At the moment, I am not able to sew due to my vision issues. I still want to provide content for my readers, so over the next few posts, I will explore topics other than quilting. I am a makeup junkie, so I thought it would be fun to talk about some of my favorite drugstore makeup. In a future post, I will talk about my favorite high-end products if there is any interest.
Drugstore makeup has come a long way in recent years. Ten or fifteen years ago, I was a total drugstore makeup snob. I would not have touched the stuff at the drugstore. However, drugstore products are now giving high-end makeup a run for its money, with scads of great products often performing as well or even better than their pricier competitors. I will share some of my recommendations below. Every one of them can be found at CVS, Walmart, Target or wherever drugstore makeup is sold.
To be honest, for most of my skin care, I use more expensive brands, but these drugstore cleansers and moisturizers are very good. I particularly like them for traveling, as they are in plastic containers. Whatever brand of makeup you use, it is imperative to start with clean, well-moisturized skin.
At the top of the photo is Cetaphil cleanser, which is inexpensive, effective, and extremely gentle. The mositurizers are all by CeraVe, a brand frequently recommended by dermatologists. The PM Moisturizer is particularly good, and I use it both during the day and before bed. The hydrating serum is quite lovely and keeps my thirsty, dry skin in great shape. The moisturizing cream on the right is good, but I actually prefer the PM version both day and night.
Many women like to apply a makeup primer over their skincare to prep their face for foundation. Sometimes I use a primer, and often I skip it. Elf is a budget brand you will want to familiarize yourself with if you shop at the drugstore. Their prices are incredible, and most of their products are very good. These two different primers focus on different issues: hiding pores and hydrating the skin. You would pick one, not use both.
Now, for arguably the most important product you will use: foundation. Drugstore foundations have improved a thousand percent over the past few years, many of them dupes for (and even made at the same factories with the SAME ingredients) as products costing five times as much. Here are two options: The L’Oreal True Match Nude foundation ($21) on the left has been compared to the Armani Luminous Silk foundation ($69) and to Estee Lauder’s Futurist ($55).
I have heard that the L’Oreal Radiant Serum Foundation on the right is actually an exact dupe for a discontinued Lancôme foundation. L’Oreal owns Lancome, you see, and both brands are made in the same factories with the exact same ingredients. When the Lancome product was discontinued, L’Oreal put a different label on it and it is now sold under a different name at the drugstore. For a lot less money. Same exact product, same high-end manufacturer.
As our skin ages, many women switch to lighter formula foundations that provide less coverage. Less cakey, less likely to settle into lines. The L’Oreal True Match Nude provides a light amount of coverage that looks like your skin, but better. If you have rosacea or other skin imperfections, this will cover it up, but not in a heavy way. What I reach for most days is the L’Oreal Radiant Serum Foundation, which has sunscreen and is actually more of a skin tint than a true foundation. It is like using skin care instead of makeup. Your skin will not be totally covered up, but you will have a natural healthy glow that lasts all day.
Ok, enough lecturing, I will go faster.
After applying foundation, many of us like to apply a bit of color to our cheeks in the form of blush. There are several forms of blush available: powder, cream, and liquid. My aging skin likes cream products for their ease of blending and a less “powdery” look. The Cover Girl Skin Enhancer stick at the top of the photo blends out super easily and looks very natural. Elf has a similar product which is good too. If you like a powder blush, CoverGirl has a version as well, which is being compared to Hourglass brand blushes, which cost four times as much. The powder blushes have a kind of glow to them, which is very flattering.
You might like using a bronzer in addition to your blush, or perhaps just on its own for a natural sun-kissed look. The two powder bronzers on the left, by Physician’s Formula and Milani, both give a glowy, subtle look to the cheeks. If you like cream products, the larger product on the right is the Sun Booster Glow cream bronzer by Physicians Formula ($12) which I absolutely love. It is an exact dupe for the Chanel cream bronzer that costs $60. Same thing, and it will last you forever in that big pot.
So, how do you apply these products? There is no need to buy makeup brushes that cost $50 for just one brush. Real Techniques is a brand created a few years back that is sold in the drugstore and is of excellent quality. Forgive me if some of my brushes look like they need a wash; I do use them every day! Real Techniques has brushes suitable for every makeup application, from concealer, foundation, blush, eyeshadow, powder, and more. You can often buy them in sets and save even more.
