get it together.

I shampooed last night.

Presumably, that just-washed feeling in my hair would last until at least this evening. But, in the way that I ruin most things by overly fussing with them (pastry, arguments, tiny-turned-angry zits), I overdid it on the conditioner and hair balm. By this morning, even with the sock-bun that I was cultivating all night, my locks were flat, limp-ish and verging on oily. 

But I didn't sweat it. 

Dry shampoo cures all. It's not only super helpful when you sleep through your alarm and only have time for a wet-cloth-swipe across your armpits, it's also handy in sopping up oily hair products when you've gone a little too far (always). 

 Hair emergency swiftly averted. 

It got me to thinking about how dependent I am on my quick-fix beauty. Namely, a few products that (let's be honest) I COULD live without, but I really don't want to. Maybe she's born with it? Probably not. In lieu of god-given beauty, I opt for a little help from my friends: my 7 must-have in-a-pinch beauty miracles (for the girl who can't pull off "together" for more than 45 minutes. Read: me).

In a stranded-on-a-desert-island scenario, I'll have one Ryan Gosling, one iPod loaded with the Dirty Dancing soundtrack and a lifetime supply of each of these, pretty-please:

1. Marc Anthony 2nd Day Clear Dry Shampoo - While I love the colour-matching properties of Bumble & Bumble's hair powder, a spray format is usually more convenient/clean. Also, I'm cheap frugal. Problem is, most sprays are chalky and visible in dark hair. This beauty is only $13 and crystal clear. Win! (Also, it makes you smell like Strawberry Shortcake. Not the dessert. The plastic scented 80's toy.)

2. 100% Pure Coffee Bean Eye Cream - I could eat this. Literally, I could. The ingredients are practically entirely edible. Bad packaging design aside, 100% Pure is the best organic beauty company around. Hands down. And they make my very favourite beauty fix. This eye cream smells like a Grande Vanilla Bean Latte with Chocolate Sprinkles and brightens up my only-slept-4-hours-due-to-New-York-Times-crossword-iPhone-app-obsession eyes. $25

3. Aveda Phomollient - The only reason I'm ever able to maintain any curl in my hair. Smells amazing and adds volume and hold without any stiff stickiness. $16

4. Jamieson Prenatal Vitamins - Maybe this one needs a whole post of its own. It's really the answer to my Pizza Face post and years of frustration. Vitamins as a beauty product? No, really. I'm taking a prenatal vitamin daily (and if my mom wasn't already squealing out of her driveway to hit up Babies 'R Us, I'd tell her this: not pregnant, Mom, not pregnant). It was meant to address an iron/zinc deficiency and self-diagnosed Restless Leg Syndrome (didn't you know, since the advent of the internet I'm totally a doctor?). Surprise side-effect? My skin has never looked better! Aside from the odd rogue pimple, the weather is clear in epidermisville. $20

5. Benefit Bo-ing Concealer - I don't actually get 8 hours of sleep every night. But I LOOK like I do. $19

6. Tatcha Blotting Paper - I'm probably paying for the packaging (#marketersdream) but these babies cut afternoon shine like nobody's business. And without caking on more powder. In the interest of full disclosure, however, Twitter-buzz tells me that Starbucks recycled napkins work just as well. Huh.

7. [insert brand name here] Cheek Tint - I'm pale and pasty 10 months a year, so that rosy glow that you've complimented? Fake. But I don't do powder blush: it's cake-y and prone to sitting in my hard-earned crow's feet. Also, while I have oily acne-prone skin, I also have verging-on-exzema skin. AT THE SAME TIME. Totally possible. A natural/organic cheek tint is the perfect comprimise. I started with Aveda's cheek cream. Discontinued. Moved on to Suki's cheek stain. Discontinued. As I scrape the dregs of it from the jar, I'm forced to move on. Gonna try 100% Pure's Cheek Tint (with fruit pigments!). High hopes!

What are your beauty band-aids? I can use all the help I can get.