plaid dress // red bag // heels // necklace // lips

Hello! We are Lindsay and Whitney from The Double Take Girls, a style and beauty blog. As you may have guessed, we are identical twins and best friends. We are so excited to be guest posting on Amanda’s blog today. We were SO happy to finally meet Amanda in NYC for fashion week. We love her energy and style, and she is beyond kind and encouraging. Amanda is truly one of a kind blogger as she is always open about her success and mentors other bloggers without holding back on how she got where she is. We honestly can’t thank her enough for all she’s helped us with this past year.

Now back to today’s post! Since we are best friends and love sharing tips and tricks back and forth like all besties do, we thought it would be fun to share some of these today.

In no particular order, here’s our top 5 must haves for the stylish girl on a budget:

1. Magic $6 Under Eye Eraser: As major multitasking moms with busy day jobs we admittedly don’t get enough sleep. Work demands, carpool drop offs and blog deadlines mean we need all the under eye help we can get. After years of trying every possible low to high dollar potion we have finally found something that works! It doesn’t crease and best of all it won’t break the bank at just $6. You can find it here.

2. Faux Gel Nails Without the Commitment: When gel nails hit the market we were all about them! However we quickly felt trapped with having polish on for weeks at a time that was super hard to remove. After experimenting with numerous brands we concocted our own version of long-lasting gel nails – but no curing light or special tools needed to remove them. Find all the details on our super secret $9 Essie combo here.

3. Mascara Must Haves: There’s no getting around this – we don’t leave home without mascara! It’s one of those things that just perks you up and makes you look awake when you are struggling from a late night work deadline or perhaps just too much fun out with friends. Our secret for glam lashes without wearing fake lashes is all about layering. You will need two or three mascaras (we know this sounds crazy but trust us) to get the desired look.

First use a dry mascara that helps separate your lashes. Our top drugstore picks are here and here. Make sure to not use a wet mascara for this step or your lashes will clump together. Next use this mascara from L’oreal to fan out your lashes and build volume at the base. Several coats are needed and make sure you wiggle the wand back and forth at the base. Finally if you want a very dramatic look finish the layers off with a fiber mascara. We don’t always do this day to day but is perfect for when you have an event or taking pics. For any clumps this eyelash comb will come in handy.

4. Chic Makeup Organization: If you are are anything like us, you probably have a decent amount of makeup and beauty tools. For years we have each struggled with keeping our massive amounts of Sephora, Ulta and other makeup haul purchases under wraps so our husbands don’t lose their minds. And now that we have kids (we have three little girls between us) they love sneaking into our makeup if it is left out.

Which brings us to finally finding an affordable yet glam solution! We found this clear acrylic makeup box on Amazon and it is the BEST thing ever. It’s a fraction of the cost of other similar cases and comes with free shipping. There’s even a matching brush holder for $15. This set is the perfect way to keep your makeup collection in quick reach without looking like a caboodle (not that anything is wrong with that purple glitter caboodle you are still using). We know it’s still a bit pricey but we promise you will love it.

5. Hair Tool & Product Must Haves: While nothing is truly a “must have” there are some hair tools and products that we don’t want to ever be left without – especially when it’s a day we are taking blog photos after work. Hands down our favorite curling wand is this one by Sultra. We each have one from about three years ago and it is fabulous (we have a tutorial here). It works great and the curls stay all day, often for a 2nd day too.

This volumizing hair powder is amazing and helps add texture and is soooo good at helping your style last all day. We learned about it from Brighton and she was so right about it! Last but not least is our brush of choice. Who knew a $12 brush (it comes in lots of colors) could be such a difference maker. It’s perfect to use while blow drying your hair and keeps it smooth while easily getting rid of tangles. It’s awesome on damp or dry hair. Oh and we can’t forget this hairspray you can find at all beauty stores and even CVS. It lasts forever and keeps our curls looking fresh all day. We give it two thumbs up!

Thank you so much for checking out our guest post today! For non-stop style and beauty deals make sure to check out our blog and follow us on Instagram. We would love to hear from you so leave a comment about what’s on your fall wish list or perhaps a makeup or hair tutorial you would like to see!

Have a beautiful day!