I like kickin’ it at the drugstore because I can “ooh” and “ah” over eye palettes and shampoo without my wallet raising hell.
Here are some drugstore gems that caught my fancy this week, along with a few misses.
1. Revlon Kiss Balm Lip Balms ($4.99 each)
If I were eight years old and spotted these Revlon Kiss Balms at CVS, I would BEG my mom to get me one or two or three. (“Pretty please, Mommy!”)
They’re so cute! These moderately moisturizing twist-up balms contain fab fruit oils and SPF 20, but they’re super sheer, so I can’t really tell the difference between them. Juicy Peach and Fresh Strawberry look pretty much the same, but that’s OK, because they’re just TOO CUTE.
They’re just basic balms, but oh, yeah — they taste and smell like gummy ? bears, too.
BOOM. 🙂
VERDICT: Need!
Revlon Kiss Balm Lip Balms ingredients
Avobenzone 2.0%, Octinoxate 7.5%, Oxybenzone 3.0%. Other Ingredients: Polybutene, Diisostearyl Malate, Isononyl Isononanoate, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, Octyldodecyl Neopentanoate, Polyethylene, Ozokerite, Diisopropyl Dimer Dilinoleate, Cera Alba ((Beeswax) Cire D Abeille), Parfum (Fragrance), Flavor, Punica Granatum Seed Oil, Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Seed Oil, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, Cetyl Palmitate, Benzoic Acid, Oxidized Polyethylene, BHT, Silica, Sodium Saccharin, Benzyl Benzoate, Limonene, Benzyl Alcohol, Citral, Amyl Cinnamal, Hexyl Cinnamal, Hydroxycitronellal, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Linalool
2. Herbal Essences Bio:Renew Volume Arabica Coffee Fruit Shampoo and Conditioner ($5.99 each)
Herbal Essences Bio:Renew Volume Arabica Coffee Fruit Shampoo and Conditioner smell fancy and expensive, but they’re only $6 each.
They smell like a caramel raspberry latte (Is there such a thing? If not, there should be.), and it lingers in my hair all the way till the next day. Both the shampoo and the conditioner have arabica coffee fruit (I guess those are the beans?), aloe and sea kelp for moisture and volume.
My hair feels soft, happy and hydrated, and it doesn’t feel heavily weighed down. And my scalp, which has had some dry flake action lately, likes it, too.
Bio:Renew is also safe to use on color-treated hair.
VERDICT: Need!
Herbal Essences Bio:Renew Volume Arabica Coffee Fruit Shampoo ingredients
Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Citric Acid, Fragrance/Parfum, Histidine, Coffea Arabica (Coffee) Fruit Extract, Panthenol, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Ecklonia Radiata Extract, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Xylenesulfonate, Cocamide Mea, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Benzoate, Tetrasodium EDTA, PEG-60 Almond Glycerides, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Linoleamidopropyl PG-Dimonium Chloride Phosphate, Trihydroxystearin, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, MethylisothiazolinoneHerbal Essences Bio:Renew Volume Arabica Coffee Fruit Conditioner ingredients
Water, Cetyl Alcohol, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Coffea Arabica (Coffee) Fruit Extract, Panthenol, Histidine, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Ecklonia Radiata Extract, Fragrance, Stearyl Alcohol, Quaternium-18, Bis-Aminopropyl Dimethicone, Benzyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Glyceryl Stearate, Citric Acid, Polysorbate 60, EDTA, Oleyl Alcohol, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone
3. Maybelline Volum’ Express The Colossal Big Shot Mascara in Blackest Black ($8.49)
My lashes look crazy long when I wear Maybelline Volum’ Express The Colossal Big Shot Mascara in Blackest Black! It’s fantastic for length and lift, but it likes to clump groups of three or four lashes together, so if you like individually separated lashes, get your lash comb ready.
