Like most, I started my beauty career in the aisles of the drugstore. Walmart, specifically. I’d mosey through the makeup for the entire hour my mom grabbed our weekly groceries. And every now and then, she’d let me grab one thing. A drugstore concealer, a setting powder, an eyeshadow quad—whatever I wanted, but only one. I made my choices carefully with just about the same consideration I gave to buying my first car.
To no one’s surprise, I’m now a beauty editor with nearly as much makeup stuffed in drawers in my apartment as a few aisles of the drugstore. Now, though, I don’t just have $5 eyeliners and cheap foundations. I have access to the expensive stuff that I fawned over, too. But my love for affordable beauty has never wavered. A drugstore beauty product that works just as well as something quadruple the price will still excite me—my TikTok algorithm’s obsession with high-end be damned.
I’m always raving about a new cheap find to my coworkers, and there have been so many lately that I realized nearly my entire summer makeup routine is from the drugstore. It got me thinking, and I wanted to really test it: Could I do my full makeup routine using only drugstore products?
Yep, totally. The result was just as good as my usual makeup (heck, more people at the office even complimented my look this day than the norm), for $263 less. Let me run through my whole routine, including why I love these new products so much.
This is the product that ignited this whole experiment, because I was absolutely blown away at how good this was for under $20. My favorite makeup product is always complexion, and I’ve loved how high-end brands have innovated beyond your standard medium-to-full-coverage liquid foundation over the years. Skin tints, cushions, mousses, creams, compacts—I’ll try it all. The drugstore, though, isn’t always as up to speed.
But this comes on the heels of a few high-end foundation balms I’ve tested, and I fully believe this is the best of them all for a fraction of the price. It’s essentially the feeling of a skin tint, with the coverage of a cream foundation, and the finish of a dewy foundation. Truly, my skin looks flawless when I’m wearing this, but not in a heavy or cakey way. Instead, my skin looks natural and glowy, just with all my zits and acne scars covered up. I apply it with a foundation brush for the most coverage and the quickest look, but it does come with a sponge that you could use as well.
“I try so many expensive products, but my favorite for the last six months is this $5 E.l.f. concealer,” assistant beauty editor Jasmine Hyman told a few visiting interns in the beauty closelyt recently. Having previously won a Cosmo beauty award, I knew this formula would impress me. And for a whopping $5, I can’t believe how close it compares with my expensive concealers.
I just dab the applicator in the inner corner of my eyes and it dispenses just enough product to get coverage without going cakey. I find this formula a little bit dry, but if I have eye cream underneath, it doesn’t look crepey or settle into lines.
When I discovered that cream blush could be translucent and balmy, my makeup immediately started to look more natural. And Versed’s $16 alternative to my go-to high-end balm blush is already my favorite for summer. Coming in a variety of flushed tones that mimic how skin would naturally look after a day in the sun, these have a healthy natural radiance that makes my skin look good, not just my makeup. I dab it on with my fingers and blend it out, or use a dense cream blush brush.
By Terry’s Tea to Tan is one of the most sought-after products on TikTok right now for how well it mimics a natural bronze without looking like makeup. And while this isn’t an exact dupe in application or color, it’s the closest I’ve found. For only $13, this lip and cheek stain blends perfectly with whatever’s underneath it, essentially adding a tint to your skin, not just adding color. It’s fresh and glowy, and best of all, it stays put for hours on end. I blend the bronze shade all over my forehead and just below my cheekbones for a liquid bronzer effect.
E.l.f. is killing it in the complexion category lately, and this new setting powder is easily my favorite. Honestly, it’s my favorite setting powder, period, this summer, even up against $$$ versions. The compact comes with four brightening and correcting shades (the four will depend on which you choose for your skin tone—I have light-medium) that you can either use on their own or mix all together.
Using a powder puff, I dab right into the compact, then pat the powder directly onto my skin wherever I need to set or brighten. It instantly blurs my pores and eliminates shine without taking away the glow in my skin. The finish is satin and velvety. It’s not flat matte, but it’ll definitely decrease the look of any oils on my skin. All the while, though, it doesn’t feel like I’m wearing a heavy setting powder—a must in the summertime.
It’s the summer of bronzer. There have been a zillion launches the last few months, from liquids to creams to powders. But my favorite affordable one came out in January, and I’ve used it endlessly since I got a sample in fall 2025 (beauty editor perks!). No matter what I do, this powder blends into my skin and looks natural. Even at my palest, a little extra blending with a fluffy brush diffused this into a soft veil of bronze. But now in summer, I pick up a bit more product and don’t have to be as precious with it.
The shimmers running through the baked powder don’t show up as chunky glitters on my face. It actually just gives my skin a hazy, luminous look. FYI: These powders are baked in Italy, where the best makeup in the world is made. So just because it’s under $15 doesn’t mean it doesn’t match the quality of more expensive powders.
Cosmo HQ tested this before it launched in January, and it’s remained one of my go-to mascaras since. My lashes look long and separated with this on, but still natural. And it’s seriously waterproof, which is wild for a tubing mascara. When one of my friends complimented this mascara last week, she promptly went to buy one after—she couldn’t believe how well it stayed on throughout our hot yoga class. IDK how it works, but unless I rub my eyes, this won’t come off, even if I’m in a hot workout class or sweating buckets on a 100-degree day.
I’ve relied on this brow glue for most of my 20s at this point. It manages to stick my ultra-fine, wiry brows into place for a full day. But it’s not crusty. Ever. I usually use the clear version, but when I want a bit of extra color without needing a brow pencil, I’ll use the tinted shades.
These gel liners glide onto my lips without tugging or sticking, making it so I can get a crisp line or fully fill in my lips. They don’t feel dry, either. Most of all, I freakin’ love how long-wearing these are. I can draw it on my lips, fill in with a gloss, and even as the gloss dissipates, my lip liner is still on.
Not all lip gloss is created equal, k? And I am very picky, apparently. It’s taken me years to find a lip gloss from the drugstore that I love. Whether it’s the taste, the stickiness, the longevity—something always brings me back to an expensive one that costs four times as much as a latte. But I’m obsessed with these lip glosses from Essence. They’re lightweight on my lips but add tons of shine. They’re sticky enough to stay on my lips, but not so sticky that my hair gets stuck to them. Truly, it’s the Goldilocks of lip glosses.
Milani Make It Last Microfine Mist Setting Spray
Milani Make It Last Microfine Mist Setting Spray
I’ve relied on the original Milani Make It Last Setting Spray for years, but this microfine mist majorly increases my makeup’s longevity. Similar to the One/Size On ’Til Dawn, this claims to make your makeup waterproof, sweatproof, and transfer-proof. I haven’t dunked in a pool wearing this, but it does keep my makeup on even when I’m drenched in sweat on the subway, which is enough for me.
It can be a bit drying (the formula contains alcohol), so I’d opt for one of the other versions if you have very dry skin.
Why trust Cosmopolitan?
Beth Gillette is the beauty editor at Cosmopolitan with eight years of experience researching, writing, and editing hair, makeup, nail, and fragrance stories.
Beth Gillette is the beauty editor at Cosmopolitan, where she covers skincare, makeup, hair, nails, and more across digital and print. She can generally be found in bright eyeshadow furiously typing her latest feature or hemming and hawing about a new product you "have to try." Prior to Cosmopolitan, she wrote and edited beauty content as an Editor at The Everygirl for four years. Follow her on Instagram for makeup selfies and a new hair 'do every few months.
