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What is the most affordable product you have that you use regularly in your stash?
Wet ‘n’ Wild’s Reserve Your Cabana!
— Christine
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Rimmel Stay Matte powder.
Same! I just hit the pan on that its so amazing right?!
I use products regularly from the drugstore and Sephora alike. Price has little to do with quality. With that said, the most inexpensive product I use regularly is either the Rimmel X Kate Moss lip balm or the WnW eyeshadow Creme Brulee
Haha! So do I, Christine! That’s my finishing powder.
Ok, so yes, I love my WnW Reserve Your Cabana “bronzer” which actually matches my skin pretty well, although lighter than my face. Another real GEM is those little pots of Essence Midnight In Paris Gel Eyeliner! I think they’re around $4? But it is really good stuff, especially for my winged liner.
NYX Nude Beige lipliner – great color, great staying power and stops my lipstick from feathering.
Well, after spending a small fortune on pricey night creams, I’m now using Vaseline Intensive Care Advanced Repair on my face. Yep, the one that comes in a giant 32 oz bottle for like $8. I noticed it was doing overnight wonders on my dry, sensitive, cracked hands, so after I ran out of my fave night cream, I slapped this on my face and found out it worked better than anything else I’ve tried, and believe me, I’ve tried a lots of stuff. It’s unscented and especially nice on top of retinols, which can dry out my skin. I still use some of my other night creams in conjunction with this one, but this is my fave, and cheapest by far.
Katherine, I am sure it is not breaking you out or you wouldn’t keep using it but I wonder if you notice it clogging pores or causing your makeup to look oily the next day? I have really dry skin and would never of thought to use Vaseline on my face but I am open to trying almost anything, LOL
No it’s not clogging my pores or breaking me out. I’m 47 years old, and my is skin dry/very dry in winter. My fave way to apply is after cleaning my face and taking a warm shower. With a towel, I blot my face about 95% dry, and apply a layer of the Vaseline cream all over , and it absorbs fine, and doesn’t leave an oil slick on my face. I follow with my retinols, then dot more Vaseline around the extra dry areas – undereye, cheeks, and forehead. In summer time, my face is more normal/combo, so I skip the T zone. In the mornings, I wash with a gentle cleanser to remove any residue from night creams ( Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser for Normal to Oily Skin), so it doesn’t interfere with foundation. Hope this helps. And hey, if it doesn’t work, it’s only $8, and it makes a great hand or body cream 🙂
Remember that Vaseline is a brand, although the connotation is petrolatum. There probably is none in Katherine’s product. Suggest you cosdna it for ingredients. Think that’s my only cosdna plug this week. What a lifesaver that site can be.
I use the actual petroleum jelly as an eye makeup remover/eye moisturizer. It’s the only thing that doesn’t irritate the skin there.
BTW…it’s like a regular hand cream, but 3rd ingredient is petrolatum, which I’m ok with. I go by Paula’s Choice, and she says it’s a safe, gentle, highly effective moisturizer, and FDA approved, but if you are sensitive to petrolatum or have concerns about it, then skip
Nice one! Especially since you’ve tried so many more expensive creams!
The Great Lash Lots Of Lashes mascara by Maybelline. It is the only mascara that shows up on my tiny tiny lashes and it’s literally 5$ so everything is well that ends well. <3
Essence Make Me Brow. A perfect dupe for Benefit’s Gimme Brow. It’s $2.99 at Ulta and at select Target locations! Super awesome and it’s too good to pass up!
Great tip, I’ll try it. Thanks!
Innisfree no sebum mineral loose powder
Maybelline Great Lash mascara. It is my absolute favorite.
Rimmel Stay Matte pressed powder, Essence All About Matt pressed powder and Maybelline Caffeine Rush eyeshadow (5 small but mighty eyeshadows…it’s a shame they discontinued this).
