Hey Guys! Welcome back! I am so excited to share today’s blog post with everyone! We are going to dig deep into the world of underrated drug store make-up. I have uncovered some underrated products that deserve to spend some time in the spot light!
Frankly, I have been loving drug store make-up recently. Some of my favorite brands have been launching amazing products! Wet N Wild, Elf, and L’Oreal (to name a few) have been killing it! While the new launches are amazing, I have been trying out some products that are awesome-but not talked about as much.
I have also discovered some products that are great for things they were not intended to be used for lol-which is part of the fun of make-up! Fun fact-did you know the MAC Painterly Paint Pot is actually a cream eye shadow not a eye shadow primer? So many people love this as an eye shadow base, and it’s a perfect example of what I am talking about!
Quick Disclaimer; guys, please be very cautious about using products on the eyes that were not intended for the eyes! I am coming from a place of regrettable experience when I used a glitter lip gloss on my eyes…. I will spare you the red rashy details, but please be warned!
So without further ado…
Side Note; I wanted to give some context into my skin. Not all of these products are going to work for everyone. It all depends on your skin’s needs. I am lucky enough to pretty much have it all; pores, texture, redness, hyper-pigmentation, dark under eye circles, and acne scars. No need to be jealous though-not all of us can have it all ;). It’s also important to note that I am in my mid 30’s, fair (cool undertones) with combination leaning oily skin.
Underrated Toners & Face Wash
Diving right in with the base! It is so so important that we all set the base for our foundation! Your make-up will only look as good as what is underneath! With that in mind, I have two products that I use and love..
Neutrogena Naturals Acne Foaming Scrub- this product has taken care of all my exfoliating needs! The product is “Clinically proven acne medicine treats and helps prevent breakouts”. The smell of this is so good, and I have seen a reduction in my breakouts since I started using this scrub!
Thayers Witch Hazel Toner-I know there is some controversy about whether witch hazel is good for the skin or not. For me; this really works! It is alcohol free, and really gets rid of any make-up residue left on my skin. I personally like the rose petal or cucumber scent- literally smells like you just cut a fresh cucumber!
Prime the Skin
Moving right along to primers. Everyone is different when it comes to primers because we all have different skin needs. If you have skin like mine-these are two affordable drugstore options that are going to help you have a great make-up day.
Soap & Glory Kick Ass Super-Blur Stick-I’m going to keep it honest, and say this was not my favorite- originally. After playing around with it, though it has been updated to one of my go too’s. I love this blur stick for filling in and blurring my pores. Here’s the trick when using this product; I press it into the skin versus swiping it on. I dot it on any area’s that my pores are visible. I would also recommend letting it sit for about a minute before applying your foundation.
Wet N Wild Photofocus Dewy Face Primer– No worries, I know what you’re thinking! Dewy foundation for oily skin? I promise, I have not gone banana sandwich on you! This is the first dewy primer that I truly love-that does not make me oily! It has a luminous, almost liquid highlighter effect, without being too heavy for my skin. I use this primer alone, or I mix it in with my foundation-especially the more matte foundations like the one I will tell you about below!
Tip-mix this primer in with your sunscreen or body lotion to give yourself a beautiful body glow!
Underrated Foundation
Not to toot my own horn, but with all the skin bummers I have, I feel as though I am a good judge of foundation! So toot toot…
L.A. Colors Truly Matte Foundation- This foundation is full coverage, matte, and, when used correctly, awesome! So, this is not a foundation I use every day, but one that I like for days when I need a lot of coverage that’s going to last for hours. It’s a little on the heavy side, so I suggest applying it with a sponge. I also like to use something a little more hydrating along with it. For me; I like to mix in a little of the Wet N Wild dewy primer, and I spray some MAC fix plus onto the sponge while applying the foundation.
Tip-Don’t be afraid to mix your hydrating formulas with your matte formulas. I get the best results from wearing a hydrating primer with a matte foundation. Layer the formulas to achieve a natural look.
Maybelline Dream BB Pure-Honorable mention has to be given to this BB cream! I am actually not a huge fan of BB, or CC, creams, but this product has done well by me. It’s something I wear when my skin is having a tantrum. I’m sure we can all relate to not wanting to cake foundation on to our face when we are breaking out. While it’s not full coverage, it does give the skin evenness. Plus it has 2% salicylic acid so it’s essentially helping your skin get better!
