Must-Have Drugstore Products for 2019 - Hits and Misses
So I went and picked up some products from the drugstore and gave 'em a test run. Y'all!!!
Most of these products blew me away with the prices and the quality. A few products just left me feeling...ehh about them. So let's jump right into it, shall we?
Nyx Pore Filler Primer ($5) - Listen, this is the primer you want if you have an issue with pores. So far, this has been THE BEST pore filler I have ever used. It's a great dupe for Benefit's Porefessional Primer and for half the price of their mini bottle.
Wet n Wild Photo Focus Foundation ($5) - For just under $5, this foundation fills some bigs shoes compared to my all-time favorite luxury foundation. The Photo Focus foundation is light-weight, full coverage foundation that doesn't feel sticky and leaves your skin flawless and camera ready. No filter needed.
Nyx HD Photogenic Concealer ($6) - I've had this concealer on for HOURS and I really can't complain. I was a little worried at first because it was a lot pinker and than my go-to Shaptape shade, but it actually perfect. I used the Photogenic concealer to highlight with and it was light and didn't draw attention to any of the fine lines under my eyes. This particular concealer has over 20 available shades and 3 color correcting shades as well.
Maybelline Fit Me Pressed Powder ($6) - This stuff, WOW! I have combination skin and this powder looks so natural on my skin. I used this powder to set my under eyes, forehead, and nose to prevent the concealer from breaking up or creasing. Like the pore filler, this product virtually blurred out my pores and left my skin looking natural and flawless. YAAASSS!
Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer ($8.50) - Just the smell of this bronzer alone makes you wish you were on a beach, under a palm tree, sipping on a yummy island cocktail. You put the lime in the coconut, you drank 'em bot' up. This bronzer lives up to its name, it's buttery and gives you a "lit-from-within tropical glow" that isn't drying and has an ultra-luxurious finish on your skin. I used this to contour my cheekbones, forehead, nose, and jawline to give me a light sunkissed glow.
Milani Baked Blush ($7) - This is more than just a freaking gorgeous blush. It shapes, contours, and highlights to give you the best, most radiant finish I've ever seen in a blush. Holy cannoli.
Maybelline Fit Me Loose Finishing Powder ($6) - I used this to set my entire face quickly and bake. The only complaint, if you want to call it that, it had just a little, light pink color hue to it. I normally prefer my finishing powder to be translucent, but this one did just give me a little more brightness to my face, which isn't terrible, just not what I'm used to. Overall, I'm happy with how well it worked - it controlled the shine and gave my skin a smooth look. Not bad, Maybelline, not bad at all.
Wet n Wild MegaGlo Highlighting Powder ($5) - Okay, I'm not going to lie to you, I was a little skeptical with this highlight at first. I've heard AMAZING things about this highlight and didn't even think twice when I tossed it in my basket the other day. I swatched it and was like, "okay, I see you highlight." I started applying with my brush and wasn't seeing much product. Alright, no biggie, let's just build it up. Another go around or two with the brush and I wasn't getting the blinding highlight that I was expecting. Now, I live for my highlight brush, it picks up product beautifully and applies like a dream, but this particular highlight was so pressed it just wasn't working for me. So I picked up my trusty beauty sponge and the highlighter applied like a wet dream. OMG. It gave me the blinding highlight I was going for. But anyway, I would definitely recommend applying this highlight with a damp beauty sponge so you can get the best application. It's super pigmented and has a velvety finish on your skin.
Elf Ultra Precise Brow Pencil ($5) - This brow pencil did a pretty decent job for me. Since I have blonde eyebrows, I chose the shade, Neutral Brown. It looked natural and stayed on all day. The only complaints I have on this pencil, I hate the spoolie at the end of the pencil; way too short and way too sharp, not the best quality, but it still did the job, just took a little longer. Second, this pencil is so skinny and not comfortable in the hand. It took a lot more work to achieve the process of filling and shaping thy brows. Overall, the product was good, spoolie was awful and the size was too small, I prefer something fatter in my hand.
Moving on...
I picked up 4 eyeshadows to create my eye look.
