Best Drugstore Makeup

Learn how to build you own, personalized beauty budget pyramid, and choose from my list of the best drugstore makeup options on the market!

In a perfect world, we would all be able to splurge on every luxury brand product the we swoon over at the makeup counters or, even more dangerously, at

and Sephora. However, in my world, I have to sometimes control my makeup-buying urges and swap the pricey stuff for it’s cheaper alternative, at the drugstore! I don’t want to have to sacrifice that confident feeling that flawless makeup can give me, so I have scoured the racks and searched the shelves and come up with the best drugstore makeup products available! Stick with these options and your wallet will thank you later, and you’ll still look and feel totally gorgeous!

Glam it up on a budget!

How to build your beauty budget pyramid:

If you have a beauty budget, you should know where to spend a little more and where to save. I like to think of my budget as a pyramid shape, with the width representing the amount of money you spend on each product. Step by step, this is how you should build and fill your pyramid:

• First, begin filling your pyramid with the necessities, beginning with the products that go directly onto your skin. This will be your foundation or BB cream, your primer, your eyeshadow base, or anything that will be the first layer on your skin.
• Next, fill the middle of the pyramid with item that plays up what is most important to you. Choose one feature you like to focus on. If you have an obsession with glamorous lashes, choose a luxury mascara. If you are way into the new strobing fad, choose the highlighter you’ve been pining after. Love a fierce, black wing? Go for a high quality liquid eyeliner. See the trend here? Splurging on one item essential to your favorite look will boost the perceived quality of all the rest of your drugstore picks! This is a great trick to fake an expensive look without overspending.
• Last step, fill in the top with whatever’s left of your makeup essentials! This top tier of products will be what you choose from the best drugstore makeup options that I will list below! These items will be your most affordable makeup items, so fill this tier with your lip color, your eye shadow, your mascara, your contour makeup, or basically everything else you need for your makeup look aside from the items in your lower two tiers of the beauty budget pyramid.

Best drugtore makeup!

I’ve compiled a list of my favorite affordable items from the drugstore! Let’s get started!

Best BB Cream:

Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream. An 8-in-1 beauty balm with SPF, this BB cream provides a natural, light coverage while protecting the skin from harmful rays from the sun! Great for a fresh makeup look!

Best Mascara:

L’Oreal Paris Voluminous Miss Manga Mascara. This mascara totally gave me anime eyes! The volume is intense, and my eyes appeared wider and cuter with this mascara.

Best Eyeshadow Palette:

Maybelline The Nudes Palette. I’ve actually done an entire bridal makeup look for a bride using only this palette! I consider it one of the best drugstore makeup palettes because it has great color payoff, it blends surprisingly well for a drugstore shadow palette, and it has beautiful shades that you can mix and match for daytime and nighttime makeup looks!

Best Lip Color:

NYX Cosmetics Butter Lip Balm. I am obsessed with these balms, and I can’t stop buying new colors! I’m in love with Biscotti, because its so soft and natural but gives me just the hint of color I need for my everyday lip look. The texture is soft and, yes, buttery, and it’s very hydrating for dry or cracking lips! Plus they are SUPER cheap, so you will be able to add this to your makeup kit guilt-free!

Best Drugstore Concealer:

Maybelline Fit Me Concealer. The texture allows for good coverage, blendability, and natural finish! This is a great product for spot concealing, and for building up intensity until you reach your desired level of coverage.

And there you have it, my absolute go-tos for the best drugstore makeup swaps you can make today! Build your pyramid by your own personal order of importance, and then fill your makeup bag accordingly! Your wallet will stay happy, and you will feel a warm glow knowing that you’re being a money-savvy chick who still looks totally gorgeous while sticking to that beauty budget!

Have fun playing up your features, beauties!