Good skincare products don’t have to cost a lot of money. You can have great skin and beautiful makeup without buying everything at departments store beauty counter prices.
A few years ago I worked with a skin care consultant. I’d long known in my heart that drugstore products could be just as good as their fancier and pricier department store counterparts, but I didn’t know for sure. My skin care consultant immediately cleared that up for me by reminding me that many big beauty & skin care companies prey on womens’ insecurities and know that we will pay big bucks to buy products that promise to make us beautiful.
Now, I’m not denying that many higher end products have better quality ingredients.
That is a fact.
However, if you are looking for basic skin care solutions and makeup dupes, I’ve got you covered! Check out my favorite skin care steals and make-up dupes.
First off, let’s start with the skin care steals
Skin Care For Everyone:
Cleansers
Normal to Combination Skin: Trader Joe’s Nourish All-in-One Cleanser, $6/8.45 fl oz
Oily: Olay Foaming Face Wash For Sensitive Skin, $5/7 fl oz
Dry: Boots Expert Sensitive Gentle Cleansing Lotion, $5/6.7 fl oz
Body Care
Aveeno Stress Relief Body Wash, $7/12 fl oz
Eucerin Daily Replenishing Moisturizing Lotion, $7/13.5 fl oz
Yes To Coconuts Protecting Hand & Cuticle Cream, $6/3 fl oz
Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs (lotion), $12/4.4 fl oz (this is a summer time game-changer for me!)
Lip Finds
Blistex Five Star Lip Protection SPF 30, $2.29
Neutrogena Naturals Lip Balm, $3
N.Y.C. SmoochProof Lipstain 16H, $5
NYX Extra Creamy Round Lipstick, $4
Fun Drugstore Dupes For Almost All Skin Tones:
Instead of Benefit Dandelion $28/0.25 oz use L’Oreal Paris True Match Super-Blendable Blush in Baby Blossom (C1-2) $10.95/0.21 oz
A savings of over 54%! A wonderful light pink, very natural blush for even the fairest skins, or those the most scared of looking overdone!
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Instead of Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Volupte Shine in #6 Pink in Safari, $38 use Revlon Super Lustrous Glass Shine Lipstick in Glassy Pink, $9.99
Maybe not for every day wear, this bright pink packs a punch with a sheer glossy texture. Perfect for summer beach parties or nights on the town, or even every day for the more adventurous makeup-lover! Sure the fancy packaging on the YSL outshines the Revlon by a mile, but if you’re not worried about how it looks coming out of your purse, this is a great steal!
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Instead of NARS Highlighting Blush in Albatross, $38.00 use ULTA Illuminator, $10.00 -the E.L.F. product pictured was discontinued, but this ULTA one is just as good!
This NARS product is a favorite of Kim Kardashian for its sheer, luminous highlighting, this is nearly identical. If you like the luminous glow of a highlighter, this is a no-brainer!
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Instead of NARS Blush in Orgasm, $30 use Milani Baked Blush in Dolce Pink, $7.99
Hannah specifically asked about this cult-favorite, and there are a handful of good dupes on the market. But for staying power, pigmentation and accessibility, my choice is this Milani Blush!
I love finding less expensive swaps for pricey products! I just swapped my face powder to an e.l.f. version and have had a lot of luck with that brand!
I like to wear eye shadows that can be tweaked to wear both day and night!