Frugal Friday:Complete Drugstore Makeup Starter Kit
So I think I started this a while ago and I was posting a bunch of stuff and I posted a lot of face products... but this is sort of an updated more comprehensive version. I just happened to have a lot of drugstore makeup out in the open and I was like "why not do an instagram post about favorite drugstore products" and then I though "Wow this is a lot... let's update my blog on my drugstore makeup starter kit with all types of options and stuff!"
A few things to note about this... these are kind of my "ride or die" drugstore favorites. If my entire collection disappeared and I could only repurchase makeup from the drugstore, I would repurchase these and I don't think I'd even miss any of my high end alternatives... so that says A LOT!
Also... A lot of these products are cruelty free... that wasn't really my plan when I started this... it just kind of happened that way. I don't want to list too too much here... but there is a lot of drugstore makeup that is cruelty free... but maybe I'll throw one in when I can. If you're looking for a cruelty free alternative to something the brands I would check are Nyx and Ulta brand. They have a lot of products and they probably have something similar to what you're looking for. Nyx is owned by a brand that tests, Ulta is not... so that's something to note too.
Face Primer
Alright for Face Primer I have the Maybelline Face Studio Master Prime in Blur and Illuminate. This is great, I really feel like it does blur my pores a little bit and it definitely illuminates my face a lot too. I've heard the regular formula is also very good for this primer... I like glowy primers. I might need to test this against the Benefit That Gal primer just to see if there is one thats better than the other. I would say these work for just about anyone. Its really good.
Foundation
My favorite drugstore foundation is the Maybelline Superstay Better Skin. I think if you'tr motor dry/combo skin this is a good option... but I don't think I'll talk about this today because I really don't think this is the foundation that would work for everyone.
I think the Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation is one that can really work for anyone. I have dry skin, this doesn't look too cakey or unnatural on me. It just has a really nice matte finish and its just a good foundation. I just posted this on instagram and Meganannemakeup commented that she wears it to work and she works 13 hours or more... so that is pretty cool!
Setting Spray
If you get either the L'oreal or Maybelline Setting Spray... it'll work well and it'll get the job done. I'd get whichever one is cheaper because I think the ingredients are just about the same... so if L'oreal is on sale, or if you have a coupon for L'oreal... get the L'oreal. If you have a coupon for maybelline or thats cheaper, get that one. If one brand looks opened and used in the store and the other brand looks untouched... just get whichever looks better or is more affordable. I've used the Maybelline one as a primer also and it was in the summer, it was hot out... and it worked really well!
Honorable Mention to the Pixi Glow Mist. I love this setting spray... but keep in mind I'm pretty sure its the same price as Mac Fix Plus... so its sort of like why bother calling it drugstore. It is a good cruelty free alternative, but it isn't what I'd go with if you want an affordable setting spray.
Powder
The Elf HD Powder is great. The loose powder, the pressed powder, the undereye setting powder... all good. Drugstore powders aren't always cheap... and it seems slightly ridiculous to me... there's a $20 Nyx powder at Ulta... don't buy that! Just get one of the Elf ones and you'll be good!
Blush
Definitely the Milani blushes. I love their baked blushes, the rose blushes are nice too and those are my favorite for traveling. Luminoso is probably my favorite, I also have Berry Amore and the Romantic Rose rose blush... all are really good. A lot of the baked ones are really shimmery so you don't really need a highlight with it... The Romantic Rose can also sort of cheat a contour. Its really really good.
Contour
I only have contour powders from the drugstore and the one I would recommend most for beginners is probably the Elf Contour palette. Its very easy to use... any of these Elf Face palettes are great... I mean idk about the foundation ones really... but the illuminating one and the blush ones are honorable mentions... so I'm just going to mention them here.
But the Elf Contour Kit is just very easy to use and blend. It doesn't have a ton of product in it... but it is a really great little set. I don't see why anyone would pay more than $8 for a contour. Lol.
