To me, the rose is the most sacred of flowers. It represents so many different stages of life in its bloom and yet it is beautiful in all of its stages. Beyond the rosebud, the stem bears its thorns. What is beautiful should not be taken for granted, and roses should defend themselves. The rose’s meaning is extensive, from a symbol of love and passion, to a meaning of confidentiality. In Latin, the expression “sub rosa” literally means “under the rose.” In ancient Rome, a rose was placed on a door when confidential matters were discussed. Anything that was said “under the rose” was intended to be secret.

The rose was sacred to Venus, the Roman goddess of love. It’s also linked to Cupid, the son of Venus. In one myth, he drops nectar and of the nectar grows roses. The rose was also sacred to Bacchus, the god of wine. Cleopatra was said to have had a floor covered in roses before her lover visited her.

In Catholicism, the rose is a symbolic element of the Holy Rosary. The origins of this date back to when Fra Angelico (an early Renaissance painter) saw the Virgin Mary in a vision with a group of Angels creating a crown of roses for the Virgin. This imagery is contrasted by the crown of thorns worn by Jesus. When united, the symbolism of these two crowns, is that the Mother of Jesus is the blooming rose and the thorns (Jesus) are a part of the rose. The Virgin Mary is often depicted with roses. The “miracle of the roses” is a miracle in which roses manifest as an act of God or a saint. This dates back as a spiritual experience to the 12th century.

Roses come in many colors. There is the red rose, the lover’s rose, there is the white rose of humility and innocence, there is the yellow rose symbolizing friendship and joy. Finally, my favorite, the pink rose symbolizing gratitude, appreciation, and admiration. The number of roses in a bouquet can also express different sentiments. For example, giving one rose can mean “love at first sight,” whereas a perfect dozen says, “be mine,” or two dozen communicates a deeper devotion and so on. There is so much to be communicated with roses and shared with many. I think attributing the title “Queen of Flowers” to the rose is not a mistake.

The rose can also be a stately symbol. The rose is the national flower of the United States and the state flower of New York, Georgia, Oklahoma, Iowa, North Dakota, and District of Columbia. June is the month of the rose; not surprisingly many weddings occur in June, as weddings are also often associated with roses. The rose is so versatile, it continues to share meaning in so many forms.

In Tarot cards, the symbolic meaning of the rose is balance. It expresses promise, new beginnings, and hope. Its thorns in Tarot represent defense, physicality, loss, and thoughtlessness. The blooming of the rose can be understood as the fleetingness of life and further, death. Life is beautiful… as portrayed in the blooming of the rose. 

Luxury beauty is definitely not a niche market (the industry achieved $81B in sales this year). As far as luxury beauty goes, Chantecaille has added a layer into their brand that I think makes for the price to be more conscionable: every product that Chantecaille sells has an environmental program that it gives back to. This all began with one person. Sylvie Chantecaille had a dream about bringing together these different concepts and developed a product line in service of the environment and a deep appreciation for beauty. I think this should be celebrated. I am in awe of people who find their life’s passions and pursue it relentlessly. We need stories like this to remind us that we can create unique scenarios that seem less than possible and scale them. We need that kind of inspiration more than ever.

Chantecaille has integrated CSR into their business and operating model. It has also added a unique marketing dimension to its brand that is super appealing; all of the products include an animal on it, reminding the consumer of its commitment to the variety of environmental causes it commits funds to. For example, if it’s a lion, there’s a conservation charity or a coral reef is towards ocean health and sustainability. While this may not be at the social change scale that we need in the scope of how detrimental climate change is becoming, the fact that there is a luxury beauty brand entirely committed to this effort in a behemoth industry is quite remarkable.

Oftentimes, CSR is on the periphery for companies; it almost acts as an accessory to the core offering. You see this very often in women’s retail. Women make up over 80% of all consumers (which means that CSR for women needs to be taken very seriously when you are orienting towards a female dominated market).

For example, there may be a contract partnership with a well known charity (Susan G. Komen for Wacoal Intimates) or perhaps it’s a larger part of the brand’s story like the Breast Cancer Research Foundation in deep partnership with Estee Lauder. In fact, Sylvie Chantecaille previously worked with Estee Lauder and Diane von Furstenberg. It’s likely that Sylvie considered how she could create a beauty brand that integrated CSR in a way that’s never been done before.

