Best Drugstore Makeup

If you have seen my makeup collection - both personal and professional - you will know that I have a huge range of makeup brands from drugstore, to high end, to international (e.g. Korean and Japanese) brands.  I am always looking for the best and I wanted to recommend some amazing drugstore products that I have come accross!  Because I deal with the wedding industry a lot, this is more geared towards makeup with good coverage, is cry-proof, and good longevity.

Best drugstore foundation:

Revlon Colorstay Foundation - they have formulas for both dry-normal skin and oily skin.  It gives a nice matte finish - perfect for pictures!  Although it says it has SPF in it, the amount of titanium oxide in the formulas will not create enough flash bounce back (creating that whitish aura on your skin) enough in photos.

About $20

Best drugstore concealer:

Maybelline Coverstick - it's so easy to use and the coverage is amazing on scars and pimples.  It's too thick for undereye circles - you need to sheer it down with some moisturizer before applying.  You can also apply this over the eyelids as a shadow primer.  Although not as effective as Urban Decay Primer Potion, it'll still work through long enough to take your photos.  This doesn't have any SPF in it so there is no white bounce backs!

About $7-8

Best drugstore powder:

Okay - I had a hard time finding a powder that I liked.  A lot of them made my skin break out (especially covergirl).  The one that I would recommend is the NYC Smooth Skin Loose Powder.  Great for maintaining a matte finish throughout the day.  It comes with a powder puff too so you don't have to spend extra money buying a puff or brush to use it.

About $5-7

Best drugstore eyeliner (pencil):

Styli-style Line & Seal 24hr - This pencil goes on and just doesn't want to come off.  It has amazing staying power.  Once you put it on, you probably have about 10seconds to smudge it, and then it sets and it will not budge after that.  I could only get this pencil at Rexall Drugstores.  It won't come off easily with just soap and water, you'll need waterproof makeup remover (or olive oil/baby oil).  I've also heard good things about the Prestige liners.

About $7

 

Best drugstore eyeliner (liquid):  

Loreal Telescopic Liquid Eyeliner - This is an amazing liquid liner with a felt tip for easy application.  The felt tip brush is dippable into the formula (unlike pens that dry out too quickly) so you are able to use up the product efficiently.  This product DOES NOT SMUDGE.  This is a product that is best used personally since the brush is dipped back into product (no contaminating the product for clients please!).  To take off, you actually have to rub it off with warm water.  Very similar formula to the MAC Superslick ($17.50) and the KissMe liquid liners ($30).

About $10

Best drugstore eyeshadows:

NYX eyeshadows - hands down you get your bang for your buck.  Great pigmentation and CHEAP.  I always recommend getting a matte black, a frosty white, and a vanilla/skin color shadow.  Every other color is just an accent color.!.

About $3-8 depending if you want single shadows or palettes

Best drugstore mascara:

Covergirl Lashblast (Waterproof) and Maybelline Falsies (Waterproof) - The CG Lashblast hardly smudges and gives a natural coat to your lashes.  It's really hard to clump the formula on your lashes.  The Maybelline Falsies is awesome of you want volume and a tiny bit of length to the lashes...mine are non existent so I like the Falsies better.  It smudges a little but it's hardly noticeable.  I have oily skin so if it smudges only a little, it would be awesome for normal to dry skin people.) -

Best drugstore blush:

I haven't really found much difference with drugstore blushes and high end brand blushes.  If you find a cheap blush, just go for it.  Best bang for your buck is the NYX blush.  Mauve is a pretty color.

About $4-5

Best drugstore bronzer:

Rimmel Natural Bronzer - Nice matte bronzer - I don't like shimmery bronzers because it can sometimes flash weird.  With matte bronzers, you can also use it to contour the hollows of your cheek or any areas you want to create shadows and make skinner.  

About $7

Best drugstore lipstick:

Covergirl Outlast All Day Lipcolor - I am not a fan of Covergirl, but man, this product works!  It literally stays on your lips all day except for when I was eating a pound of greasy chicken wings.  It applies with a doefoot applicator, then wait about 60 seconds for it to bind to your lips, then apply a semi-shiny top coat on top.  I choose this one out of the other long wear lipsticks/lipcolors because it comes with that semi-shiny top coat that you can bring with you and apply if you want a little shine throughout the day.

About $8-10

Best drugstore lipgloss

Covergirl Wetslicks - I really enjoyed this lipgloss and is the only drugstore lipgloss that I finished.  It has a nice non-sticky shine to it and it feels like it's hugging the lips.  I actually like it more than my high end lip glosses (e.g. MAC and YSL golden gloss - that has 24karat gold in it!)
About $10

Best drugstore fake eyelashes and lash glue:

- Ardell fake lashes and Duo lash glues are the best to get.  Ardell lashes have a thin band so it curves to the eye a lot better without lifting at the ends compared to other lashes.  The Duo glues come in clear and dark-tone.  If you're an expert in applying lashes, use the dark-tone.  If you're just starting out on putting lashes on, start with the clear tone.  Reason being that if you get the dark-tone glue on your eyelids with your eyeshadow already on, it's going to dry a dark mark on your lids and is hard to come off without wrecking your work.  If you're allergic to latex, do not buy Duo.  Ardell and Duo can be bought at Rexall Drugs.

These drugstore products will give you the most bang for your buck.  In my opinion, some of these products are better than high end brand products! Good luck!!