Welcome to Wilkes, freshman, and welcome back, upperclassmen. Whether this is your first year of college or your last, we all need a good beauty refresher to take us back to school in style. Here are some of the must-haves for returning to class looking your absolute best.
Most importantly is getting a good night’s rest. What, you thought I was going to start off with a ton of products? No way.  A solid seven hours of sleep, minimum, will do more for your physical and mental health than any product can accomplish.
Second, if you’re cramming study time and seven hours of sleep isn’t an option, a good skincare routine will make you look like a million bucks.  Wash your face with the proper cleanser for your skin type (look for an article later on that), moisturize and dab on a little salmon-colored concealer to erase those under-eye circles that plague college students everywhere.
Third, stock your makeup bag with a creamy pot concealer for unexpected blemishes, a pinky blush, your favorite mascara and whatever lip products you like best.  Lately, my favorites are Benefit Cosmetic’s Boiing concealer, NYX’s powder blushes, Make Up Forever’s Aqua Smokey Lash mascara and MAC lipsticks.  These are all great products that you can swipe on quick for touch-ups between long classes to keep your face looking fresh.
Fourth is a Golden Rule of Beauty: take your makeup off at the end of each and every night.  Leaving caked-on liquid foundations and gunky eye makeup will clog your pores and do no favors to your would-be-beautiful skin.  No matter if you wear a full face of makeup or just a little gloss and mascara, take it off. Invest in some of Neutrogena’s oil-free makeup removing wipes—they get everything off and leave your skin feeling fresh.
Last, but not least, keep up with your hair.  Ladies, I know it’s difficult to blow dry and style your locks every morning, but it makes a huge difference to both you and how people see you.  Having a bad hair day is the worst, so minimize these gloomy days with cute headscarves to wrap around day-old unwashed hair or a pretty bow to place under your messy bun.
If you’re not an accessories kind of gal, invest in a cheap bottle of dry shampoo for lazy hair days.  It’ll absorb oil and keep your hair looking good til your next wash. I like the wallet-friendly “Not Your Mother’s” dry shampoo sold at WalMart.
That’s it- get enough sleep, take care of your skin, stock up on quick makeup and learn some easy hair tricks.  These tips will take you back to school in style without a ton of effort- or the price tag that usually comes attached.