Concealer/ Color Correcting
For Concealer I'd definitely recommend the Maybelline Better Skin. I'm picky with my concealer and I really really like this one, it actually works and its not just a gimmick. Its really nice.
Color Correcting was a huge trend during the beginning of this year... its died down I think since everyone realized it was a little pointless and just too much to do... but these are nice and creamy. I like the green for blemishes, the yellow for an eye primer because you can kinda see the veins on my brownone... the salmon color is good to cover darkness before concealer... this is something you definitely don't need to have a ton of or spend a ton of money on, so I like this Nyx palette just for that. I don't see the point in it and it was really nice.
Highlight
If you're just starting with makeup, I would say the Elf Illuminating palette might be better just because that is very subtle... but I'm going to recommend something else just because its my favorite...
And of corse you know it is the Wet n wild Boozy Brunch Highlight! This is apparently a dupe for Champagne Pop from Becca... I don't have that. I don't have the Wet n Wild summer collection highlights... but honestly after having this I feel okay on highlights for a while... I don't think I've gotten any other than the Elf palette since buying this... so this has helped my highlight addiction a lot!
Bronzer
You probably know what I'm going to say here... Physician's formula butter bronzer! This is just the best! I love how it blends and how it looks on the skin. Its natural looking and pretty. I like the smell too. Its nice!
Eye Primer
I'm between the Maybelline Master Prime Matte and the Elf Primer and Liner Sealer. I'm going to recommend the Elf one just because. Lol. I think things last a little longer with the elf one and I like the liner sealer too! And I don't have a liquid eyeliner cause thats not really my thing, but this makes it super easy to use a shadow and make it a liner... so I like that!
Holiday Sets
I'm just going to mention some all-in one holiday sets... they don't have them every year... and I'm not sure if they are consistent with how they come out with them... but I wanted to mention a couple that i have and love also.
The Pixi by Petra Ultimate Beauty Kit 2nd Edition. This was an awesome thing that I got when I was starting out with makeup. Tati did a review on this when it came out and a few months later I saw it on sale and I got it... and this is something that I still think has great quality even though its so much older. It has a cooler side with some purples, a warm side with some golds, and a side for highlights and blushes. These were the first highlights I had and I really really liked them and the blushes were really nice too. I just think this one is great.
I'm also going to mention the Nyx Butt Naked Underneath it All Palette. This I want to use a little more now because the colors are nice for fall. The blushes and highlighters are also really nice and just pretty colors.
Nyx has some all in one palettes now called the "wanderlust" palettes that I hear are great and Pixi has "The Art of Minimal Makeup" or something that is probably great. If you don't want to wait to see if these brands have a good holiday set... I would say one of those is probably just as good if not better quality.
Eye Palettes
These are just permanent little palettes that are really good too! There are 3 I'm going to mention and they aren't things people typically mention.
First off if you want a very basic but pretty, quick look Wet n Wild's Sweet as Candy is the best. There's a beautiful pink color and a nice crease color and a white highlight color. All so pretty, makes a great neutral look. Super affordable and really a great little trio!
Next I'll go with the 2nd most affordable or the 2nd most expensive palette here, if you're a glass half empty person... the Makeup Revolution Romantic Smokey palette! This is the only palette from MUR that I have, but I really love the color selection and I think its really great. It has 6 shimmers and 6 mattes. The colors in this are pretty unique, which is why I grabbed this instead of any of the other Makeup revolution palette. I think this is great to have if you want to get into some colors, but its still a little scary because these are all pretty neutral but you could still get a more colorful look than you can from something like the Naked palette from Urban Decay. Its maybe the best $7 I've ever spent. Really great product.
And last but not least, the Elf Mad for Matte palette! This is such a great matte or neutral palette. If you have a lot of single shadows, this is the perfect compliment to them, but it also works so well on its own too. I actually did a look inspired by Felicity on Arrow with this last year and I did a pink lip... it was so pretty! You can check it out here if you want. But yeah... I want to use this... tomorrow maybe lol.
