What's In My Makeup Bag

A publicist just sent me a story about a "revolutionary" new skincare product that had gold or platinum or maybe it was plutonium in it. I'm not really sure. But one thing I can assure you is that I'm not interested in trying it.

When it comes to skincare and makeup, I am the anti-snob. I've tried most all of it, and keep coming back to the basics. Not that I don't indulge occasionally, but at this age I'm much more motivated by results than expensive labels or exotic ingredients.

Here are some of my favorite bargain basics:

• Mascara. Pricier mascaras are in my drawer, but the one I use every day is Maybelline's Colossal Volum' Express mascara. It gives me really thick long lashes – without clumps – and is priced at around $8.
• Face cleaner. I like Walmart's Equate daily regenerating cleanser that costs less than $10. It's nice and creamy and touts amino-peptide complex oxygenated derma-beads (which sounds really impressive and I have no idea what that is, but it works.)
• Astringent. After trying dozens of formulas, I went back to what my grandmother used: witch hazel. It's available for mere dollars at every drugstore and it does the trick on my oily skin.
• Day cream. I'm an Oil of Olay loyalist when it comes to a lightweight cream for daytime. I've used it forever, although I've tried some very pricey brands, and keep coming back to this classic formula.
• Night cream. I'm somewhat of a fanatic when it comes to rich creams at night, and after blowing a bundle on different formulas, I've settled on Equate (again, a Walmart brand) Regenerating Micro-Remodeling Cream. It's amazing, at less than $20.
• Eyeshadow. I'm crazy for Sonja Kashuk's makeup line for Target. It's sheer, shimmery, has great up-to-the-minute colors and extremely well-priced. The Leading Lady eyeshadow duo is about as perfect a neutral pair as you'll ever find for $7 and the quad set of Showstoppers has the best glitter for less than $13.