Despite the myriad of partnership offerings, embedding CSR into the business model is less common. In my opinion, the future of CSR (and the future of many businesses) is including a dimension of sustainability to serve the increasingly socially aware consumer. Chantecaille serves as a wonderful example of this. I remember admiring the beautiful highlight palettes and eyeshadows at Neiman Marcus when I was little girl. I still have this same awe towards this brand. I hope the Chantecaille family continues making this wonderful impact for years to come.

I am ecstatic to share this interview with AnnaNoel Olson, current Miss Alameda County Teen USA, former Miss Beverly Hills Teen USA, and current Miss San Diego Teen USA. The beautiful Bay Area native will be competing for Miss California Teen USA in January and it’s my pleasure to share our conversation which spanned her experiences in pageantry to date. AnnaNoel does great work as an Anti-Bullying advocate and also cares about causes that span from the homelessness crisis to ending human trafficking through her social justice platform #endinjustice.  She generously shared her experience with the health condition POTS (Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) and her advocacy for the condition. AnnaNoel’s star is certainly on the rise and it’s clear that she will continue doing great things. Please enjoy our interview as much as we enjoyed speaking to one another. 

Best of luck at Miss California Teen USA this January, AnnaNoel, we will be cheering you on.  Follow AnnaNoel on Instagram @annanoellll 

xx Bianca 

Bianca: How long have you been competing in pageantry? 

AnnaNoel: Well this will be my fourth year at Miss California Teen USA this January and I didn’t grow up doing pageants, it was not like a Toddlers and Tiaras situation!  I actually grew up doing martial arts, so this is not something I was around or anyone I knew did. I was just reading about it online and I was fascinated with Miss USA and Miss Universe and I asked myself, “How can I do this?”  I kind of just jumped in and I don’t have the background that a lot of the girls have. Long story short, this will be my fourth year. 

To give you some background on pageants, I compete in the Miss Universe Organization pageants.  There are other systems like Miss America and Miss International, those are different systems. I’ve noticed those tend to have the girls that have been doing it growing up.  I have found that the girls who are competing for Miss USA, the majority of them didn’t grow up doing it and many are also pursuing a modeling career. 

Bianca: What would you say is your overarching career ambition? 

AnnaNoel: There are two different categories.  I definitely want to pursue modeling and sign to an agency, which I am working on currently, but have never seen modeling as my long term career. It’s never been like “oh I’m not going to college, I’m just going to pursue modeling,” that’s never been like that for me. I would love to make it in modeling though.  I am currently a sophomore in college and I don’t know exactly what I want to do, but I know whatever career I go into, I am changing someone’s life or impacting their life in a really positive way.  

I’m interested in becoming a Registered Nurse or potentially going further into medical school or something in psychology or law.  Pretty much anything that requires a lot of school! I definitely don’t see myself working a 9-5pm job behind a desk, I would like to do something more hands on and it’s something that I know I am making an impact and that my purpose is changing people’s lives.  I’m figuring out what that is right now and I have so many interests. I am 18 years old, to be quite honest, I don’t know exactly what I want to do, and I think that’s totally fine. I feel like many times young people are pressured to figure out exactly how they are going to spend the rest of their life. I’ve seen that this often leads to people picking a career they are unsure about which I definitely don’t want to do. Broadly, I know I want to impact people’s lives everyday.

I am currently doing my general education online with Las Positas Community College right now and in April, I’ll be moving to Los Angeles and will transfer to Santa Monica Community College and plan to transfer to a university in LA. 

Bianca: Speaking of Northern California and Southern California, you are also a Bay Area native.  What would you say is your favorite part about California? 

AnnaNoel: I grew up in California and I genuinely cannot see myself living anywhere else.  Once you grew up here, it’s like, how could you leave California? I think it’s just so incredible that I have so many different interests and so many different environments to enjoy. For example, I love snowmobiling and I can drive a couple hours and I am at the snow. I am obsessed with the beach and I could go there in 30-45 min, and when I move in a few months, I will be even closer!

I feel like the people of California really come together when something happens, too.  For example, I volunteered to help with the Paradise fires and seeing people from all backgrounds coming together was just so incredible to watch and see everyone putting aside their differences and seeing that really warms my heart.  I feel like the people of California have that unique trait of coming together. I would never want to live anywhere else, it’s just amazing!  

