When it comes to splurging on beauty, I can quickly justify the jaw-dropping price of long-lasting products like masks and exfoliators -- even if I regret it a few weeks later when the rent is due. A daily necessity like dry shampoo, however? I turn into a penny pincher.

Yes, the sophisticated fragrances of prestige brands are tempting, but when you have fine hair that gets flat and oily 12 hours after washing, a 20-something dollar bottle of dry shampoo is just not happening. Batiste Dry Shampoo, $7.99, blasts my hair with a fresh scent while soaking up all of the unwanted oil that wrecks a good hair day -- and it doesn't leave my brown hair looking gray.

The dry shampoo in blush comes in a pretty pink can, and has a light floral scent that leaves my hair smelling as clean as it looks. I shake the can and spray it in sections at my roots, let it sit for a minute, then ruffle it through my hair with my fingers and I'm good to go for the rest of the day. --Marissa DeSantis

I have about 10 hairs per eyebrow. I'm guilty of over-plucking, tweezing every bit of hair that I spot in my magnifying mirror and obsessively monitoring my brow growth. So when Cara Delevingne hit the scene with her gloriously thick brows, you can say I had a case of eyebrow regret.

While eyebrow pencils and powders help immensely in filling out brows, powders take far too long for me to apply, and most pencils are just too thick to mimic natural hairs. Then I found Elizabeth Arden Beautiful Color Natural Eye Brow Pencil, $22. The ultra-fine tip lets me create precise, realistic looking strokes that don't fade throughout the day or smudge when I start leaning my face in my hands during a midday lull. And get this -- I've actually received compliments on my "full brows." No one knows my secret is really this pencil (until now.) --Hayley Mason

I love the concept of cleansing conditioner: one simple step to clean, bouncy hair, without using harsh, stripping ingredients. But as a person with very fine, slightly wavy hair, many cleansing conditioners are too heavy, making it look like I forgot to rinse after doing a DIY coconut oil hair mask.

Then Unwash Bio-Cleansing Conditioner made its way into my shower -- and my heart. Besides smelling amazing (a mix of floral and watermelon that isn't cloyingly sweet), the creamy formula lightly lathers for a glorious hair-washing experience even my shower-hating self can appreciate. It manages to make my hair look squeaky clean without making it dry and frizzy, but that's not even the best part.

The moisturizing cream somehow manages to smooth the rat's nest that is my tangle-prone hair, so I no longer dread post-shower brushing. The smoothing effect lasts days beyond the initial wash, a necessity for those of us in the anti-hair-washing camp. My hair looks healthier, shinier and -- dare I say -- bouncier than ever. --Allie Flinn

I've done a lot of things in pursuit of clear skin. I've crept into my neighbor's garden in the dead of night to steal a stem of aloe vera, because I read it makes acne treatments 25 percent more effective. (Consider this my public apology.) I've forgone sugar, alcohol and dairy with the aim of detoxing my skin. I started downing spearmint tea and fish oil capsules after I heard they clear up the hormonal breakouts that plague me monthly. But if I'm being honest, I never really saw a lasting improvement.

And then I finally tried something I probably should have tried a long time ago: adding oil into my skincare routine, by way of Jurlique Nourishing Cleansing Oil. It's a light oil that emulsifies into a milky cleanser upon contact with water -- so it washes right off, and I don't feel like my face is still covered in slippery stuff. Because it's oil-based, it completely removes my makeup, instead of just sliding vestiges of mascara around my face like other cleansers. Instead of slathering my face in anti-acne wash (which just left me dry and irritated), now I reach for this hydrating oil, and its soothing, moisturizing properties are just what my face needs. Plus, the all-natural ingredients are organically derived, meaning my sensitive skin is as happy as a detox junkie at a farmers' market.

I am really good at falling asleep. These robust melatonin levels of mine (bless them!) render nighttime products filled with snooze-inducing ingredients like lavender and chamomile fairly low-priority. But fast-forward 8 hours, and the game totally changes. I am awful at waking up. A hot, invigorating shower helps, but typically I half-sleepwalk through my morning skincare and makeup routine ... if I even get that far.

Recently though, I was introduced to Sonya Dakar's Omega Booster hydrating serum, and my 8 a.m. wake-ups have been different ever since. I'm already a big fan of facial oil -- unlike heavier moisturizers, oils nourish my skin in a gentle, yet hydrating way that makes me never want to go back to semi-solids. Sonya's formula is special though. It contains eucalyptus and lemon extracts, which have a brightening effect and a refreshing, almost spicy scent. These elements not only even out my sleepy complexion, but also -- dare I say -- make me feel instantly more awake.

I'm not gonna say this stuff's made me as good at waking up as I am at dozing off -- but, it's the first product I've tried that's helping me get there.