Maybelline in shade Linen ($3) - Used in my transition area and to blend out harsh lines. A little patchy, but buildable, just an OK of an eyeshadow. I'd probably use this again if I were in a pinch or just need a little bit of a natural shadow to blend out any harsh lines.
L'oreal Colour Riche Mono Shadow in shade Cafe au Lait - Matte ($5) - I used this in my crease to give my eye some definition. It's a gorgeous grey-brown shade and was so creamy. It applied wonderfully and held up all day. Can't complain.
L'oreal Colour Riche Mono Shadow in shade Pain au Chocolat -Shimmer ($5) - Applied to entire lid. Normally, I would apply a shimmer shadow with a wet brush that I spray with a setting spray, this makes the shimmer shadow stick to your lid without fallout, the pigmentation is better, and it just looks better, if you ask me. But for the purpose of my test run, I did not do that. I wanted to see how well the product stayed in place without setting it. 50/50. Beautiful, beautiful color, applied easily, had some fallout during application, stayed in place for bit, but started getting patchy after a few hours of wear. I'm definitely going to use this product again, I want to see how well it holds up when I apply it with a wet brush.
UPDATE - I tried this shadow again over the weekend. This time I applied it with a wet brush and it was much more pigmented and shimmery and it didn't really break up much after a few hours of wear. So overall, I'm pleased with it.
L'oreal Crushed Foils Metallic Shadow in Diamond Dust ($10) - A little pricier for a single, drugstore shadow, but it was love at first. Does have some fall out when applying, but that was expected since it is a metallic foil shadow. I applied this shadow, by finger, to only the center of my lid to give the look a little something-something. Again, I recommend applying wet and just dabbing in on the lid. However, it really dissipated shortly after applying. Bummer.
UPDATE- I also tried this shadow again and just dabbed it to the center of my lid using the same wet brush from before. This time was a little better, but not much. It gave me a little more pigment and a little more brightness, but still, it just didn't hold up as well as I hoped. Double bummer.
Maybelline's Blackest Black Gel Eyeliner ($8) - Hands down, the blackest, best gel liner I've ever used. I applied it with an angled liner brush to create a sassy cat eye look. I can't begin to explain my love for this liner. It holds up, it's comfortable, doesn't crease, it's as black as night and just perfect. Get it! You won't be sorry.
L'oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise Mascara ($9) - I've mentioned using this mascara before in my How I Glam in 10 Minutes post and how it helps me achieve my dream of having long, feathery, beautiful lashes instead of short, stumpy, blonde lashes. This mascara gives you volume and length, doesn't flake and lasts all *claps* damn *claps* day! *claaaaapppppss*
Elf Starstruck Lashes ($4) - These are my favorite natural looking fake lashes. If you want to just add a little flair to your eyes, but still keep them natural, these are the lashes for you. They look and feel real, lightweight and super easy to apply.
Last but not least...
Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in shade Nude Lust ($5.50) - I LOOOOOOOOVE this color and lipstick so much. Hands down, my favorite drugstore lipstick ever. It's not too nude or too pink. It's actually very close to my natural lip color, just a pinch darker. So it gives me a natural yet gorgeous lip that lasts for hours.
Overall, I'm pretty pleased with a majority of these products and was very surprised to see how they worked and held up. Confession, I'm normally a bit of snob when it comes skincare and makeup. I like to have the best quality items that really do the best job for me; those items are normally the luxury brands that you get at Sephora or Ulta. But, it looks like my opinion has changed. I found some really great gems in the drugstore products. I can definitely say I will be grabbing and using these products more in my makeup routine.
So what about you? Are you luxury snob like me? Do you strictly use drugstore products? Mix it up? Drop me a comment below and let me know.
That's the word. Until next time.
-C
Elf Ultra Precise Brow Pencil ($5) - This brow pencil did a pretty decent job for me. Since I have blonde eyebrows, I chose the shade, Neutral Brown. It looked natural and stayed on all day. The only complaints I have on this pencil, I hate the spoolie at the end of the pencil; way too short and way too sharp, not the best quality, but it still did the job, just took a little longer. Second, this pencil is so skinny and not comfortable in the hand. It took a lot more work to achieve the process of filling and shaping thy brows. Overall, the product was good, spoolie was awful and the size was too small, I prefer something fatter in my hand.