Bianca: Do you have any suggestions for best places to visit in Northern California? 

AnnaNoel: I am obsessed with Santana Row in San Jose, I just love walking around and seeing everyone in the community there, it’s just such a cute area.  I also really love this hiking area in Sunol that has this beautiful waterfall, it’s actually called Little Yosemite. 

I also love this place in Oakland called Plank, it’s an arcade and bowling alley for adults.  It’s basically kids stuff, but made cool for adults and I love that. I think it’s so fun. I don’t think because you grow up, you need to leave any of that behind.  They’re not just for kids.

Bianca: You have modeled quite a bit! What has been your favorite photo shoot theme thus far? 

AnnaNoel: Well I’ll start with my favorite photo shoot, it was this jungle themed shoot.  It was at a person’s house and it was just the coolest thing, there was a tree house and part of the set was a bathtub in the backyard.  It was the coolest location ever. That’s not something you get to work with often. That was by far the most fun. There was a swing and I was drinking out of a coconut… you’d think I was in Bali… I was actually in El Dorado Hills! 

I love doing editorial photoshoots, like in studios. I think you can do high fashion, kind of weird stuff, that looks really cool for the camera and I come up with a lot of ideas on my own.  Most of the time, I’ll come up with my own ideas and I need to work with photographers who share my vision because a lot of the time it can sound strange, but most of the time the photos come together perfectly. 

I also love nice, clean beauty shots.  An off the shoulder top, pretty makeup, a very clean background…  pretty beauty shots that you would see a makeup brand do… like holding a lipstick and you get this really nice glamour shot.  Those are definitely some of my favorites. 

Bianca: Who would you say is your biggest role model? 

AnnaNoel: One of my biggest role models is a woman named Christine Caine.  She started an organization called A21 that is focused on abolishing modern day slavery.  She saw a flyer in an airport and from that flyer decided that she was going to start this organization and this organization and they have saved thousands of lives and they give people opportunities to assimilate back into society, getting them jobs, homes, resources and opportunities for jobs.  I just think that is something that Christine did something on her own initiative because she felt something needed to be done. That’s what inspired me to start my Anti-Bullying campaign #itstartswithme. 

The meaning behind #itstartswithme is that you can’t wait for anyone else to start something, if you see something that you think needs to be changed, you need to do it, regardless of what everyone else is doing.  It’s as simple as it starts with you.  You may as well do it. 

She has impacted so many lives and it really inspired me to do similarly.

Bianca: I know that you have done quite a bit of Anti-Bullying advocacy, are you also tying that into your interest in Anti-Slavery advocacy into your social good platform as well? 

AnnaNoel: I started my Anti-Bullying campaign #itstartswithme as a result of my PTSD from bullying. I suffered from traumatic bullying for several years. This resulted in actual physical health issues.  I was diagnosed with POTS (Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome), which is because the mental injury turned into a physical injury based off of the way my body was comprehending everything. 

POTS is a condition that affects blood flow.  For me, one of the results were excruciating nerve pain to the point that I wasn’t even able to hold a toothbrush without experiencing pain. It took a long time, but I was eventually diagnosed by a team at Stanford with some symptoms of POTS. It wasn’t till years later of endless research that I figured out I had POTS and informed my doctor that I needed the test, and in fact, I did have it.  1 in 100 teenagers get diagnosed with POTS and a lot of teenagers have it and a lot of people may not know that it even exists. 

I started this campaign in support of anti-bullying, but it’s evolved to include my interests in combating homelessness, ending human trafficking, and my family’s involvement in sponsoring children in different countries through World Vision.  I changed the description to be “ending injustice” to encompass all of these topics that I’m so passionate about. Right now, I am currently volunteering for the homeless community, raising awareness for anti-slavery, all of my continued work in support of anti-bullying, as well as supporting the children that my family support through World Vision as well.  That’s why I changed #ItStartsWithMe to be in support of ending all injustice, including ending bullying.

Bianca: What are your favorite beauty tips and tricks? 

AnnaNoel: I absolutely love doing a creme liquid bronzer where you basically do it before you put on any powder and over your liquid foundation. I think it looks so natural and has this amazing finish.  You put it on before you put on your contour, it just makes your face looks so good when you’re finished. I apply powder and bronzer over, but it adds dimension and depth in a way that I totally notice when I don’t do it.   

