Drugstore Makeup For Beginners

 I feel like I've tried a lot of new things lately that I'm just like "Wow... this would be good for beginners!" So yeah! That's what I'm going to talk about! 

Brushes 

I don't really have many brushes in mind to talk about... but there are some good brands where you can get a set with everything you need in it... but also a couple brushes might just do the trick more than anything else. 

When buying a brush set... I kind of like to look at what's inside of it... if it's a bunch of eye brushes and hardly any face brushes... don't buy it. Honestly you don't need that many eye brushes. I don't really do anything with my brows and I don't wear eyeliner or smudge eyeshadow under my eyes so keep that in mind... but I don't really think you need that much more than a couple of fluffy brushes for the crease and outer corner and a flat brush for eyeshadow. Real techniques and BH Cosmetics have some really good brush sets where you can even get some holders for your brushes... which is awesome but... just kind of keep in mind I tend to just use the basics. 

If you have dry skin... I recommend getting a blending sponge. I like the Real Techniques Diamond Sponges and they have little round ones that I like also... but Ecotools has some good ones and I'm sure there are lots of brands that have good ones. 

Another brush I like is the RT Go Brush from Real Techniques. This is just really easy for multi tasking. It has a big fluffy brush you could use for Blush, Bronzer, Foundation, Powder or whatever you want it for and then a small dense brush that you could use for concealer, possibly foundation and maybe for contour or cream products. So good. 

Also- if you can find them at a good price- I love those brushes that look like toothbrushes. I'm going to show a picture so you can see what I mean... 

These work really well for foundation! Real Techniques has a good one. The ones shown above are from Royal and Langnickel's Moda line... I would just recommend getting a foundation one for beginners... but I love these! 

And don't disregard the brushes that come in palettes. Spongetip applicators can be really good for beginners if it comes with your palette. You can blend things out with your pinky finger and if you really don't want to use brushes- you don't have to! My sister just started using Makeup Brushes last year and I think she still mostly does things with her hands. 

Face Primer 

I like a lot of primers from the drugstore... It's kind of hard to pick just one.... but I think the Maybelline Master Prime line has something that could work for everyone. The Blur and Smooth one is probably one that could work for any skin type- but if you notice your skin is particularly dry maybe try the blur and hydrate. These are good and really affordable. 

If you're maybe an older beginner... I would say Revlon has some good choices. My favorite is the Rose Glow Primer Oil because this is good for my dry skin and it actually feels like a primer instead of just being an oil. I also like their Prime Plus line. They have a perfecting and smoothing version too that I like a lot. It feels very similar to the Maybelline and it's probably double the price... but I like the packaging of the revlon one a little more... so maybe it's a little worth it? Maybe not... but I feel like it works a little bit better too... 

Foundation 

This is tricky because I feel like foundation ALWAYS CHANGES! Once you like something... they'll probably change the formula but... here are some good ones. 

The Revlon Colorstay is kind of a staple in the drugstore for good reason. This will stay on a long time and it will look really good throughout the day. It's also one you can kind of play around with- it doesn't have to be super full coverage- you could use just a little bit and it'll go a long time. You kind of need to play around with it a bit for dry skin... make sure your primer is moisturizing and I'd recommend using a makeup sponge... but this is really good. 

I also would recommend stick foundation for beginners just because- it is so quick and easy to use. I think I'm actually going to repurchase the Ulta Moisturizing Stick Foundation sometime soon. It's just a good one for dry skin and so easy to apply and blend out. It's a good one. Mented Cosmetics also has a stick foundation- I've never used this because I don't think they have a light enough shade for me... Right now I think they only have a few shades- but if you have a deeper skintone maybe try it out- let me know how it is! I love all of the Mented products that I have tried and while they aren't quite drugstore price ranged- it's kind of in the middle like some Nyx products and Pixi by Petra probably... they're now available at Target and Ulta so... it might be more available at drugstores near you. 

Also I don't think I have any specific drugstore ones to recommend... but BB Creams, CC Creams and tinted moisturizers are always great. They're light coverage so you won't use too much, they are usually infused with a primer already and they work better when you apply them without a brush. Sometimes they don't have a great shade selection... so that's a big problem but they're light coverage so it doesn't add too much of a tint. It's just good. 

Cheek Products 

If you really want an all in one cheek product- the Catrice California in a Box is the way to go. It has 2 blushes, a highlight and 2 bronzey contour products. It's only $15 and it just works really well. 

If you just maybe want a blush and a highlight- the Wet n Wild Hello Halo products are great because they come with a blush and a highlight. Elf also has a similar product in their line "Bite Sized" line which looks great. I've never tried the elf ones- but I've seen them used and they look really nice. 

And the Covergirl Instant Cheekbones... these are awesome! 

Ohhh and I've heard good things about the Ulta Baked Sculpt and Glow Palette. I'm going to try that whenever I go to ulta next or make my next ulta order. 

Eyeshadow 

Time for eyeshadow. 

I can't not recommend the Elf Bite Sized eye palettes because... these are just so small, so cheap and so easy to use. They're really good besides all of that too which is awesome but... this is just awesome. 

My new favorite palette is from Colourpop... the Going Coconuts palette. This is just so pretty!!!! It's also super neutral and just really easy to use. 

If you know you're going to wear makeup a lot... I'd recommend the Bare Necessities Palette from Colourpop or the Stone Cold Fox. These are so nice and easy to come up with looks for... it's just a good palette all around. 

Maybelline also has 2 of my favorite palettes from the drugstore. The Matte Bar Eye Palette is probably my favorite all matte palette. It's really pretty and it's easy to use. I actually used this with some single shadows from maybelline... but I'm not sure they actually make those anymore. 

Also the Maybelline Nudes of New York palette is really good. It's got a cool side and a warm side and just... it works well together and it's easy to use! 

And the Maybelline City Mini Palettes are good! I might have to do some looks on these cause it's been a while since I've used them... but I recommend! 

Mascara 

Essence has my favorite drugstore mascaras. The Lash Princess, the I Heart Extreme Mascaras... all really good! 

Lips 

I think I'd have to say the Maybelline Superstay Lip Ink Crayon's are probably the best beginner friendly lip product. They stay on really well and there is every kind of color you could want and these are just easy to use and easy to keep in your purse and apply with no fuss. The Matte ink liquid lipsticks are good too... but I can't recommend beginners try liquid lipsticks really... I still have trouble with liquid lipstick so... yeah. 

Brand Shoutouts 

These aren't anything I have a specific product recommendation for... but an overall brand shoutout where you could just get from this brand and it's cheap and you can get a full face. 

Elf would be the best I think for a full face for beginners. Their products are really good, affordable and easy for beginners to use. 

Wet n Wild is another... don't order off of their website because I've had problems with them... but it's easy to get an affordable full face. You might need to find a different mascara for Wet n Wild and Elf... but that's where my next brand comes into play. 

Essence- I don't know if they have a foundation type product... they must... but other than that- I think I've tried something from all of their products so they're awesome. The Highlighters they have are awesome for beginners and they have pretty good eyeshadows too. 

And Colourpop... not necessarily the most affordable but they are maybe the funnest brand and one that you can probably find every type of product you can imagine. I've never tried their foundation or anything... I might do that soon but... either way I like Colourpop a lot! 

Bye! 

-Shannon