Wednesday 8 August 2018

What’s In My Makeup Bag: Drugstore Edition


Had this been three years ago, this post would not exist. I used to be that girl that lived in Sephora and MAC and could easily drop $300 a month on makeup. Now that I’ve grown up, I’ve come to realize that there’s some really good brands at great prices. Personally my favourites are NYX and ELF, but I own quite a bit of Maybelline products, too.

You know when you don’t want to spend the money on a Sephora foundation but you don’t want to look like you spent $3 on your foundation? This is literally the perfect foundation for that. I wear Natural Ivory in the summer months but switch to Porcelain for the winter months.

I had some free points to use at my drugstore recently so decided to try this concealer and I have to stay: it’s an absolute game changer! As someone who has hereditary bags under their eyes, this stuff actually works. It’s one of the few concealers that I find actually gets rid of the darkness under my eyes.

This is my usual go-to concealer and has been since I was in my late teens. I will never not love it and it will always be a staple in my makeup bag. It hasn’t been sitting as high up in my bag as the NYX one recently, but I want to try to layer and blend them in the near future to see what results I get.

I love this highlighter in daytime halo. It’s honestly the perfect highlighter when you’re feeling tired and want to give your face that little bit of love it deserves. It isn’t too luminizing either, which makes it good for work.

I discovered this mascara when I wanted to switch from Benefit’s They’re Real and this is honestly the perfect dupe. Read below for my next drugstore mascara I’m dying to try!

Let me tell a little story – I went from Brow Wiz to the Sephora version to this and this is my favourite! The pencil leaves your eyebrows looking long lasting. Plus I find the chocolate matches my complexion and hair better than any other pencil I’ve tried.

I’m not a giant liquid eyeliner fan. I would just rather do a neutral smoky eye and mascara. However, from time to time I do like to throw some eyeliner on. I hate spending tons of money on a liquid liner for how little use I get out of them. This is such a great product for the price tag. In an extremely unpopular opinion, I honestly think I may prefer this eyeliner over KVD’s Tattoo Liner.

I love NYX’s setting sprays. I fell in love with this spray back when Target was in Canada but stopped using it when Target closed. I picked it up recently and remembered why I loved it so much.
(For reference, it reminds me of a dupe of this setting spray by UD.)

This lipstick has easily become my everyday lipstick. I love it so much! It’s long lasting and the colour is so nice. My next purchases from this line are going to be ‘French Maid’ and ‘Bedtime Flirt’.

Not currently in my bag, but deserve honorable mentions…
(products I’ve tried in the past and loved)

Although I haven’t used it in months, I love this primer! It’s so great and I treat it as a 2-in-1 so I leave the moisturizer behind. I also love the green version of this for when your skin’s a little redder than usual! It gets rid of my rosy cheeks that sometimes still sticks out with foundation on.

As weird as it sounds, CoverGirl’s lipsticks are my favourite scent-wise. I find some have an off smell yet theirs are bearable. I love the shade Kitty Purry as a basic subtle pink. I used it until I ran out and definitely need to pick up another tube the next time I’m running errands.

This is definitely one of my favourite fall colours! It’s a dupe of Bite Beauty’s Rosewood and perfect for an everyday look.

If you know me, you know I’m a sucker for a good red lipstick. If I could wear red lipstick without worrying about it bleeding, running etc., every day I would. I lived off MAC’s Ruby Woo for two years and this is the closest dupe I’ve found to date. Plus, it’s a fantastic quality red for being drugstore quality.

Another MAC lipstick that I used to live for was Rebel. When I reached the point in my life when I realized that I couldn’t be dropping money on lipstick like I was, I researched like crazy. I found this Wet N Wild dupe as well as others (see below) from this line.

So this is a dupe for MAC Cyber, which is super out of my “style” but one lipstick I will always love. I have tubes of both Cyber and Vamp It Up; Cyber will always be one MAC purchase I will make. As much as I love Vamp It Up, I find it stains my lips really bad.

Sixteen year old me loved this mascara like it was nobody’s business. I definitely need to pick up a tube of it ASAP.

I have yet to find a good drugstore eyeshadow palette (if you know any let me know in the comments)! But when I’m using my Too Faced and Urban Decay palettes, this base is the first thing I use. When doing my eye makeup, it’s one product that I can’t live without!

Four “luxury” items I will always splurge on:
(there’s four items – two blushes that I can’t replace with drugstore products and thought I would share them now, too)

As I previously mentioned, I have yet to find a drugstore eyeshadow palette that I love. I do however, love my Naked2 + my Naked2 Basics palettes. I’ve had both palettes for 3-4 years and have only hit pan on two colours on my Naked2 palette (bootycall and tease). It’s definitely an investment makeup piece that I will use for years.

To me, NARS blushes will always be worth the price. They’re so pigmented and feel so great on the skin. I own both Orgasm and Torrid but typically use Orgasm more. Funny enough about blush – I hadn’t put it on in over a year and recently put it on and forgot how much I loved it. I definitely need to start using it again. I personally find blush, especially Orgasm, adds so much extra depth to makeup.

MAC blushes were one of my first more expensive makeup purchases and I will always love them. Just like NARS blushes, I find the pigmentation so worth the money. They last so long because I use about 1/8th of what I use with drugstore makeup. For years, LoveCloud was my go-to blush but it’s been discontinued. One of the makeup artists at MAC suggested Peachykeen to me as an alternative and I fell in love.

Okay so this is the one lipstick I don’t like any of the dupes for. It’s the most perfect burgundy though. I have a specific style I have when I wear this lipstick – striped t-shirt, cardigan and jeans with loose waves. It’s the weirdest combination but I sometimes pair it with my Orgasm blush and it looks so good, too.

What’s your favourite drugstore makeup product? Let me know in the comments – I’m always looking for new affordable makeup!

7 comments :

  1. Thanks for sharing all these products! I love the Nyx setting spray too. I love Almay's Powder Bronzer. It's amazing!

    https://www.kathrineeldridge.com

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  2. Great post! It's so nice that there are affordable makeup options out there. I am with you on the NARS blush though! It's definitely worth the splurge. It's so pigmented and mine has lasted forever!

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  3. You have some great makeup products . I love Loreal lilpsicks and NYX too.

    Nina's Style Blog

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  4. Do you know that I've never tried any MAC products?? I kept thinking as I got older I would someday graduate to them, but I still love many of the less expensive products. NYX has been a personal favorite for many things lately!!
    XOXO
    Jodie
    www.jtouchofstyle.com

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  5. Ooo I should definitely do a post like this sometime! Love it!

    www.jessicabroyles.com

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  6. My makeup bag is definitely a mix of high/low products. I swear by my covergirl eyeliner, but splurge on Clinique face products!

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  7. Great list! I've always been a fan of Maybelline mascaras but I haven't tried the Falsies yet.

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