At this point in my life, I don’t care where I’m shopping for makeup from.
Usually, it’s CVS or Ulta, because I can’t be bothered to shell out a shitton of money for the bare minimum at Sephora. I’ve loved IPSY, but we’ve been on and off, and it’s becoming understandable why — the standard and quality just isn’t there for me anymore.
With the cost of makeup rising, it can be even more financially responsible to shop at a beauty store rather than the drugstore.
In fact, I’d even argue that the drugstore is now the back-up for makeup, rather than the cheap stop. Essence and Colourpop and elf sell makeup for $10 and under — why would I shell out $14 on a mascara from CVS?
Because it fucking works, it’s worked since it was launched and is still around 20 years later. That’s why. I hate to admit it, but inflation will not stop me from buying the following three classics that are forever seated in my makeup rotation.
Maybelline Lash Sensational Sky High Mascara (in black)
An icon. Chef’s kiss. Arguably only beaten in icon-status by the OG Telescopic mascara from L’Oreal Paris. The pink tube holds a pitch-black formula, one that could only consist of parabens from the ‘80s and I would still wear it. My flat, straight eyelashes look like they’ve been curled, perhaps even lifted, extended, with just one coat of Lash Sensational. There’s no flaking or build up of black beneath my lashes, even when I swipe it along my lower lashes (I know! So Millennial of me! Sue me!).
It’s also universally known to not get the waterproof version. IYKYK — it’s just not as good. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Revlon Colorstay Brow Pencil (in 220, Dark Brown)
This is one of my lower-key picks, one that doesn’t seem like it would be a ride-or-die pencil. Especially because elf is now selling theirs for, like, $3. But hear me out: this pencil glides on like butter, and it’s pigmented AF. There’s no smudgy, buildable color here: you are absolutely fucked if you press this bad boy onto your sparse brows and expect it to blend out.
I don’t know what it is about this pencil that has won me over so effortlessly, but I found it in a Dollar Tree when I was desperate and expecting the bare minimum to give me some semblance of shape. Voila! Found it here in Revlon! Even when I shape my brows, I add a few light dots to my inner brows to build them up and then buff them out. And yes, even though I’m nearing blonde, I still wear deep brown, because this pencil lasts 5EVER, like I said. Come at me.
Maybelline SuperStay Matte Liquid Lipstick
I discovered Maybelline’s SuperStay thanks to Taylor Swift. There was a Reddit post asking which red lipstick she used during the Eras tour. Someone mentioned the sold-out Pat McGrath lipstick she DOES, indeed, wear, but they also provided the SuperStay liquid lipstick as a dupe. And every day, I am SO grateful to that person.
I’m going to write a full article on this product, because it’s incredible, but you will never be able to pry it out of my hands. No other lipstick — liquid or otherwise — competes with this. And the shade range is GORGEOUS! Who would have thought I’d find out my neutral is a coral? Who would have thought I’d live on one coat for three days of an event, no re-application needed? Not me, that’s who.
Inflation vs. Icon Status
I don’t think drugstore makeup is controversial anymore, now that they’ve upped their ante and glamorized the beauty section (the way it deserved in the first place, but I digress). And I’m sure many will argue that prices have gone up BECAUSE these makeup products have survived all of the changes we’ve gone through in the past 30-60 years in the industry. In some ways, the mass mascaras and lipsticks and blushes have become mass-tige-worthy not because of their skincare-infused formulas, but because the formulas they have now have been built and re-built and re-built again — and they’ve stood the test of time.
At the same time, wasn’t drugstore makeup considered drugstore makeup because of its affordability/accessibility? Is the makeup sold in drugstores really drugstore makeup now?
It’s a longer discussion, one that I’m not entertaining at this moment in time because a bitch is tired — but I’ll get to it.
TL;DR: If you’ve been wondering what staples you can nab from the drugstore aisles at mass-tige pricing while also grabbing your medication from the pharmacy and a few snacks from the food aisles, Maybelline and Revlon have your back covered in the brow, lipstick, and mascara departments. You are so welcome.
xoxo
Tess