There is so much information on the Internet and so many products to choose from. Content creators push products and most of the time it’s what’s tending or it’s the most expensive products and it’s altogether driven by consumerism. But makeup doesn’t have to be expensive. And to start a collection you can experiment with inexpensive products. They are often just as good as the high end. You also don’t need a lot of products.

From what I’ve researched some drugstore and high end products are manufactured by the same companies. So when you buy high end products you’re really paying for the name rather than anything different or “better”. Higher dollar doesn’t guarantee quality or even that you will personally like the product.

By going with drugstore products you’ll also save more in the end. You’ll get a few products for the same price as what you’d pay for one high end item a lot of the time.

I’m sure most makeup lovers have large collections in the days of TikTok. But maybe you’re just starting and not sure where to start.

Items to Start Your Collection

I think a collection should start with products that you’d wear daily. Makeup that is more neutral and natural is more practical especially if you work everyday or go to school.

Foundation 🪞

Match as closely as possible . What kind of finish are you looking for? Do you have dry skin or oily skin? Are you cool or warm?

L’Oreal True Match Lumi is a good foundation for dry skin. The only con is that the color selection is not very wide. There are 700 lighter shades and a few darker ones. But if you can find a shade that matches you it’s a good choice.

If you like a matte finish Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless is a good option.

Concealer 😎

A concealer one to two shades lighter than your skintone.

The e.l.f. Hydrating camo concealer has a very wide selection of shades. I think it may be the largest I’ve seen at the drugstore. It even has shades for deep olive skin tones.

Maybelline Fit Me Concealer (not pictured)

or

Maybelline instant age rewind is a good drugstore concealer. It isn’t too thick or too thin and conceals well. I’ve used it since it since 2017, when they finally decided to include deeper shades in their line. 👀🫣😂

Mascara 😍

Best brands in my opinion and I’ve tried several. Maybelline, Covergirl, Essence, L’Oreal.

Eyeliner 🤩

There are so many choices of cheap eyeliners that work well. Wet n wild is the best for price and product performance. Here is a link to my favorite brown eyeliners from the drugstore.

Wet n Wild H2O liner and Wet n wild master precise and Maybelline liquid liners are my favorites. In my opinion Maybelline has some of the best and most pigmented drugstore eyeliners.

Blush

Wet n wild and e.l.f are the best drugstore blushes in my opinion. They usually have more color selections and blush formulations.

Lip Products 💋

Revlon lipsticks are inexpensive good quality wide range of color choices.

L’Oreal has a very wide selection of lipsticks. And other lip product formulations. And each type of lip product has a wide selection of colors.

If you like lip gloss, I’d say go with a clear gloss. Can’t go wrong with that.

Wet n Wild lip glosses and Nyx butter glosses are inexpensive and good quality.

---

All you need is a few simple products just to start and you can build from the basics.

If you want you can comment some of your favorite drugstore favorites or recommendations for building a collection.

Thanks for Reading

Amber ❤