Don’t use it everyday now because it’s gotten cold here and I don’t get as oily, but innisfree’s No Sebum Loose Powder! It was $6 and does such a great job with keeping oil at bay for 4-5 hours.
Also just discovered H&M Beauty’s Rosy Brown Pure Radiance Blush and WOW it’s amazing quality for the price! Buildable, natural-luminous finish that lasts all day and comes in really pretty colours.
Where can you find InnisFree products? I buy that brands facial wash but I have to buy it online/amazon.
Hey Claudia! Unfortunately, we have innisfree stores in Singapore so that’s how I purchased mine ):
I did a quick search though, and I think the official website, innisfreeworld.com, does online sales. You could probably order from there. And if it doesn’t ship to your country, you can try using a package forwarding service like My Mall Box. Hope that helps!
Essence All About Matt finishing powder.
Essence superfine eyeliner! I love it so much, I just wish it wouldn’t dry up so quickly.
Another vote here for Reserve Your Cabana, and an honorable mention for Maybelline’s Great Lash Mascara.
L’Oreal Voluminous Smoldering Line eye pencil. Fantastic product esp for lining water lines — quick, easy, smooth, lasting.
I’m going to have to stew on this one….product, not tool… hmm….use regularly… double hmm….
I would say Coloupop lippie stix in Oh Snap. It’s an interesting muted nude, runs pinkish neutral on me, but looks so much warmer on other complexions and kinda run of the mill nude against warmer skin. I wear this shade all the time because it has an interesting cast on me, I get wicked wear time from the product, and it’s an easy grab and go in the summer; Price wise, I worry less about it melting and it holds far better in the heat than many standard lipsticks.
L’Oreal Silkissime eyeliner in pink. Also, several Colourpop products
My fav $5 buck beauty steal is Essence waterproof eyeliner pen in black. I use it daily, so it is the best value in my routine hands down.
I have several! The brow products I use every day (by Catrice and Essence) are all under €3.50. My favourite concealer for spot concealing (by Catrice) was €3. For eyeshadow, KIKO is great and so affordable – I think I paid €1.50 for some of the single pans and they are beautiful!
As much as I love to splurge on color cosmetics, I tend to go cheap on the base and staples, like Maybelline Dream Matte Powder and Fit Me Concealer, and CG Lash Blast mascara. And I often use Reserve Your Cabana as a brow highlight!
I tend to keep a few Revlon lip colors around, such as Spicy Cinnamon lipstick. I have several Wet n Wild Brulé eyeshadows in my collection and Maybelline gel liner.
That would be NYX Wonder Stick. Don’t have anything else “drugstore”. #notamakeupsnob, just find that the higher end brands are more consistent in quality.
My Catrice Longlasting Lip Liner and my Essence Eyebrow Designer Pencil!
Urban Decay’s discontinued revolution lipsticks. I paid $11 for each and I bought 4
The ELF eyebrow kit. It’s better than the high end kits and costs baout $3.00
Rimmel Stay Matte Powder.
Wet n Wild Mega Length mascara! I use it for my bottom lashes and it makes them look pretty good! Not necessarily the best, but great for the low price tag.
Rimmel Brow This Way in Clear! Great, inexpensive brow gel.
Elf Contour Palette! 🙂
Reserve Your Cabana for sure! Love that thing.
Gotta be my Rimmel Color Rush lip crayon in Keep Mauvin’. It’s one of the only lip products that doesn’t make my lips peel every way till Sunday, and it has a nice staining effect so it’s super long lasting during the day, nice under a natural lip balm. It’s the only drug-store makeup product I use, really, and I think I paid $3.99 CDN for it on sale.
Oooh, definitely the NYC Liquid Eyeliner! It’s under $3 and AMAZING. I’ve been trying for years to figure out winged liner for my eye shape (very round, close-set and deep-set), and this is the first eyeliner that has a thin enough brush for me, plus a formula that doesn’t transfer or run into my crease. I use a bunch of drugstore stuff, but that’s by far the cheapest. I will continue to repurchase forever.
