Like many millennials with jobs, my beauty look is pretty consistent day-to-day, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have 82 tinted moisturizers, 41 mascaras, and about a million different facial mists. I like to mix it up, what can I say? If you, too, are an out-and-proud beauty junkie, welcome. It is my personal belief that the best time to buy beauty products is around Thanksgiving, because not only is everything cheap af, but everything is sold in sets. Yes. Please. Give me a million eyeshadows that have just slightly different undertones. Honestly, I love this holiday so much because we spend the whole day being grateful for all of the sh*t we have, but only until midnight when we’ll fight each other to the f*cking death at Target to get that 30% off KitchenAid mixer. #America, right? So if you fully embrace this holiday as a day of gluttony, scoop up these beauty deals before your friends do.
Ulta
Obviously, I have to start with the DSW of beauty because it just has so much stuff to basically give away this holiday season. Because they have about a thousand different sales going on during Thanksgiving weekend, I’m just going to name the few brands I’d personally recommend. Let’s start with 25% off Macadamia Professional hair masques. If you’ve ever been in a drugstore, you’ve seen this brand’s hair products. I have been using the Deep Repair Masque since high school, and it’s never disappointed me. It’s meant for people with damaged hair, but as a bitch with proudly virgin hair (hold applause), I love it because it takes my hair to the next level in softness. If you think delayed gratification is stupid, you’ll love this masque because you’ll feel its effects immediately.
Macadamia Professional Nourishing Repair Masque
Next is the BECCA Volcano Goddess Eyeshadow Palette, which is 40% off, aka it’s $27, aka it’s free. Honestly, I don’t really wear eyeshadow because I don’t know how to put it on without looking like a toddler in drag, but the colors in this palette are pretty wearable. So if you stan an eyeshadow moment, this palette is for you.
BECCA Volcano Goddess Eyeshadow Palette
And lastly, Ulta is offering 25% off a Chi 1-inch Ceramic Hairstyling Iron. I don’t have the time or the skills to give myself Serena-van-der-Woodsen-circa-season-one waves, so I don’t even try. However, every now and then after sleeping on wet hair for no reason at all, I wake up with a really unfortunate situation on my head, and this little hero can fix it within 10 minutes. I don’t usually curl my whole head, but a few chunks of hair throughout gives me that tousled look that I’m really feeling these days. I know what you’re thinking: wtf are you talking about, this is a hair straightener? To you, I say the most natural-looking waves come from flat irons! Twist your hair around the iron and gently pull the iron down the twist. I’m telling you, it’s never failed me.
Chi Original 1” Ceramic Hairstyling Iron
Glow Recipe
Not going to lie, I discovered Glow Recipe at Urban Outfitters, and have been obsessed ever since. The relatively new brand is offering 20% off every single product on their website, so if you haven’t already added a slew of skin care to your cart, you’re behind, girl. Anyway, if you are the kind of person who can be seduced into buying something simply because the packaging is irresistible, get ready to purchase literally every damn Glow Recipe product. I have the Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask and am truly obsessed—mostly because it serves as a skin savior and decor on my dresser. Cute appearance aside, the mask itself is actually really good. It’s really moisturizing, but has a gel-like quality to it, so it doesn’t leave you feeling greasy and oily when you wake up. That ain’t cute.
Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask
Tatcha
This Japanese skin care brand is in pretty much every natural or ethical beauty store in the world and from November 28 through December, you can “play for a chance to get either 20% off your $100 purchase, 15% off your $75 purchase, or two free gifts with orders of $50 or more.” All of their products are cute and purple, but one of their products is truly better than the rest. I’m talking about the Luminous Dewy Skin Mist. Before you judge me for spending more than I’d like to admit on what you’d call water, hear me out. It’s made with botanical oils and humectants, which are responsible for the dew, and tbh it smells so damn good that I literally smile when I spray it, and I don’t even smile at puppies walking by.
Tatcha Luminous Dewy Skin Mist
Also, I recently learned that your moisturizer absorbs way better when your skin is moist (get over it) than when it’s bone dry. Think about it this way: your skin is like a sponge, and sponges don’t work until they’re damp, right? Another cult favorite from this brand is the Dewy Skin Cream, which I haven’t had the pleasure of trying because I am low on funds, but maybe I’ll hit the jackpot on their annoying Thanksgiving game and be able to afford it!
Kevyn Aucoin
Get ready for the most niche Black Friday sale literally ever: Get 25% off your order and receive a free Exotique Diamond Eye Gloss in “Galaxy” when you spend $75 on November 29. Like, really? Only on November 29? Honestly, I’m sure I’ll get an email on November 30 that says, “We’re so nice and extending our sale!” The only reason I’m down for this annoyingly specific sale is because I’m so in love with my Neo Blush and feel like she needs friends. I’ve been dying to try the Sensual Skin Enhancer Concealer because it’s a really thick cream (as opposed to a solid, like most concealers are) and comes in a cute little pot. Also, I feel like if I have this, I could just dab it where I need it (because it’s thicc af and does its job) and not have to wear foundation or tinted moisturizer.
Stila
Stila is offering 35% off site-wide plus free shipping on all orders of $50 or more from November 29 through December 1 with the promo code BF35. I own one product from Stila that has truly defined my going out look to a T, and it is the Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner. Executing the perfect cat eye is hard, but Stila’s liner is actually really easy to use because it’s just a long tapered pen. So all you have to do is angle it as you draw, so the line gets thinner, and that’s pretty much it. Easy peazy. Anyway, Stila also has a pretty legit price point for a mid-level brand, so I fully support this sale. Another product I had and loved until I broke it by accident was the Aqua Glow Serum Foundation, because it was pretty full coverage but had the consistency of water, so it didn’t feel heavy or caked.
Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner
Drybar
I am more in love with my six-year-old Buttercup hair dryer than I am with the guy I’m seeing. Seriously. I have a lot of thick hair, so making sure it dries without going rogue is very important to me, and that’s why I have the Drybar one, the famous Josh Harry one, and, don’t judge me, the Dyson Supersonic. Drybar is shining down on thee and giving you 20% off all products, tools, and kits from November 21 through December 1. The Buttercup was the cheapest and oldest of the three I have, but it’s my OG and I use it every damn day. It weighs like, a pound, is pretty quiet, and does an excellent job. Generally, expensive hair dryers are better than drugstore ones because they use more power than they do heat, so they are less damaging to your hair. Cheaper hairdryers work in the opposite way, using more heat than watts, so you’re essentially frying your hair for longer. I also have the Drybar heat protectant, which smells so good that I leave it on my hands for as long as I can before the New York City subway system forces me to wash them. Luckily, the smell lingers in my hair for the entire day. By the way, Harry Josh is also having a Dermstore sale for 30% all of his products with the promo code DSGIFT from November 28 through December 2. His hair dryer is def cuter than the Buttercup, so if that matters to you, you can get it for a little less this holiday season!
L’Occitane
L’Occitane (pronounced “lox- ee- tahn”—you’re welcome) is giving us 20% off all full-size items with promo code CYBER from December 1 through 4, because they know no one is dragging their hungover asses to a store to buy their favorite hand cream. Speaking of which, I didn’t realize this brand sold anything besides hand cream until my grandmother gave me a beautifully packaged perfume (technically an eau de toilette) that smells so good that I spray it on my pillow before I go to sleep. It’s the Verbena scent, which is generally pretty clean with a hint of green tea. No complaints.
L’Occitane Verbena Eau de Toilette
Images: Ulta; Glow Recipe; Tatcha; Kevyn Acoin; Stila; Drybar’ L’Occitane; Eco Warrior Princess / Unsplash
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Even though it feels like Satan’s armpit in New York rn, fall is fast approaching. But with every new season comes a new wave of people trying to make fetch some batshit beauty trend happen. Hello hairy selfie nails? Fucking wave eyebrows? It’s a wonder God doesn’t just smite us all rn and start over with the human species. Honestly, would not blame Her one bit. That said, there are a few trends that if I saw a person rocking them on my Instagram news feed I wouldn’t immediately report that person to Instagram HQ for personally victimizing me with their beauty choices. I’m kind like that. Anyways, here are 5 beauty trends that are about to be all over your Instagram this fall.
1. Metallic Accents
If you would have told me three months ago that this metallic/glitter trend would still be going strong this fall AND that I’d be into I would have told you to lay off the bath salts. But I guess it wouldn’t be a Monday unless I decided to lower my standards try something new, and metallic accents are about to be everyfuckingwhere this fall. They were all over the runway during Fashion Week and I have a feeling they’re also about to be all over the J train at 8am during my morning commute. Tbh I’m barely in the mood to speak words to humans before 11am, and I’m certainly not in the mood for you and your iridescent eyelids assaulting my retinas that early in the morning. The key to metallics is to be subtle AF with your makeup. Think gold eyeshadows and shimmery nail polish—make the metallics the statement piece of your look.
2. Graphic Eyeliner
We’ve said it once, we’ll say it again: Winged eyeliner is done. It’s cancelled. And thousands of thots just screamed into the void. During Fashion Week makeup artists ditched traditional eyeliner techniques for more graphic lines paired with fresh faces. 100 percent this look is not for your 9am department meeting (or so I am “gently” reminded by HR), but it could take your after work happy hour game to the next fucking level. Again, the eyeliner should be the statement of your look so don’t try pairing this shit with a crazy lip color or glitter eyeshadow. Instead pair the blunt, clean lines with barely-there makeup for a chic AF finish.
3. Black Bows
For those of you who have been dressing like Blair Waldorf since 2012, just waiting for preppy-bitchy-chic to come back into style (as if it ever wasn’t) then get ready to lose your fucking mind because black bows are making a huge comeback for fall. This is not a drill. This hair accessory is about to blow up your Instagram feed with girls who are trying to exercise their daddy issues make a bold statement with their look. It’s a low-maintenance way to upgrade your everyday look. Plus it’s cheap AF to pull off.
4. The Natural Glow
Apparently this fall is going to be all about “fresh faces” and “looking natural”. *shudders* But if you think for one fucking second I’d let my coworkers see the actual face I was born with, then you’ve lost your damn mind. Even though contouring might be over forever (someone needs to notify the Jenner/Kardashian Klan ASAP), there’s still a shit ton of makeup that goes into looking natural because no one just woke up like that. Use hydrating creams and highlighters to get that clean, clear complexions and natural looking, healthy glow.
5. Vampy Lips
You know what they say: if it ain’t broke then don’t fuck with my vampy lip color. Tbh I don’t think I can imagine a world where dark lipwear isn’t in style and I’m feeling v blessed that I don’t have to this fall. There’s a reason this shit is timeless: It’s chic and edgy, it looks good on legit any skin tone, and you will 100 percent find me rocking this lip color from now until Memorial Day. We suggest using NARS Audacious Lipstick in deep aubergine because the color is amaze and that shit will never come off no matter how many vodka sodas you drink at happy hour.