Tuesday, August 4, 2015

My Beauty Routine: Drugstore Edition

Make me up please.
I have a seriously basic daily makeup routine. Since I like a natural "look", my routine consists of about 5 products and takes about 5 minutes to apply (and in summer I do even less thanks to the natural color my love of the sun provides!) That said, my simple beauty routine is still important to me feeling confident each day (for better or worse) and I know I look best when I take a few minutes in the morning to put myself together. Which is why when I recently found myself without my makeup case for a week (and not wanting to plunk down $$$ for unnecessary duplicates of my favorite brand name products) I ventured to CVS to try to get my beauty routine essentials on a budget. And since I was super happy with the products I purchased, I thought I'd share!

I selected this product for a few reasons. First, it is meant to be applied by rolling it on and then blending it with your finger. No brush needed = score 1 point for team simple! I  also liked that I had just 3 color options: light, medium and dark. I went with medium and hoped for the best.

Review: I really like the light consistency of this product.  It doesn't look cakey or gather in the creases of my eye. The roll-on application is great because you don't have to worry about squirting too much out of the bottle (happens all the time with my usual MAC concealer). Though the all-day wear wasn't as good as my usual concealer, the lightness of this product was so great that it seemed like a fair trade.

I have always been intrigued by creme/liquid blushes so I figured an inexpensive brand was the perfect way to try one out (plus, more points for no brushes required!!) I was once again attracted to the limited number of color tones to choose from (just 3) and how easy it would be to apply a light coating if I didn't love the tone I selected.

Review: I still love my Sun Bunny Natural Bronzer by Too Faced, but this product was a great alternative. Lumi has a slight shimmer which creates a beautiful summer glow and my skin didn't feel greasy to the touch once I rubbed it in (which was my fear when considering a liquid). I actually loved the product even more as the day went on and it became even more "natural" looking. My only criticism is that with Sun Bunny I use my brush to lightly dab color in places beyond just my cheekbones (neckline, blend with under eye concealer, etc) and with Lumi that isn't easily done (though I think this would be true of any liquid vs. powder).

CoverGirl was my go-to eyeliner brand until Sis gifted me an amazing Urban Decay set of pencils which converted me to their products. This was the fastest "new product" selection  I made at CVS because I just grabbed one that looked like what I'd used before.

Review: I think I'm switching back! I LOVE not needing a sharpener (this product twists to "refill") and the thin tip of Ink It!'s pencil allows you to get a smooth, thin line every time, not just after a fresh sharpen. There's no more getting stabbed by the wood of the pencil when the point gets low (something that seemed to happen weekly with Urban Decay 24/7) and I think the longevity of each application is only marginally shorter with the drugstore brand (and since I apply the product in my eye on the lower lid, my expectations for longevity aren't high to begin with). Ringing up at $6 vs. $20, CoverGirl is the clear winner here.

If you do not use this product, throw away whatever you're using and go get yourself a tube of LashBlast RIGHT NOW. This was the easiest product from my standard arsenal to replace because it is part of my standard arsenal! CoverGirl's LashBlast Volume mascara applies without clumps and immediately makes your eyes pop wide open! The thin brush helps separate and elongate lashes so they look striking, but not overly done or fake. Ranging in price from about $5-8 depending on where you buy it, there's no deal in beauty better than this mascara. 

No comments:

Post a Comment