Kristal's Drug Store Beauty Favorites

Now that I've said goodbye to my beloved high end beauty products, it's time to move on to more affordable items that I love just as much...well, almost as much.

1. Garnier Skin Renew Anti-Dark Circle Eye Roller, $12.99

My name is Kristal, and I have dark circles under my eyes. I love this stuff. I used this even before changing over to drug store products. All you do is roll it on under your eyes and gently spread it around. Your eyes are instantly brightened without having the heavy look of concealer. I don't wear foundation on a daily basis, usually just on Sundays for church or when Jesse and I are going on a date. Most days I will swipe this on and just do my eye makeup. On really lazy days I will use this, eyebrow powder, mascara and the tiniest bit of eyeliner.

2. Maybeline Color Tattoo Cream Eyeshadow, $5.84

A lot of people say these work just as well as Mac paint pots as a primer to keep your shadow on all day. I've never used paint pots but this keeps my eyeshadow in place almost as well as my Lorac eye primer. I think the key is not putting it on too heavily, or else it will crease. They have all sorts of crazy colors, but I only have the shade shown above, Tough as Taupe. I swipe it on my entire lid, blending up into the crease a bit, then lighten up the inner corners of my eyes with a champagne colored shadow and darken the outer corners with whatever darker color I'm in the mood for that day.

3. Cover Girl Lash Blast Volume mascara, $6.94

This gives a good amount of volume and drama for a great price. I have the regular and waterproof versions and they both work great. I like the plastic brush because it allows you to get every little lash covered with product.

4. Maybeline Great Lash Mascara in Clear, $4.44

I love this mascara. It makes your lashes look so luscious, and is the perfect product to create "come hither" eyes. Haha, just kidding. Clear mascara, seriously? What's the point? I use this for eyebrow gel. After I fill in my brows I brush them into place with this and it helps them stay put throughout the day.

5. Loreal Lineur Intense in Carbon Black or Loreal Telescopic Waterproof eyeliner, both $8.49

These are both great liquid liners. The felt tips make them easy to apply, and the formula is super dark which I love. The lineur intense does rub off pretty easily if you cry or your eyes water. The telescopic stays put through everything, and actually comes off with relative ease at the end of the day which is always my struggle with waterproof products. I haven't found a pencil eyeliner in the drugstore that I like because I have chronic eyeliner smudge problems. I use this stuff almost every day anyway, and my Urban Decay eyeliner will last for a long time if I only use it occasionally. :)

6. Loreal HIP Eyeshadow Duos, $7.14

These shadows have a lot of pigment and go on smooth and easy. They're the best shadows I've found at the drugstore by far. However, they come in all sorts of crazy color combinations which makes it hard for me because I may love a pretty brown shade, but what in the world am I going to do with the lime green that comes with it? The one in the picture above seems like a nice neutral combo, it is called Energized.

7. Loreal Colour Riche Lip Balm in Nourishing Nude, $7.99

I'm not big on having a lot of color on my lips, I prefer to put all the drama into my eyes. This product gives the perfect hint of color and I love that it is a balm. It just feels so good on my lips and it smells like cotton candy. They have more adventurous colors if that is your thing.

I don't feel like my quest of filling my beauty arsenal with quality drug store products is complete. I just bought Garnier's BB Cream. BB Cream is the new craze in skincare- it's supposed to be a moisturizer, primer, foundation and sunblock all rolled into one miracle product and I think Garnier is the only drugstore version out there. Unfortunately I think I may have snagged the last tube of the light/medium shade in Bel Air. OK, maybe not, but the Walmart in Fallston has none left and I got the last tube at the Bel Air Target. I have read some glowing reviews for the product so I can't wait to try it!

I'm not sure if anyone actually reads my blog, but if you have some product recommendations I'd love to hear them!!