Budget Beauty

If you’re the kind of girl who is always hunting for bargains, this post is for you! Or maybe you’re a college student who doesn’t have much extra money. Everything in this post can be found at drugstores and is $12 or under! Click on the title of each to find out more.

Biore Complexion Clearing Blemish Fighting Ice Cleanser

First things first. To start your beauty routine, you first need to cleanse your face. If you have acne like me, you’ve probably tried tons of products out there. I’ve even tried expensive products, but this by far is my favorite. It works quickly and cleanses deeply. It finishes by giving your face a cooling, minty feeling. I love it! Even if it didn’t work, I would still love the cooling feeling. =D

I use this in the morning and follow with a witch hazel toner and a light oil-free moisturizer, then use a gentle scrub at night to exfoliate dead cells for deeper pore cleansing. Using a scrub will keep your pores clear and prevent acne, but using a scrub more than once a day may be too harsh for your skin and cause redness.

Dove Go Fresh Body Wash

I use this for the rest of my body, and I love it so much! It’s super moisturizing and makes my skin really soft and lightly scented. It lasts a really long time which is a bonus for you barganistas! It seems really concentrated because a small amount lathers well on wet skin. My favorite is Pomegranate and Lemon Verbena, but the other two smell delicious as well! Also, their Go Fresh deodorant is probably the best I ever used.

Neutrogena Healthy Skin Liquid Makeup

This foundation is said to be comparable to the high end NARS Sheer Glow Foundation! The price is 49 cents over the limit, but I promise it’s worth it! It really is one of the best drug store foundations. It has a very natural, dewy look, and says “the exclusive blend plus SPF 20 work together to visibly improve skin's luminosity, tone, and texture”. There is a wide color range to choose from to find your perfect match. The formula is lightweight and silky, but still has nice coverage.

Rimmel Lasting Finish Blush and Natural Bronzer

Rimmel is a great drug store brand, I use their lip liners in my makeup kit for work. These are only around $4-$5 and are nicely pigmented, but not too dark, which dark is something you don’t want in your blush and especially bronzer. The bronzer has a small amount of shimmer, but not too much and it’s not like the chunky glitter you’ll often find in drug store bronzers.

NYX HD Eyeshadow Base

This eyeshadow primer is said to be comparable to Urban Decay’s Primer Potion, which is the bestselling primer out there! But instead of $18-19, it’s only $7! I love many NYX products, they are one of the better brands that sell for less. I’m not sure how many drugstores they sell in (I know they are in some but they’re not in my local stores), but you can easily find them online or at ULTA.

L'Oreal HiP High Intensity Pigments Shadow Duos

This eyeshadow is very pigmented for a drug store brand. Typically, I stay away from drug store eyeshadow because with most of the cheaper kinds, you’re actually paying more for less in the end because they’re a lot less pigmented than the expensive brands. While you are paying $8 for 2 colors, this duo is comparable to brands that you’d pay around $20 for 2 colors.

Revlon Colorstay Liquid Eyeliner

This is good stuff! As good as any expensive liner I’ve tried. I love that it has a felt tip instead of brush because it’s easier to get a precise line without fraying.

If you like pencil or crayon liners, try L'Oreal Paris HiP Studio Secrets Professional Chrome Eyeliner. I’ve heard they’re comparable to the Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner, which in my opinion, is the best eyeliner on the market.

Organic Wear 100% Natural Origin Mascara

This is my favorite mascara ever! It’s in an adorable package and has an awesome brush that separates each lash for longer, darker, thicker, and overall more defined lashes. It leaves your lashes soft and flexible unlike the stiff feeling of most other mascaras. And since it is natural and not waterproof, it’s better and more moisturizing for my eyelashes; it doesn’t dry them out and eat away at them and is easy to remove with soap and water. The best thing you can do to get lush, thick, long lashes is to take good care of your natural lashes underneath the mascara.

Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer

If you liked the original Burt’s Bees Lip Balm, you’ll love the Lip Shimmer! It’s just like the balm but adds some color to your lips. My favorite shades are Watermelon and Rhubarb. Champagne would be perfect for those popular pinky nude lips.

If you’re more of a lip gloss girl, try Burt’s Bees Super Glossy Natural Lip Shine. I love this. It moisturizes and has a delicious fruity scent to it.

Crest 3D White Vivid Radiant Mint Toothpaste

What’s better to complete your makeup routine than with a white smile? A couple months ago, I’d been noticing my teeth have been looking dull in pictures. I heard good things about this toothpaste, so I decided to give it a try. Since I’ve been using it, people have noticed my whiter smile!

I like using it with the Crest 3D White Multi-Care Rinse for a cheaper alternative to the whitestrips.

Eco Tools One Hand Helps The Other

And before you leave the house, don’t forget about your hands! If you’ve ever shook hands with an attractive person with not-so-attractive hands, you know how this can change your perspective. This intensive hand cream is perfect for the winter months and the dry skin that comes with it because it hydrates naturally with jojoba oil and works deep so you don’t have to keep reapplying it. Your skin instantly feels softer when you put it on.

Neutrogena Make-Up Remover Cleansing Towelettes

At the end of the day, it’s important to remove your makeup before you go to bed. I love these makeup remover cloths! They are gentle enough to use around and even in the inner rims of your eyes, but tough enough to remove my waterproof eyeliner. I just buy the refill pack, because the package is resealable, so it keeps them moist. They are pretty big and I don’t need to use the whole cloth, so I always tear them in half (or in thirds!). That way they last me twice as long!

And the total if you would buy one each of the products I mentioned would take us to about $112 (which is kind of ironic since everything was under $12). Not bad for everything you need for your beauty routine, huh?

I was curious how much it might cost buying high end products that work just as well as these and the total was $415! WOW! Talk about saving money! You just saved over $300! ;D

Also, I am still looking for a good drug store concealer. I’ve tried Physician’s Formula, which is chunky and horrible (I bought it because I liked that it came with green concealer to cover up redness), and Neutrogena’s Skin Clearing one, which is okay. It works to clear blemishes doesn’t conceal well because it’s too liquidy, not creamy enough. I’ve heard the Revlon Photo Ready concealer is good, has anyone tried that or any other concealer you recommend?

What are your favorite bargain beauty products? Do tell.