Maybelline Volum’ Express The Colossal Big Shot Mascara in Blackest Black ingredients
Aqua / Water / Eau Paraffin Potassium Cetyl Phosphate Copernicia Cerifera Cera / Carnauba Wax / Cire De Carnauba Ethylene/Acrylic Acid Copolymer Styrene/Acrylates/Ammonium Methacrylate Copolymer Cera Alba / Beeswax / Cire Dabeille Synthetic Beeswax Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2 Polybutene Cetyl Alcohol Steareth-20 Glyceryl Dibehenate Steareth-2 Phenoxyethanol Hydroxyethylcellulose Acacia Senegal Gum Tribehenin Caprylyl Glycol Glyceryl Behenate Sodium Dehydroacetate Hydrogenated Jojoba Oil Hydrogenated Palm Oil Disodium Edta Butylene Glycol Sodium Laureth Sulfate Stearyl Alcohol Myristyl Alcohol Tetrasodium Edta Propylene Glycol Potassium Sorbate Silica Soluble Collagen Bht Trisodium Edta[+/- May Contain / Peut Contenir Ci 77491, Ci 77492, Ci 77499 / Iron Oxides Ci 77007 / Ultramarines Ci 77891 / Titanium Dioxide Mica Ci 75470 / Carmine Ci 77288 / Chromium Oxide Greens Ci 77742 / Manganese Violet Ci 77510 / Ferric Ferrocyanide ] F.I.L. D188888/3
4. Wet N Wild Au Naturel Palette ($6.99)
The Wet N Wild Au Naturel Palette is stacked with shimmery shadows, but it also has a couple of supremely rad matte browns.
I almost can’t believe they’re drugstore because of how smooth and soft they are. The shimmers are like buttah, too, and they’re packed with pigment.
The only problem is that they like to emphasize the lines on my lids (how rude!). 🙁 If I were 20 or 25, though, I’d be ALL over this. It’s only seven bucks!
VERDICT: Nope! (But if I were younger, this would be a need, for sure.)
Wet N Wild Au Naturel Palette ingredients
Talc, Nylon-12, Dimethicone, Ethyl Macadamiate, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Boron Nitride, Magnesium Myristate, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Polysorbate 20, C10-30 Cholesterol/Lanosterol Esters, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Caprylyl Glycol, Polybutene, Lauroyl Lysine, Sorbitan Stearate, Hexylene Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Silica, o-Cymen-5-ol, Tocopherol, Polyacrylamide, Tocopheryl Acetate, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Glycerin, Caprylhydroxamic Acid, Laureth-7, [(May Contain/Peut Contenir): Mica, Iron Oxides/CI 77491, CI 77499 , Titanium Dioxide/CI 77891, Manganese Violet/CI 77742, Red 40 Lake/CI 16035, Black 2/CI 77266, Blue 1 Lake/CI 42090] (0815)
5. Physicians Formula Brow Booster Feather Brow Duo ($11.99)
One end of these Physicians Formula Brow Booster Feather Brow Duos has a loose brow powder with small fibers running through it (you apply it to your brows with the pointy doe-foot applicator), and the other end has a shimmery, twist-up pale peach brow highlighter.
It’s available in three shades, and I tried the Brunette one (there’s also a Light Brown and Black/Brown).
It was SO messy! The fibers got freakin’ everywhere.
Even though I can build up the color in the sparse parts of my brows quickly with this, which I like, it’s easy to go overboard with it and end up in block-y, scary brow territory. The shimmery highlighter is also sheer and hella sparkly, so this is not exactly something subtle.
VERDICT: Nope!
Physicians Formula Brow Booster Feather Brow Duo ingredients
Highlighter: Cyclopentasiloxane, Mica, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax / Cire de Candelilla, Isocetyl Stearate, Caprylic / Capric Triglyceride, Microcrystalline Wax / Cire Microcristalline, Phenyl Trimethicone, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax / Cire de Carnauba, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Synthetic Beeswax, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Dimethicone, Phenoxyethanol, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Arachidyl Alcohol, Cetyl PEG / PPG 10 / 1 Dimethicone, Hexyl Laurate, Ozokerite, Palmitic Acid, Polyglyceryl- 2-Isostearate, Stearic Acid, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Tin Oxide. May Contain: Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891)Fiber: Cellulose, Kaolin, Panthenol, Tocopherol, Lecithin, Panax Quinquefolius Extract, Boswellia Serrata Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Extract, Urtica Dioica (Nettle) Extract, Ocimum Basilicum (Basil) Leaf Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Extract, Troxerutin, Myristoyl Pentapeptide-17
6. Physicians Formula #InstaReady Glide-On Gel Eyeliner ($5.99)
I was hoping to use Physicians Formula Glide-On Gel Eyeliner in Champagne as a liner to brighten my lower water line, but it’s cray-cray sheer, and I can barely see it at all.
That, and it doesn’t glide. I’m gonna have to disagree with ’em on that. It’s not that smooth.
VERDICT: Nope!