The one that I use is by NYX…I know that Kim Kardashian has a creme contour stick, and lots of high end brands and drugstores carry creme contour sticks, but as far as what I’m referring to, not as many companies do carry the liquid bronzer.  That is my number one trick that I thought of one day when I was darkening my foundation. I think just powder and bronzer is too obvious otherwise. 

I also love adding my translucent powder over my concealer with a Beautyblender. 

I would say those are the two things that I have thought of over the years that make my makeup stand out well and fixes some of the things that people don’t like about contouring.  Also, blending makeup into your ears and down your neck and even in the back of your neck. 

Also, when I do pageants I like to highlight my collar bones, but I don’t want it to sparkle, it has to have the right sheen. 

Bianca: What are you most looking forward to for Miss California Teen USA in January? 

AnnaNoel: It’s going to be my fourth year and I’m looking forward to making new friends, some of my best friends I’ve met through the competition.  I am looking forward to meeting so many new people, too. I am also looking forward to my gown, I just got it a couple of weeks ago, it’s the most unique thing I have ever seen.  It’s is a one of a kind gown and I am really excited. I also love the interview portion, too. It’s very much a conversation and you get to tell them about yourself, I’m just really good with connecting and speaking with people. If you can make a genuine and personable connection with the judges, then that’s great.  I do really enjoy interviews for sure, just like this one! 

Thank you, AnnaNoel, for your deep and personal insights, and your bravery to share all of this with us.  Follow AnnaNoel on Instagram @annanoellll

Each year, Swarovski in collaboration with a couture designer work to create the Vienna Opera Ball’s annual tiara for the young ladies stepping out into society in Vienna. This year’s tiara was designed by Christian Lacroix. I have included a retrospective here of the most recent year’s designs, how it has evolved, and thoughts on this annual tradition in Austria. Aside from Vienna, there is a similar event that occurs in New York each year, which hosts Austrian diplomats and usually Miss Universe attends. Stanford University also holds a similar event for students who are interested in Austrian culture. This year’s Vienna Opera Ball will be on February 20, 2020. ORF, Austria’s official broadcaster will air the ball, which you can live stream.

The Vienna Opera Ball has happened every year at the Wiener Staatsoper since 1814. It has evolved quite a bit since then, but it has continued a tradition of being the premier (and most exclusive event) for seeing and being seen, which is essentially the point of a society gathering…

The event always begins at 10pm and the Austrian President indicates the beginning of the event by entering onto the imperial balcony. Then, 180 debutante couples step into the ballroom. The way in which the couples are selected is through an application process where they must learn strict classical choreography by the Elmayer Dance School. During the event, there is an in house hair stylist, tailor, and medical teams are always on standby in case the twirling becomes a bit too much…

The esteemed businessman Richard Lugner has been known for many years to take famous female social figures, which have included Sophia Loren, Claudia Cardinale, Carmen Electra, Dita von Teese, Pamela Anderson, Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian. Mr. Lugner has certainly kept up the spirit of “seeing and being seen.”

The tiara designs have varied over the years, all designed by well known designers. In recent years, my personal favorite tiara was designed by Dolce & Gabbana; the beautiful golden toned tiara with elegant crystal flowers entwined with one another exemplify the youth, beauty, and elegance of what the event is known to represent.

Bettie Page certainly defined the concept of a pinup in a way that had never been done before. To this day, she still has a cult following and there are Bettie look alikes still present in Hollywood (Dita von Teese has built her career off of the image of Bettie). It’s truly no surprise that she is the “Queen of Pinups.” She is one of the most iconic Playboy models and furthermore, Bettie paved a path forward for women’s empowerment in a way that was ahead of her time.

Born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1923 as the second of six children and faced a life of great challenge at a young age, where her father was convicted of car theft, serving time in person and left Bettie to care for many of her siblings at a young age. Eventually, she was put into an orphanage with two of her sisters siblings for a year because her mother could no longer take care of all of the children while working two jobs. During her time in the orphanage, she dreamt with her sisters that they were Hollywood starlets.

During her teenage years, Bettie learned how to do makeup and to sew, which became an essential part of her pinup career, as she designed and created her pinup costumes much of the time. Bettie graduated high school top of her class and went on to college in hopes of becoming a teacher in Nashville. Her adventurous spirit led her otherwise… her path did not work out as a teacher and she moved to San Francisco to become a secretary and modeled on the side. She met a man who had a talent agency and he encouraged her to go to Hollywood.