Concealer & Powder
I don’t know about you guys, but I rely on my concealer to pick up any slack my foundation can’t handle. Truth be told, I am a Tarte Shape Tape lover, but some days I just need something lighter! We all know there are some great drug store alternatives to Shape Tape, but I found a few underrated items that I really like!
Wet N Wild Photofocus Concealer-I may have missed the mark with “underrated” here lol but I had to mention it anyway. This is a great concealer. I use it to cover my dark circles, spot treat red area’s, and highlight the high points of my face.
Neutrogena Hydro Boost Concealer- I have been loving this concealer, but not necessarily for it’s coverage. This product is great for its hydration! I tend to use this under my foundation as opposed to over it. I have pretty dry under eyes-especially in the winter-and this works great for giving me some much needed moisture. If I am baking-it’s a must!
Wet N Wild Megaglo Conceal Makeup Stick- This little gem I don’t actually use as concealer! Instead, I use this as an awesome eye shadow base! I found that my eye shadow blends amazingly well, and lasts for hours, when I use this conceal stick to prime my eyes. I do like to apply it with a small flat brush, but I have also had good luck with just swiping it on & blending it with my finger.
Tip- I prefer to set the conceal stick with a powder before applying eye shadow. I find the eye shadow will blend more evenly when the base is set.
L’Oreal Hydra Perfecte Powder-This loose powder is hands down my favorite! It’s a pore minimizing powder that has (what I can only describe as) a satin finish. I love this to set matte foundations, natural foundations, or on it’s own to even out my skin. It doesn’t cake up-you can even bake with it.
Side note-while I do love this product, it may not be right for someone who is sensitive to smells. It has a very “grandma’s perfume” smell to it. That being said, I can not smell it once it’s applied to my face.
Underrated Eye Products
Let’s keep it 100…I feel like drug store make up dominates high end in the mascara field, and drug store is giving high end a run for their money with liners & brow products. With that in mind lol I found a couple things that may have slipped below the radar.
Rimmel London Shake it Fresh Mascara-I thought this was a pretty cool & innovative idea, guys. First, the formula is great. It doesn’t clump, it lengthens, and separates, and helps with the curl-but so do a lot of others right? What is awesome about this product is it refreshes itself! Ever throw away your mascara before the expiration date because it was getting nasty? Rimmel added a shaker system that refreshes your mascara. You can actually hear it! Give it a shake next time you’re at the drug store!
L.A. Colors Liquid Eye Liner– I have been loving this eye liner. It has a small fine tip that makes it so easy to apply. It dries down to a semi-matte. It’s not super shiny, but I would not call it a complete matte. The best part, however, is it doesn’t move! I can put this on at 8 in the morning and by dinner- it looks as though I just put it on. Killer!
AOA Sculpting Brow Pencil- Okay, this is technically not from the drug store, but it is definitely drug store price. I purchased this off of the Miss A cosmetics website, and I am so glad that I did! The pencil has a great spoolie on one side, and an angled pencil on the other side. I have it in the color Ebony, and it’s perfect! It’s just what I need to fill in my brows.
Side note-I have pretty full brows naturally, so if you are working with only a small amount of brow hair, you may need something to go with this product.
Bronzer, Blush, and Contour
Who can survive these days without blush, bronzer, and contour-or at least a combination of the three? First world problems, right? It is true for a lot of us though-including myself! Blush has always been a “must have” for me. While I don’t contour everyday-bronzer has also become a “must have”. Can you believe there was a time I didn’t use any bronzer?! I thought I was too pale. Now, I feel as though I look like I have the flu without it!
Malibu Glitz blush in #4 Pink Coral- Yup, I cheated again. This blush is also from Miss A. I was honestly surprised by this blush! It’s so buttery and creamy. It applies, and blends, beautifully on the skin. It gives you a light wash of color with a little glow. Important to note; it does have some shimmer to it. I am normally not a fan of shimmer blushes (I like matte), but this one took me by surprise! I’m super excited to wear this in the summer as well.
Side note-I have only tried this one color, so I can not speak to the other shades. I have ordered a couple more though…so I will report back!!
Beauty Benefits Bronzer- This was another product that took me by surprise! I purchased this from the Dollar Tree, and I did not have high hopes…I was wrong! This bronzer is great. It blends really well, and looks great on my fair skin tone. It’s a lighter bronzer with more cool undertones. I have always had an issue with finding more neutral, cool toned, bronzers. I have been saved with this! I actually prefer this in the winter (my ultra pale season) to Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer-my other love!
