Are you wondering about the best drugstore Makeup or Cheap Makeup in the Market?
Well, as a beauty professional, working makeup artist and makeup lover I have things to say about this.
As a Makeup artist, I need to take care of every product that I recommend, use, and put on my clients.
But Drugstore or “cheap” Makeup does not necessarily need to be out of my favorite Makeup products list.
Actually, there are a lot of amazing makeup products at a super affordable price accessible for everyone!
For example, in this list, you can buy the entire list for less than 100$!!
And I assure you that you will get fantastic products approved for me and thousands of other buyers.
let’s get started
Best Drugstore Makeup for Beginners
In this post, I showed my TOP Drugstore Makeup products suitable for any makeup beginner (or pros) so you can look” expensive” with the right products and the right makeup technique no matter the cheap price.
For beginners, I recommend starting with Drugstore Makeup and not expensive Makeup because it is super accessible to build your Makeup kit with more affordable brands, .
If you are an aspiring makeup artist, check out this post where I show you how to build a pro makeup artist kit o a budget, where I share what specific products to buy for Beginners on a budget.
In general, for Beginners, I recommend Makeup products with light formulas and light coverage and not buying crazy amounts of products.
You don’t need every eyeshadow palette, or 10 types of Foundations, 20 lipsticks, etc.
Your Makeup Kit can be buildable over time, and there’s no rush.
However, be careful with the expiration time or lifetime for every makeup product.
Here are My top 5 Drugstore Makeup Products overall for Beginners
This post may contain affiliate links. That means if you click and buy, I may receive a small commission (at zero cost to you). Please see my full disclosure policy for details.
BEST DRUGSTORE PRIMER OVERALL
BEST DRUGSTORE FOUNDATION OVERALL
L’Oreal Paris Makeup Infallible
BEST FULL COVERAGE DRUGSTORE CONCEALER
I gotta say that the Elf camo concealer has been my favorite lately. First, I love the full coverage it provides. Second, it’s a great dupe for the Tarte concealer, and everyone agrees with that! It’s an impressive full-coverage concealer, and the best part is that it costs less than $7!
BEST DRUGSTORE BLUSH
Best Drugstore Product for Eyebrows
If you have eyebrow problems the Brow extensions by Maybelline is just the answer to all the brow prayers!! It is a QUALITY product that will give you a natural eyebrow look and at the same time brush and set your eyebrows. You just gotta try it NOW.
Best Drugstore Makeup for Over 40
Related Makeup Post: 10 Easy Ways to look younger with Makeup
Again, the best foundation formula for mature skin is a lightweight liquid foundation with light to medium coverage.
When we are over 40, in Makeup, less is MORE! You need to seek natural looks because Makeup layers and layers can cause you to look older than you are.
Please stay away from the matte finishes for oily skin foundations, you need a fresh, youthful, and hydrating skin and matte products will ruin it. Instead, go for super hydrating formulas, with a dewy finish, and liquid lightweight face products.
PRO TIP: Don’t skip sunscreen and serum! These Skincare steps are important for every skin, but for mature skin or skin, over 40 are CRUCIAL.
My top 5 Drugstore Products for over 40 are:
FOUNDATION FOR MATURE SKIN:
A basic Makeup routine step should be sunscreen, and the best practice is to use at least 30 SPF. However, if you live in a sunny city, you should consider getting sunscreen with at least 50 SPF.
That’s crucial for having an anti-aging makeup routine, and this L’Oreal Paris Age Perfect Radiant Serum Foundation with SPF 50 has as an ingredient a sunscreen 50 SPF, which is impressive! And that way, you skip the sunscreen step for a go-to makeup look.
DRUGSTORE CONCEALER FOR MATURE SKIN:
The Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Concealer is an excellent drugstore concealer for mature skin because it has a built in a moisturizer that prevents early wrinkles and the horrible dry under-eye bag that we all hate.
