BEAUTY ON A BUDGET

Makeup and beauty products can be SO expensive. I'll walk out of Sephora or Ulta only having purchased two or three things and it'll easily cost me almost $100. It's sick! To be honest, I only started using higher quality, more expensive products in the past year or two because I really was never good with applying makeup  therefore never felt the need to spend tons of money on products I don't even know how to use. BB Cream? CC Cream? Baking and contouring? How do you know which makeup brush to use for what?! In the past year I have loved watching Beauty Youtubers (Some faves are Jaclyn Hill, Jeffree Star, James Charles (HI SISTERS), and Laura Lee) and I think it really helped me get so much better with makeup. Even still, it kind of hurts my soul how expensive makeup can be so I find myself saving the 'good stuff' for nights out and weekends. Here's a round up of my favorite and affordable beauty products!

1. Covergirl Tru Naked Goldens // Covergirl Tru Naked Roses. These palettes are both so pretty! A staple in my makeup collection would have to be a golden/nude palette as well as a rose/blush palette. These both definitely give Urban Decay Naked and Urban Decay Naked3 a run for their money. I think the biggest mistake I made was buying so many eyeshadow palettes when I was (and still am) pretty inexperienced with eyeshadow. Even now, whenever a new pretty palette comes out I instantly want it (Ugh, like the Jaclyn Hill palette). I have 4 Naked Palettes and 1 tarte palette that I barely use! I should have purchased some starter palettes like these Covergirl bad boys and worked my way up.
2.  Maybelline Master Prime. $7.49! Comparable to the Smashbox Photo Finish Primer ($36) for a fraction of the cost. Lightweight, blurs and smooths, does not clog pores, and has a non-oily formula. Honestly, I hate paying a lot of money for primer so I stick to this inexpensive one!
3. e.l.f Baked Highlighter - $3! The glow on this is unreal. I'm always blown away the quality of e.l.f products. Honestly, I prefer this highlighter to my Urban Decay Afterglow Highlighter. This color is SO pretty and pigmented.
4. Loreal - Infallible Pro-Matte Foundation. $12.99! Semi-Matte, medium coverage, 24 hour wear, air light texture with oil control. There is also an Infallible Pro-Glow if that better fits your skin! My skin is super oily year round so the Pro-Matte is perfect.
5. NYX Butter Gloss. ON SALE FOR $3.49 (normally $4.99) at Ulta! I just recently discovered this gloss and I am obsessed! I bought a pack of 3 a few years ago and never really gave them a try until recently. For the past year I have almost exclusively wearing matte Kylie Lip Kits (to find out the gross amount I own check out THIS post) but I've felt that they're a little aggressive to wear at work or when I'm just running errands. This gloss is perfect and comes in so many gorg colors.
6. Maybelline Master Fix Setting Spray. $9.79! This setting spray is super lightweight and oil free prevents melting and color fading and keeps your makeup on for hours! I do love the Urban Decay All Nighter but I use this setting spray for a normal work day and save the good stuff for weekends and nights out.
7. Lacura Hydrating Facial Cleanser. $4! I get this from ALDI, people! Aldi truly does not get enough credit. Did you know Aldi and Trader Joe's are 'sister supermarkets' and owned by the same people? Anyways, I found this face wash and decided to give it a try and I LOVED it. It is so light and gentle on your skin but you can feel it working and my skin feels soooo smooth after. I highly recommend! I couldn't find a good link on where to purchase so you'll just have to go to your local Aldi to find this.
8. Revlon Brow Pencil and Gel. $8.99! I've been using this brow pencil for the past couple years now and I love it! I used to use the Benefit brow pencil but realized I was out of it one day and had to run to Walgreens to find a quick and cheap alternative (I feel like this is how I discover most of my beauty on a budget items - ha). This brown pencil lasts me so much longer than the Benefit one and it's double sided - one side to draw and fill and the other to set in place or even quickly brush through and fill.
9. Matto Makeup Brushes 10 pc Set. $20.99! I got this set months ago and I could not be happier with my purchase. I will admit - there are some brushes I don't know what they're for therefore I don't use them but I use probably 7 of these brushes consistently and you can't go wrong with the price. The brushes are so soft and such great quality and I absolutely love the travel case they come in. The case makes travel SO easy!
10. Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara. $8.99! I've been using this mascara non-stop for the past few months and I love it! I always like to use two mascaras - the first to separate and lengthen and give it kind of a base and then a second to thicken and and give more volume. This is always the first mascara I use and then I follow with Better Than Sex or the L'Oreal Lash Paradise.
11. Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge. I got this at Wal-Mart for under $5! That's 1/4 of the price of a Beauty Blender and I honestly prefer this sponge over a Beauty Blender all day errday. This sponge blends easily and smoothly and one of the sides has a flat edge that makes blending near the eyes SO easily!
12. Milani Rose Powder Blush. $6.99! This blush is truly beautiful and I sometimes prefer this over my Too Faced Sweetheart Blush just because it's less glowy/sparkly and more of a true blush. And how pretty is this packaging? Definitely one of my favorites on the list.Milani is another brand that I think has great quality products for a very low price.
13. L'Oreal Lash Paradise Mascara. $9.99! Dupe for Too Faced Better Than Sex ($23). I saw a ton of beauty Youtuber's rave about this product and had to try it. This stuff is amazing. Like I mentioned before, I use two mascaras and this would be the second one I'd use to thicken and volumize lashes.
14. e.l.f Prime and Stay Finishing Powder. $2!!! This price just blows my mind. IDK how e.l.f. does it. I use this powder every single day as a setting/brightening powder under my eyes and it's amazing. This may be my favorite/most used product out of this entire set.
15. Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer. $8.99! The struggle to find ANY kind of concealer that works for me is so real. My under eyes are so dark and I've found that some high end concealers don't even work for me so I never thought I'd find a drug store concealer that I like. My favorite concealer is the Tarte Shape Tape ($25) but I prefer to only use this on weekends when I'm going out and use a drug store brand for everyday makeup to work. This concealer perfectly brightens my under eyes and blurs out imperfections.
16. Wet n Wild Color Icon Bronzer. $3.99!! Another absolute favorite of mine. I'm pretty picky when it comes to bronzer because my skin is really oily but this bronzer is oil free and gives off a perfect sunkissed glow. I've found that many drugstore bronzers are glittery and sparkly but not this one! I use this bronzer when I'm out of my absolute favorite Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer ($30).
17. e.l.f Kohl Eyeliner. $3!! I tried this when I was out of my usual eyeliner (the Tarte doublesided 'Double Take' eyeliner) and I was seriously SHOOK. I was not prepared at how smoothly this appeared onto my lid and it doesn't transfer to your eyelid. I like the sponge tip as well that works as a perfect blending tool to create a smokey eye.
18. Makeup Wipes from TJ Maxx or Marshall's. A pack of 60 wipes is only $4! I don't think they carry one specific brand but rather tons of very similar looking packs with all different scents and varieties. For that reason, the only thing I could find is a 2pk for $7.99. TJ Maxx is the only place I buy makeup wipes. These are good quality wipes - they don't dry out easily, get your makeup off, and feel moisturizing to the skin as well.
19. NYX Wonder Stick. On sale at Ulta for $8.39! This is the perfect contour stick for beginners or those who want a subtle contour. The concealer on this is surprisingly SO good. Both sides are extremely blendable and easy to use!

What are some of your favorite drug store beauty products?
xo, Allie