Make the most of your drugstore makeup!

March 16, 2010 by Jai
Filed under Beauty

The following was written by Anna Klassmann De Souza
President, Live in Five Public Relations Great Article!

Craving some Clinique? Longing for a little Laura Mercier? Yearning for Yves Saint Laurent? Learn how to make your masstige (drugstore) makeup into prestique quality with affordable beauty finds.
MATTIFY ON A BUDGET: Matte nails are a huge trend! Forget purchasing five new shades of a Chanel nail color in a matte finish, keep the hues you have in your arsenal and top it off with a top coat that mattifies the base color! Give those tried and true shades an update with this new finish. Essie Matte About You ($10, essie.com) and Rescue Beauty Lounge Matte Top Coat ($18, RescueBeauty.com) are great affordable options!
PUT A FOUNDATION ON YOUR BASE: Help your drugstore foundation stay put longer with a makeup finish. Skindinavia’s No More Shine diminishes oiliness and 10 Years Younger ($19, skindinavia.com) adds in hydration, which is great since a lot of the more inexpensive foundations are loaded with talc and mica which can be very drying on the skin.
CREASE NO MORE: Do those drugstore eyeshadow crease and fade by lunchtime? Standard drugstore eyeshadows tend to have less pigment than their department store counterparts, and thus have less staying powder and may apply more sheerly. Experiment with color on a budget, but amp up that drugstore shadow’s staying power with eyelid primers that will intensify your shadows hue and will last all day with no touch ups! The industry staple is Urban Decay’s Primer Potion ($18, sephora.com), but L’Oreal’s De-Crease Eyeshadow Base and Primer ($7.99 at drugstores) is a option, too! Another great tip? Choose inexpensive shadows developed for African American or darker skin tones. Pricier shadows with staying power have more pigment and darker skin tones naturally need more pigment. Inexpensive brands that cater to darker skin are the best beauty buy in the whole store because you get more pigment for your pennies!
LIP VENOM FOR LESS: Brush your lips after you are through brushing your teeth in the morning and a night and apply a thick coat of Carmex ($1.29 at drugstores). The menthol in the Carmex on the fresh lip skin plums your pucker better than any $20 venom and the results last just as long.
LUSHER LASHES: Mascara formulas may change, but the biggest qualifier for lush lashes is the mascara wand! Go ahead and pick up the iconic Maybelline Great Lash ($4.89 at drugstores) but dump that flimsy brush and replace it with a fab lash brush that will separate lashes and create a thick full effect! MAC offers one for $11 (maccosmetics.com) with high quality synthetic fibers which helps properly distribute the product without clumps and we also love the Suki Brow Lash Brush ($10.95 at skinbotanica.com) for its thickness and blendability!