She went for a screen test at 20th Century Fox which didn’t go as well as she would have hoped and she returned to San Francisco disappointed. She eventually returned to the south with her husband, Billy, who had returned from the war as a changed man. Their marriage crumbled and Bettie eventually moved to Miami to follow her dreams. She took a trip to Haiti for a few months which re-inspired her to pursue her career with a newfound zeal. She moved to New York City to pursue her dream of becoming an actress. Bettie worked as secretary in New York for a couple of years and then in the Fall of 1950 she met a NYPD officer who offered to take her photos. That was officially the beginning of her pinup career, her photos started showing up on the covers of Harlem magazines. By 1955, she was a Playboy Playmate. Bettie was 32 years old when her career really took off.

Her career did falter though and not by her own doing. During a time of extreme sexual conservatism, she was called upon to testify in the Kefauver hearings for the US Senate Special Committee to Investigate Crime in Interstate Commerce where she was effectively intimidated and was urged to say one of the photographers she had posed for, Irving Klaw, was violating the law. This was untrue as there was no nudity in the photos that she had posed for and Bettie stood by that. The public pressure made Bettie buckle and she moved from New York City to Florida again. She stopped modeling and ignited an old flame in Florida and married Armond Walterson in 1958.

Bettie was almost 35 years old when she left modeling and left the public eye, wanting to focus on starting a family and settling down. Their marriage was sadly troubled as he was not as adventurous as she was and there was a large age gap, as he was much younger than her. They divorced in in 1963. During this marriage, Bettie converted to Christianity in 1959.

Bettie went on to spend many years attending Bible colleges and worked full time for the famous Rev. Billy Graham, leaving her fame as a pinup behind. She married Harry Lear in 1967 and their marriage also ended in divorce in 1972. There were significant custody problems with his ex-wife which sadly sabotaged their marriage in a circumstantial way.

By 1978, Bettie moved back to California to live with her brother Jimmy and around this time she was unfortunately diagnosed with mental illness and was held under state supervision for eight years. She would be released from that supervision in 1992 at the age of 69. Bettie only learned of her own icon status by 1992; she had been unaware of the fact that she had a large cult following until then. Bettie died at age of 85 of a heart attack. Bettie lives on by representing images of feminine allure and defying sexual oppression.

Often times, the spirit of hope is discarded. It’s seen as fragile in its nature and not enough for the masters of the future and it’s a sentiment rather than an act. Recently, Greta Thunberg referenced in one of her speeches on how hope will not be enough to change the outcomes of climate change. Surely, she is correct, but the power of hope is not to be discarded quickly. Hope is essential in prefacing an act to achieve an outcome.

Hope, in Greek mythology, is the last spirit in Pandora’s box. It’s Pandora’s gift of curiosity that is her downfall because she opens the box. It is debated to this day in philosophy if hope is actually the spirit of expectation. Regardless, the myth of Pandora’s box has persisted throughout history in a way that makes us consider the importance of hope. Given that this was the last spirit in her box, it is clear that Zeus did not seek to eradicate mankind by leaving Elpis (Hope) last in the box of horrors that Pandora opened out of her curiosity.

In my personal opinion, the psychology of hope is more than expectation, it’s a spirit which makes life more bearable as a gift for us all. An ancient symbol of hope is the anchor, which in its utility serves as a tool to weather storms and to prevent a ship from being swept away. The spirit of hope is grounding and with that in mind, the way Elpis has persisted throughout history is to stay. Hope is here for us, we must not rail against her, rather understand the spirit in which she helps us rise again.

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What is on my 2019 Holiday Gift Guide? This year, the pink and gold theme appealed to me and a number of quite feminine themes cropped up for the items that I curated here, some of these items are for everyday use and others are a bit more luxurious (the lovely dirndl from Krüger), though they are all within a relatively affordable price range! Make sure to share some rosiness with the special ones in your life. All items for purchase are linked below.

