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Evie Avatar

I’m pretty broke, BUT I still invest in good high end make up.I stay away from drugstore, since buying 1 good solid lipstick(that I can actually try on) seems like a better deal than buy 5 cheepo lipsticks that are not poor quality (or stink or tested on animals). I do, however, buy drugstore brushes, since I find many to free of any animal cruelty…so I choose ecotools… not makeup but still a drugstore winner!

Svetlana Avatar

I don’t like nor use any drugstore brand products except for Max Factor 2000 calories mascara . So I can’t really say that I have a favorite drugstore brand.

Iliana Avatar

Revlon lipsticks and Maybelline mascara only. I have yet to find other products by drugstore brands with good quality on my super oily skin. 🙂

Iliana Avatar

It’s also hard to find a foundation shade for me, since I’m yellow toned and bases turn orange when they oxidize on me. I’m now using Laura Mercier’s oil free tinted moisturizer but even that discolors when I start to get oily. I have yet to find the 100% perfect base.

Jessica Avatar

Before I knew of anything besides drugstore makeup I had this problem too! I never understood why. I thought maybe I was getting foundation too dark until I went to the MAC counter for the first time and they explained to me what you just said…. I tried the Prolong wear and it didn’t turn me orange.

Quinctia Avatar

Physician’s Formula–though I will say there’s a lot of things of theirs I haven’t tried, because they seem blah. I really like the shimmer strips eyeshadows, and I love the gel liners. I also use their mineral foundation and have a couple of their concealer products for specialized areas (have a green cream-to-powder stick, a small cream concealer palette, and a green corrective powder compact–mainly because I can’t settle on a medium I want my concealer to be in).

Liz Avatar

That was my answer – PF for the shimmer strips e/s and the mineral wear powder. I hate their liquid products though.

I also love a few mascaras by Maybelline and Rimmel.

Carrie Ann Avatar

Revlon. Their Colorstay foundations are the best I’ve ever tried and I love the Super Lustrous glosses. A lot of their products are department store quality.

Deah Avatar

I’m a big fan of Revlon. I’ve got super sensitive skin on my face, and nothing of Revlon has ever hurt it. They’re one of the few pressed eyeshadows I can wear, because there’s no talc in most of them =)

I also like Milani, but that’s getting hard to find around here.

monika-luiza Avatar

I like manhattan (german drugstore brand) for their shimmery/satin e/s, rimmel for their eyeliner pencils and L’oreal for many things like mascara, lipliners, concealer. . . still none of the above is a go-to brand for me, it’s more that I just own something and like the quality. PLUS: l’oreal is at least here not that much cheaper than mac. it’s still drugstore but together with mac factor something like the luxury-brand of drugstores

Krysta Avatar

I have jumped around a lot over the years but recently I’ve settled on Hard Candy. It got a bad rep from most of the people I’ve talked to, but I find it works well for my price range. I’ve got this small scar just at the corner of my right eye and so far Hard Candy is the only one I’ve found that diminishes it without making the area look like a bad air brushing.

Krysta Avatar

I work in a bar, so I like to go for a dramatic smokey eye look or a flashy glittery look when I work (depending on my mood and the season), I’ve found Hard Candy works for both looks.
I’ve been rushing out to the store almost every pay day to make sure I’ve not missed anything. I’ve definitely got a sweet tooth for Hard Candy.

Jessica Avatar

Revlon overall (but NOT their mascaras), and Sonia Kashuk (Target) for brushes. I like Maybelline’s Falsies mascara, but Lancome Hypnose Drama is better. In general, I’d rather pay more for department store/high-end brand products that I looove than pay little for something that’s just “okay.”

Melanie Avatar

I don’t have one! I was let down once too often, so I just buy high-end makeup now 🙂 But I’m not a junkie, who has to buy every Mac collection, so my bank account isn’t too angry with me 🙂

ak Avatar

When I was a kid, and I didn’t even know what a MAC was it was Revlon and then later on it was between Black Opal and Revlon. In my early teens Revlon came out for a brief period with a line of make up for black skin and the colors were great for foundations and these items were packaged in blue instead of black like the original Revlon line, and I bought one of their foundations. But even in the original Revlon line my mother and I liked a few of their lipsticks. I liked a few of L’Oreal’s lipsticks for a little while around the same time.

Then Black Opal came along and they have great quality, high pigmented colors in all or most of their make up items but their lipsticks tasted horrible like bitter chemicals and metal, much like how Nars lipsticks used to taste, as I discovered much later on.

Elisabeth Avatar

loreal has great mascaras… and their liquid eye liner looks more vibrant than the $20 benefit ‘magic eye’ liquid liner i bought last week at sephora.

bettynova Avatar

essence by a mile
doesnt test on animals, its cheap, always comes out with something fun and pretty, good quality too, the limited edition stuff is always something unique
so its essence by a mile

Amy Avatar

i love essence. its sooo cheap and the quality really isn’t that bad. it’s especially fun for younger girls that are just starting out with makeup because they have fun colors and cute packaging. i work at ulta, and a customer seriously said that essences’ whipped mousse foundations felt the same as her chanel foundation. now, i havent tried chanel’s, so i dont know if this woman just didnt know what she was talking about or if it is that decent, lol.