Oh yea, I forgot about NYC since my local WalMart stopped carrying it. But they have some great stuff. Their Cityliner (I think that’s the gel pencil) is great! I bought 2 black and one of every other color when that WalMart was selling the stock out. I use that interchangeably with the NYX slide-on liners.
Sephora eyeliner in Flirting Game ($10). I also love Jordana Twist & Shine Moisturizing Balm Stain in Honey Love ($3.99).
Flirting game is a gorgeous taupe!
Wet n wild face and eye primer. $5 each and they work great
I need to add everything colourpop! I use the brow products and lippies regularly
L’Oréal Telescopic Mascara Carbon Black
Cover Girl mascara in Waterproof. The current is Lash Blast. They have been using the same formula since I was in high school back in the 70’s but just changing the name. At least the components are the same and it wears the same on me. It literally is the only mascara I have ever worn that doesn’t give me raccoon eyes, even on the lower lash line and believe me I have tried a lot. It has been my experience though, that mascara is one of those things that is personal to each individual what really works for one person doesn’t work at all for another.
My Real Techniques sponge and brushes– they make up most of my brush collection! I’ve also been using the Maybelline Fit Me concealer and NYX brow products for years. I also use my Loreal Infallible foundation and setting spray more than any other foundation. Also, I’m a Chapstick fiend! No fancy lip balm here.
my zoeva brushes. although i must admit i have “better” ones, which i use more often. but to test different brush shapes/forms i like them a lot.
and all my meow/fyrinnae samples.
Agree on Zoeva brushes. You can go vegan or combi/natural, get sets, or fill in holes in the brush stash. Think I like them better than It, too. Shadows aren’t bad, either.
ColourPop’s Flutes shadow.
Almay Color + Care Liquid Lip Balms! They’re the perfect hydrating gloss for me, and the colors are pretty, if not unique.
At the moment is Essence Blush , it’s the ombre one and also la girl pro concealer , all time favorite.
Maybelline Master Precise Skinny Gel Pencil in black.
I use Maybelline color tattoo in chocolate suede for my eyebrows.
Wet n wild single eyeshadow in brulee
Maybelline gel eyeliner pencil is great!
Catrice matte pressed powder
Nyx lipliner pencil 831 mauve – the best lipliner for me.
Right now it’s Aqua Liquid Eyeliner from H&M, it’s black, a bit shimmery and lasts surprisingly well. I don’t know if I’ll repurchase, but I think I will.
I use Wet and Wild’s Brulee eye shadow almost every day. It’s a great base color, very pigmented, doesn’t fade throughout the day, and doesn’t crease so long as I use a primer.
And Nyx’s Control Freak eyebrow gel-it’s awesome! It holds my wily brow hairs in place without flaking or looking and feeling crunchy.
Rimmel london Eyeliner in Nude
& Maybelline great lash mascara in brownish black for the lower lashes
There are many affordable products that I use regularly in my stash. Including my wet n wild eyeshadows and colour pop products. But my favorite is the Jordana BEST LASH EXTREME VOLUMIZING MASCARA (awesome for top and bottom lashes), Black Radiance TRUE COMPLEXIONâ„¢ SOFT FOCUS FINISHING POWDER my favorite powder to set my foundation, it gives me a smooth soft finish) and last but not least, Sleek Makeup FACE CONTOUR KIT (it’s a contour powder and highlighter in one). It’s perfect for my skintone and the highlighter is beautiful.
My falsies from Amazon – a tray of six is $2.50! Actual makeup-makeup is probably the Sephora Contour Pencil ($10) in Flirting Game which is a lovely taupe shimmer. I can’t do black around my eyes.
For me it’s a tie between Monistat anti chafing gel as primer, Maybelline undereye eraser and Coty Airspun loose powder. I use all three every day.
My go-to lid color is a discontinued CG cream eyeshadow in a tube
which I buy on E-Bay. Use it every day. Can’t find a similar color or finish (gleamy icy lavender) in HE brands, although I’ve tried!
