Saturday, March 1, 2014

My top 5 favorite drugstore face products!



Have you ever gone to the drugstore with one particular product in mind, but end up leaving with what seems like $150 worth of stuff? Yeah it happens to me all the time, especially when it comes to the beauty department. I may not even be going to the store for a new foundation and powder to match but it somehow makes it's way into my cart before I leave. So its no wonder why my overall drugstore makeup collection is as big as it as today, and hey who would turn down products that can compete with high end lines at a much lower price? Everyone loves a bargain, am I right? We can all agree that a big problem when it comes to dabbling in drugstore makeup is it can be very tricky picking out products that works for your particular skin type and deciding what products to try can be a little over whelming. So I'm here to share with you my top 5 drugstore face products that I can not live without, and hopefully make your next trip to the drugstore that much easier and maybe save you a couple bucks. So let's just get right to it. (Just a disclaimer all of this is my opinion based off of how these products worked on my skin. Everyone is different so what may work for me, might not work the same on you. We love comparing results so leave what you think of our favorites in the comments below.)I'm gonna start off with my all time favorite foundation. I feel like foundation is a lot harder to choose from, whether there's not enough shades or there's just too many it can sometimes leave you feeling a bit lost. I suffer from this problem way more often than I like to admit. I have more warm medium skin tone and trying to find a foundation with the right undertones while keeping peace with my acne is a challenge in itself. But this foundation let me tell you is a miracle product. And it is.....


The L'oreal true match
shade: W5 sand beige, (W6 in the summer)
Price range: $7-8
Overall impression: 9
Pro's: words can't explain how much I love this foundation. It gives medium to full coverage, and you can build on it without it starting to look too cakey. The texture is almost velvety which makes it very easy to blend and gives you kind of a satiny finish. My main concern when I first tried this foundation was how liquidy it was. I normally use foundations with a thicker consistency to prevent my oily skin from looking like a grease ball at the end of the day, but don't let the texture fool you it blends out almost smooth and feels very light without creating shine, and doesn't leave your skin feeling sticky. It also comes in a wide range of shades with almost exact undertones. Perfect for ethnic skin like mine. Price wise, it's affordable. I bought mine for about $7 at Wal-Mart but I think the highest it goes is 8 something at select drugstores. Another great thing about this product is doesn't oxidize as bad as most drugstore foundations. For all the beauty beginners out there not sure what that means (don't worry it took me a while too) basically what happens is when you first apply your foundation it can react with the chemicals in your skin and in the air causing it to become darker than it originally was. Sometimes with drugstore foundations when I apply it at the beginning of the day it will perfectly match my skin and by the time I'm done with my work day it's 2 shades darker. High end foundation can do the same thing, it all depends on what you buy and the formula used. Anyway this foundation doesn't change as much and can almost look like your actual skin after applied and throughout the day. It also has SPF 17 which is especially great in the summertime when the sun is constantly beating on your face. Gotta protect the skin ladies!!
Con's: Now even though I do love this makeup, just like humans, it's got some flaws too. I hate that it doesn't come with a pump. Granted I've found ways too apply it without losing too much product, but with a product this liquidy it should have a pump. Now because of this it's hard to combine 2 colors without losing half the bottle on your hand, dresser, or floor (taken from personal experience). Another con is if you have oily skin like me, I would highly recommend applying powder afterwards to set this foundation, so it stays matte longer throughout the day. The longevity of this product is okay. It lasts about 5 hours until I have to start blotting around my t-zone area. I would prefer a longer lasting formula but like I said it's okay. Another thing that can be bad for beginners is how extensive the collection is. If you're just starting out it can be a little intimidating trying to find the right undertone and then finding the right shade to match. Especially since most drugstores don't allow you to open the product to test it on your skin.

Okay onto #2 which is the Maybelline fit me shine free foundation STICK.
Shade: I'm not sure
Price range: $6-7
Overall impression: 8
Pro's: I also love this foundation in stick form (not the biggest fan of the Maybelline fit me liquid foundation) for A LOT of reasons. I can't emphasize that enough. When I think of stick foundations I imagine the consistency to be really thick and unpleasant. So I was pleasantly surprised at how smooth and light this foundation goes on when you first apply it, it almost feels like it glides onto your skin. It's medium to full coverage and is also build able without looking cakey. It's also versatile. I haven't found my perfect shade yet so I've been using it as a concealer/highlight. I can apply it under my eyes without it looking too heavy or have it looking like it's pulling my face down. You could also get away with using a darker shade as a contouring stick. My personal favorite makeup trick. It gives you a little bit of coverage while creating a nice contoured look; Although I do recommend using a primer before and powder afterwards to create that nice matte look to last throughout the day, especially for girls with oily skin. (Beauty breaking tip: No primer? No problem. Mix a little bit of your favorite foundation with your moisturizer, and boom! DIY homemade primer in seconds!!)
Con's: obviously the number 1 con is I couldn't find the perfect shade for me yet, keep in mind I haven't tried it as a foundation for a while now so they might have my shade. It's possible that it being in a stick form it can hold bacteria more which can cause acne, and you can run out of product much faster than if you we're to use the liquid alternative. The longevity is okay I did have to blot once throughout the day, which really isn't all that bad. All in all great product highly recommend giving it a try. I probably should've listed this product first but my #3 all time favorite drugstore product is 

