Don't Sleep

Don't sleep on CVS!!!!! The drugstore is a great place to find some good beauty buys. Every woman has those things that she splurges on, and those she saves on. For me, my eyes are where I save. I am a firm believer that foundation, blush, and skin care are investments and worth the money. Eyes however can be done on a budget and still look quite fabulous. With eye colors changing every season, and with eye makeup needing to be replaced every few months to prevent infection, spending tons of money on those products just isn't worth it to me. I've found my eye all-stars right at the corner drug store.

Eyeshadow

Normally, drugstore eyeshadows only give you the basic neutral colors. When the palettes do have bold colors, the pigmentation is so sheer that you really have to layer and layer and layer to get any kind of impact, especially for darker skin. Or, you end up having to wet the shadow and literally paint it on your lids. But, I've found two brands that take all that trouble out of bold eyes.

L'Oreal - High Intensity Pigments (H.I.P.)

L'Oreal's new line, H.I.P., is making some great eyeshadows in bold colors. The shadows give you tons of color saturation without having to cake it on your eyes. The colors are superblendable with each other for endless combinations. They also have loose powder shadows and pure pigment sticks. The offerings are very similar to the eye color products that MAC makes. However, at about $6.99 a piece, there's no need to splurge on MAC when you can achieve the same look at less than half the cost. Plus, you won't feel guilty if you only wear them a few times. This one definitely gets an "A" from me.

Note: The H.I.P. line also includes foundation. Again, I think that the best foundation comes from higher end beauty counters, but they do offer a pretty wide range of colors so it may be worth a try.

Milani

I love and use almost all of Milani's eye products. They make bold eye shadow compacts and loose powders that cost no more than $5. Again, there's great color saturation and a wide range of colors to choose from. The shadows are perfect for nights out when bold eyes look best. They also make really soft pencil eye liners that smudge beautifully for smoky eyes. My absolute favorite, however, is the Easy Brow Pencil. It's a brow pencil and brush in one and it's perfect for filling in and defining brows for a perfect polished look. Fuller brows are back for fall and you can use this pencil to lightly enhance your brows if you're not willing to forgo waxing and plucking just yet. The colors look natural and won't give your brows a fake look, even the black pencil blends naturally.


Now, I've only seen Milani products at CVS. But, in my area, there's a CVS on almost every corner, so I rarely go into other drug stores. Nonetheless, it should be easily accessible at many different drugstore chains.

Mascara

Because of the close contact with your eyes and the moist environment of the tube, mascara is a breeding ground for harmful bacteria. Using it past it's prime can lead to styes and nastier eye infections. If you are a daily mascara user, as am I, you should replace your mascara every 2 to 3 months. Less regular users can keep their mascara a little longer. At the maximum, mascara has to go after six months. For me, $25+ is just not worth it for mascara that I'll have to throw away soon after buying it, so I stick to the drugstore brands.

Maybelline Great Lash

This is the MVP of mascaras for me. The thin formula goes on easily, with no clumps and doesn't look too heavy for day. Plus, it rinses off easily with just water. No eye makeup remover necessary. I've been using the original formula in Blackest Black for years. This is what I consider the Old Faithful of mascaras. And, the pink and green tube doesn't hurt!


Maybelline Lash Discovery

With its mini brush, this mascara can really hit every lash that you have, even those teeny, tiny ones at the corners of your eye. It also delivers just the perfect amount of mascara for those delicate lower lashes without giving that spider eye look. This is definitely a great choice for women with thin and fine lashes.

CoverGirl Lash Exact

This is one of the best new mascaras that I've tried. You've seen it. The funny brush in the purple tube. I was a little skeptical at first, but this stuff works. Something about the new brush perfectly and evenly dispenses the mascara to your lashes. No clumps ever. Only thick lush looking lashes and wide open eyes. This is so worth the money and at such a low price, you can afford to replace it as often as you should.

L'Oreal Volume Shocking Mascara

This one is not worth the money. Almost every drugstore brand has a two step mascara in their product line. The theory is that the first step, a fiber base, extends lashes, and the second step, black mascara, covers the base and makes lashes look full, thick and long. I've tried this and wasn't impressed. I found the fiber base to be thick and clumpy on my lashes. Even though the follow up mascara comes with a comb to separate lashes and break down the clumps, it was ineffective. The teeth on the comb are not long enough or strong enough to break through the clumps. The black mascara only ended up sitting on the clumps and making them more visible. My best results in using this mascara were by skipping the extending fiber base and just using the mascara alone. As mascaras go, I definitely got better results from both the Maybelline and CoverGirl products listed above. Skip this one.