Physicians Formula #InstaReady Glide-On Gel Eyeliner ingredients
Cyclopentasiloxane, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Polyethylene, Ozokerite, Isododecane, Synthetic Beeswax, Citric Acid, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Propylene, Carbonate, Silica, Styrene / Acrylates Copolymer, Tin Oxide, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Phenoxyethanol. May Contain: Black 2 (CI 77266), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499), Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Mica, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891)
Found any good drugstore gems lately? Quick — what’s your favorite drugstore product under $20 right now?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Hey Karen – marginal point, but it’s so great you added the ingredient lists for all this stuff. 🙂 Thanks!
I’m liking the L’Oreal Infallible face powder in Sun Beige. I’ll have to wait and see if it fares well under the hot summer sun, but so far we’re getting along.
Today I’m testing out Cover Girl Flamed Out mascara. So far it’s working for me. I’ll write a post on it once I’m past the testing stage.
Ooh, I’ll add it to my list. Happy Friday!
Hi Karen,
I really appreciate that you’re listing the ingredients for products when you can. It helps me decide whether i want to check out an item in person or not because I have skin allergies and can’t always use everything. 🙂
Hi Christina,
You’re welcome! I try to remember adding them when I can. 🙂
Have you found any drugstore gems lately?
Hey, Happy Friday – I hope you all have a terrific, long weekend. This has nothing to do with your post but I thought of you yesterday because Maneater (the H&O version, natch) was on the radio. 🙂
Whoa here she comes!!! Did I ever tell you I have their Greatest Hits CD in my car? LOL
What are you doing this weekend? I have lunch with a friend tomorrow, then a hair appointment in the late afternoon. On Sunday I’m going to a baby shower. Lots of fun stuff!
OMGosh, why didn’t I see those Revlon lip balms last weekend when I popped into a drugstore in desperate need of a lip balm with SPF? We drove out to check on the pastured mare and it was hot and windy and I didn’t have lip balm in my bag and I was desperate for moisture and SPF. I would have loved to try that one.
I want to try L’Oreal Voluminous Lash Paradise Mascara. I hear that it is a lot like Too Faced Better Than Sex. Also it’s around $10 so that’s a much better price.
Right now my drugstore need is Maybelline Master Prime Long-Lasting Eyeshadow Base. I had some eye surgery recently and my eyes are watering a lot. I’ve tried UD primer and Too Faced but this Maybelline kept my eyeshadow intact for 10 hours. Love it.
Neutrogena hydroboost foundation. Love this stuff. Also a nail polish the girl behind me in line recommended. She had it on in seafoam green and it was only $5! I don’t know the brand but the cap is black with white dots. It’s been on my toenails over a week and looks adorable!
Thanks for this review. I always wondered about that palette! I’m still on the fence about it. But, I love wet n’ wild, especially their highlighters! Currently, I’m loving their Coloricon blush in Rose Champagne. I use it all over for wash of color. It’s kinda like a bronzer and soft filter in one! But unfortunately it is good for us paler gals (nc25/30).
Happy Weekend!!!(It’s after 5 here on the East coast!)
I was just looking at that Wet N Wild eyeshadow palette last weekend! May have to try it out. I’ve always loved their other shadow palettes, such crazy pigment for the price. I can’t stop using the L’Oreal pro matte foundation, I mix in a bit of Sephora’s liquid highlighter and it’s the perfect consistency for me right now (during winter I was doing half pro matte, half pro glow). 🙂
NYX brow products and Alba lotions!
I have the Revlon Kiss balm in Fresh strawberry and in my opinion is far from not imparting a lot of color; even though, it’s wash of color on my lips that looks almost like a bright pink, actually it’s a shade I’m not used to. That’s why I want to buy the purple one, well also because they’re too cute.
I had given up on mascara, and finally come to the realization that I cannot use anything not waterproof. I have raccoon crazy eyes whenever I wear my mascara ( all nice high end brands doesn’t matter which) but try and find waterproof??? I finally ended up with L’Oréal voluminous and maybelline stiletto. Not in love with either, they are killing me to take off at the end of the day, but they get the job done.
What is a girl to do? Is waterproof mascara on the way out, because I cannot find it at the drugstore, Target, or at my local Ulta.
I have been wanting to try that mascara. I don’t see your verdict on it. If we used our lash comb, would it be a need or a nope? Thanks for all that you do! Your blog and insight is a blessing.