5 Cheap, Basic Tools No Beauty Cabinet Should Be Without

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Welcome to Girl Friday, our weekly column where professional makeup artist Amanda Storey shares the latest in trends, tips and tricks in the world of makeup and beauty.

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• The white washcloth ($60 for six at Turkish Towel Company) might be the most underrated skincare tool of all time. I spent $120 on a Clarisonic Mia and used it religiously for a few months. B
• I work in a retail beauty boutique and every single day a woman asks me if she can have a few of our disposable mascara spoolies. I don’t mind obliging once in a while, but we order just enough to get us through until our next order, and we use them all d
• I’m not an advocate of re-shaping your eyebrows at home, but I do highly recommend having a pair of quality tweezers ($30 at Benefit) for rogue brow (o
• I am a maniac about brush cleansing. And I’m surprised by how many people don’t regularly clean their makeup brushes and sponges. I tried regular liquid soap and shampoo for a while, but it didn’t seem to be doing the trick. Then I discovered the BeautyBl
• You should be exfoliating your lips regularly. Yes, you! Dry crusty lips are the beauty faux pas I see most frequently, and it’s totally avoidable. Just like you care for your skin, teeth and hair you should be caring for your lips. Buy a soft toothbrush

Beauty tools are the little black dress of your makeup wardrobe. You use them all the time, you'd be lost without them, but they rarely get the recognition they deserve. We are quick to show off that gorgeous tube of YSL Rouge Volupte and lavishly re-apply as we gaze into our super-chic Marc Jacobs compact, but everyone knows it takes more than lipstick and powder to be fabulous. Here are my picks for the hardest working and most under-appreciated tools in your beauty arsenal.

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