Beauty substitutes are the products you use in a pinch when you've forgotten to pack an item in your suitcase or makeup bag. Traveling for work, setting up in different hotel rooms and just plain forgetfulness have left me having to improvise on many occasions.

If you find yourself missing a piece of your beauty puzzle, think outside the labels to get the glamour going again. First and foremost, all makeup is just vehicle and pigment. Pigments are color, and the vehicle is just the means to getting it where it needs to go. Forgotten your blush? Lipstick applied with your ring finger to the apples of the cheeks will give you that same flush. Need a smoky eye after work but didn’t tote your eye shadows? Scribble your favorite eyeliner on the pad of your finger and slowly smooth over lids. Finish by tracing the lash line for added depth and definition.

When my lipstick has unexpectedly gone missing, filling my lips in completely with my liner then adding lip balm gives me long-lasting lipstick-like creamy color. That same balm has also helped me groom my brows when there was no brow set to be found.

Color theory works as well. Brown eyeliner can be used to fill in your brows in a pinch. Bronzer on the lid makes for a warm shadowed eye. On the road, hair conditioner has doubled as shaving cream -- so much so that I actually prefer it better now.

Products are definitely made and formulated with a specific use in mind, but every now and then a busy girl has to think outside the labels and go with a beauty substitute!