Moving on...
I picked up 4 eyeshadows to create my eye look.
Maybelline in shade Linen ($3) - Used in my transition area and to blend out harsh lines. A little patchy, but buildable, just an OK of an eyeshadow. I'd probably use this again if I were in a pinch or just need a little bit of a natural shadow to blend out any harsh lines.
L'oreal Colour Riche Mono Shadow in shade Cafe au Lait - Matte ($5) - I used this in my crease to give my eye some definition. It's a gorgeous grey-brown shade and was so creamy. It applied wonderfully and held up all day. Can't complain.
L'oreal Colour Riche Mono Shadow in shade Pain au Chocolat -Shimmer ($5) - Applied to entire lid. Normally, I would apply a shimmer shadow with a wet brush that I spray with a setting spray, this makes the shimmer shadow stick to your lid without fallout, the pigmentation is better, and it just looks better, if you ask me. But for the purpose of my test run, I did not do that. I wanted to see how well the product stayed in place without setting it. 50/50. Beautiful, beautiful color, applied easily, had some fallout during application, stayed in place for bit, but started getting patchy after a few hours of wear. I'm definitely going to use this product again, I want to see how well it holds up when I apply it with a wet brush.
UPDATE - I tried this shadow again over the weekend. This time I applied it with a wet brush and it was much more pigmented and shimmery and it didn't really break up much after a few hours of wear. So overall, I'm pleased with it.
L'oreal Crushed Foils Metallic Shadow in Diamond Dust ($10) - A little pricier for a single, drugstore shadow, but it was love at first. Does have some fall out when applying, but that was expected since it is a metallic foil shadow. I applied this shadow, by finger, to only the center of my lid to give the look a little something-something. Again, I recommend applying wet and just dabbing in on the lid. However, it really dissipated shortly after applying. Bummer.
UPDATE- I also tried this shadow again and just dabbed it to the center of my lid using the same wet brush from before. This time was a little better, but not much. It gave me a little more pigment and a little more brightness, but still, it just didn't hold up as well as I hoped. Double bummer.
Maybelline's Blackest Black Gel Eyeliner ($8) - Hands down, the blackest, best gel liner I've ever used. I applied it with an angled liner brush to create a sassy cat eye look. I can't begin to explain my love for this liner. It holds up, it's comfortable, doesn't crease, it's as black as night and just perfect. Get it! You won't be sorry.
L'oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise Mascara ($9) - I've mentioned using this mascara before in my How I Glam in 10 Minutes post and how it helps me achieve my dream of having long, feathery, beautiful lashes instead of short, stumpy, blonde lashes. This mascara gives you volume and length, doesn't flake and lasts all *claps* damn *claps* day! *claaaaapppppss*
Elf Starstruck Lashes ($4) - These are my favorite natural looking fake lashes. If you want to just add a little flair to your eyes, but still keep them natural, these are the lashes for you. They look and feel real, lightweight and super easy to apply.
Last but not least...
Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in shade Nude Lust ($5.50) - I LOOOOOOOOVE this color and lipstick so much. Hands down, my favorite drugstore lipstick ever. It's not too nude or too pink. It's actually very close to my natural lip color, just a pinch darker. So it gives me a natural yet gorgeous lip that lasts for hours.
Overall, I'm pretty pleased with a majority of these products and was very surprised to see how they worked and held up. Confession, I'm normally a bit of snob when it comes skincare and makeup. I like to have the best quality items that really do the best job for me; those items are normally the luxury brands that you get at Sephora or Ulta. But, it looks like my opinion has changed. I found some really great gems in the drugstore products. I can definitely say I will be grabbing and using these products more in my makeup routine.
So what about you? Are you luxury snob like me? Do you strictly use drugstore products? Mix it up? Drop me a comment below and let me know.
That's the word. Until next time.
-C
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| Before YIKES! |
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| After Much better! |
Been so so wanting to try out the butter bronzer but it’s near impossible to get it in the uk!
ReplyDelete-Kyra || lovekyra.co.uk