Posted by : SealedwithaSwatch Monday, November 18, 2013

Let's be honest here - makeup is an expensive hobby to have! With all the products needed like eyeshadows, foundations, eyeliner, concealer, powder, contouring product, blusher, lipstick, etc it can really add up fast. When I first started in makeup I truly had no idea what were good products and good brands. I just assumed that more expensive meant it was better.

Now that I have tried a pretty hefty range of products and brands, I can safely say that more expensive is not always better - Guerlain quad I'm looking at you.... But, even with that in mind, it's really hard to know what products that are under $20 are worth buying. I thought I'd make it a little easier on you all and share what products I love that cost less than $20.


Inglot Matte AMC Gel liner in #77


 The first beauty steal that is under $20 is the Inglot AMC Gel liners. These retail for $12 at Inglot's Website, which can be found here. These liners come in a lot of different colors, including teal and purple! I own #77, the black shade shown here, and #87, which is a teal.


These are truly amazing! They are incredibly pigmented and glide on relatively easily. I really love how quickly they dry - about 60 seconds and then they do NOT budge. If you have oily lids, these liners will rock for you. I'll eventually be doing a full blog post on these, so stay tuned!


Mac Lipsticks

Let's talk about what a steal Mac lipsticks are for only $15 at MAC's website. I enjoy the creamsheens, lustres, and the mattes. I do not like the retro mattes because they are very dry and tend to pull at my lips. I have naturally dry lips, so those are big no-nos. 

Mac lipsticks have a really nice scent - they smell like vanilla and cocoa butter (at least they do to me). I find that the lipsticks wear really nicely on me - no lipstick ring of death for these! Some of my top picks are Lovelorn, Diva, Russian Red, and Girl about Town.


Sleek Blusher by 3 in Sweet Cheeks

If you want really pigmented, long lasting, nice feeling blushes, you should definitely consider purchasing the Blush by 3 from Sleek. These trios retail for $12.49 and can be found at Sleek's website. These blushes last on me all day, even with my oily cheeks! These trios come with one cream blush (far left) and two powder blushes. I rarely use the cream one because it is almost TOO pigmented for me. It is way too easy to end up with entirely too much product.



Wet n Wild Eyeshadow Palettes 

I truly believe Wet n Wild has the best drugstore eyeshadows out there. They are pigmented, smooth, and last all day. The larger palettes like this one above retail for $4.99 and can be purchased at CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid depending on your area. You can very often find deals on these products too to get them for buy one get on 50% off. I always pop into the drugstore to see if I can get more of these shadows. The palette featured above was the Limited Edition Nude Awakening palette. If you can find it or swap it from someone, I highly recommend it. The colors are beautiful and blend very easily. I do not get any fallout with this palette either.


Mac Eyeshadows

Mac eyeshadows have become a recent favorite of mine. I only own three of them, but they are quickly becoming favorites of mine. In particular, Mac patina has become something I reach for several times a week. These shadows retail for $15 and can be found at MAC's website. I find this color to be really smooth and a great all over lid color for lazy no makeup makeup days. The shadow doesn't have any fallout either (SCORE!). 



Inglot Eyeshadows and Blushes

While we are on the topic of eyeshadows, I need to give a shout out to Inglot shadows because they are truly my favorite of any brand. At $6 a pop, you cannot beat the price and size of these shadows. You can pop over to Inglot's website to order some. They are very pigmented, smooth, and have very minimal fallout. They also last all day on my oily lids in the Texas sun. I'll be doing a full review with my entire Inglot collection later on.

Inglot blushes are HIGHLY pigmented. If you are scared of pigmented blushes, STAY AWAY from these. You barely need to touch your brush into the pan to get enough blush to do both cheeks. They retail for $10 on the Inglot website.


Maybelline Color Tattoos

I have to give an honorable mention to the Maybelline Color Tattoos. These cream shadows retail for around $4.99 - 6.99 depending on where you purchase them. You can locate the color tattoos at CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, Target, ULTA, etc. I mainly use the tattoos as bases for other looks. They do tend to crease on me (probably do to my oil slick lids). If I layer it with primer, color tattoo, and then powder, the creasing is minimal. I really love how pigmented and vibrant these are though. I did a full review on these which can be found here. Be sure to check it out!


Sugarpill Shadows

If you are like me and love bright brights, you are definitely going to want to snag some of these Sugarpill pressed shadows. You can find these $12 shadows on Sugarpill's website. What I really love about these is the pigmentation. They are more pigmented than anything else I have ever tried. You do not even need a white base to truly make these colors pop.


I currently just own the yellow shade in Buttercupcake. I am wanting to purchase more bright shades though. 


Revlon Balm Stains

If there is one thing Revlon knows it's how to make a good crayon style lip balm. I am a huge fan of both the regular balm stains and the new matte balm stains (review coming!). They retail for around $6 depending on where you get it (typical drugstore locations). These balms last on me for several hours, even through eating and drinking. They do not bleed out of the lines for me, which is a huge plus. The color range isn't too bad either. They do have a minty smell, which may bother some people. I've done a full review on the regular balm stains that you can read here.


That wraps up my best beauty buys under $20. Be sure to comment and subscribe for more posts!

{ 4 comments... read them below or Comment }

  1. I really enjoyed reading this. For some reason, I always lumped Inglot in with more expensive brands. But seeing that their eyeshadows are only $6, I might have to try them.

    gingercatqueen.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Quality wise, Inglot is better than a lot of Mid Range brands like Urban Decay (in my opinion of course).

      Delete
  2. Do you have to sharpen the revlon balm stains with a sharpener or do they twist up or what?

    ReplyDelete

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