1. Sunny Gu’s paintings
2. An art deco style jewelry box with a butterfly from Amazon
3. Pearl hair accessories from SHEIN
4. A Krueger dirndl
5. Create & Cultivate’s 2020 planners and notebooks available at Target
6. Pink lucite retro style sunglasses available on Amazon
7. Smith’s Rosebud Salve
8. Michael Faudet’s new book, Cult of Two
9. The Rita Hayworth movie collection with introduction by Martin Scorcese
10. Besame Cosmetics Sleeping Beauty collection Briar Rose Blush Palette

There may not be a more American travel destination that Tybee Island, Georgia. The lesser known island is a classic all-American destination for travelers seeking the beaches of the Gulf Coast. The island is located right near Savannah and is well loved by Georgians. Georgia has a special place in my heart as it’s one of the handful of states in America that has a rich Austrian history, with Austrian culture still present. This island has a subtle charm to it, it does not have the glamour of Palm Beach, Florida, but it rivals its beauty.

Tybee has an interesting history. It was initially referred to as “Savannah Beach,” due to its close location to the city of Savannah but has since been referred back to its original name which references its Native American history – the Euchee tribe inhabited the island in years past and “Tybee” is the Euchee word for “salt.” The lighthouse on Tybee Island has been there since 1736! This is definitely one of America’s most historic lighthouses. During the late 19th century, residents of polluted cities would flock to the island as it has been considered a place to cure certain ailments such as asthma and certain allergies since there are clear saltwater breeze.

Sandra Bullock has a home on Tybee Island… you may just have an unexpected celebrity sighting or two. I think tourism in America is fascinating, there are so many places to see in such a large country that there are hidden gems such as the lovely Tybee Island to go find and enjoy!

“Why does the time have to change? Why do we have to change so drastically, too?  Time goes by to everybody.”

Anita Ekberg, most famous for her acting in the 1960 Italian film La Dolce Vita by Frederico Fellini is arguably one of the most underrated pinups of her time, living in the shadows of Marilyn Monroe’s fame, as did Jayne Mansfield. Anita and Jayne were actually friends. Anita described Marilyn Monroe as intelligent because “you need to be intelligent to know how to play dumb.” Anita was originally from Sweden, gaining attention and opportunity through winning the Miss Sweden competition, which brought her the opportunity to visit the United States to compete in the Miss Universe competition in 1951. Though she did not win Miss Universe, Anita won a film contract with Universal Studios Hollywood.

Universal Studios unfortunately dropped her after six months as she preferred to spend time horseback riding rather than pursuing large film roles. Her time in Hollywood was not without its challenges, though. She experienced harsh physical critique that was unfair as she was stunningly beautiful.

Anita famously described how Howard Huges suggested that she get plastic surgery to change her nose and also suggested that she change her name to be more like the ladies in Hollywood at the time and Anita refused, believing that either she will be famous for being herself or she will not be famous. During a time where pinups altered their natural looks (Jayne Mansfield dying her brunette locks to Marilyn style bottle blonde) and Rita Hayworth having significant changes done, from her name being changed (Margarita Cansino to Rita Hayworth) to dying her raven hair to red and having her hair line altered in a painful procedure.

In a time where beauty standards defined much of Hollywood’s starlets success, it was remarkable that Anita stayed so headstrong in being as natural as she could be. Both of Anita’s marriages were to actors and neither of those marriages lasted. She did not have a child and made a contradictory statements in interviews regarding if she would have wanted a child. Anita’s last years in Italy were unfortunate, in 2011, her home in Rome was robbed and badly burned in a fire while she was in the hospital for hip surgery. She ultimately applied for financial help from the Fellini Foundation and that foundation was not doing financially well, either. Anita was not well in her last years. Anita passed away on January 11, 2015 at the age of 83 from complications of prolonged illness. She is buried in Sweden.

The age in which Anita became a star was dominated by chauvinism and womanizing behaviors. Anita Ekberg manuevered Hollywood in her own way and became a legend in her own way.

“I have loved, cried, been mad with happiness. I have won and I have lost.”

I think the drugstore is a great place to find some of your essential beauty finds. There are so many drugstore beauty essentials that I rely on – for example, I almost never buy designer mascara (occasionally I will splurge on Clinique’s High Impact Extreme Volume mascara). I am almost always inclined to buy L’Oreal’s Voluminous lash or any Covergirl mascara. Mascara isn’t the only deal in the beauty department… Read on for what I save by going to the drugstore for! You can create quite a comprehensive beauty toolkit when you know what products work best from the drugstore.