tends to leave skin oily and gross.

Bare Escentuals: bareEyes: $14 This remover is enriched with copper to make skin around the eyes soft. It is safe for contact users and is great for moisturizing and cleansing.

Ponds Deep Cleansing Makeup Remover: $6.63. Even though the smell of this remover kinda reminds me of my mom, it is perfect for days when you wear lots of thick makeup, (perhaps for a theme party). It deep cleans down to the pores and gets off all the gunk on your face, plus this one’s cucumber scent is a little less mom-ish.

CO Bigelow Rose Wonder Cold Cream: $5. Similar to Ponds, this cold cream remover is ideal for taking off heavy amounts of makeup without clogging pores. It’s fragrance-free, non-comedogenic, non-acnegenic, and fabulously cheap!

It’s no secret that drinking takes a toll on your skin. Dehydration, blotchiness and puffiness are just a few of the wonderful effects of alcohol–a moisture zapping diuretic– on your epidermis. So what’s a girl to do when faced with a serious liquor induced skin issue? Quit drinking? I think not.While that would obviously be the most effective move, it’s not one I plan on making any time in the near future (near future including this semester and every one after that until I graduate). Luckily, the makeup gods determined long ago that girl-kind should be able to have her cake (flavored mix drink) and eat it too (um, have nice looking skin).

The following products will salvage your face be you hungover and desperate for a quick fix, prepping for bed after drinks with the girls, or planning ahead for a night of partays (you overachiever, you).

Almay’s Oil Free Makeup Remover Towelettes

The first and most important step of salvaging your face is to take. off. your makeup. These hypoallergenic wipes are ready to go and come in a re-sealable package, so you have no excuse for going to bed with makeup on. By swiping off your smoky eyes, many layers of makeup and all that nasty stuff that inhabits bar-air (not to mention the saliva of drunk close-talkers trying to holla) you automatically start your morning off with the upper hand: clean skin that has had the chance to breathe overnight. These wipes also contain soothing aloe and green tea to battle blotchiness, and green tea to reduce eye area puffiness.

Yves Rocher 3 Minute Super Moisture Mask

This super rich mask will restore as much moisture as your parched skin can handle. Add this extra step to your morning routine, no matter how groggy you are. Smear it on and brush your teeth, watch the Today Show, check Facebook–whateva, just do it! Your skin will seriously thank you for it, and a moisturized face will allow for makeup to go on smoother and look healthier. The best part? The stuff is less than 4 bucks a pop.

Benefit’s Realness of Concealness Kit

This super compact, um, compact will literally save your life. Okay maybe not your life, but, no questions asked, it will save your face. It’s small enough to carry in your evening clutch (which I do every time I go out, just because I can never tell where my night will lead me), or to throw into your cosmetic case for necessary touch-ups. Inside, there are two super-heavy duty concealers: a yellow tinted Lemon-Aid (to brighten any purple under-eye nonsense) and Boi-ing – a skin toned cover up to counteract zits, beard burn or hickeys…because stuff happens. It also has a mini vial of eye de-puffer (hallelujah), lip plumper (a God send after margarita induced dehydration), and Benefit’s divine gift to womankind—High Beam highlighter. Dab this miracle elixir under your brow bones, along your cheekbones and in the corner of your eyes and you’ll look well rested and fresh faced.

Nars’ Super Orgasm Blush.

Your dry, pallid skin is screaming for color right now, but put down that brush and step away. from. the bronzer. Your natural reaction to cake on as much faux glow as you can—be it orange or not—will only result in you looking freakishly Oompa-like and far from attractive. Instead, stick with blush. It will add a natural glow to your cheeks, making you look like your blood is circulating normally, not slowly trickling to and from your liver bogged down with Cuervo residue. Nars is famous for its Orgasm color (it truly is universal), and this improved version kicks it up a notch with extra gold shimmer that will add dimension to severe zombie face.

Rimmell Eye Magnifier Eye Opening Mascara

Lend your tired lids a hand and use your lashes to your advantage. By curling your lashes and coating them with this mascara, your eyes will appear larger and you will look more awake and refreshed. Make sure you have no leftover residue from your mascara last night to avoid spider lashes, and use a lash comb to get rid of any clumps. For extra pop, line the inner part of your lower eyelid with a snowy white eyeliner to make you look even more alert, and to combat any redness.

No matter what you put on your face, make sure you eat something carbalicious (whatever your stomach can take), guzzle water…then drink another bottle for good measure. If you can, get your hands on some vitamin-B – it will do your body good. Oh, and when you get home, take yourself a well deserved nap, lady!

[Photo courtesy of theonion.com] 

Even if you are trolling through a college town filled with kids who fully support and expect it, walking home with last night’s hair, makeup and footwear is never your proudest moment (though mastering the Wheelbarrow drunk the night before came pretty close).

Unfortunately, for many college coeds, the Walk of Shame is inevitable, especially when you combine Dollar Pitcher night at the local bar and a whole lot of good looking boys. But just because you are walking home from some dude’s house early in the morning doesn’t mean you have to look that way.

I am a strong believer in preparing for everything, and the Walk of Shame is no exception. Pack a few things before you go and no one will have any idea where you were last night.

First things first, avoid that “going out bag” and opt for something bigger. You probably already have one, but in case you want an excuse to buy something new, I love this new Tycoon Dome Satchel from Juicy. Cute enough for a night on the town, but big enough to pack all of the essentials.

Makeup Remover: The biggest giveaway on a Walk-of-Shamer besides traipsing through campus at 8am is the black eyeliner smudged under her bloodshot eyes. Get rid of that shiz. Toss a travel size bottle of makeup remover (or those handy little pads) into your bag before you go.

Pressed Powder: The morning after a heavy night of drinking leaves your face feeling and looking…less than fresh. And let’s be honest: you don’t want anyone (including that boy) seeing those stress related zits that popped up all over your chin.

Mascara: Bring it along to finish off the “I’m up early to go to the library!” look. This combined with the powder and removal of last night’s makeup will leave you lookin’ so fresh and so clean, clean.

Headband: Even if you didn’t get much sleep last night (you dawg), your hair is gonna be lookin’ a little ruffled in the AM. If you have a pony tail holder with you, use that. If your hair is short, though, throwing on a headband will pull it off your face and give off more of a “I am far too busy/lazy to wash it” look than the obvious “I totally just had morning sex and he didn’t drive me home” style.

Breath Strips: Easier to transport than a toothbrush (and don’t require you to get out of bed to freshen that morning breath!) these little guys are a must-have. You never know who you are going to run into on the street and cigarette/stale beer breath is a huge Walk of Shame red flag.

A Fresh Pair of Undies: You may have just spent the evening doin’ the dirty, dirty, but that doesn’t mean you have to be dirty. Bring along a fresh pair. Also good if things get a little wild and your underwear ends up on the top of a dresser, in the woods or…where the hell did those things go!?

If the weather is warm, tossing in a pair of flip flops and a casual t-shirt is a good idea. Seeing a girl walk arond in a tube top and heels is obviously a clear giveaway of what she was doin’ the night before. (If it is cold out, a simple jacket can cover up the evidence.) You can also take advantage of the more casual looks that are big right now and just opt for a deep-V t-shirt (the American Apparel ones are the bomb diggity) and a pair of skinny jeans for your going-out ensemble.

[Walk of Shame photo courtesy of Owen Yeo on Flickr.]

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