10 under 10

Top Ten Under $10

Some people swear by drugstore makeup, and I am one of those people. Although I do own some high-end makeup, I feel that you can almost always find something just as good at the drugstore. There are a few exceptions (I have yet to find a lipstick I love as much as the Tarte LipSurgence Power Pigment in Flush), but for the most part, the drugstore can be just as good, if not better. That's why I wanted to feature ten of my favorite makeup products that are under $10 USD. I'll admit, I had trouble choosing just ten, because I have so much great drugstore makeup, but these are ten of my favorites.

My first favorite - and probably my most favorite - is the Makeup Revolution Iconic 3 palette. You can buy it here for $7.00 USD. There's also an Iconic 1 and 2, which are both great, but this one is my favorite because it's full of pinks and golds, which I absolutely love. All but the lightest shades are super pigmented, and even the lightest shades aren't bad. This is probably my favorite palette of all time, as well as my current most used. I feel like you could create a great look on any skin color with this palette.

If you're always smudging mascara like me, you'll want this. It's the e.l.f. Makeup Remover Pen, and it's only $3.00 USD if you get it here. The one annoying bit is that if you want it to last a long time, you have to clean the tip right after you use it to keep it clean. Otherwise, it's fantastic, and I use it anytime I need to clean up my winged eyeliner or a mascara smudge.

I prefer gel eyeliner over liquid or pencil, and my favorite black eyeliner ever is the Essence Gel Eyeliner in 01 Midnight in Paris. You can buy it here for $3.99 USD. I use it with an angled brush to get a nice thick wing. I wouldn't recommend using an angled brush for a thin wing, but I almost always prefer my winged eyeliner to be super thick and easy to see.

As for foundation, my go-to is the Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless foundation in 110 Porcelain. It costs $7.99 USD if you get it here. I would recommend this to people with normal skin for sure, since that's my skin type and it looks great on me, and probably to people with oily skin. However, if you have dry skin, matte foundations in general might not be for you. Once you set it with powder, it looks totally matte and it makes your pores practically invisible. Of course, this won't be the case for everybody, because everybody has different skin and preferences, but for me this is absolutely great.

When it comes to my brows, I'm honestly not the best. I only recently started filling them in, and I rarely have the time to get them waxed. However, they look ten times better when I use the Essence Eyebrow Designer Pencil. I'm in the color Blonde 4, which you can buy here for $1.99 USD. Even the blonde isn't an absolute perfect match for me, as my eyebrows are quite grey-toned, it still looks pretty good. It's not too creamy or too waxy, and you can use it three or more times without sharpening it.

If you want voluminous lashes, you need the Covergirl Super Sizer mascara in black. I have yet to try very black or black brown, but I would assume those are great as well. You can buy it for $7.49 USD here, and it's probably the best drugstore mascara I've ever tried. That being said, if you prefer length over volume, this may not be for you. I'm happy with my lash length, so I really prefer mascara that gives me lots of volume, like this one does. It claims to give you 400% more volume, and I'm not sure if that's true, but it certainly gives a lot of it.

Please ignore my fingers in this picture, I had to hold the lipstick so it wouldn't roll away. This is the NYX Butter Lipstick in Pops, which you can get here for $5.99 USD. The formula is super buttery, just like the name suggests. I only own this color, but I would assume they're all about the same formula. It's a pretty brownish nude, and I think it would look good on almost any skin color.

This is the Wet' n' Wild MegaLast Nail Color in Private Viewing, which you can get here for $1.99 USD. For the price, it's outstanding. It only takes a couple of coats and it lasts as long as two days on my nails, which is actually quite a long time for me. Most polishes chip on me within a day, so I assume it would last longer on people with better nails. The color is also a nice neutral that would look good on anybody.

This is probably my favorite black liquid eyeliner, although I haven't tried a whole lot. It's the NYC Liquid Eyeliner in black, and it's only $2.77 USD here. It is a bit more expensive at other places, but nothing more than about three dollars, which is a steal for something this good! I find it difficult to use it for winged liner, but I'm honestly not that great at winged liner with any liquid eyeliner. I've hear other people say they find it easy to do winged liner with, so I think it probably has something to do with skill and a bit of natural talent with eyeliner, which I do not have. But for everyday normal eyeliner, this is great! It doesn't smudge or crack throughout the day and it's pretty easy to remove.

The Essence clear Lash and Brow gel mascara is absolutely fabulous for brows. You can get it here for just $2.99 USD. It keeps my brows in place all day long without feeling all weird and crunchy, and it comes off super easily with a makeup wipe or makeup remover. Mine's wand looks a bit gross, but that's just because I put it on after using a brow pencil, so some of that comes off on the wand and makes it look a bit icky. That's the only downside, though, and I think that any clear brow mascara would do that eventually.