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It’s one thing to be a recreational jet setter, but when you constantly find yourself in airports for business travel, sweats and dirty hair just doesn’t cut it in the eyes of your company. Since I’ve become a key face of my new company’s branding, I’ve had to quickly master the art of looking sharp post 6-hour cramped flight. The key? Long-lasting quality makeup with great coverage and protected packaging. My go-to store has always been Wal-Mart, primarily since they’re located everywhere and always have the absolute best prices, and my all-time favorite brand for drugstore foundation and mascara is RIMMEL, all day every day.

Since I leave tomorrow for #SoFabCon14 in Bentonville, Arkansas (so.excited.), the combined 7-hour travel time and 2-hour layover in Atlanta has me feeling eternally grateful to have all my favorite RIMMEL products from Wal-Mart at hand! Here are my makeup must-haves and tips for achieving a classic and entrepreneurial look with drugstore products that weathers even the smelliest airports and most delayed and turbulent of flights.

Priming is key, especially for foundation when you’re banking on it staying smooth and shine-free for more than two hours. RIMMEL’s Stay Matte line is literally my favorite foundation on the market. Aside from the fact that they’re both under $6 at Wal-Mart, the combination of Stay Matte Primer and Liquid Mousse Foundation is, to put it frankly, concealing ecstasy.

I typically use the Stay Matte Primer underneath my makeup, although I’ve used it alone quite a few times. The formula controls shine for up to 8 hours and gives your skin a baby-soft finish. I’m Italian, so when I say my skin tends to get oily, I mean it could drench a blotting sheet approximately every 30 minutes. Using RIMMEL’s Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation on top of the primer creates a lightweight and flawlessly blended foundation that provides insane coverage for hours on end without adding excess shine.

Having bright and bold eyes is the absolute best way to mask extreme jet lag, and no leading lady looks polished or professional with dark circles and bags under her eyes. Again, with my Italian heritage, my eye makeup is definitely not impervious to running and/or smudging, so I always prime with RIMMEL’s Exaggerate Undercover Shadow Primer. My shadow and liner stays perfectly in place for an entire day, regardless of how many times I fall asleep, or cry for that matter, in any given period.

I always always always fill in my brows with my RIMMEL professional eyebrow pencil, which costs just under $4, and I’ve become downright obsessed with their new Scandal Eyes Eye Shadow Crayons for added color. These crayons are waterproof, last 24 hours, and are the easiest things to use. I already own 4, and my favorites colors for “work glamour” are 001-Witness White and 002-Bulletproof Beige. They’re muted enough to avoid the nightclub vibe, but they still add an effective pop of brightness to my eyes in the morning.

Oh, I always finely line my lower and upper eyelids with RIMMEL Scandal Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner in Kohl (ie blackest black) to enhance the overall pizzazz of my dark brown eyes. Lots of people think brown-eyed girls have it easy, but aside from having a catchy song written about us, it’s really difficult to give your deep, dark, and often dull peepers dimension.

I’ve featured RIMMEL Scandal Eyes Retro Glam Mascara on my blog before, and as my job becomes more and more stressful and incorporates more and more mandatory traveling, I’ve become an even bigger advocate than I used to be. I always curl my lashes prior to applying the product, and combined with a generous coat of Retro Glam? My lashes are plumped and curled to wide-eyed perfection. Even if I’m running on 2 hours of sleep post red eye flight, I still receive compliments on my eye makeup, which should tell you something. On that low of fuel, it certainly isn’t my attitude that attracts innocent bystanders into my danger zone of emotion.

Plus, I’m prone to losing things (either that or my friends steal my makeup), and RIMMEL Scandal Eyes Retro Glam Mascara costs under $6, so I don’t cry every time I misplace it; I just bop on down to Wal-Mart for a different color. I’m currently loving Extra Black, but Brown Black is next on my RIMMEL hit list.

No joke, I have yet to find any form of lip product I adore more than RIMMEL Show-Off Lip Lacquer. Most products allege that their color lasts for hours– well, that’s true… assuming you don’t eat, drink, talk, or move your lips in any fashion. Their lacquer, which will cost you under $5.50 at Wal-Mart, literally stays on for hours and doesn’t fade or run. You’re essentially inking your lips for the day, and when you don’t have time to pull out your phone for a quick selfie between meetings, it offers a reassured sense of comfort and quiet confidence. Another great thing about the Show-Off line is that you can use it as a liner, too. I always line my lips with the tip of the applicator and then fill in wherever needed afterwards. This eliminates the possibility of feathering and lip color running rampant all over your mouth.

I’ve accumulated quite a few lacquer colors over the past few months, but my springtime favorite has to be 303-Apocaliptic. It’s bright and bold yet still reserved enough for the workplace.

Once you’ve got this method down, you’ll survive even the most drab travel days. Throw in some of my favorite new Mermaid Perfume, and you won’t need to worry about trying to squeeze in a VD-infested, impromptu, airport bathroom primp session. You can confidently meet and impress your contacts on the other end of the trip– at least until you get to your hotel room!

What are your entrepreneurial elegance travel tips? Any good products or tips I missed?

Can’t wait to update you all on my experience at SoFabCon! I may have a slight case of the “Six Year Old on Christmas Eve,” and I doubt I’ll be able to fall asleep tonight. Womp womp.