The affordable beauty products Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wears

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez blends so many of my favorite things together. She’s an outspoken woman who’s passionate about the rights of others, she uses affordable and approachable makeup and she even wears a stunning red lip.

In one of Vogue’s most recent Beauty Secrets, the Bronx-born representative for New York’s 14th Congressional District shared her daily skincare and makeup routine.

If you think the products are good, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s message for women in politics wearing makeup is even better. “The reason why I think it’s so important to share these things is that, first of all, femininity has power, and in politics, there is so much criticism and nitpicking about how women and femme people present ourselves,” she said on camera.

“Just being a woman is quite politicized here in Washington. There’s this really false idea that if you care about makeup or if your interests are in beauty and fashion, that that’s somehow frivolous. But I actually think these are some of the most substantive decisions that we make — and we make them every morning.”

What I love about Ocasio-Cortez’s makeup routine is that she uses products the same as the rest of us non-YouTubers, plus everything is under $50.

In the video, we catch glimpses of her sharing her regimen, which includes toner, vitamin C serums, moisturizers and SPF. “Don’t play games with sunscreen!” she tells the camera.

She also, like the rest of us, wants to look put together without trying too hard. “I love beauty, but also, I try not to have a full beat every day,” she told Vogue. “Some days I choose to go in with a bare face, and other days when I want to feel glam, I do glam.”

Maybe her glam is throwing on a bit of glitter onto her lid, something that seems harmless but not without judgment from some of her peers. “As the youngest woman in Congress — and as a woman of color — it’s so hard to be taken seriously.… I would think, ‘Man, [glitter] isn’t going to help me out.’ People already try to diminish me and diminish my voice as young and frivolous and unintelligent.”

We’re happy to say that she realized that wasn’t the case at all. “I tried the shimmer, and it looks fire! It helps me feel better, and I feel like it helps make my eyes pop, so you know what? I was totally wrong.”

Of course, the biggest beauty takeaway from the video was Ocasio-Cortez’s signature red lip, which she realizes is just the right amount of statement-making for someone constantly on the go.

“One of the things that I had realized is that when you’re always running around, sometimes the best way to really look put together is a bold lip,” she tells Vogue. “I will wear a red lip when I want confidence; when I need a boost of confidence.”

Her reaction after applying her red lip is one that’s familiar to every red lip lover. “Boom!” she said. “Even I feel a little more oomph with the red on.”

“If I had to give one piece of advice, it is that the key to beauty is the inside job — the key to beauty is feeling beautiful, and no amount of money or makeup can really compensate for loving yourself,” Ocasio-Cortez says.

She finishes off the video reminding people that while products are great, there’s nothing that substitutes the work of internally beautifying oneself. She explains, “If you need a little boost or if you’re feeling particularly challenged that day, look in the mirror and say, ‘I’m the bomb, and I will make the world a better place in my own little pocket because that’s what I’m here to do.'” She continues, “There’s something that you bring, and you need to know that, and that is the best beauty secret of them all.”

Below, we rounded up some of our favorite products from the video so you can get a little bit of your AOC beauty on! Love ya, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez!