Five of the Best Drugstore Beauty Products

Being in college full time and barely having enough money to buy a McChicken for lunch is pretty rough. So I know the struggle when it comes to buying affordable makeup, while being a broke college student or even just trying to be on a budget. Although Sephora has hands down some of the best makeup products, you'd be surprised at the great quality in some similar items you might find in the drugstore. Here are my five tried and true drugstore beauty products that have never failed me; I've fallen in love with them over and over again.

1. Garnier BB Cream Miracle Skin Perfector

This is one of the best BB creams I have ever tried. It's found in most drugstores and it's high end! It's so moisturizing and it feels as if you are putting on a face cream rather than a foundation. Although it is called a BB cream, I believe that this stuff has the staying power of a strong foundation, and you can build as much coverage as you'd like. It's a daily shine protector as well so if you're on the greasy side, this should be perfect for you. Not only does this stuff feel great, but it's great for your skin with its SPF of 20! I'll throw some on before a hot beach day and while it's enhancing my skin, it's also protecting me from getting burnt! This is a steal at about $13, and it comes in a pretty decent variety of shades to choose from.

2. Cover Girl The Super Sizer Mascara (in very black)

This mascara is not clumpy and separates my lashes perfectly. It gives a beautiful natural look, without looking too plain Jane. It lengthens my lashes so I look bright eyed and wide awake, even when I'm half asleep in class. This retails for $5.49! To me, this stuff is better than any mascara I've tried from Sephora.

3. Cover Girl Clean Pressed Powder for Normal Skin

I get this in the color "warm beige," so it's the perfect powder to mattify my makeup as well as to use as a light bronzer. It's all about how you apply it; you could use a light hand to set your BB cream or a heavy hand to contour! This has been my go-to since I was old enough to wear makeup. My mom has been using this stuff forever, really, so the smell of it reminds me of my childhood. This pressed powder goes for about $7!

4. NYX blush in Pinched

The perfect color to brighten up your cheek bones with the perfect amount of pigment, this blush is very underrated. It comes in many different shades so you can pick which one fits your skin type best. This one just works best for me! This blush is only $4.75!

5. Rimmel London Lasting Finish Lipstick in Airy Fairy in 070

This one was super hard for me to narrow it down so I've got you covered with both a lipstick and a gloss)- Airy Fairy is such a beautiful light pink nude and it has beautiful pigmentation as well as a decent staying power! In my opinion, it smells pretty good, too! However, if you're not into nudes or pinks, I recommend just trying one of their other colors. It's a great formula that's been around for ages. Airy Fairy goes for about $6.

6. Maybelline Cover Elixers

Any color of this is by far my favorite drugstore lipgloss! They have great staying power, and they don't feel heavy or goopy! They come in a huge variety of colors so finding the right hue isn't hard. The gloss is super light weight but also very pigmented. There's nothing worse than putting on a lip color that you cant even tell you're wearing anything. These go for about $6!