Affordable Makeup Series | Beauty and Fashion Tech

Jul 30, 2010

The Worst Drugstore Makeup

July 30, 2010 By Carleenp 1 Comment

I have been working for awhile on a series about the best drugstore makeup. So far, I have written on the Best Drugstore Eye Shadow and Best Drugstore Blush. In the works are features on lip products, foundation, powder, overall brand etc. Also popular has been the syndicated posts on the Best Drugstore Mascara and Best Affordable Foundation. So, I found it interesting to see this Total Beauty feature on the the worst drugstore makeup.

I haven't tried everything on the list, but I sort of agree with Maybelline Lash Stiletto. It gives an odd look, although some folks love it, and I didn’t necessarily hate it. The same with Revlon Lip Sugar. I actually kind of liked that one, but it did feel weird.

One I kind of disagree wit is Sally Hansen Lip Inflation. I am OK with that product. It isn’t the best plumper out there, but I didn’t find it to be sticky the way some total Beauty Readers did.

And what I totally agree with is the NYC gloss. That one is indeed a sticky mess!

Anyway to see the whole list on the Total Beauty website, click on through below.

Cheap Makeup Gone Wrong

See which low-rated makeup products you should avoid

This is a TotalBeauty.com cheap makeup article

Total Beauty readers give us the lowdown on 16 low-rated drugstore makeup products.

See products

So, if there a drugstore makeup item that you just hate? I think everyone has one. Listit in the comments for us all to see!

Disclosures: Beauty and Fashion Tech at times reviews products provided by a representative of the company. When we do so, we specifically state so. We also use affiliate links. For more, please see the disclosure page

Filed Under: Beauty Bytes, Links and Roundups, Makeup Tagged With: Affordable Makeup Series, Beauty Bytes, Total Beauty

Apr 5, 2010

Best Affordable Makeup Series: Best Drugstore Eye Shadow

April 5, 2010 By Carleenp 14 Comments

The Best Drugstore Eye Shadow

As part of my continuing series on the best drugstore makeup, today I look at the best drugstore eye shadow. Plus, I will tell you a few that I don’t really like. Last time I covered the Best Drugstore Blush.

The best drugstore eye shadow is well pigmented for brilliant color and finely milled for good building, blending, and to avoid creasing. Cream shadows should be smooth and bendable and not crease with wear. From my experience, eye shadow is the item where department store and luxury brands often stand out the most above the drugstore items in quality, usually because they put in more pigment and better mill the product, but quality affordable eye shadow options can be found.

Below are the best drugstore eye shadows that have good pigment and wear well. Although I have provided some affiliate links to the products, you should also be able to find them in drugstores or big box stores.

Best Powder Drugstore Eye Shadow

A couple of items stand out far above the rest when it comes to quality and affordability in drugstore eye shadow. Those are Milani and L’Oreal HIP. Bringing in honorable mentions are Revlon's eyeshadow quads and CoverGirl eye enhancers.

Milani Runway Wet and Dry Eye Shadow has lots of pigment and great shimmer. Milani eye shadows don’t crease and they last all day. Use them wet for an even more brilliant look that is also great as an eyeliner. For bright bold colors, Milani is also another good choice. I’m not the only one raving about these. One of Beauty and Fashion Tech’s guest posters also loved them. You can read her review here: Milani Runway Eyes

L'Oreal HIP Bright Duos Shadow are as pigmented as they come. L’Oreal’s HIP line rivals MAC for quality and brilliant shades at an affordable price, all while being available at your local drugstore. If you love MAC Parrot eye shadow, look at L’Oreal HIP in the duo Showy (pictured and linked to). The lighter shade of the duo is a good duplicate of MAC Parrot. People tend to rave about this eye shadow.

Revlon 12 Hour Eyeshadow Quads have good pigment and decent wearability. I didn’t get 12 hours from them, but did get a full workday with no creasing, which is pretty good for a drugstore eye shadow. The quads come in a variety of shades, including many nice neutrals.

CoverGirl Eye Enhancers come is a variety of shades. Generally, I find the more neutral shades to be rather average in how they wear, although they have some lovely shades. However, the bright and flashy shades tend to be be a bit better pigmented than similar shades in other brands and often come packaged in trios and quads for creating some fun looks. You can read more and see a tropical eye look in my previous review: CoverGirl Eye Shadow

Best Cream Drugstore Eye Shadow

My favorite cream eye shadows tend to be premium brands. I love MAC paint pots (link is to previous review), which actually are rather affordable, and urban decay. However, L’Oreal Hip makes a decent tube cream shadow: L'Oreal HIP Cream Shadow Paint. It has great pigment and wears fairly well, but is not entirely crease proof—don’t put it on too thick. Beyond that, I haven’t found one worth raving about. Maybelline used to make a Dream Mousse Eye Shadow that was wonderful but, sadly, it appears to have been discontinued.

A Few Duds

Just as there are some good drugstore makeup bargains, some drugstore eye shadows really don’t cut it. One that I particularly have not been happy with is Almay. Their shadows look lovely in their containers, but have very little pigment. Another that has failed to impress me is the Sonia Kashuk eye shadows at Target. There are some Sonia Kashuk items that I love (their lip crayons rock), but every Sonia Kashuk eye shadow I tried either lacked pigment, creased up on me later, or both. Also, as much as I like Revlon for their powder eye shadows, their cream shadows just don’t quite have enough pigment to make me happy, although they do wear quite well.