My eyeshadow routine has been greatly simplified in recent years by switching to cream eye shadow sticks. You pick a color, swipe it on, blend it with a brush, and you are done. Two drugstore brands I really like are Clean Eyecolor by Cover Girl and Le Shadow Stick by L’Oreal. They both are super creamy, glide on, and blend out easily. You can use a lighter color on the lid if you like, and line your eye with a darker shade.
Drugstore mascaras are actually pretty good these days. Two that I like are L’Oreal’s Lash Paradise and Maybelline’s Lash Sensational Body. Mascara can be kind of goopy when you first use it, so apply sparingly at first to avoid clumps. As the product dries out, it gets easier to use in my experience.
Lipsticks abound at the drugstore. I prefer a more balmy, glossy, non-matte formula, so the ones I am showing here fall into that category. These are Revlon’s Super Lustrous Glass Shine Balms, which is a silly long name for a glossy balm style lippie. I love this formula and have a ton of different colors. I just noticed in the picture that some of them are upside down, but that is the story of my life right now with my blurry vision. I adore these lipsticks and urge you to buy at least one to try it out. The colors on your lip are not as dark and vibrant as shown on the labels. I think you will love these.
I’ll bet this is a product most of you don’t use. It is a makeup setting spray, which reduces the powdery look of makeup and really does make it last longer. It takes away that “made up” look and gives a glowy, hydrated, natural look to the skin. I enjoy the effect of it, and think it makes makeup look more natural on older skin. For $12 at the drugstore, you could try it and see what you think.
Lastly, how do you get it all off at the end of the day? No need to spend lots of money on a high-end makeup remover. This drugstore Micellar Cleaning Water will do the job for around $11 with just a cotton pad.
You may notice I didn’t discuss eyebrow products. That is because the only brand I use is Anastasia, and you can’t get that at CVS. There may be some good ones at the drugstore, but I found a brand I like and I’m sticking with it. I also don’t use concealer regularly, so didn’t mention that product in today’s post. I rarely use powder to finish my makeup because I don’t think powder is flattering to my older skin.
Hope you enjoyed today’s post for a change. I will get back to my quilting soon I hope. It may take a week or so for my eye to settle down. The distorted vision is caused by swelling at the back of the retina, which takes a bit of time to reduce. Hang in there with me!
30 Responses
As someone who only uses a little blush,mascara and lip color- I would love to see your makeup drawer!
When do you start your injections in the 2nd eye, or have you already?
I definitely have loads of makeup. Too bad I can’t see my face to put it on properly right now!
The doctor treated me immediately in the right eye. The retina photographs they take prior to each visit showed a dramatic amount of swelling and possible bleeding, so they don’t wait and see; they just give you the injection right away to start healing. We had hoped to lengthen the time between injections to five or six weeks, but with this new development, I will stay on a four-week schedule for the foreseeable future.
Elf has a great concealer!
Thank you for the make up info. I am going to try some of these and clean out my old products! I hope your vision clears for you soon.
The price per product is typically just over $10, so it’s hard to resist new products when they come out.
I don’t wear much makeup as I found I’m allergic (tearing eyes) if I use just about anything. I stick with Oil of Olay moisturizer and I use the Physicians Formula for blush. I like the multi-colors in it which blends well. Both are found in drugstores. I use CVS.
I have terrible dry eye too. Eyedrops help, but eye makeup probably doesn’t do the situation much good. CVS is where I pick up most things too.
Nicole,
This was fun to read! I would like to try the eyeshadow you mentioned above. Also, thanks for the tips on the brushes and the makeup setting spray.
The cream stick shadows are a dream to use and irritate my eyes a lot less than powder formulas do. I like to blend them out a little with a fluffy brush, but you can use your fingers or just leave it as is. It’s a nice product. Very creamy and doesn’t pull on the eyelids at all. You cannot go wrong with Real Techniques brushes, the quality is just as good as much pricier brands.