Jenni Avatar

I would have to say neutrogena for my skin. For some reason when I wear any of their face stuff, tinted moisturizers or foundations, my skin becomes clearer, more radiant and even toned when I take it off at the end of the day. And this builds up over time and multiplies for me

JayJay Avatar

I really don’t use drugstore brands that much, but when I do, I would say Gosh, though they’re expensive for drugstore.. Physician’s Formula has some good products as well.

Tracie Avatar

These are the best drugstore products in my opinion:

* Revlon foundations
* Maybelline mascaras
* L’Oreal HIP eyeshadows and L’Oreal Lineur Intense eyeliner
* Wet N Wild ColorIcon eyeshadow palettes

Sara Avatar

Revlon, because I think they have quality makeup and fantastic lipsticks :D. They seem to try to branch out with up-to-date makeup like high-end products do (some unexpected colors, matte lipsticks/nailpolishes, etc).

ak Avatar

Revlon’s shadows and the matte lipstick range is good but they should make the matte lipstick range of colors as large as they can in my opinion. The only thing for me is when they discontinue shades of their lipsticks that they’ve had going for years or they keep the name of a lipstick’s color but change the actual shade of it somehow. Revlon needs to bring back the original shade of Blackberry from the 80s or 90s, Coffee Bean, and a limited edition gorgeous color called Honey Bare.

Bonnie Avatar

I like Revlon for their Photo Ready Foundation and their lipsticks, and I like L’Oreal for some of their mascaras; a lot of their HIP eyeshadows and liners; and their Extra-Intense Liquid Pencil Eyeliners. Oh, and L’Oreal’s new Secret No. 1 Face Primer.
Between the two brands I can get a full face’s worth of decent to excellent (especially those liners from L’Oreal!) quality basic makeup.

Dre Avatar

Strangely enough, I have strayed away from drugstore brands but occasionally have those little impulses to see what I can find… I really like Revlon because I feel like they are the brand that offers the best range of products, surpassing what most drugstore brands typically have. I also really like L’Oreal for their mascaras; something about their volume mascaras that grabs me like no other.

Marcela Avatar

L’Oreal’s HIP line has some products with great pigmentation at a decent price. but really, there is NO COMPARING drugstore brands to MAC, my first and only love.

Vanessa Marie Avatar

Oops forgot to add the why…

Revlon because its just such a classic brand and they really do try and keep up with the trends…

Neutrogena because if you want skin conscious natural look you have it all there…

Tiffany S. Avatar

Covergirl is my fave! I love their mascaras and lip stains and they are very good to my wallet. My second fave is revlon because I love the lash stiletto mascara and their nail polishes.

Tatum Avatar

My favorite Drug store brands for;
Foundations: Neutrogena
Concealers: N/A
Eyeshadows: N/A
Eyeliner: L’Oreal
Mascara: Maybelline
Lipsticks: Revlon
Lipgloss: N/A
Blush/Bronzer/Highlight: N/a

So basically I don’t have one specific drugstore brand that I am loyal to. I am more fond of high end makeup.

Courtney Avatar

Oooh…that’s a tough one! I find that I like different brands for different things. I like Cover Girl for Mascara, L’Oreal for lipstick, Maybeline for both, Revlon for stains, etc.

Voly Avatar

L’Oreal for lipsticks and their tube mascara (can’t use anything else anymore); and Maybelline for their new eyeshadow.

I wonder why L’Oreal lipsticks aren’t getting much love? They smell a little plasticky, but they are very smooth, creamy, moisturizing, and fairly long lasting.

AnGeLwInGz Avatar

I don’t buy much drug store cosmetics anymore, but I’ve always been able to trust L’Oreal. Their HIP line is good, especially the pigments and metallic eyeliners.

resham Avatar

Not a single brand as whole, but I love some products from Revlon, Loreal, Cover girl lash blast, Milani Liquifique….I do like drugstore products, but cannot point on brand as awhole…Still I would say, Revlon…

Emmers1983 Avatar

It depends on the product for me(eyeshadow, mascara, etc.)…I like certain things from each brand. I like the most things from LA Splash and Maybelline. And I wish we could more easily get GOSH and Barry M here in the states.

Perilla Avatar

NYX and Rimmel! They have adorable packaging too. Rimmel’s eyeshadow leaves a lot to be desired, but everything else is splendid.

Essie is the BEST when it comes to nail polishes. It used to be exclusive to nail parlors, but it has recently opened it’s doors and is currently stocked in drugstores and department stores. They have an amazing color range and the quality is excellent. It doesn’t jump on fad wagons like OPI, so if you’re a trend follower OPI is the way to go. But Essie has classy colors that don’t look too gaudy (coughcough super sparkly polishes with tacky glitter). They are also user friendly because they smooth over and gives a clean application 🙂

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