DRUGSTORE SERUM FOR MATURE SKIN
Hyaluronic Acid Serum by L’oreal Ideal for Face, Neck and Eye Treatment in your everyday skin care routine and before Makeup.
The best you can do for your skin is to take good care of it, and for consequently having an appropriate skincare routine that includes a Vitamin C serum and Hyaluronic acid on it.
The option above is an affordable serum that has all the important ingredients to prevent our skin from oxidates prematurely.
Related Skincare post: What to apply on face before your Makeup routine?
CREAM BLUSH:
My top recommendation for mature skin is to apply the most hydrating products instead of boring matte products.
That’s why I recommend a cream blush, and this one from Milani is the perfect blush for your makeup bag.
WATERPROOF EYELINER:
You definitely need a waterproof eyeliner like the Hyper Easy Liquid Pen eyeliner from Maybeline, because even if you don’t have mature eyes or hooded eyes (which is when is super necessary a waterproof eyeliner)
You probably have experienced the super annoying feeling of ruining your previous eyeshadow work with a non-waterproof eyeliner.
Also Mature eyes tend to have an excess of eyelid area, and you can ensure that you won’t ruin your eyeshadows with this eyeliner from Maybelline.
Next, I’ll share with you the Best Drugstore Makeup Products for all the time and the best part in an affordable price under 15$
Best Drugstore Primer
This Maybelline instant pore eraser Primer gives you the real baby skin, is super smooth, and creates the perfect base to go next with all your Makeup routine, and In the same way, this has always been the best primer and a super dupe for a lot of high-end primers.
But you can also try next this excellent option:
NYX PROFESSIONAL MAKEUP Studio Perfect Primer (click to check it out).
The Nyx Studio perfect primer is another excellent option to get an ideal clear primer on your face before your makeup steps.
Related Post: What is the Correct Order to Apply Makeup
Best Drugstore Foundation
I’d say that this one was difficult for me.
There are some excellent options for good drugstore foundations, but if I had to choose one, it would be the next one.
For oily skin
The Fit me Foundation with a matte finish is the winner for the Best Drugstore Foundation for oily!
There are other great options like Super Stay Foundation, Infallible total cover foundation, and the Milani perfect 2-in-1 foundation
but what makes the Fit Me Foundation wins was a mix of the price, quality, and the possibility to combine it with other”Fit Me” products
Related: The 10 Best Drugstore Foundations (pros and cons)
It also has a really good dewy finish foundation you need to try if you haven’t yet
For Dewy finish
The Maybelline New York fit me dewy+Smooth foundation is the best option for getting the natural look with a natural dewy finish, this dewy foundation is perfect for every day and the best part of it is that you can use it with the next product.
Best Drugstore Powder
The most popular Drugstore powder from all the times is:
Translucent loose Powder
Airspurn translucent loose Powder
The Airspurn loose powder is a super must-have in every makeup bag, is a super-thin loose powder that sets your makeup and makes your makeup last longer, mattifying your problem areas. It has been the favorite over the years, and I think it will be forever.
Foundation compact powder
Fit me Powder
This powder is the best product to have it in your makeup to-go bag! Because you can skip foundation and add a layer of this fit me powder foundation that actually has decent coverage for being a powder product and get the natural look! Just perfect for the everyday makeup routine.
Best Drugstore Eyeshadows palette
The Next Makeup brand is not actually a drugstore brand because you can’t find it at Walgreens or Walmart.
It is a super popular brand with high quality like other expensive brands but for affordable prices! I’m talking about Beauty Glazed.
It has impressive eyeshadow palettes with tons of colors and undertones to combine and create all the eye makeup looks that you want!
My two favorite affordable Eyeshadow palettes:
Best Drugstore Blush
I really like this blush by Milani because has a tiny satin finish that allows the youthful look to outstanding!
Best Drugstore bronzer & Contour
I had a love-hate relationship with ELF, but lately, they are improving their products in a crazy way!