Eyeshadow
There are so many I could talk about... The L'oreal Infallibles are probably the best though hands down. There are so many colors that are just sooo pretty. They're really pigmented. These are more expensive than Mac shadows now... but they're probably better than Mac shadows... I've never tried them.... but its really pretty and nice.
A dupe for those that might be cruelty free are the Palladio Crushed Shadows. I think these are a little cheaper and they're cruelty free too I believe... could be wrong. These are harder to find and I don't think there is as much of a color selection... but it is really really good. I would definitely recommend it.
Eyeliner
Nyx Slide on Glide On. I think I prefer Colourpop... and colourpop is a little cheaper... but I want to do a true drugstore starter kit... so I'm not going to include colourpop... I have a tricky waterline and these work really well in my waterline and there are a lot of nice colors. Its a good drugstore thing!
Mascara
I'm not the best authority on Mascara cause I basically use 2 different mascaras... but my favorite and most repurchased mascaras are the Amped Lashes Mascara and the Rain Coat Topcoat. The Amped Lashes Waterproof is great too... I just really like the Ulta brand. I'm branching out and trying new mascaras from Ulta... but the Ulta ones are my favorite for sensitive eyes.
Lips
For Liner I'm going to say the Essence Liners. These are awesome and creamy. I use them all the time I have quite a few... and they're really good.
I also really like pretty much every maybelline lipstick. The Matte lipsticks are my favorite from the line. I also really like the Color Elixers. The color elixirs have kind of a smell to them... but the Mattes are really nice and I like them a lot. Touch of Spice is the best.
Covergirl's Katy Kat Mattes are great too! They have similar formulas, so I would recommend those also.
For Liquid Lipstick I love the Nyx Liquid Suade lipsticks. I think these are things people either love or hate... I love them!
Nail Polish
Just going to mention On a Trip from Wet n Wild because that is just my favorite. Its a great color and the formula is really really nice too. Its so pretty and nice and I just love it!
I hope this was helpful... I really hope it was helpful lol. This took surprisingly long to write! I have just been loving drugstore makeup lately and while trying to come up with an instagram post that became sort of an epically long thing that I'm really proud of. I truly think if I just had these items, I'd have a really great makeup collection! These are just great products and I recommend them all highly!
Byeee!
-Shannon
A few things to note about this... these are kind of my "ride or die" drugstore favorites. If my entire collection disappeared and I could only repurchase makeup from the drugstore, I would repurchase these and I don't think I'd even miss any of my high end alternatives... so that says A LOT!
Also... A lot of these products are cruelty free... that wasn't really my plan when I started this... it just kind of happened that way. I don't want to list too too much here... but there is a lot of drugstore makeup that is cruelty free... but maybe I'll throw one in when I can. If you're looking for a cruelty free alternative to something the brands I would check are Nyx and Ulta brand. They have a lot of products and they probably have something similar to what you're looking for. Nyx is owned by a brand that tests, Ulta is not... so that's something to note too.
Face Primer
Alright for Face Primer I have the Maybelline Face Studio Master Prime in Blur and Illuminate. This is great, I really feel like it does blur my pores a little bit and it definitely illuminates my face a lot too. I've heard the regular formula is also very good for this primer... I like glowy primers. I might need to test this against the Benefit That Gal primer just to see if there is one thats better than the other. I would say these work for just about anyone. Its really good.
Foundation
My favorite drugstore foundation is the Maybelline Superstay Better Skin. I think if you'tr motor dry/combo skin this is a good option... but I don't think I'll talk about this today because I really don't think this is the foundation that would work for everyone.
I think the Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation is one that can really work for anyone. I have dry skin, this doesn't look too cakey or unnatural on me. It just has a really nice matte finish and its just a good foundation. I just posted this on instagram and Meganannemakeup commented that she wears it to work and she works 13 hours or more... so that is pretty cool!
