The Best DRUGSTORE + CRUELTY FREE Makeup Products! (My Updated Makeup Collection)

It was almost a year ago now that I posted my first beauty related post on this blog! It just so happens that that post was my drug store makeup collection. Over the last year I decided to switch to only using cruelty free makeup products and my knowledge of makeup has also increased in that time, so my current makeup collection is almost all new products! Every single one of the products I will be sharing with you are products I LOVE and use often if not daily. I am so excited to be sharing my makeup collection with you today, hope you enjoy!

Base:

Foundation: Wet n Wild Photo Focus
Concealer: NYX HD Concealer
Color Correcting Concealer: NYX Color Correction Concealer

• I have used a few different foundations in the past year, but this one has to be my favorite. And here's a secret, I just got it this week! I'm already in love with it. It has a demi matte finish, so I don't feel too matte or too dewy, and it has very good medium to heavy coverage and matches my skin perfectly. 
• The NYX concealer comes in a ton of shades and does so well at covering my blemishes as well as brightening my under eye. The only bummer about it is that it runs out very quickly. 
• The color correction concealer is something I don't use a lot, but when I do I'm always happy with it. I use the green for pimple redness and the yellow and peach for under eye circles and it always leaves my skin even toned and glowing.

Face Primer: Wet n Wild Coverall Primer
Eye Primer: ELF
Setting Spray: ELF Mist & Set

• I recently started using this primer after only ever using the ELF primers (which I still love) and I am so happy with it. It smooths my skin and it keeps my foundation on for a long time. It's also very inexpensive and comes with a lot of product.
• This ELF eye primer is the only one I've ever used and it has always worked really well for me. It is very inexpensive so I'm happy with it. I'm not 100% in love with it and I probably will be giving other eye primers a try, but if you are looking for a solid inexpensive eye primer, I recommend this one.
• I have only ever used this setting spray and I'm happy with it. Like the eye primer, I do think I will give other setting sprays a try, but as of now I am happy with what I'm getting for the price.

Contour/Blush/Highlight:

Contour:
ELF Powder Contour Pallet
ELF Creme Contour Pallet
Wet n Wild Contouring Pallet
ELF Blush and Bronzing Powder

• When I first started contouring last year, I fell in love with the L'Oreal pallet. When I decided to go cruelty free, it was a struggle finding a new contouring pallet that I liked as much as I liked that one. I first tried the Wet n Wild pallet, but the contour was too light and warm toned for me. Other than that, it is an amazing quality pallet and I highly recommend it if you are warmer toned. From the Wet n Wild pallet, I mostly use the highlight shade as under eye setting powder. I'm actually almost out of it and I'm so sad about it. When I finally tried the ELF contouring pallets, I fell in love. The darkest shade in the powder contour kit is perfect for me and I use it every day. I haven't used the creme pallet very much, but from what I can tell it is amazing as well. 
• The ELF Blush and Bronzing powder is the same one I've been using since last year. I really like the shimmer in the bronzer and blush and I use it a lot when it gets warmer out!

Highlight:
ELF Baked Highlighter in Moonlight Pearls
Essence Pure Nude Highlighter in Be My Highlight
Revolution Vivid Baked Highlighter in Golden Lights
Wet n Wild MegaGlo Illuminating Pallet

• The ELF highlighter is my favorite to use. If applied normally, it adds a nice pretty shimmer and if applied with a wet brush, it is WOW! The secret to this baked highlighter is that there is a film on top that you have to scrape off before you can see amazing results.
• The Essence pure nude highlighter is so subtle and pretty. It is almost the same color as my skin, so it just adds the tiniest most natural looking glow and I love it.
• This Revolution highlighter packs a punch. It is definitely extremely pigmented and it's for when you want one of those blinding highlights.
• Honestly, this Wet n Wild highlighting pallet kind of disappointed me. The lightest colors are really pretty but the other two are just too dark to be a highlighter for me. They are also more shear than pigmented. However, sometimes you just want a more shear highlight and I do like that it came with a good shade range. It's good for travel!

Blush:
Arbonne Blush in Ballet
Milani Powder Blush in Blossomtime Rose

• I don't know if Arbonne counts as a drug store brand, but I did want to share this because it has been my favorite blush for about two years now. It is such a pretty natural color and it's matte which I love.
• I couldn't resist trying this Milani rose blush. Prettiest packaging EVER! This is also a very pretty color, but you have to make sure to apply with a light hand because it is very pigmented.

Mascara/Eyeliner/Eyebrows:

Mascara: NYX Double Stacked

• I never thought I would find a mascara better than the manga eyes one I used to use, but this one blew me away! The mascara on it's only lengthens your lashes to a crazy extent and then adding a layer of fibers gives you the appearance of wearing falsies. I am so happy with this mascara!