And that is why this awesome sculpt bronzer palette wins the title of the best drugstore contour product, is super cheap with a great smooth formula, and includes a powder highlighter
Related Drugstore Makeup post: The Best 7 Drugstore Cream Bronzers! (for the perfect sunkissed glow)
Best Drugstore Highlighter
I love this highlighter tone! And the shine is so cute and natural, it’s one of my personal favorites, I even use it for my freelance makeup kit and clients.
Best Drugstore Products for Eyebrows
I love all the Maybelline Brow products because they are excellent dupes of Benefit or Anastasia Beverly Hills brow products. In particular, I’ve loved the Brow extensions because if you have little bold spaces in your eyebrow, this will literally put baby brow hairs where they are necessary, and that will give you a supernatural FULL brow look.
And definitely, this Maybelline brows space needs more recommendations because their products are just stunning! You can try this tattoo brow studio pen, which creates the illusion of tiny brow hairs in a super-easy way, and this brow gel!
Best Drugstore Lipsticks
The super stay mega last liquid lipsticks is a long-lasting lipstick that with leave you a smooth matte finish with an amazing full intense coverage! is just a super must-have in your makeup bag for every day.
Related Drugstore Makeup Post: The Top Best Drugstore Nude Lipsticks for every Skin tone
Best drugstore Mascaras
For Mascara, Maybelline has the crown again! Their mascaras have been the favorites for every girl since I remember, and this lash sensational mascara is just the best!
I recommend you opt for a waterproof mascara to lift your eyelashes but don’t forget to use an oil based makeup remover to remove all the mascara on your makeup remover routine.
Best Drugstore Setting spray
Setting spray is an important step for getting long-lasting makeup and this a great drugstore option to have a makeup look that lasts in a budget!
Best Drugstore makeup remover
Neutrogena is a super popular brand that is SUPER POPULAR for having good quality skincare products and makeup products that are focus on skincare, fighting acne problems and other skin problems.
And for skincare, I will definitely opt for this brand in any product.
That’s why this Neutrogena Oil-free Eye makeup remover wins the title of the best drugstore makeup remover!
Final thoughts on the Best Drugstore Makeup Products
In conclusion, in the Makeup world, what matters is what you individually think about it.
In fact, I Know (even more as a Makeup artist) that makeup rules and techniques are only guides that work depending on the situation. In general, you can break the rules to be unique in your style and to be you!
The real you.
And that’s is the essence of this Real Beauty School Online. I’ll give you the Beauty tools, but you use them as you need it and how you want it.
Firstly, I truly think everyone is beautiful and deserves to look amazing with full glam makeup look even if it is on a tight budget!
And now you know that is super possible.
Secondly, We don’t spend thousands and thousands (if we can, why not? haha), but in general, we don’t need expensive courses, surgery, botox, etc.
We can OPT to have it but never for necessity.
Or tell me what you think.
I hope you like this post about the Best affordable Makeup to buy on a budget, and I hope you save a couple of hundreds of dollars with my recommendations!
If so, please leave a comment below telling me what your favorite Drugstore Makeup product from all the time is? I read every single comment and email.
Don’t forget you can always reach out to me, for more info click here to go to the contact page.
Stay safe!
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Is Drugstore Makeup Good?
I think you need to focus more on the ingredients list and your skin type than on the brand or the price.
If I find a foundation for 10.99$, does it mean anything to me until I read the ingredients and identify it for oily skin, dry skin, with a matte finish, or dewy finish? After realizing that, I can decide if it is good or not.
Simultaneously with High-end Makeup or “Expensive” Makeup, we can think that the ingredients should be better (and in most cases they are), but it is not a rule, and not all the expensive products are necessary good just because of the price.
Related Makeup posts:
- 10 Best Drugstore Concealer for Dark Circles
- 10 Best Makeup Remover Wipes
- EYELINER 101: How to Apply Eyeliner for Beginners
- EYEBROWS 101: How to fill in Eyebrows for beginners
- FOUNDATION 101: How to Apply Foundation for your Skin type