Setting Spray
If you get either the L'oreal or Maybelline Setting Spray... it'll work well and it'll get the job done. I'd get whichever one is cheaper because I think the ingredients are just about the same... so if L'oreal is on sale, or if you have a coupon for L'oreal... get the L'oreal. If you have a coupon for maybelline or thats cheaper, get that one. If one brand looks opened and used in the store and the other brand looks untouched... just get whichever looks better or is more affordable. I've used the Maybelline one as a primer also and it was in the summer, it was hot out... and it worked really well!
Honorable Mention to the Pixi Glow Mist. I love this setting spray... but keep in mind I'm pretty sure its the same price as Mac Fix Plus... so its sort of like why bother calling it drugstore. It is a good cruelty free alternative, but it isn't what I'd go with if you want an affordable setting spray.
Powder
The Elf HD Powder is great. The loose powder, the pressed powder, the undereye setting powder... all good. Drugstore powders aren't always cheap... and it seems slightly ridiculous to me... there's a $20 Nyx powder at Ulta... don't buy that! Just get one of the Elf ones and you'll be good!
Blush
Definitely the Milani blushes. I love their baked blushes, the rose blushes are nice too and those are my favorite for traveling. Luminoso is probably my favorite, I also have Berry Amore and the Romantic Rose rose blush... all are really good. A lot of the baked ones are really shimmery so you don't really need a highlight with it... The Romantic Rose can also sort of cheat a contour. Its really really good.
Contour
I only have contour powders from the drugstore and the one I would recommend most for beginners is probably the Elf Contour palette. Its very easy to use... any of these Elf Face palettes are great... I mean idk about the foundation ones really... but the illuminating one and the blush ones are honorable mentions... so I'm just going to mention them here.
But the Elf Contour Kit is just very easy to use and blend. It doesn't have a ton of product in it... but it is a really great little set. I don't see why anyone would pay more than $8 for a contour. Lol.
Concealer/ Color Correcting
For Concealer I'd definitely recommend the Maybelline Better Skin. I'm picky with my concealer and I really really like this one, it actually works and its not just a gimmick. Its really nice.
Color Correcting was a huge trend during the beginning of this year... its died down I think since everyone realized it was a little pointless and just too much to do... but these are nice and creamy. I like the green for blemishes, the yellow for an eye primer because you can kinda see the veins on my brownone... the salmon color is good to cover darkness before concealer... this is something you definitely don't need to have a ton of or spend a ton of money on, so I like this Nyx palette just for that. I don't see the point in it and it was really nice.
Highlight
If you're just starting with makeup, I would say the Elf Illuminating palette might be better just because that is very subtle... but I'm going to recommend something else just because its my favorite...
And of corse you know it is the Wet n wild Boozy Brunch Highlight! This is apparently a dupe for Champagne Pop from Becca... I don't have that. I don't have the Wet n Wild summer collection highlights... but honestly after having this I feel okay on highlights for a while... I don't think I've gotten any other than the Elf palette since buying this... so this has helped my highlight addiction a lot!
Bronzer
You probably know what I'm going to say here... Physician's formula butter bronzer! This is just the best! I love how it blends and how it looks on the skin. Its natural looking and pretty. I like the smell too. Its nice!
Eye Primer
I'm between the Maybelline Master Prime Matte and the Elf Primer and Liner Sealer. I'm going to recommend the Elf one just because. Lol. I think things last a little longer with the elf one and I like the liner sealer too! And I don't have a liquid eyeliner cause thats not really my thing, but this makes it super easy to use a shadow and make it a liner... so I like that!
Holiday Sets
I'm just going to mention some all-in one holiday sets... they don't have them every year... and I'm not sure if they are consistent with how they come out with them... but I wanted to mention a couple that i have and love also.
The Pixi by Petra Ultimate Beauty Kit 2nd Edition. This was an awesome thing that I got when I was starting out with makeup. Tati did a review on this when it came out and a few months later I saw it on sale and I got it... and this is something that I still think has great quality even though its so much older. It has a cooler side with some purples, a warm side with some golds, and a side for highlights and blushes. These were the first highlights I had and I really really liked them and the blushes were really nice too. I just think this one is great.
