Drugstore Must Haves
In the UK, we tend to call the affordable make up brands 'high street' as opposed to 'drugstore' but I feel like drugstore sounds better! There are so many great, affordable products available to us and it feels like the high street brands just keep upping their game. These are a few of my absolute favourite drugstore items that I think everyone should try!
1. Maybelline Lash Sensational Lash Multiplying Mascara - £7.99
- 'If you are into the world of make up, YouTube beauty gurus and beauty bloggers, chances are you've already heard a million people rave about this mascara. I was very loyal to L'Oreal Mascaras and didn't want to try this, but eventually, I gave in to the hype and purchased it. It quickly became my favourite mascara. It has a curved, plastic brush, which curls my lashes like crazy and the curl stays in place all day. It adds great length and volume and really separates my lashes. It just achieves great lashes every time I use it and for £7.99, you can't go wrong. It's a definite must have to me!
2. Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer - Fair 1 - £4.19
- Again, this is an absolute drugstore cult favourite. The shade fair is actually fair enough for us pale princesses! This concealer is full coverage, easily blendable and stays put when set with a powder. It has a doe-foot applicator and you get 7ml of product in the tube. This is an easy product to find; almost every supermarket, Boots, Superdrug and many other stores stock Collection make up. I've repurchased this many times and it is currently one of my favourite concealers. This is another cult favourite that I completely agree with the hype surrounding it!
3. Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge - £5.99
- This is a very affordable and popular dupe for the original Beauty Blender, although the shape is different. This sponge has a flat edge which can be used for blending out foundation, a pointed end which can be used to blend concealer around the eyes and rounded sides which can be used for more difficult areas to blend like the nose. I've repurchased this sponge many times and will continue to do so. When you dampen the sponge, it expands a lot more than other Beauty Blender dupes that I've tried and it is very soft and squishy. It doesn't absorb much product and leaves a flawless finish on the face. This is a definite must have from the drugstore. They have also brought out a range of smaller sponges and different shapes and colours.
4. Maybelline Eye Studio Master Smokey Eyeliner - £5.99
- I struggled for years to find a kohl eyeliner that was jet black, pigmented, creamy and stayed on my waterline all day. I tried a very large number of brands and wasn't wowed by any of them, that was, until I found this one! This eyeliner is everything I was looking for. It is a slightly chunkier eyeliner, which lasts around 3 weeks before needing to be sharpened (I use it almost everyday) and it is super creamy and smooth to apply to the waterline, it is
super black and it stays in place all day. I don't use the smudger end at all. This eyeliner is my absolute favourite from the drugstore and I will continue to repurchase this.
5. Rimmel Brow This Way Styling Gel - £3.99
- In case you don't already know, I am naturally blonde but I have been dying my hair dark purple for the last few years. This means I have blonde eyebrows, which does not look good with dark hair! I used to use eyebrow pencils to fill in my brows everyday, which took a long time to do, I was constantly sharpening the pencil and it often was too dark and smudgy. I saw one person recommend this product on YouTube and thought for the price is was worth trying. I've never gone back now! This is great for speedy application and everyday, natural looking brows. If you want carved out, perfectly styled brows, this probably isn't for you. I use a brow pomade and a clear brow gel for nights out, special occasions and when I have more time to do my make up, but for everyday, this is great. People often don't believe me when I say I'm naturally blonde and my eyebrows are blonde without make up on.
6. Nivea Lip Butter - £2.25
- If you're someone who gets dry lips often, this is an absolute must have. I always have some form of lip balm on, but this is for the days when I need a little more moisture on my lips, for overnight and for pamper nights in the bath. My favourite two varieties of this are the Coconut one and the Vanilla & Macadamia version. They are must haves for me. They smell amazing, are super moisturising, a relatively thick consistency but not sticky and the tin lasts you forever! It is a very rich and luxurious feeling product. You get 16.7g of product in the tin.
7. Make Up Revolution Ultra Eyeshadows Palette - £8.00
- Make Up Revolution create some of the best eyeshadow palettes in the drugstore. This is just one example of their great eyeshadows. This palette comes with 32 shades and contains 16g of product overall. Inside the palette, you will find 12 extremely buttery, creamy, pigmented foiled shadows, along with 8 mattes and 12 shimmer shades. The palette has a good colour variety, with lots of neutral browns but also blue, green, pink, bronze and golden colours. It also comes with a huge mirror and in sturdy packaging. This is another must have product for me! I've swatched a small selection of colours from the palette below.
8. Maybelline Color Sensational Matte Lipsticks - £6.99
- Maybelline seems to be featured a lot in this blog post - that was not intentional, it is just that these are some of my favourite products! I have 2 shades of the Maybelline Color Sensational Matte Lipsticks, in 930 Nude Embrace and 975 Divine Wine. These lipsticks have a slight sweet scent to them, nothing overpowering but just a hint of what smells like shea butter or vanilla. Both of these shades are super pigmented, very creamy and they are matte without drying your lips out. They are very comfortable to wear on your lips for a long period of time. Nude Embrace is a lovely neutral colour for pale princesses and it is one of my go-to everyday lipsticks.
