Southern Belle in Training

Fashion, Travel & Lifestyle Blog || Est. 2012 || Virginia Beach, VA

October 19, 2020

10 BEST Drugstore Beauty Buys: Things I Keep Repurchasing.

     I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that drugstore beauty products can be really hit or miss. On one hand, it is so great to find an affordable beauty product that exceeds your expectations and works well the first time your try it for your skin or hair. On the other hand, there can be a lot of flops with cheaper products, and it can be frustrating to keep trying various $5-10 items that don't work- that's when you start thinking maybe it would've been better to just splurge on a prestige brand item that would work the first time. Today, I'm sharing my holy grail favorite 10 drugstore beauty products! These are the affordable favorites that I've fallen in love with using.

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     The most expensive item is $12, and most are under $10. These aren't things that I've tried only once or twice and liked, I've repurchased every single one of these many times, and some I've been using for between 5-10 years! I always enjoy reading other bloggers' affordable beauty favorites, so I wanted to round all of my most-purchased items into one post for you. A couple of these products are exclusives to one retailer, but most are sold anywhere that drugstore beauty products are available. 


My 10 Most Repurchased Drugstore Beauty Buys:

     1. Almay Makeup-free Zone Oil Free Makeup Remover Pads - I wanted to start off the list with the item on here that I've been using and buying the longest. My mom first bought me the Almay oil-free makeup remover pads in high school, and I've still been buying them religiously ever since! I have tried lots of other makeup removers over the years, some that I also really like. But I always come back to these Almay pads and have at least one thing of them in my bathroom. I have tried the version of these with oil as well, but I found it irritated my eyes a bit and also didn't remove mascara as well, so I personally prefer the oil-free. 

     2. Aveeno Positively Radiant Skin Brightening Daily Scrub - This is my favorite under $10 facial cleanser. It's great for sensitive skin and I've bought this and been pleased with it many, many times! My absolute favorite drugstore cleanser is actually this one from Pixi (it smells so good!), but with its $18 price point I tend to buy the Aveeno one much more often since it's so much more affordable and still works well for my skin. 

     3. Suave Professionals Keratin Infusion Color Care Shampoo & Conditioner - True story: I've almost always exclusively used hair products that are under $10! I have tried a few salon hair brands for shampoo and conditioner over the years, but I always go back to the cheap stuff. Suave is my favorite brand for affordable shampoo and conditioner! I used to use the $3 Suave Clarifying shampoo all the time since I struggled a lot with greasy hair before I began coloring it. However the Clarifying shampoo isn't color safe so as of last year when I began coloring my hair, I switched to their Professionals Color Care set, which I also love and have been repurchasing! They make a bunch of different shampoo sets in the Professionals line for different hair types and issues (some are and aren't color safe), so I'm sure there's one that would work for you. 

     4. Kristin Ess The One Purple Shampoo - When I started coloring my hair last year, the first stylist I went to told me that the Kristin Ess purple shampoo at Target was better than the more expensive one she had for sale at the salon. I decided to take her word for it, and fell in love with this product! If you also color your hair lighter and use a purple shampoo at home, but sure to try this one. It's the most expensive product on this whole list at $12, but I think that's still a great deal. And one bottle lasts a really long time! 

     5. ImPRESS Nails - I talk about these frequently on the blog and Instagram, so I'm not going to give you the whole spiel today haha. But for real- ImPRESS Nails are amazing. See this blog post or this IGTV video for more about why I'm obsessed with them! 

     6. Aquaphor Lip Repair - I've always struggled a lot with chapped lips, especially in the colder months. As a kid and teenager I swear I tried every moisturizing drugstore lip product out there. My mom has always sworn by Carmex, but it never worked well for me and I thought it had a funny taste. In college I first found Aquaphor Lip Repair, and my life was changed. I swear there are no better products for chapped lips! I use this religiously every night before bed and every morning after brushing my teeth and before I put on lipstick (which I usually wait to do once I get to work). 

     7. Ardell Magnetic Accents Lashes - I have a love/hate relationship with traditional false lashes. I love the way falsies look (especially for more formal occasions), but it sometimes it tough to apply them, and I know that eyelash glue isn't the best thing to be using often on your eyes. I found out about these magnetic lashes from my friend Nicholle a couple years ago, and she inspired me to buy them. I loved them! They did take a little bit of practice learning how to apply, but they stayed on well all day and I loved the fact they're glue-free. I prefer to Accents Lashes to the full ones, and I do still trim new pairs of the Accents ones down a little bit in length with nail scissors when I get them, to make them a tad less dramatic. 

     8. Covergirl Clean Professional Loose Powder - I'd been on the hunt for a few years for a good drugstore setting powder. I know a lot of beauty lovers rave about the e.l.f. ones, but I tried a few and they  didn't do it for me personally! I bought this powder from Covergirl on a whim last year and loved it! It's affordable, works well, comes in a few shades (I wear Light), and it lasted me much longer than the other drugstore ones I'd tried. This is a gem of a product!

     9. L'Oreal Voluminous Superstar Mascara & Primer - I like more dramatic, mascara covered lashes for everyday makeup. Since college, I've been wearing 2-3 mascaras daily- I layer them to make my lashes more full and bold. This has been my go-to base mascara and primer for at least five years! I first used the similar mascara/primer Double Extend duo from L'Oreal that I also liked, but then the Voluminous Superstar came out and I've been hooked on that one ever since. The primer works wonderfully to get your lashes ready to shine in mascara, and the mascara side is a great, natural looking lengthening mascara! This mascara isn't as great for volume, but it's a perfect base mascara to start with for length, and then you can add another on top for volume if you like more dramatic lashes like I do. 
 
    10. Essence Make Me Brow Gel - Oh I love this product so so much! Fact about me: my natural eyebrows are one of my features that I'm most insecure about. I've never waxed or heavily tweezed them, but I also never liked their natural shape. I was really insecure about that in high school. During my freshman year of college, I first got into reshaping them with eyebrow pencil and gel, which made me feel much better! I originally used this gel from Benefit, which was great but cost over $20 for a small tube! That was a lot to be buying regularly on a college student budget. During my sophomore or junior year of college, I discovered this dupe product from Essence. It is under $5!! That's like a 75% savings from what I was paying before. I've been using it now for over five years! This eyebrow gel is incredible and I will be so heartbroken should Essence ever discontinue it. 




     Now I'd love to hear from you! What are your absolute favorite drugstore beauty buys? Share away in the comments! 


     God Bless,


      xoxo Annaliese 
 

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4 comments

  1. The drugstore is where it's at for makeup remover!

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  2. Thank you so much for putting this together. I am obsessed with the Ardell lashes thanks to you. I need to try the Aquaphor lip repair, I use their baby products and they’re amazing. Also, I’m always a Loreal fan.

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  3. Thank you for this awesome list! I really need to try those Impress Nails since I know how much you love them and they always look great on you!

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  4. totally loved this post! thanks for sharing sweetie <3 can't wait to see more from you!

    hope your well

    JadieeGosh

    ReplyDelete

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