Question of the day– Does anyone use the Marc Jacobs Bronzer? What are your thoughts? Is it worth the hype and money? Let me know below!!
Maybelline Master Contour-This by far my favorite cream contour. It’s a light enough shade that it works really well for my skin! I do not use the light side as often, but it does really brighten if I need a little extra something to make me look awake. I do find blending this out with a sponge works the best. I have it in the shades 010 light/clear.
Underrated Eye Shadows
Eye Shadow is my hands down favorite make-up! It is what I get most excited about, what inspires me the most, and what I will go out of my way to try. So, I’m a little bummed that I don’t have too much to share with you guys in this section. Not to say there are not some amazing drug store eye shadows, but I have not found too much underrated eye shadows lately. I tend to think that we go online for affordable eye shadows these days! Brands like Morphe, Make-up Geek, & Color Pop are putting out amazing stuff for affordable prices! If you want to check out what I mean-take a peak at my Morphe Review.
L.A Colors Shimmering Loose Eye Shadow- These loose eye shadows are gorgeous! I have several colors, but the two I especially love is the gold-called Sunshine- and the champagne/ pink color-called Honey Suckle. They are both so pigmented, and beautiful! The gold does have glitter in it, though. I would suggest (for both) either applying them before your foundation, or baking, because you will have some fall out. It’s also best to apply this with your own brush (versus the little one it comes with) and dampening it. Check out my IG to see my eye shadow look featuring the gold shimmer!
Tip– The champagne shade doubles as a beautiful highlight for the high points of the cheeks! It has been my go to highlight lately!
L.A. Colors Iced Pigment Powder– These are also loose pigments, but instead of shimmer these are more foiled shadows. They come in a variety of great colors- My favorites-and I have them all- are the purple and green. What’s great about these is you can build them up. If you wanted to do a subtle purple look, you could, but you could also build it up to an intense opaque look as well! I would suggest applying them the same way you would the shimmers!
Tip-Pair these loose pigment eye shadows with the white L.A. Colors Jumbo Eye Pencil in your water line to really make the colors pop! The jumbo pencils are great; very smooth and creamy!
PS…Berry Velvets by Primark– So this eye shadow palette is an obvious dupe for the Huda Beauty Mauve Obsessions palette. I am still not sure how I feel about dupes? The jury is out while I do more research, but I will say I liked this palette. The colors are pigmented, go on smooth, blend well, and last for quite awhile. At this point, I have not tried other palettes from Primark, but this one was good in my book!
Lipsticks, Lip Glosses, and Liners
We are down to the final category, ladies! A look is rarely complete without something on the lips! Whether you are going full glam, or a natural look, lip products are essential! I have gathered a few little friends that I believe are worth some time in the spot light.
Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Lip Shine- I have this in three colors, and they are great! I actually got these in my Christmas stocking, and I have been addicted to them ever since! They are a very moisturizing gloss that gives a lot of shine. They are a little on the thicker side, but they’re not stringy nor do they gather at the corners of your mouth-ewww. These are great on their own, or over a liquid lip.
Elf Matte Lip Color- Funny enough, I have actually been using this more as a lip liner, than an actual lipstick. However, when I went on the Elf website to get some more details for you guys, I saw they are listed as a matte lip color lol. Either way-I love these. They are very rich in color and comfortable of the lips. While I would agree that they’re matte, it does not dry down like your normal matte colors. It will transfer. I have been lining my lips with them (and coloring them in) and putting a gloss over.
PS…Lustre Lipstick by Primark-I did pick myself up some of these lipsticks while I was at Primark, and I have been pleasantly pleased with them. I grabbed three colors, two nudes in the colors Bare & Blush, and one red in the color Salsa. Now, I’m not saying these are the dopest thing out there, but for $1.50…amaze balls! All three colors are very comfortable on the lips, and have a good color pay off. You are going to need to reapply during the day, but hey…such is life!
Side note- These lipsticks do have an almost cherry scent. It’s very nice, and nostalgic…maybe kid make up? I can’t put my finger on what it reminds me of lol.
I love finding amazing products that are not the “hot” thing! It’s like finding hidden treasure! I was thinking about doing a high end underrated make up. Let me know if that is something you would be interested in!
Also, let me know what you guys are loving from the drugstore-underrated or not. I hope everyone has an awesome week, and until next time…
Be Great!
Shannon
Shannon MacDevine 
Some of these I haven’t tried yet. Will try that la colors foundation
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It really covers everything!! I would use a hydrating primer though to keep it as natural as possible!!
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