9. Bourjois Volume 1 Seconde Mascara - £9.99
- This is a newer purchase for me - I bought this based on it's outstanding reviews on Boots.com and it did not let me down! This is just as good as the Lash Sensational in my opinion, but it is no where near as hyped on YouTube. The brush is a bit strange, not like any mascara brush I've used before. It is quite chunky and thick, plastic, with some spikes but also little dots. This mascara gives amazing volume and length and also curls my lashes, but it is less spikey looking than the Lash Sensational and gives a false lash effect. It is also super black, which I like in a mascara. I love this mascara and I've already repurchased it!
10. L'Oreal Super Liner So Couture Liquid Eyeliner - £6.99
- This is one of my absolute favourite liquid eyeliner pens. It has a very fine tip, which is great for precise application and it is super black. It dries quickly so it doesn't smudge or transfer and it is semi-matte when it has dried down. I personally love felt tip eyeliner pens as I find them the easiest to work with; I would recommend trying this if you are new to liquid eyeliner or struggle with it. Also, it doesn't flake off if you have to go over the same bit again, as some liquid eyeliners do. This stays in place on me all day - I can't really fault it! This product is a definite must have for me.
11. i Heart Make Up Goddess of Love Highlighter - (Goddess of Faith) £4.99
- I will be doing a 'best highlighters for pale skin' blog post at some point, but this is a sneak preview! This highlighter is one of my favourites - not only is it super affordable but it comes in cute heart shaped packaging and it is a great shade for pale princesses. This highlighter can be applied using a fan brush and a light hand for a more natural effect or with a small tapered brush for a more intense highlight. The shade 'Goddess of Faith' is a pale champagne colour, with a hint of pale peachy pink. This highlighter creates a sheen and is more shimmery than glittery. I love this highlighter and it's a drugstore must have for me!
12. Maybelline Color Tattoo 24h Cream Eyeshadow - £4.99
- These cream eyeshadows are some of my favourites. I have 3 shades from the range, On and On Bronze (middle), Eternal Gold (left) and Chocolate Suede (right). They are described as a gel-cream eyeshadow and they are super pigmented and creamy, as the name suggests. A lot of people are put off by cream eyeshadows because they think they will crease on their eyelids throughout the day or become a greasy mess. These are actually very easy to apply with a flat eyeshadow brush (or your finger) and they stay put all day without any creasing on my eyelids. They can be used as a base for other eyeshadows to make them more vibrant and metallic or they can be used on their own. If you want to try a cream eyeshadow, I definitely recommend these ones.
Let me know in the comments below if you've tried any of these or if you've got any other drugstore must haves for me to try!
Sarah (aka. Pale Princess) x
1. Maybelline Lash Sensational Lash Multiplying Mascara - £7.99
- 'If you are into the world of make up, YouTube beauty gurus and beauty bloggers, chances are you've already heard a million people rave about this mascara. I was very loyal to L'Oreal Mascaras and didn't want to try this, but eventually, I gave in to the hype and purchased it. It quickly became my favourite mascara. It has a curved, plastic brush, which curls my lashes like crazy and the curl stays in place all day. It adds great length and volume and really separates my lashes. It just achieves great lashes every time I use it and for £7.99, you can't go wrong. It's a definite must have to me!
2. Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer - Fair 1 - £4.19- Again, this is an absolute drugstore cult favourite. The shade fair is actually fair enough for us pale princesses! This concealer is full coverage, easily blendable and stays put when set with a powder. It has a doe-foot applicator and you get 7ml of product in the tube. This is an easy product to find; almost every supermarket, Boots, Superdrug and many other stores stock Collection make up. I've repurchased this many times and it is currently one of my favourite concealers. This is another cult favourite that I completely agree with the hype surrounding it!
3. Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge - £5.99
- This is a very affordable and popular dupe for the original Beauty Blender, although the shape is different. This sponge has a flat edge which can be used for blending out foundation, a pointed end which can be used to blend concealer around the eyes and rounded sides which can be used for more difficult areas to blend like the nose. I've repurchased this sponge many times and will continue to do so. When you dampen the sponge, it expands a lot more than other Beauty Blender dupes that I've tried and it is very soft and squishy. It doesn't absorb much product and leaves a flawless finish on the face. This is a definite must have from the drugstore. They have also brought out a range of smaller sponges and different shapes and colours.
4. Maybelline Eye Studio Master Smokey Eyeliner - £5.99- I struggled for years to find a kohl eyeliner that was jet black, pigmented, creamy and stayed on my waterline all day. I tried a very large number of brands and wasn't wowed by any of them, that was, until I found this one! This eyeliner is everything I was looking for. It is a slightly chunkier eyeliner, which lasts around 3 weeks before needing to be sharpened (I use it almost everyday) and it is super creamy and smooth to apply to the waterline, it is
super black and it stays in place all day. I don't use the smudger end at all. This eyeliner is my absolute favourite from the drugstore and I will continue to repurchase this.
