If you are looking for more affordable make-up but want to maintain a high quality beat, you’ve come to the right place. We all want make-up that will have us looking like money, whilst spending the least amount of it. In my case, I want more money in my pocket to then buy more make-up (I am a work in progress ya’ll). There is hope for me however. I have been on a quest for quite some time to find various affordable make-up products just as good as some of my more expensive items to interchange and ultimately replace. The truth is, in 2018 it is absolutely possible. You really don’t have to break the bank to find make-up that is affordable AND high quality.

I’ve been a consumer of lippies, eyeliner and mascara from drugstores since I started wearing makeup but I hadn’t worn drug store face make-up ever. I was never confident I’d find the right match and who wants to spend their time buying and returning drug store makeup time after time. You weren’t gonna catch me out here looking ashy. Granted, we all had to start somewhere, so my make-up skills weren’t what they are today. In fact, I probably looked ashy a time or two, unbeknownst to me, but I still didn’t WANT to be ashy, skills or not! A lot of make-up companies in general, did not cater to the deeper-toned women of the world, but it was definitely a challenge trying to find a variety of deep browns and chocolate tones in the drugstore. Fast forward to now and I proudly wear my drugstore foundation that also matches my neck. Take that, take that!

Blending is my cardio.

Not only can you find affordable make-up in the drugstore, there are quite a few inexpensive makeup brands that make great quality stuff. Some of them are even black-owned. I want to share a few products that willl have your face beat and you saving some coins. Win, win. A friendly reminder with all make-up applications, when in doubt, blend it out! At the end of the day, technique is king.

Primer:

Wet & Wild Photofocus ($5) - face primer to minimizes pores, evens out skin tone dewy & matte

I wouldn’t recommend the matte one for combo or oily skin peeps. The regular formula is perfect and I think the matte would be too drying.

Foundation:

Maybelline FIT ME ($8) - medium coverage foundation that comes in matte and dewy formula

Maybelline SuperStay ($12) - full coverage foundation that offers a flawless finish & 24 hour wear

NYX Can’t Stop Won’t Stop ($15) - full coverage foundation 24 hr matte finish

I have combination skin, but in the winter time I tend to get a little dry. I would recommend the FIT ME medium coverage for use in the summer and everyday use. I would also recommend the Can’t Stop Won’t Stop foundation for the summer, for those who love a good full coverage foundation regardless of the melting temperatures.

I personally love the application of the SuperStay foundation, it moves around smoothly and a little goes a long way. In my experience, it isn’t as matte as the packaging claims. It’s best to use in the cooler months however, I’ve been blending both NYX CSWS and SuperStay. NYX gives me that matte finish I am looking for but the Superstay keeps me from being too dry.

Contour/Highlight & Bronzer:

CoverGirl Queen Collection ($12) - bronzer

Black Radiance True Complexion ($5) - palette to sculpt, contour and highlight

BH Cosmetics Its My RayeRaye ($23 on sale for $15) - 21 color eyeshadow, highlight & contour

NYX Duo Chromatic ($8) - illuminating powder for a luminous finish

Contouring and highlighting is the wave and has been for a while now, these products are some of my favs. I have combo skin so I tend to like the powder contour products but when I want a more precise and sharper look, I will use a cream contour and set with a powder. I may not want to contour at all. If that is the case I will just opt to use the bronzer alone.

Setting Powder & Spray:

Maybelline FIT ME ($8) - finishing powder to control shine and smooth skin texture

Sacha Buttercup ($20) - flash friendly setting powder to keep makeup in place control shine

NYX ($9) - setting spray matte and dewy, for a fresh makeup that lasts for hours

My worst fear is camera flashback. I don’t need to look ashy in my photos after what I thought was a flawless make-up beat. I tend to concentrate on using the setting powder on areas prone to be more oily (t-zone). Bake as long or short as your little heart desires.

Liquid Eyeliner:

NYX Epic Ink ($9) - liquid liner with a felt pointy tip

Maybelline Line Stiletto ($9) - ultimate precision liquid eyeliner

Both are absolute favs and inexpensive. These both have felt tips and both brands have various types of eye liners, liquid or otherwise, from you to choose from. Maybelline Stilletto was my go to for the longest because you can just rub it away if you mess up. The only down side to that eyeliner is you can’t over line the same area or it will flake or rub off. If that’s not want you want you can look at other options.

Eyes Shadow Palettes:

ColourPop x Shayla Perception ($23) - Collaboration with @makeupshayla highly pigmented eye shadow palette

Juvia’s Place The Saharan ($20-$25) - insanely pigmented eye shadow palette, black-owned

Morphe 35O & 35B ($24) - great color payout eye shadow palette

BH cosmetics also has inexpensive palettes in their inventory, I mentioned one of them in the above contour/highlight rundown list.

Liquid Lipsticks:

Sephora($14) - liquid lip stain, matte finish

ColourPop ($7) matte & satin finish liquid lip stain

Coloured Raine ($17) - matte finish liquid lipstick, black-owned

Revlon ColorBurst ($9) - matte balm, smooth application

NYX ($7) - soft matte lip creme

I still love a good matte lipstick but in the cooler seasons, chapped lips are almost a guarantee. Some products crack and makes the lips look worse, which is not cute at all. If you want a long lasting non-drying matte formula that stays for HOURS, Coloured Raine is my favorite. All the products I mentioned have creme and satin options too, so if you are looking for variety you can find it with any one of these brands.

If anyone has any recommendations on any other cheaper makeup brands please feel free to comment below. I would love to hear them. Sharing is caring!

I Came. I Saw. I Contoured.