I'm also going to mention the Nyx Butt Naked Underneath it All Palette. This I want to use a little more now because the colors are nice for fall. The blushes and highlighters are also really nice and just pretty colors.
Nyx has some all in one palettes now called the "wanderlust" palettes that I hear are great and Pixi has "The Art of Minimal Makeup" or something that is probably great. If you don't want to wait to see if these brands have a good holiday set... I would say one of those is probably just as good if not better quality.
Eye Palettes
These are just permanent little palettes that are really good too! There are 3 I'm going to mention and they aren't things people typically mention.
First off if you want a very basic but pretty, quick look Wet n Wild's Sweet as Candy is the best. There's a beautiful pink color and a nice crease color and a white highlight color. All so pretty, makes a great neutral look. Super affordable and really a great little trio!
Next I'll go with the 2nd most affordable or the 2nd most expensive palette here, if you're a glass half empty person... the Makeup Revolution Romantic Smokey palette! This is the only palette from MUR that I have, but I really love the color selection and I think its really great. It has 6 shimmers and 6 mattes. The colors in this are pretty unique, which is why I grabbed this instead of any of the other Makeup revolution palette. I think this is great to have if you want to get into some colors, but its still a little scary because these are all pretty neutral but you could still get a more colorful look than you can from something like the Naked palette from Urban Decay. Its maybe the best $7 I've ever spent. Really great product.
And last but not least, the Elf Mad for Matte palette! This is such a great matte or neutral palette. If you have a lot of single shadows, this is the perfect compliment to them, but it also works so well on its own too. I actually did a look inspired by Felicity on Arrow with this last year and I did a pink lip... it was so pretty! You can check it out here if you want. But yeah... I want to use this... tomorrow maybe lol.
Eyeshadow
There are so many I could talk about... The L'oreal Infallibles are probably the best though hands down. There are so many colors that are just sooo pretty. They're really pigmented. These are more expensive than Mac shadows now... but they're probably better than Mac shadows... I've never tried them.... but its really pretty and nice.
A dupe for those that might be cruelty free are the Palladio Crushed Shadows. I think these are a little cheaper and they're cruelty free too I believe... could be wrong. These are harder to find and I don't think there is as much of a color selection... but it is really really good. I would definitely recommend it.
Eyeliner
Nyx Slide on Glide On. I think I prefer Colourpop... and colourpop is a little cheaper... but I want to do a true drugstore starter kit... so I'm not going to include colourpop... I have a tricky waterline and these work really well in my waterline and there are a lot of nice colors. Its a good drugstore thing!
Mascara
I'm not the best authority on Mascara cause I basically use 2 different mascaras... but my favorite and most repurchased mascaras are the Amped Lashes Mascara and the Rain Coat Topcoat. The Amped Lashes Waterproof is great too... I just really like the Ulta brand. I'm branching out and trying new mascaras from Ulta... but the Ulta ones are my favorite for sensitive eyes.
Lips
For Liner I'm going to say the Essence Liners. These are awesome and creamy. I use them all the time I have quite a few... and they're really good.
I also really like pretty much every maybelline lipstick. The Matte lipsticks are my favorite from the line. I also really like the Color Elixers. The color elixirs have kind of a smell to them... but the Mattes are really nice and I like them a lot. Touch of Spice is the best.
Covergirl's Katy Kat Mattes are great too! They have similar formulas, so I would recommend those also.
For Liquid Lipstick I love the Nyx Liquid Suade lipsticks. I think these are things people either love or hate... I love them!
Nail Polish
Just going to mention On a Trip from Wet n Wild because that is just my favorite. Its a great color and the formula is really really nice too. Its so pretty and nice and I just love it!
I hope this was helpful... I really hope it was helpful lol. This took surprisingly long to write! I have just been loving drugstore makeup lately and while trying to come up with an instagram post that became sort of an epically long thing that I'm really proud of. I truly think if I just had these items, I'd have a really great makeup collection! These are just great products and I recommend them all highly!
Byeee!
-Shannon
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