August 11, 2009   ∗   0 Responses   ∗   by Chrissy

Best Drug-Store Brands: Part I

First I wanna apologize for not being able to post as frequently as we used to. I lost some steam this week, trying to get caught up with work after my trip and then I was also sick. I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while now, and I’ve decided to break it up into parts so that the entry isn’t too long, and it’ll give me time to write more later.

Now, I know most of us peruse the makeup aisle at our local drugstore more often than the MAC store at the mall. I for one can’t afford to spend all my money on big brand names, though I might wish I could. Still, I’ve come across some great products and brand-name alternatives at the CVS around the corner from my house.

My favorite eyeshadow of all time – yes, ALL time, is Loreal’s HiP Eyeshadow Duos. It even beats some of my MAC eyeshadows and my Coastal Scents and Artistik palettes. These eyeshadows are famous for being extremely pigmented and the duos are so well color-coordinated that I often take them with me while traveling so I don’t have to take my entire makeup collection with me. Used in combination with the HiP shadow pigments, you can get some great night time looks out of this line of products. I haven’t really used these eyeshadow duos or pigments for any true day time looks though ( though I have been known to wear night time looks during the day, haha.) The one product that I’ve bought from this line that I can’t live without is the HiP Shadow Pigment in Intrepid. It’s a really hot shimmery bronze with hints of purple and gold, and it goes great with greens, golds, and purples. HiP stands for High Intensity Pigment and if you’re looking for exactly that at an affordable price, then you should definitely give this a try.

I’m also in love with the Essence Of Beauty brushes that CVS carries. For such a cheap price you can’t expect them to level with your MAC brushes, but they are a perfectly adequate alternative if you find yourself on a budget. For the bigger brushes you can expect some shedding at first, but after a few uses you should no longer have that problem. My favorite purchase from this line of brushes is the Eye Travel Kit which was around $10. It comes in a little black pouch and includes four dual sided brushes (so eight uses).  The best brush out of this set, I would have to say, is the Precision Eye Liner Brush, which I like to use more to blend my eyeliner downwards into my lash line and, also if I’m going for a more smudged or smokey look, I’ll use it to blend my liner into my eyeshadow.

That’s all for now, but there’s more to come – Stay tuned for Part II!