Liquid Eyeliner: NYX Collection Noir
Gel Eyeliner: ELF Creme Eyeliner
Pencil Eyeliner: Milani Glitter Easyliner in Emerald Stone

• I went through a phase where I wanted to try gel liner, so I gave this ELF one a try. I liked it a lot and I think I would continue to use it if I got a finer tip brush. However, I ended up switching back to liquid liner and decided to give this NYX liner a try. I like the color and texture and it stays on for so long, but my brush got clumpy very easily and it's really hard to get a precise line because of it, so I think I'll continue to try new liquid liners. 
• I've had this Milani emerald eyeliner for forever and I just recently started using it again. It is a really good color to use with my green eyes. I also use the smudging sponge on the other end to apply eyeshadow colors to my lower lash line. Sometimes I use bronze, sometimes purple, but I really like the look of smokey under eye mascara.

Eyebrows: ELF Brow Pencil

• For my eyebrows, I usually use my Anastasia Dipbrow. However, sometimes if I want a lighter look or an easier application, I'll use this ELF brow pencil. It works very well and the spooly brush on the end blends it very naturally. It is an amazing product, especially for the price. Definitely on par with any other similar drug store product for a fraction of the cost!

Eyeshadow:

Neutrals:
ELF Mini Book
Essence How To Make Nude Eyes Pallet

• This ELF mini book has a good mix of neutral colors in a wide range of shades, both shimmery and matte. I use this a lot for crease shades. The Essence pallet has six shades that are still very neutral but they are also all shimmery, so I tend to wear them when I want a more dramatic smokey eye.

Colors:
Wet n Wild Color Icon in Petal Pusher
ELF Prism Eyeshadow in Sunset

• This Wet n Wild pallet in Petal Pusher is so pretty. I got it when I wanted to start wearing color. Purple is my favorite color and it also goes well with green eyes, so this pallet was perfect. It wasn't as pigmented as I wanted it to be, but I'm still very happy with the colors I got for the price. The ELF prism eyeshadows are beautiful! I don't even know how else to describe them. I got the sunset pallet and the colors definitely live up to the name. I highly recommend this pallet.

Glitter:
Hard Candy Glitteratzi Gel Pallet

• I got this for New Years and was not disappointed. I wore mine over powder eyeshadow and set it with a little bit more powder and it stayed all night. However, I have noticed that if you don't wear it with powder and set it, it clumps up and gets everywhere. So beware of that!

Lips:

Liquid Lipstick:
Milani Amore Matte Lip Cream in Precious, Devotion, and Metallic Mattely In Love
NYX Liquid Suede in Tea & Cookies, Life's A Beach, and Subversive Socialite
NYX Lip Lingerie in Lace Detail

• The past year I have worn nothing but matte liquid lipstick. I am obsessed. These are the best drug store matte liquid lipsticks that I have found. Milani is my absolute favorite, but NYX is a close second. Definitely give them a try.

Lip Pencils:
ELF Chubby Stick in Berry Sorbet

• I don't wear this very often because, like I said, I've been wearing exclusively liquid lipsticks. But, I do like these chubby sticks from ELF. They are very pretty and inexpensive and the bottom pops off into a sharpener. It's really handy! I recommend trying this if you're interested in this kind of lipstick.

Tools: 

Beauty Sponge: Real Techniques
Contour Brush: Wet n Wild
Kabuki Brush: ELF
Highlight Brush: Forever 21
Eyelash Curler: Unknown
Silver Eyeshadow Brushes: Sonia Kashuk
Black Eyeshadow Brushes: ELF

• Wet n Wild and ELF brushes are inexpensive and great quality synthetic brushes. Sonia Kashuk uses real animal hair, but obtains it in a way that has been deemed cruelty free. I got these brushes a long time ago, they were actually a gift and the first makeup brushes I ever owned. I don't think I will buy from Sonia Kashuk in the future just because I think synthetic brushes are the only way to be actually cruelty free, in my opinion. However, that decision is up to everyone individually. I also just recently started using a beauty blender and I am obsessed. I'm so happy I finally switched over from using my fingers!

Well, this turned out to be a long post! I didn't intend for it to be so long, but I wanted to make sure to be as detailed and honest as possible in my descriptions of my makeup products. Hopefully this was helpful for some of you and you got some ideas of products that interest you!

If you are interested in seeing how I wear my makeup, my daily makeup routine or a look with any of the specific products, let me know in the comments! I would love to hear your input! 

Thank you so much for reading!

-Rebecca