What if I told you that the above look was done completely using products that can be purchased at any Drugstore? Because they are! I mean, I'm sure you figured that out by the title, but whatever.

This was sort of out of my comfort zone which made me love it even more. I'm not saying I'm too good for drugstore makeup, because I'm not. Actually, the setting powder, eyeliner, and mascara I use daily are all usually purchased at WalMart or Target. But I cannot tell you the last time I even looked at eyeshadow in the drugstore, let alone wore it. And I've been using the same foundation, powder, and highlighter for so long, I forgot that there were other alternatives.. So not only did I challenge myself by finding decent products at a low price, I also challenged myself by using a lot of new products, and it was fun! 

Here's what I used.. 

note: not everything I used is included in the photo above, more products listed below

LIPS

Maybelline Vivid Matte Liquid Lip in Possessed Plum • I have mixed thoughts on this. I have used lots of ColourPop liquid lips ($6) which were the exact formula I was looking for- so you can't use price as an excuse. Although I did love the color and the way this felt on my lips, it is in no way 'matte'. It was actually very glossy and sticky. So beautiful, yes. Matte, no. 

FACE

Foundation: CoverGirl Outlast 3-in-1 Foundation • This had great coverage and there were a lot of color options which is nice. I love this foundation because it really does cover well and has a pretty matte finish. It doesn't seem to last all day like you would expect from a pricier foundation, but you get what you pay for! 

Concealer: Maybelline Fit Me Concealer • I use this concealer on the regular! Definitely comparable to Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer- I highly recommend. Very creamy, VERY pigmented. I use the lightest shade to conceal & highlight. I would say do NOT use this concealer unless you plan to set it with a powder immediately after as it does seem to crease. 

Powder: Neutrogena Shine Control Powder • I use this powder 'drugstore makeup' or not. Its my favorite powder to control oil day-to-day. Its completely translucent and really keeps me matte. 

Bronzer: Physicians Formula Mineral Wear Airbrushing Pressed Powder • Let me tell you, its really hard to find a matte bronzer (for contouring specifically) at the drug store. Everything is shimmery and golden, which is nice, but not what I was looking for. This is a great matte powder, which also has SPF. I would have preferred it was a darker shade, but it did the job. 

Highlight: Wet n WildMega Glo Illuminating Powder • I loved this so much! And will continue to use it daily. I was so pleasantly surprised. Wet n Wild is probably the cheapest brand you can find in drugstores, and this highlight palette was great! I used the second shade, the lightest pink, and it looks amazing. Its also been hours since I applied it and its still going strong. Super pretty and I like that there are lots of color options. Plus, the little 'stripes' are wide enough to fit a normal highlight brush into! 

TOOLS

Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge • I was the most pleasantly surprised with this more than anything else! I tried this once before (before I had ever even tried the original beautyblender) and was disappointed. But I realized, now that I have more practice, that it really isn't bad at all! I actually loved the flat end, for applying foundation to my forehead and cheeks, and the pointed end for corners. Great for ~$7!

Elf Contour Brush 

Elf Blending Brush

EYES

Shadow: CoverGirl TruNakeds 'Goldens' • I was very pleasantly surprised with this palette! Like I said, I haven't purchased drugstore eyeshadow in a long time, and when it comes to eyeshadow I have high standards. There were actually two matte shades, the lightest shade which I used on my brow bone, and a medium shade, which I used in my crease. I used the rest of the shimmery green shades to shade my lid and darken the inner corner and used the really pretty shimmery lightest color in my inner corner. 

Brows: L'Oreal Brow Stylist Definer • This is an exact dupe for the Anastatsia Brow Wiz. I swear. Go buy it right now. It was so much cheaper and exactly the same. Even the little 'spooly' on the end was exactly like it. I promise, you wont be disappointed! 

Eye Liner: Maybelline Eye Studio Master Precise Liquid Liner• this was the only product I was "meh" about. If you know of a good drugstore liquid liner, please let me know! This was pretty hard to apply and made the look pretty choppy. Thankfully when I applied lashes it covered up the choppiness.