Physicians Formula 2-in-1 lash boosting eyeliner and serum. The whole lash boosting and serum claims are bunk but it performs just as well as expensive liquid eyeliners. I’d use Kat Von D Trooper (or other Sephora brands) if the quantity wasn’t worth the price.
Also, Neutrogena oil free eye makeup remover. Lancome Bi-facil is better but waaaay too expensive and this is the closest affordable version I’ve found that’s available in every grocery store. I use it every day.
A tie at $2 each for E.L.F eyelid primer and Wet n Wild Color Icon eyeshadow in Brûlée. I use them almost daily.
The ELF lip exfoliater.
I have gone through tubes and tubes of the original one but just started on a new mint and I do think I like it better, the granules feel even smaller but more numerous in the mint one. It is also very handy to get at ULTA now, perfect for when you need to spend just a few dollars more to qualify for free shipping.
Love the Elf Lip Exfoliator, don’t know how many I’ve used, but its the best. Also love Maybelline Full and Soft Mascara. It never clumps on me and does exactly as the name says.
Rimmel’s Match Perfection Foundation in light porcelain
Milani’s lipsticks in Cinnamon Spice, Bronze Beauty, Candied Toffee and Tuscan Toast.
Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Concealer (Brightening) and WnW Color Icon Single eyeshadow in Brulee, both are HG !
Colourpop brow pencil, shadows and chapstick.
Face wipes by Cetaphil. I have tried many and these are super gentle yet thorough. Leaves no stickiness, waxiness, oiliness. Doesn’t sting or dry out your face. Just cleanses it gently but thoroughly and leaves your skin feeling fresh, clean and balanced, not stripped. Really nice for those of us with rosacea.
Colourpop Pop lip colors, mattes, stains and lippie sticks. They are $6.00 and fare very well up against my $30 ones. I’m hooked.
Probably WnW lipsticks. I always grab a couple with the change in season and i think they’re a couple dollars each. I do have WnW Reserve Your Cabana, Rimmel Stay Matt, and Maybelline Great Lash in my stash too, but I do think the lipsticks are cheaper.
Milani foundation- the new one called conceal and perfect
E.l.f. Original Mist & Set ($3 US). I use it every day. I use a lot of e.l.f. in general, and it’s all really affordable.
That’s so funny…one girl’s trash is another girl’s treasure! ELF is the only drugstore brand that I have consistently disliked every product I’ve tried. There are only 2 brands ever that I hate everything from – a drugstore and a higher end, and that’s the drugstore brand.
I love most of their products, but not everybody can wear the same brands, that’s for sure. You gotta go with what works for you.
True…since I often jump to your posts among the first I read, I know that we are quite different in our needs…you are much lighter colored and use products meant for an oilier complexion, I am darker and drier. I like jumping to the posts of familiar faces. Since it’s a makeup blog, it’s nice to see a picture of the poster’s face, and understand her style, so the faces I see frequently are the ones I most want to read – you, Genevieve, Kathy, Blue, and a few others whose names aren’t coming to mind.
Definitely! I enjoy reading your posts, as well.
Essence Lash Princess mascara. I like it better than my Dior Iconic Overcurl (which I also love but seldom buy) and costs about 1/8th of the price. I have sensitive eyes and simply toss when it whenever I feel it starts to irritate me and open a new one. Also it is easy to remove with eye makeup remover.
CoverGirl clump crusher mascara -it doesn’t smudge on me and good for every day. But I also like the Lashblast.
Cover Girl clear mascara for brow gel though I also like the Maybelline clear mascara too.
NYX Control Freak clear brow gel-great hold, way better than Benefit’s. NYX pencils in general are pretty good too, and I say that as someone who is not impressed by most of their products.
My tweezer’s came from Daiso and aren’t as good as $20 ones, but are way better than the regular DS options IME. Really good for travel.
