Best of Both Worlds: Designer and Drugstore Makeup

There is nothing more satisfying than quality makeup products, since fresh, well-applied makeup can give us collegiettes more confidence wherever life takes us — interviews, formal events, and date nights.  On the downside, living on a college budget means that it’s just not realistic to splurge hundreds of dollars on high-end designer makeup.  Sometimes it seems like a complete tossup in quality between drugstore and designer products, yet the prices are usually radically different.  On the other hand, some high-end products are more expensive because of their unique ingredients or the intricate way in which they were manufactured.  According to the reviews on Makeupalley.com, we found the highest rated drugstore and designer makeup products.  It’s ultimately up to you to decide if you’re going to go designer or drugstore; however, you can definitely save big time on certain products by choosing drugstore makeup. Read on to discover some of the highest rated drugstore and designer makeup products!

Eyeliner:

According to the reviews on Makeupalley.com, the top four most popular eyeliners consist of two designer and two drugstore brands:

Maybelline Eyestudio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner: $7.59

Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner: $20.00

MAC Fluidline Eye-Liner Gel : $16.00

Revlon Colorstay Eyeliner: $5.99

If you’re the kind of collegiette who is an eyeliner fanatic, you might prefer to spend the extra money for the higher-end brands.  However, many eyeliners are made of wax which is a pretty inexpensive ingredient.  Also, eyeliners should be replaced often to reduce the risk of irritating your eyes with a bacterial infection.  Our best bet is to go with a simple drug store black eyeliner!

Mascara: 

Maybelline Great Lash Mascara $4.49

BeneFit Cosmetics They’re Real $24.00

L’Oréal Voluminous Million Lashes Excess Mascara $7.86

Le Volume de Chanel Mascara $32.00

The same goes for mascara: this is a product that needs to be replaced often to avoid contracting bacterial infections.  However, some people are willing to spend the extra money because they prefer the design of the applicator found in the designer brands.  Otherwise mascara is pretty much all the same regardless of the brand and you can’t even tell the difference once applied!

Eye shadow:

MAC Paint Pot in Painterly $21.00

Maybelline Color Tattoo 24hr Cream Gel Shadow $5.29

Urban Decay NAKED Palette $54.00

Maybelline The Nudes Palette $9.99

Eye shadow lasts a bit longer than mascaras and eyeliners, so it may be worth it to invest in a nice neutral palette full of natural eye shadow colors.  Urban Decay’s Naked Palettes are great because they contain colors that can be worn everyday and also shades that can be dressed up for fancier occasions.  If you don’t wear eye shadow everyday or don’t really feel like shelling out $54 on a palette, the Maybelline Nudes Palette is a wonderful alternative.  MAC Paint Pots are also wonderful to use alone for a simple everyday look, or they can also be used as a base to wear under powder eye shadow.  Some reviewers have claimed that the Maybelline Cream eye shadows are very comparable to MAC’s paint pots, only with a much cheaper price!

Foundation:

NARS All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation $48.00

Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation $62.00

Maybelline FIT Me Foundation (Matte + Poreless) $5.94

L’Oreal  True Match Super-Blendable Makeup SPF 17 $7.99

Foundation is one of those makeup products where it might be better to spend a little more money, just because a professional makeup artist can determine your perfect shade, and you are allowed to test different shades and brands at the counter.  Higher end foundations are also more likely to contain important ingredients such as sunscreen, and they are also known to last longer throughout the day and not look too heavy or caked on the skin.  However, reviewers have also raved about the comparable quality of drugstore brands such as Maybelline and L’Oreal!

Lipstick:

MAC Velvet Teddy Lipstick $16.00

Rimmel provocalips $5.69

Wet ‘n’ Wild Mega Last Lipstick $2.29

Too Faced Melted Liquefied Long Wear Lipstick $21.00

Lipstick also seems to be a tossup between drugstore and designer brands.  If you wear a certain shade of lipstick every day, you might want to spend more money on a higher end product, as some reviewers claim that they hold up longer during the day.  For other bolder colors that you are not going to wear on an everyday basis, it might be best to go with the drugstore brand because they are considerably less expensive and comparable to the designer brands!