Mascara: CoverGirl The Super Sizer Mascara • This is another product that I use daily. I love this mascara. It really lengthens and separates and does everything you want a mascara to do. I'm wearing falsies in the photo but I did apply a tiny bit of this mascara and some to my bottom lashes as well. 

Lashes: Ardell Demi Wispies

I have to say overall I was very pleasantly surprised. Like I said, I've never been above drugstore makeup in general, but ever since I tried my first Naked palette (and instantly became hooked on the Sephora/Ulta high) I never went back.

But if you're on a budget and still want a flawless face, THERE IS HOPE! I spent around $80 total on foundation, concealer, eyeliner, 2 eyeshadow palettes (only used one in this look), powder, highlighter, bronzer, lashes, sponge, and brushes. Not bad, right?

I hope this is helpful and if there are any products that you think I NEED to try (especially liquid liner!) please comment below and tell me!

xo katie

like. literally. so cute.

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that Kylie Jenner & Kylie Cosmetics are.. well.. everything. I, personally, love Kylie, I know others hate her. But say what you will, Kylie's doing big things with her lip kits. I own 2 of her matte lip kits, Kourtney K and Mary Jo & love them. I don't own them all so I don't think its fair to do an overall review, but I did manage to get all of the glosses.

I know they sell out super fast, and if you're lucky enough to get your hands on them, consider yourself blessed.. angels are looking down on you. 

First of all, before I even talk about the glosses themselves, I want to give props to Kylie & her customer service team. The first batch of glosses came out on April 1st. Apparently, prior to that Kylie had sent some Youtubers, makeup artists, and bloggers some glosses in advance. After receiving their feedback, Kylie decided that the wand of the glosses was too long and that the brush wasn't fitting in and out of the tube well creating it to feather out like this. Kylie instantly stopped production of her glosses to create a better brush and shorter wand. Unfortunately anyone who ordered their glosses on April 1 received the not-so-great wand. I was one of those people. 

Instead of just sending everyone an email, a runaround on how to get a new product, a website credit, or anything I'd expect (and have experienced in the past) Kylie decided to do it RIGHT. The company re-sent the new and improved product to EVERYONE who ordered on April 1st. No questions asked. A couple weeks later I received an email saying my product had shipped (I did absolutely nothing on my end, they handled it all) and within a few days I got a new lip gloss, and to me, THAT is excellent customer service and the correct way to handle things.

Okay with that, on to the glosses.. :-)

The three gloss colors, from darkest to lightest, are "like", "literally", and "so cute". Cute, right? They are currently sold out, just like every freaking thing on the site, BUT, when she restocks, they can be purchased at KylieCosmetics.com for $15 each. 

They are all nude shades, which I love, and are very on-trend. I feel like I should mention that I'm so not a lip gloss girl. I can't even tell you the last time I wore or purchased a lip gloss. But Kylie made these look so tempting that I had to get them. And although I'm still getting used to the way glosses in general feel, I really do love the look, especially since its something different for me and out of my comfort zone. 

Like: The darkest of the three. Its the most pigmented. 

Literally: The medium shade and my favorite. I think this would go great with any skin tone.

So cute: The lightest and most pink. This one scared me at first, but was actually easier to pull off than I expected. Even if you aren't used to wearing lighter colors, I suggest you try it!

Overall they're very pigmented. It doesn't take much product at all which is great because you don't have that goopy, heavy feel. The formula is surprisingly creamy, somewhat sticky (because, I mean, it is a lip gloss) but definitely not uncomfortably sticky, and glides on really well. Oh and they smell really yummy, kind of like a cookie scented candle. And, the brush issue was completely corrected (and I have a great point of reference since I have the original gloss and my brush was messed up). 

I love that she released these because matte lips are so in right now and its so fun to switch it up. When I was wearing them I was surprised at how well I loved the look and how it pulled my makeup together so well. I feel sort of guilty because I want you all to go try these glosses right now, but they're sold out! So be on the lookout for the restock, and snatch them up as soon as you can!

Have a great day guys!

xo katie