Elf eye makeup remover pen.
Rimmel stay matte in transparent. Essence Nudes highlighter, a surprise find. You all need to try this. MUA intense lipsticks @ CVS, so pigmented, one swipe like the high end NARS Audacious puppies.
which number / name highlighter do you like?
Essence #10 Be my highlight, super gorgeous. Oh Wet n Wild setting spray, $5 greatness.
These cheapie brands have really improved in quality in the last 10 yrs. Their quality & performance often rivals luxury brands nowadays. We just got Catrice & Essence at out local dept store here in India so I had to check them out & was very impressed!
Essence Nude Pure Nude Highlighter in Be My Highlight 01- it’s baked, a gorgeous glowy gold, made in Poland and is as beautiful as my Cle de Peau Luminizer
Catrice Blush Artistry palette in Corall I Need- 3 shades but none of them are coral: a beautiful cool mauve-y shade with extremely fine gold shimmer, a lovely warm matte rose, and a very fine shimmery apricot gold highlighter. All highly pigmented, no chunky glitter, great staying power, easily applied & blended. I’ve had lots of fun creating different looks with this one. Doing sculpted or strobed glamour looks to everyday ‘no makeup looks, even using the highlighter as an eyeshadow.
Really impressed with Catrice & Essence. I did buy a Catrice foundation that was mediocre but I’m rather spoiled with my Cle de Peau Silky Cream foundation (which I think is affordable as a $120 tube lasts me 8 months- that’s $15 a month for a foundation that looks airbrushed and lasts a good 8hrs when applied with fingers with no primer!)
A foundation that lasts you 8 months?! I wish…. I’m sure you don’t use it every day or have a perfect young skin and use one drop for the entire face!
?
Actually Ana, I have very nice 51 yr old mature skin with a some fine lines, bit of sun damage, and the remains of a mask pregnancy. A pea sized amount of CDP’s Silky Cream foundation does everything with a minimal amount of effort. Amazingly enough it is one of the few products that justifies it’s high price.
Mine would be all of my ColourPop lippie stix, shadows, etc. I love how cheap it is!
Great question, Matilda! Thanks to readers, have discovered Ulta’s house brand liners, both the gel and the retractable. Also have virtually all Catrice liners. Blingo Starr is a pretty close dupe ..a tad more platinum and less gold…to Julep. For a fraction. Love the use the Catrice Rose eye palette quite a bit. Mayb loaded bolds..and they go on sale fairly frequently. Like the CP, but don’t have much. Often miss things I like. Ought to give in and get all the liners! Affordable skincare: Mizon snail recovery gel cream, which is almost as intro to KB as sheet masks and Cosrx low ph good morning cleanser. Others, too, but those two are so value priced and used att. To try next: Boots #7 tubing mascara. Been disappointed with blinc in the past few years, and it gets good consumer reviews. Don’t get excited about L’Oréal tubing, at all. The essence rose palette: smackdown time! Thanks for the tip on Innisfree no sebum powder. What is the general consensus on it? Is the loose or the pressed better? Not sure I still need that type of powder, but some days it could be just the ticket. I like the few Innisfree things I have…but still think it sounds more like Scotland than Korea, for a brand name.
WnW Reserve Your Cabana and several NYX matte lip creams.
I would have to say essence quick dry drops for nail polish, it’s only $2.99, and is comparable to brands like Essie.
I’ve got a $2 WnW eyeshadow single in Nutty, and several e/s trios from WnW and NYC for about $3 each that are just excellent! Then of course there’s my L’Oréal Voluminous Carbon Black mascara that I think is the best mascara at any price point. Elf single eyeshadows are fine quality and the cases look like Nars. Save yourself a bundle and buy the best for a song!
Maybelline Fit Me concealer. No other concealer I have tried (high end or otherwise) has compared.
finally an easy question! that would be the elf makeup mist and set. totally a dupe for MAC fix+
Elf eyeliner pen. 🙂
Essence princess mascara
H&M eye pencils, super soft and smooth!