Note: This article is based in part on products provided to me by a representative of the company (Milani and CoverGirl). For more, please see my disclosure page.

ulta eye shadow

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Affordable Makeup Series, Best of Lists, CoverGirl, Eye Shadow, Eyeshadow, L'Oreal, Milani, Mineral Makeup, Revlon

Mar 11, 2010

Best Affordable Makeup Series: Best Drugstore Blush

March 11, 2010 By Carleenp 2 Comments

Readers often ask about the best drugstore makeup or affordable cosmetics, and a previous syndicated post on the best drugstore mascara has been rather popular here on the site. So,welcome to the first installment of series on drugstore makeup. Today, I take a look at some of the best drugstore blush items. Plus, I will tell you a few I thought were duds. Over the coming weeks I will write more on the best affordable makeup in other categories.

When it comes to finding the best drugstore blush, there area few key considerations. The best powder blush will have good pigment concentration for lasting color, be finely milled for good blending, and have a pleasing shade. The best cream blush will also have good pigment and will be soft and creamy. Where drugstore makeup brands often fail is in using little pigment and more fillers. When that happens, the product might look quite lovely in the package, but won’t actually wear well when applied. It will either be too light, wear off too fast, or both. Also, don’t get fooled by the name “mineral blush.” Some mineral makeup products are wonderful because they pack in mineral pigments with few fillers, but others will dilute the blend with fillers to the point that the product is not very well pigmented. Most mineral makeup items will also contain bismuth, which is an irritant for some people. That is true both at the drugstore and premium levels of cosmetics.

Below are a few drugstore blushes that do particularly well in terms of pigment and long wear. Although I have provided some affiliate links to the products, you should also be able to find them in drugstores or big box stores.

Best Powder Drugstore Blush

There is no need to spend extra for a good cheek color. Several companies make highly pigmented blush that rivals, or is even better than, many higher end and luxury cosmetics brands. I particularly like Milani Mineral Blush, despite that it includes bismuth as an ingredient.

Milani Mineral Blush is the best pigmented drugstore blush that I have found. It is also talc free—something rare for a drugstore blush. However, a word of warning, instead of being cut with talc, it uses bismuth, which some people are sensitive too. It is very well pigmented and comes in a variety of lovely shades. At just under $6, you can’t beat Milani for value. Milani’s Mineral Blush is honestly better than a number of high end items that I have tried. If you are a Nars Orgasm fan, look in stores for the shade Luminous (which I linked to). It is essentially the same as Nars Orgasm with perhaps slightly more shimmer, but much more affordable. By the way, also check out Milani eye shadows, they too are highly pigmented and are top on my list of best drugstore eye shadows.

Jane Blushing Cheeks is very affordable at $3.69 and has decent pigment, wears well, and comes in some nice shades. Jane also has a Nars Orgasm clone. Look for the shade Blushing Earth, which is almost a dead ringer for it. Jane cosmetics are pretty good all around, but their blush is my favorite item from them. For more see my previous review: Jane Cosmetics Blush.

Revlon ColorStay Cheek Color Mineral Blush is at the higher price range for a drugstore cheek color. At around $13, it comes in cheaper than higher end lines, but frankly, I recommend Milani and Jane before it because of their incredible prices. regardless, Revlon Mineral Blush is a darn nice blush. Although not talc free like Milani, it is still high in pigment and it blends and wears very nicely.

Best Cream Drugstore Blush

I have not fared as well at finding a quality affordable cream blush. Many seem to lack pigment or simply don’t wear as long as some of my favorite department store brands (Estee Lauder and Nars are a couple of favorites). I do, however, particularly recommend Maybelline Dream Mousse, which I prefer over many of the higher end brands. The entire Maybelline Dream Mousse line is rather nice. My other recommendations from Revlon and Sally Hansen Natural Beauty also fare pretty well

Maybelline Dream Mousse Blush is one of my all time favorites. Dream Mousse has a light texture (hence the mousse name) that makes it blend incredibly well. It is also seriously packed with pigment. If you want a good cream color, this it the way to go. At around $6 it is also an incredible value. For yet another Nars Orgasm look, check out the shade Peach Satin.

Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Blush (link is to previous review) has a good texture and decent pigment. It also comes in some particularly pretty shades. I like the Sally Hansen line as a whole and their powder version is also pretty good.

Revlon Cream Blush blends nicely and lasts pretty well. It is not as highly pigmented as some higher end brands that I have tried, but then again, I prefer my cream blush to be on the sheer side anyway. It builds fairly well for extra color and usually lasts all day. Revlon also leaves out the shimmer, which I appreciate. For more see my previous review: Revlon Cream Blush

A Few Duds

Just as there are some good drugstore makeup bargains, there are some items that just don’t cut it. A few that I didn’t care for were Neutrogena Mineral Sheers Blush (the one with loose powder and built in brush) which, although easy to use, took the word “sheer” to a whole new level by being barely visible on the face and wearing off quickly. Almay and Physician's Formula blushes have also not fared as well with me for the same reason—there simply is not enough pigment.

ulta blush