Get Luxe Hair and Makeup Looks for Less

We dared ourselves to recreate celebrity hairstyles and makeup looks that normally cost hundreds of dollars using only drugstore beauty products. Did we succeed?

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Whether you have a limited income, are a bargain-seeker extraordinaire, a true recessionista, or just someone who hates to waste money (we'll assume this pretty much covers everyone), you'll want in on this secret. Ready for it … you do not, we repeat, do not have to spend a lot of money to look like a million bucks. Skip ahead to see us prove it.

How did we discover this glamorous secret and come to believe it? We took a dare, a makeup and hair dare. We wanted to see if the staffers at Total Beauty could copy the makeup looks and hairstyles of celebrities that have tons of money to spend on stylists and big-budget beauty products using only makeup and hairstyling products found at drugstores, Walmart or Target.

We each selected a celebrity we envied for their luxe look, grabbed some budget makeup and hair care finds and tried our very best to recreate our chosen celebrity style sans a pro makeup artist or hairstylist.

Why did we do this? Because we know everyone, secretly or not, would love to have the resources of these A-listers. Shows like "MTV Cribs" or "Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous" wouldn't exist unless we had a burning desire to ooh and aah over P. Diddy's yacht and dream that we might one day have one too. We spend millions of dollars annually buying lottery tickets in the hopes that we, against all odds, will scratch our way to the luxe life. And, most of all, we stalk celebrity gossip Websites and mags and fantasize about having Meghan Fox's even skin tone or Jennifer Aniston hair. It's, safe to say, a national obsession. But because the chances of hitting an oil mine Clampett style is slim, check out how we, and you, can get a gorgeous, luxe celebrity hair and makeup look using budget-friendly products.

By Anna Jimenez

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