Favorite Low Maintenance (Drugstore) Beauty Products

Far be it from me to claim to be an expert of any kind in the makeup/hair/beauty departments. It is not an exaggeration of even the slightest degree to tell you that I know how to do one and only one makeup look. My sister Bekah is quite the makeup expert (her talents never cease), and she taught me how to do my makeup . . . so I do the same exact face she taught me to do, almost every day. Whether I’m headed to Walmart or my own wedding, my makeup will be almost exactly the same. This speaks less to its versatility than to my own lack of makeup talent.

But, despite my lack of appreciable skill or knowledge or expertise, who doesn’t enjoy sauntering down the beauty aisles and trying out a few new products? So, bearing in mind that I a) don’t know a ton about makeup, b) dislike spending money on beauty products, c) don’t know a ton about makeup (have I made that abundantly clear yet?), and d) am willing to spend no more than 5-10 minutes on my daily makeup, max, here are a few beauty products I love and can certainly recommend. (For the record, I have no affiliation with any of these companies--they don’t know who I am or that I’m posting this, and these are really my honest-to-goodness thoughts on them. But there are some affiliate links in here, which means that if you click and decide to buy, I get a teensy itty bitty portion of the sale price [the cost to you doesn’t change].)

1. Monistat Chafing Relief Powder Gel. Many moons ago, I admitted on the blog—to much shock and horror—that I put this stuff on my face. Maybe that sounds gross, but here’s the thing: it makes your skin unbelievably velvety soft and smooth, and any makeup you apply over it goes on like butter and looks 10 times better. If you can first get past the awkwardness of handing the pimply teenaged checkout boy a tube of Monistat, then get past the eeky weirdness of putting Monistat on your face, you will be so, so happy.

2. Revlon Colorstay Foundation. I have trouble with foundation. I want something that feels very light and smooth, but still has good coverage, all in a good color to blend with my pale skin. This one fits the bill for me. Here’s how I mix up the magic: squeeze a smallish dot (like, the size of a little pea?) of the Monistat gel onto the back of my hand; pour a slightly larger amount of foundation over it; mix the two together and spackle it on. Goes on beautifully smooth and looks nice all day. Boom.

3. e.l.f. Baked Highlighter. I dust a little over my cheekbones, right under my eyebrows, and in the inner corner of my eyes. Makes me look a little less like a brain-dead zombie in the mornings. I like.

4. Ulta Precision Liquid Eyeliner. Bekah’s been trying to talk me into trying liquid liner for years. I’ve been scared of trying liquid liner for even more years. But I finally got tired enough of my pencil liner smudging all over the place and pulling a disappearing act after mere hours, so I picked this up and gave it a go. I really love it. The tip is sort of stiff and marker-ish, so it’s not as difficult to apply as I expected, and it really does last all the live-long day.

5. Ulta Color Coat Cream Eyeshadow. I got this in Rose Gold at the recommendation of a super helpful and not-terrifying Ulta employee, and I love it. It’s a gorgeous color with a really pretty gold shimmer, and it doesn’t crease like I assumed a cream eye shadow would.

6. Cover Girl Super Thick Lash Mascara. I have pathetic eyelashes, plus most mascaras end up smudging really badly under my eyes. This is the first mascara I’ve tried that’s made them look considerably less pathetic, plus it doesn’t smudge at all.

7. Cetaphil Cleanser and Moisturizing Cream. These are all I ever want from a cleanser and moisturizer. My skin has gotten notably smoother and softer since using these consistently, and the cream is the best thing I’ve ever used on Forrest’s eczema, too (even better than the prescription products we’ve tried). Cannot recommend them enough.

8. Frizz Ease Nourishing Oil Elixir. Once upon a time, I emptied my piggy bank to buy fancy pants Moroccan Oil. Yes, it is as wonderful as you have heard. But when it ran out, I thought I’d see if a drugstore brand could compare. This Frizz Ease oil isn’t quite as good, but definitely comparable, and at a fraction of the price, being almost as good is good enough for me.

I would loooooove love love to hear your favorite beauty products. Please do share :-)