5. Rimmel Brow This Way Styling Gel - £3.99- In case you don't already know, I am naturally blonde but I have been dying my hair dark purple for the last few years. This means I have blonde eyebrows, which does not look good with dark hair! I used to use eyebrow pencils to fill in my brows everyday, which took a long time to do, I was constantly sharpening the pencil and it often was too dark and smudgy. I saw one person recommend this product on YouTube and thought for the price is was worth trying. I've never gone back now! This is great for speedy application and everyday, natural looking brows. If you want carved out, perfectly styled brows, this probably isn't for you. I use a brow pomade and a clear brow gel for nights out, special occasions and when I have more time to do my make up, but for everyday, this is great. People often don't believe me when I say I'm naturally blonde and my eyebrows are blonde without make up on.
6. Nivea Lip Butter - £2.25
- If you're someone who gets dry lips often, this is an absolute must have. I always have some form of lip balm on, but this is for the days when I need a little more moisture on my lips, for overnight and for pamper nights in the bath. My favourite two varieties of this are the Coconut one and the Vanilla & Macadamia version. They are must haves for me. They smell amazing, are super moisturising, a relatively thick consistency but not sticky and the tin lasts you forever! It is a very rich and luxurious feeling product. You get 16.7g of product in the tin.7. Make Up Revolution Ultra Eyeshadows Palette - £8.00
- Make Up Revolution create some of the best eyeshadow palettes in the drugstore. This is just one example of their great eyeshadows. This palette comes with 32 shades and contains 16g of product overall. Inside the palette, you will find 12 extremely buttery, creamy, pigmented foiled shadows, along with 8 mattes and 12 shimmer shades. The palette has a good colour variety, with lots of neutral browns but also blue, green, pink, bronze and golden colours. It also comes with a huge mirror and in sturdy packaging. This is another must have product for me! I've swatched a small selection of colours from the palette below.
8. Maybelline Color Sensational Matte Lipsticks - £6.99
- Maybelline seems to be featured a lot in this blog post - that was not intentional, it is just that these are some of my favourite products! I have 2 shades of the Maybelline Color Sensational Matte Lipsticks, in 930 Nude Embrace and 975 Divine Wine. These lipsticks have a slight sweet scent to them, nothing overpowering but just a hint of what smells like shea butter or vanilla. Both of these shades are super pigmented, very creamy and they are matte without drying your lips out. They are very comfortable to wear on your lips for a long period of time. Nude Embrace is a lovely neutral colour for pale princesses and it is one of my go-to everyday lipsticks.
9. Bourjois Volume 1 Seconde Mascara - £9.99- This is a newer purchase for me - I bought this based on it's outstanding reviews on Boots.com and it did not let me down! This is just as good as the Lash Sensational in my opinion, but it is no where near as hyped on YouTube. The brush is a bit strange, not like any mascara brush I've used before. It is quite chunky and thick, plastic, with some spikes but also little dots. This mascara gives amazing volume and length and also curls my lashes, but it is less spikey looking than the Lash Sensational and gives a false lash effect. It is also super black, which I like in a mascara. I love this mascara and I've already repurchased it!
10. L'Oreal Super Liner So Couture Liquid Eyeliner - £6.99- This is one of my absolute favourite liquid eyeliner pens. It has a very fine tip, which is great for precise application and it is super black. It dries quickly so it doesn't smudge or transfer and it is semi-matte when it has dried down. I personally love felt tip eyeliner pens as I find them the easiest to work with; I would recommend trying this if you are new to liquid eyeliner or struggle with it. Also, it doesn't flake off if you have to go over the same bit again, as some liquid eyeliners do. This stays in place on me all day - I can't really fault it! This product is a definite must have for me.
11. i Heart Make Up Goddess of Love Highlighter - (Goddess of Faith) £4.99
- I will be doing a 'best highlighters for pale skin' blog post at some point, but this is a sneak preview! This highlighter is one of my favourites - not only is it super affordable but it comes in cute heart shaped packaging and it is a great shade for pale princesses. This highlighter can be applied using a fan brush and a light hand for a more natural effect or with a small tapered brush for a more intense highlight. The shade 'Goddess of Faith' is a pale champagne colour, with a hint of pale peachy pink. This highlighter creates a sheen and is more shimmery than glittery. I love this highlighter and it's a drugstore must have for me!
12. Maybelline Color Tattoo 24h Cream Eyeshadow - £4.99 - These cream eyeshadows are some of my favourites. I have 3 shades from the range, On and On Bronze (middle), Eternal Gold (left) and Chocolate Suede (right). They are described as a gel-cream eyeshadow and they are super pigmented and creamy, as the name suggests. A lot of people are put off by cream eyeshadows because they think they will crease on their eyelids throughout the day or become a greasy mess. These are actually very easy to apply with a flat eyeshadow brush (or your finger) and they stay put all day without any creasing on my eyelids. They can be used as a base for other eyeshadows to make them more vibrant and metallic or they can be used on their own. If you want to try a cream eyeshadow, I definitely recommend these ones.
Let me know in the comments below if you've tried any of these or if you've got any other drugstore must haves for me to try!
Sarah (aka. Pale Princess) x
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