Shopaholism is a serious problem. Particularly in the world of beauty, it’s very important to take things one day at a time. The beauty world is booming over the past year, and we can’t seem to keep up. But we definitely try to, much to our bank account’s dismay… Beauty products are far from affordable. Cheap makeup is definitely a rarity. We find ourselves playing favorites and spending more on our holy grails while skipping our necessities. Instead of that harsh method, why not try a more tactical approach…
Luckily for us beauty addicts, the drugstore market for beauty has grown insanely over the past years. Suddenly, it’s more than possible to have an entire beauty collection that consists solely of cheap makeup without forgoing quality! We’re here to help you find the gems of the drugstore. It’s time to figure out where you can afford to save, and where you need to splurge!
Skincare
Where To Spend
- Eye Cream – As the most preventative Skincare step you can take, we prefer to spend a little more on it. Wrinkles and crows feet are a real struggle that we personally work to prevent from our early twenties! It’s all about investing in an amazing eye cream with great ingredients to help keep your undereyes bright and tight for as long as we can! Stick to the aisles of Sephora for this one.
- Acids – Forget about that St. Ives scrub you used in your teens, when it comes to exfoliation these days it’s all about acids. Instead of using harsh chunky scrubs to slough away your dead skin, it’s time to invest in an AHA or BHA acid product to exfoliate your skin. Acids can be scary, that’s why we suggest trusting a higher end brand that knows what it’s doing.
Where To Save
- SPF – We’re going to go ahead and assume you aren’t skipping this step (you’d better not be!). Well, as you may already know the drugstore is jam packed full of sunscreens. Why invest in a $60 SPF when it has the exact same level of protection as any cheap drugstore one? This one just baffles us. Take our word for it, stick to your drugstore classics for sun protection!
- Cleanser – We actually PREFER the drugstore for this one! There are so many countless cleansers on the market. Every one seems to target a different need. With cleansers, it’s so easy to go too far and strip your skin of the natural oils it needs to function. That’s why when it comes to cleanser we prefer dermatologist approved, gentle cleansers. There are tons of these in the drugstore and they’re going to benefit your skin much more than the latest mud/jelly/foam hybrid cleanser!
- Masks – As the most pampering and relaxing step of our Skincare routine, we often choose to invest in a luxurious feeling face mask. Well, stop! There’s really no need to. The most potent form of face mask around currently is sheet masks. Luckily for us there are tons of cheap sheet masks, the majority are actually cheap! It’s so easy to save money on face masks while still getting the same pampering experience!
Makeup
Where To Spend
- Foundation – Now, don’t get us wrong, we’re super grateful that there are so many cheap foundations on the market right now. If you’d rather save, you certainly can. However, with such a core step to your makeup routine we find its best to invest. Using a great higher end foundation gives the rest of your makeup a literal great foundation for everything else to sit on beautifully. Seriously investing in your base allows you to cheat and save on other steps!
- Eyeshadow – Cheap makeup can be great in most cases, eyeshadow is a completely different story. While we will appreciate that some indie makeup brands have recently been coming out with cheap eyeshadow options such as Colourpop, the general rule is still to invest. Eyeshadow is already difficult enough to master and blend beautifully, using cheap options just makes things even harder. Cheap eyeshadows are often just too chalky and powdery or they simply don’t have enough pigment at all. Just invest in a good all-rounder eyeshadow palette and you’ll be good to go for well over a year. It’s an investment, but one that’ll last you a while.
Where To Save
- Powder Products – Blusher, bronzer, setting powder, you name it, there’s a cheap option. For some reason, cheaper powder products today seem to perform just as well if not better than more expensive ones. In the past powder products that were cheap often looked cakey and heavy on the skin. Well, that’s no longer a problem. Powders seem to be much more finely milled these days and just melt into the skin- you just have to find the right ones for your needs!
- Mascara – We cannot possibly stress enough how much you need to stop spending on mascaras! For ages and ages now drugstore mascaras have been serious competitors. They’re simply on par, if not better. Investing $30 in a mascara is just a serious waste of money. Cheap mascaras can give you lashings of volume and length and they even come multi colored and in waterproof formulas – what more could you ask for?
- Highlighter – The glow is very high in demand these days. It’s all about the blinding highlight and over the past couple of years we’ve all spent far too much investing more and more in an attempt to get a more intense highlight. Well, stop! The drugstore has quickly responded to the growing demand and lately we’ve noticed more and more highlight releases that work even better than luxury brands! If you want to pile on the glow, you seriously do not need to pile on the money!
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