What Hairstylist Julie Dickson Buys at the Drugstore

Bedhead hair spray has been around probably since the ’90s. It was originally a professional product. It’s always in my wedding kit. I’ve been using it for at least 20 years. It’s magic — once I spray it, the hair is not going to move for eight hours. It doesn’t flake; it doesn’t look gluey. But it does the job. It’s heavy-duty stuff. It’s like cement. So make sure your hair is exactly the way you want it, because then it’s stuck.

Elnett is brushable, buildable; just a beautiful, beautiful hair spray. It’s a must-have. I keep a travel size in every one of my summer handbags for strays. Every session stylist I know has this in their kit, too! It comes in different hold factors and I prefer the medium hold. It’s super-versatile and great for all hair types. I like the unscented, personally, but the scented is kind of cute, because it makes you feel like you’re from the ’60s. It’s got this old-school French packaging.

I’m super-pale, so self tanner needs to be natural. This is the absolute best thing out there. I’ve used it for at least 15 years. It’s almost like self-tanner mixed with regular lotion, so it’s buildable. I’ll use it every day on my legs for a week and then I’ll have a nice glow with no orange. Once I have that base, then I’ll reapply around once a week. It’s hard to get spots or streaks because the tanner is a little bit diluted. I don’t have to be precious about it — just rub and go.

I don’t like to wash my face. I’m lazy. But these micellar wipes get everything off. I’ll use them right before I use my red-light mask — I don’t know if it’s smoke and mirrors or not, but I heard that Charlize Theron uses red light, so I’m like,Okay, good enough for me.But it’s such a slog to wash your face beforehand. That’s why the micellar wipes are fantastic. They’re not drying. I like the cucumber scent, too.

I have it on my lips right now. I use it for my cuticles, my hands, my feet, my elbows. I also use it after getting laser treatments on my face. It’s one of the only things that doctors recommend if you get a laser. I’ll put a thin layer on as a last step in my skin care to seal everything in. I’ll even use it on my hairline to get rid of my strays.

I go through a tube a month. I have a subscription. I tried the stick, but I feel like they kind of gum up. I also tried the spray, which I thought was going to be brilliant, but it didn’t glide on as easily and smelled really chemical-y.

It smells like summer. The coconut is my favorite. It’s almost addictive. But it has to be the SPF 15. I don’t like the SPF 30; it gets chalky and pills. They come in multipacks, so I buy them in bulk.

Vanicream is a non-shiny alternative to Aquaphor. I’ll use it when I want a more matte look. I’m very, very sensitive to products that have too much scent in them. Dermatologists recommend Vanicream because they know it doesn’t have any weird scent in it or any active ingredients that can be irritating. It’s pure moisture. I use it everywhere below the neck. It helps with skin tone as well. If I put it on my legs, it smooths everything out.

First, the packaging is fantastic. It’s really old school. It looks like it’s from the 1950s. I was doing a wedding and I was going to do the groom’s hair as well. I wanted a classic, Cary Grant–style wet look. And I was scrambling so I just went to the drugstore and found it.

It’s super-shiny. Perfect for strays, short wet looks, and slick-backs. It’s hard to find a real, old-fashioned shiny pomade. The big trend was matte for so long. So it’s hard to find a high-shine one that you can get a good comb mark in. You can use it on wet or dry hair. I’d recommend combing it through for even distribution. And then you can also just carry it around with you throughout the day if you get strays and put a little bit on your fingertips to press them down.

There have been so many times that I’ve been at weddings with a backless dress on. And I’m in the bathroom bending over, sweating, trying to redo my tape. I’ve tried other tapes and it’s really hard to get everything symmetrical. That’s why these little strips are easy, because then I can kind of pinpoint what needs help and where, and then I just kind of stick it on. They’re almost like little Band-Aids. They’re the width of Scotch tape. My biggest tip is to make sure you’re not sweaty and you have no lotion on your body before you apply them.

I have fine, thin hair and I also have fine, thin lashes. A lot of the mascaras that are designed to give you bold lashes really clump on me. This is the only one that really works. I found it randomly like seven years ago. One of those trips to CVS where you accidentally spend $300. It’s just one little swipe and it gives me great separation and a little bit of color. My lashes are naturally blonde, so I love that it comes in brown. It looks super-natural. A great daytime mascara.