I’ve done sporadic posts detailing my favourite or essential drugstore products for a while now, however, it has been a good number of months since I’ve done one of these. I also acknowledge that I’ve been featuring slightly higher end products as of late, so I’m making he first steps in remedying the lack of drugstore content around these parts. I am definitely about the budget beauty after all…

• L‘Oreal Sublime Sun Quick Dry SPF 50 Sheer Finish Spray ($17.99): Spray sunscreen, while nothing new can be a complete lifesaver, being an easy option to use sun protection without requiring much in the way of effort and without the thicker greasy texture. However, I find that many spray sunscreens irritate my skin, being filled with alcohol and only seem to last for a few weeks but this sunscreen is an exception. It’s moisturizing while still being the lightest weight texture, meshes well with my skin and doesn’t seem to evaporate on the skin.
• Maybelline Brow Drama Sculpting Brow Mascara in Soft Brunette ($11.99): I adore this thickening tinted brow mascara, even with the round brush and all, because it really works to tame my unruly brows and add some much-needed definition that matches my ashy toned eyebrows perfectly. It lasts for days in my brows in a way that nears being slightly annoying. I’m thinking that I might prefer this to MAC’s waterproof brow gel too but it does not add as much of a tint.
• L’Oreal Lineur Intense Brush Tip in Carbon Black ($9-10): While the brush tip is not the easiest to wield, particularly in terms of holding a smooth and steady line, it’s affordable yet allows me to create the most precise wing out of all of the liners that I have tried.
• Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in 07 Nude-Ist ($24): Bourjois is a drugstore brand (even in Canada) but it’s not exactly the most affordable, or in the pricepoint that we would associate typically associate with drugstore brands. Regardless, I love this comfortable liquid lipstick staining product because it feels velvety on the lips, lasts for ages, is not drying but is comfortable on the lips. This shade is a gorgeous slightly brightened warm rose shade that I love for an everyday lip and even better, you don’t have to worry about it smudging on coffee cups or anywhere else.
• L’Oreal Magic Lumi Concealer in Fair ($10-12): This highlighting pen runs among the fairest that I’ve ever tried and has that brightening pink tone so it works nicely on paler skin to brighten areas such as underneath the eye. However, I find that this pen works best when paired with another heavier duty concealer concentrated in the inner corners when my horrific dark circles are in sight – after all, a pale light-reflective concealer cannot cover such darkness.
• NYX Butter Lipstick ($8.99): Ever since I’ve spotted these comfortable hydrating lipsticks around drugstores here in Canada at the very end of last year, I’ve been gradually trying a small selection of them and have fallen in love with the easy flattering, pigmented formula. The most pigmented shades are the brighter and darker shades – among which I own the coral-y Fireball and the deep burgundy-berry Licorice – but the more neutral shades are nice too, including the pictured warm-toned nude, Sugar Wafer (especially when paired with some liner).

What are your current drugstore favourites?

Maggie, x.