NYX pore filler primer which I found at target.
Price range: $12-13
Overall impression: 10!!!!
Pro's: I love love love this primer. Drugstores aren't a big carrier of face primers so I was understandably doubtful yet excited at the same time to try this out. But I'm so happy I did. This primer is in my opinion a dupe of the Benefit porefessional primer which cost around $30 I'm not sure, yet these 2 products do exactly the same thing. The only difference is the texture of the NYX product is almost like a mousse whereas the Benefit product is more smooth on first application, but when you work it into your skin you can't tell the difference. I haven't done my research on this product, so I'm not sure if it's silicone based or if that's even in this primer since it's meant to specifically focus on your pores, but what I do know is it creates a beautiful canvas for you to work with and helps your makeup go on smoother and last so much longer.
Con's: I don't really have any except it's a bit pricey, but is noticeably better than most or all drugstore primers. So it's worth the the few extra bucks.
I'm not picky when it comes to powders so I'm gonna skip that and go to my next favorite which is my #4 pick 

the Garnier BB cream for oily combination skin
Shade: Light/medium and medium/deep
Price range: from $11-12
Overall impression: 8 for oily skin 6 and I'll add 1/2 for dry skin.
Pro's: Good drugstore BB creams are hard to find so after reading a bunch of great reviews about this particular product I decide why not try it out. My big problem with BB creams is they tend to make my skin more oily and greasy, they don't normally provide the amount of coverage I need and can smell bad. Although this product smells a little bit like sunscreen, it did the opposite of what I normally expect from a BB cream. It's not greasy or heavy on my skin, and it's perfect for the summertime for when I don't want a face filled of makeup. It provides light to medium coverage, medium is pushing it. It evens out skin tone and doesn't feel sticky or like a moisturizer, it has a consistency of a tinted moisturizer but is more thick. It also brightens my skin, and is great to use under foundation in the winter time when your skin is particularly dry..
Con's: I have yet to find a BB cream that actually does everything that it claims to do on the box, and this one is no exception. I've been using this product for what seems like forever and have yet to see any improvements just by using this product alone. I wouldn't normally recommend bb creams for people with oily skin because it tends to look oily and only gets worse throughout the day, but unlike before this product is the exception. It's great for people with oily skin but not so great for dry skin. I don't have dry skin but my friend does and she personally doesn't like the feel of it around her problem areas. It's also not the best for taking pictures. Because it has SPF it can make you look like a ghost in pictures especially when flash is used, so it's a no for any special occasions.
Finally after a very unorganized long post review my number 5 favorite is something I've just discovered and am now addicted too. They are (drum roll please........) face serums. There's not a huge selection of these available in the drugstore but I've tried pretty much every line and have managed to leave with one favorite. The 


Loreal youth code line! First statistics...
Price range: around $20 at Wal-Mart
Overall impression for:
dry skin:8
oily skin:6
oily/combination skin: 7
Pro's: For the amount you get which is around 1.0 oz per bottle the product lasts forever!!! It's been about 2 months and I have yet to run out!!  It gives you noticeable results fast. My skin started to look brighter about 5 days after using it and my dark marks have faded  since I first started using it. It doesn't smell bad I can't really describe it, but it's tolerable. It's gentle enough to use daily and hasn't broken me out.
Con's: The consistency is more on the oily side depending on what products you buy, and can tend to feel heavy if you apply too much. I haven't tried the whole line of products but this does apply to the Loreal glow renewal serum. It's a bit on the pricey side (but a little goes a long way!) Now that you've read our  top drugstore beauty favorites, we want to read yours!! What is your go to drugstore beauty products?? Tweet us at @beauty_breaking with the hashtag #drugstorebeauty we would love to try out and review new products!! Want more drugstore favorites?? Follow us on bloglovin to stay up-to-date with our drugstore series! Part 2 and 3 will be next plus our least favorite drugstore product of all time. You're definitely not expecting this one!! Have you tried one of these products? Share with us your opinion in the comment section below!! We always love reading great feedback!!

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