Rimmel eyebrow pencil, use it every day!
Forgot to mention NIVEA double effects eye make up remover. Wonderful on sensitive eyes and dual phase, very efficient.
And Gentle Toner. Beautiful.
Black Opal EVEN TRUE BRIGHTENING UNDER-EYE CONCEALER. It retails for about $9. Toast, my shade is so popular, as it is hard to find.
L”oreal Miss Manga Mascara
NYX Proof It Eye Brow Base – great for keeping brows in place
Covergirl Queen Collection Liquid Foundation and Pressed Powder
For me it is also Brûlée single eyeshadow by Wet n Wild. I’m glad I bought it after seeing it mentioned everywhere! Don’t you just hate it when you bought a fabulous eye palette but they didn’t come with a cream / skin color shadow? I don’t have many drugstore eye shadows but this one is seriously useful for setting primer and to blend out any harsh edges of my eyeshadows when I’m done with the look.
Wet n Wild eye shadow trio in Walking on Eggshells. It’s a great little trio when I don’t really feel like going through all of my palettes to find the perfect colors to wear that day. I got it on clearance at Target for $2.06, and it works very well for me. I have also been using Hard Candy’s eye shadow primer with great results. I have also used wet n Wild’s 666 or Brandywine lip liner pencil forever. I even use it with some of my deep reds and it keeps everything in place. I am 53 and have a few lines around my mouth, but my lip stick isn’t migrating into them.
KIKO eyebrow pencil. I take advantage of the sales and I pay no more than 3-4 € each so I have several backups. Right now, with the colder days, I’ve begun to use again ELF Studio blush in Berry Merry, my most used blush for the autumn and Winter.
Maybelline Fit Me concealer. That stuff is great – I use it every day.
Sephora face masks. When ever I visit friends I take some and we have a masking evening. What fun. Even my husband uses them now.
I use Loreal Miss Manga Mascara, I’m REALLY hard to please with mascara and I’ve been really impressed by that one. SUPER black, builds volume without clumping too much and gives my lashes nice lift. I wasn’t as happy with my most recent tube though, if the next one is disappointing I’ll be looking for something else! I also used to use primer and setting powder from Face of Australia, but you can’t get it in New Zealand :/ amazing products for under $20 AUD each (I think they were about $12 actually).
It’s got to be my sleek highliter(s). I always loved the highlighter in the contour palette set, annoyingly I can’t say I cared for the blush/bronzer that much. So when everyone started going made for their solstice palette I was like – about time people!
Loreal Voluminous Butterfly Mascara. Lengthens and add volume for me at $8 a pop. I’ve tried many. I’m one of those that doesn’t step out the house without mascara and I’ve found it better than many of the expensive brands.
Lol it’s Vaseline, or a generic version of the petroleum jelly. I use it to remove eye makeup from my VERY allergy-prone eyes. Without, I would probably not be able to wear eye makeup. I have to be super careful what I put on my eyelids and undereye area, and I don’t think anyone is allergic to Vaseline. It also makes my lashes more supple, so they don’t break or fall out as much. Otherwise, my Wet n Wild Idol Eyes crayons are definitely up there among the least expensive things I use often.
Glossier’s Balm Dotcom in Coconut
NYX matte lip cremes: Budapest, Prague, San Paulo. I wear at least one of these once a week.
As I’ve gotten older, I have a tendency to buy more high end makeup than drugstore, but the products listed below are staples that are rarely out of my favorites. I couldn’t decide on one so I made a list:
Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer, Covergirl Clump Crusher Mascara (water-resistant formula), Physician’s Formula Custom Eye Enhancing Eyeliner Trios (the twist up pencils), Nyx Slide On Glide On Eyeliners, Maybelline Color Tattoos, Maybelline matte lipsticks, Nyx Lip Liners.
Wet n Wild Mega Length mascara!