There’s nothing I love more than some good “before and after” pictures of our beloved celebrities. For one, it’s always great to see what life was like for them before the fame. For two, it shows how subjective being “ugly” truly is. Truth be told, the vast majority of celebrities looked like any other person we see on the daily. And you’d be hard-pressed to ever get me to say that average person is unattractive.
The reality here is that celebrities, influencers included, look how they look because they have the money to. The surgery, the botox, the professional stylists and makeup artists, the designer clothes. Yes, a large portion of their beauty was bought with thousands and millions—and maybe a pinch of highly favored genetics. And somehow, a lot of us have concluded that we are ugly or average in comparison.
This isn’t true at all. We not ugly, sis! We just broke— by celebrity standards, at least. Most of us ain’t throwing money at luxury beauty treatments every week, that’s for sure. But hold on, before you give up on looking like the best version of yourself, know that there is hope for you, yet! Here are 4 ways to get a celebrity-level glo up on a budget.
Mix a little professional into your DIY.
We know that celebrities have the best dermatologists, makeup artists, estheticians, stylists, and whoever else on their teams. We are regular people and probably only have one, two, or maybe three people who do our hair, nails, and a good wax from time to time. And truth be told, that’s all you need.
While it would be nice to have a full team of people dedicated to keeping us beautiful and sharp, it’s probably not financially realistic at this point. So what do you do? Well, improvise. They have everything from individual lash extension kits and skincare sets, to sugar wax strips that can be done at home.
Make a list of everything you’d have on your beauty routine, and then pick out what you can do yourself or at home. Once you have that down, create a budget that works for you.
Everything you have on—from your clothes to your hair— should look expensive, not actually be expensive.
If celebrities and influencers have taught us anything, appearances are everything. Now this doesn’t mean go out and buy a knockoff purse because it looks really, but let me ask you a question. How many plain jane or straight up tacky looking rich people have you seen in your life? Probably enough to say that you would do better things with their money than they ever could. And that’s because you can’t buy taste and style, that’s something you have naturally.
Do not sleep on things like drugstore cosmetics, beauty supply hair, and thrifting for clothes. They don’t sound very luxurious on paper, but highend doesn’t always mean good quality. Sometimes luxury brands are just like cost-effective brands, but with better marketing.
I mean, sometimes rich people buy ugly things simply because a luxury brand name is attached to it. And that, my friends, is nonsensical. So the way I see it is, if you’ve spent far less money on something truly fly and stylish, you’re already ahead of the game.
Invest in practical self-care more than anything else.
The idea that you’re ugly is something that’s most likely a lie. Even more than that, a lot of things we call “ugly” are actually just a result of poor or unrefined self-care. Long story short, the more you keep yourself up in a basic way, the less likely you are to look at yourself and not like what you see in the mirror.
This means doing some of the practical wellness things we’ve all been taught to do at one point or another:
- Eat a well-balanced diet.
- Get some exercise in.
- Brush, floss, and mouthwash.
- Wash and exfoliate your body.
- Moisturize after you bathe.
- Adopt a simple skincare routine.
- Get enough sleep.
- Manage your stress.
- Drink water.
By implementing these really simple and cost effective steps to glowing up internally and externally, you’ll begin to notice a complete 180. Sometimes taking better care of yourself is all the makeover you really need.
Remember that it’s all mostly a lie—enjoy your life as it is.
You will not look like a celebrity in everyday life because you aren’t walking photoshop; you weren’t gifted a ton of free things from brands wishing to endorse you; and you’re a real living person with the potential to live the life of your dreams—not a well-groomed advertiser hired to sell people dreams.
Understand that so much of being a celebrity means making yourself look like something you are not. Appearing to be happy and fulfilled is not nearly as great as actually being happy and fulfilled. Keep this in mind when you strive to be the people you look up to—perhaps they aren’t even really those people.
