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.

Maybelline Fit Me Matte Plus Poreless Foundation

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.

NYX Professional Dark Circle Concealer

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.

Maybelline New York Instant Age Rewind Dark Circle Treatment Concealer

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.

NYX Away We Glow Highlighter

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.

Maybelline The Falsies Mascara

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!

NYX Micro Brow Pencil

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.

Wet n Wild Proline Felt Tip Eyeliner

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.

NYX Matte Finish Setting Spray

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.)

NYX Lip Lingerie Liquid Lipstick in ‘Exotic’

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)

E.L.F. Studio Hydrating Face Primer

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.

CoverGirl Kitty Kat Matte Lipstick in Kitty Purry

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.

Maybelline Colour Sensational Creamy Matte Lipstick in Touch of Spice

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

Maybelline Colour Sensational Creamy Matte Lipstick in Very Cherry

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.

Wet N Wild Megalast Lip Colour in Sugar Plum Fairy

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.

Wet N Wild Megalast Lip Colour in Vamp It Up

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.

CoverGirl Lash Blast Volume Mascara

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

NYX Waterproof Eyeshadow Primer

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)

Urban Decay Naked2 Palette

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.

NARS Orgasm Blush

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 Powder Blush in Peachykeen

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 1/8^th 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.

MAC Lipstick in Diva

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!