Your reviews, from books & quilting tools to recipes & makeup are always helpful. I use both Cera Ve & Oil of Olay. But, my favorite (is it the nostalgic almond odor?) for legs is Original Jergens Lotion. NW Wyoming stores probably sell a ton of all of these because of our extremely dry climate! I’m looking for a non-lipstick lipstick for a wedding this summer because my normal Chapstick isn’t going to cut it! I’ll keep an eye out for the Revlon Balm. Thanks for taking the time to share some of your favorites with us!
When you mentioned Jergens, the smell came back to me immediately! Very distinctive. I remember Grandma Agnes using it. She liked Ponds too. That Revlon balm lipstick is wonderful. I don’t like a waxy lipstick-lipstick either. The glossy balms aren’t as long-lasting, but I don’t mind reapplying.
I like reading all your suggestions. I found it very helpful. I have dark under eye shadows and use Estée Lauder concealer. I’ve tried other brands but this one works the best for me. I agree with you about Elf products. I like them.
My husband had Macular and those monthly shots really helped him. I wish you the best with your treatment and will look forward to you posting about your quilting soon.
I’ve heard CeraVe has brought out a tinted moisturizer with sunscreen protection. Looking forward to trying it when I see it for sale in my local drugstore.
I first tried the CeraVa moisturizers after your recommendations. As I now live 2 hrs from the closest store to purchase my former high end brand the switch has been made. Thank you Nicole.
I love micellar water to remove my makeup! What I love the most is that it isn’t oily! I, too, used to use more expensive products. Even my ophthalmologist is in favor of micellar water for removing eye makeup. It is so cheap, too! By saving money on this, it gives me more money for fabric…
Cheaper makeup products=more money for fabric. I love it!
I’ve got skin sensitivity issues to everything it seems. I use EltaMD products but they are really expensive. I also had to change to Eucerin cream in the tub for my body moisturizer. at least that’s not expensive. ;p
I’ve used the Eucerin cream as well and liked it. My favorite is OSea Body Butter–it is made with algae or something that sounds disgusting, but it smells great and makes my dry skin feel good.
I also have very sensitive skin. I only use Clinique make up. But, seriously, this micellar water hasn’t bothered my skin at all! I have gotten huge hives on my skin before even from Estée Lauder products. Once, after trying a skin wrinkle fixer I actually was feeling sick! Runny nose, fatigue; it was awful. So I am super careful about what touches my face! I hear you! I tell myself this skin sensitivity is because I am just that special!!
Thanks for sharing this information. Definitely makes me wish I’d taken better care of my skin when I was younger. Now, I could probably just use a jar of spackle and a putty knife to smooth out the skin. 😂🤣😂
I sure do regret the sun tanning I did when I was younger.
other than quilty is fine. it’s not books (love), but nice to consider other life areas. your info on eyes is good too. something we all should be aware of in taking care of ourselves. (and in doing so yourself, please give yourself the gift of days off- no pressure. that too is healthy!) oh, and squeeze archie to lower your blood pressure!!
I sure can’t see well enough to do much of anything. My fingers know how to type without having to see so great, so I can still write. I am having trouble figuring out what to do with myself! I can use my Kindle with the font made gigantic, so that’s something.
I haven’t worn make-up in ages, but do use the nighttime CeraVe and love it. You have tempted me to visit Walgreens!
Hugs!
That PM CeraVe is so good. A makeup influencer I watch on YouTube swears by it and says you can use it in the AM as well as PM, so I do.
Nicole, thanks for this blog entry!!!!! I’ve been a Walmart makeup shopper for years, but you can spend a fortune trying this and that. So having your recommendations of items you have used a liked it such a help.
Thanks Carol! Hope it was useful.
Thanks for sharing your honest take on drugstore makeup— it’s so true that the quality has improved so much over the years. I appreciate how you emphasized the importance of a good skincare routine first, especially since it makes such a difference in how makeup looks and lasts. Your post reminded me to revisit some of those affordable basics I’ve been overlooking.
I’d love to hear why you don’t regularly use concealer. I want so badly for it to help me, but it really never does. Love this post. I’m also a makeup snob so I’d enjoy hearing your thoughts on the high end items.
I discovered Walgreens cosmetics and No7 is now my favorite line. Got help from their cosmetics consultants. They have good sales frequently. All the best to you with your eye treatments.
Thanks for all of these suggestions! I’m going to try some of these. I’d also like to see a post with your pricier items. Wishing you full eye recovery!