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Oscars Red Carpet Beauty Products That Cost Less Than a Movie Ticket

You don’t need a glam squad, just a drugstore.

By Cheryl Wischhover
Photo: George Pimentel/Getty Images

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

Celebrities spend hours with their fancy hairstylists and makeup artists to get ready for the red carpet. (Except for Charlize Theron, who threw on her gym ponytail elastic. JK.) But, thanks to accessible brands working with these professionals, a lot of affordable products end up on the faces and hair of people who could otherwise afford La Mer products from head to toe.

This season, plenty of drugstore brands featured their products on Oscars attendees. Here are some of the standouts, most of which will cost you much less than a night out at the movies.

Scarlett Johansson

Scarlett Johansson looks great with short hair. The tousled look she wore at the Oscars totally channeled a British ‘80s New Wave band. Hairstylist Jenny Cho used Suave Professionals Sea Minerals Infusion Texturizing Sea Salt Spray ($11) to get that texture.

Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Taraji P. Henson

Taraji P. Henson’s hair texture was also really gorgeous. Hairstylist Tymothe Wallace used Dove Absolute Curls Supreme Créme Serum ($8.30) on her dry hair before using a curling iron followed by velcro rollers. Then he brushed through it and tousled.

Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Priyanka Chopra

Priyanka Chopra wore a “pearlized nude greige” nail color by Essie Gel Couture in Make the Cut ($11.50). It reads more as a soft white than a boring neutral.

Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images

Janelle Monáe

Janelle Monáe looked absolutely stunning in her over-the-top red carpet look, and her neutral smoky eye complemented it perfectly. Her makeup artist Jessica Smalls used Covergirl truNaked Eye Shadow Palette in Nudes ($11.99). (Monáe is a Covergirl spokesperson.)

Photo: Lester Cohen/Getty Images

Nicole Kidman

Nicole Kidman’s red lipstick is Giorgio Armani Beauty, but her glowy blush is all drugstore. (She’s a Neutrogena brand ambassador.) Makeup artist Jeanine Lobell used Neutrogena Healthy Skin Blush in Rosy ($7.99).

Watch: Everyone Dressed Like Angels at the Oscars

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