i do love my staple products. and though i’m what you could call “picky” about my hair products and what i use to treat my kinky, coils, i’m a lot more flexible when it comes to makeup. for me, makeup is a time to play and have fun and invoke your inner picasso!

while you can often find me circling the beauty isles at cvs, walgreens or one of my favorite places to buy makeup, walmart, picking up new items, there will always remain those staple items that i consider holy grail – that is, if they start to fail me! but these drugstore products so far have yet to let me down and after years of wear, i KEEP going back and continue to keep these items stocked in my bag.

these are my current and constant holy grails drugstore products…

drugstore foundation: l’oreal true match in n7

i love, love, love this foundation! interestingly enough, i’d been wearing a too dark color year round because i matched myself wrong (and like most women, my foundation color changes in the summer – so the color i’d matched only really worked during the summer).

i hate to say it, but the little clear, plastic matching tool that they have in the store did not work for me. the color that was supposed to be my match  was NOT my true match. i had to basically open the bottles of makeup to look at foundation itself to find my true match. however, once i did, i really enjoyed wearing this makeup.

its’ goes on as medium, slightly buildable coverage. it’s very easy to blend, evens out my skin tone, and leaves my skin looking fresh. it feels very light on my face, and it doesn’t smell.  it also has SPF which is another plus! i highly recommend this foundation for women of color who are having a hard time finding a good drugstore foundation that works with their skin tone.

though the price is good, never pay full price for this. in the store, it’s often $10.95 or $9.95. you can normally find a coupon for $2.00 off. so be sure to check your weekly coupon ads.

drugstore mascara: maybelline great lash and maybelline great lash big

i’ve been wearing maybelline mascara sporadically since high school when i dabbled a little bit in makeup, and off and on throughout college.

recently, the company came out with a big brush and i was almost too estatic that this preview occurred around the same time that my regular tube was running out! whoot!

i really love this mascara. it goes on and lasts as long as some of the more expensive drugstore and department store mascaras,  (i call it my dior show step sister) wins as a all time best buy every year in popular makeup polls  (like the ones done by allure magazine), and is overall an excellent quality mascara.

it works for day and night wear – i normally wear blackest black (but that’s because i covet anything kholish!), but have also tried dark brown and it works well and would be a good try for women who don’t like to wear really black mascara.

the new bigger brush (the old brush is still avail) gives a lighter coverage for a more day eye, while the smaller brush give you a heavier application. this will always remain in my makeup bag!

drugstore pressed powder: covergirl smoothers pressed powder or l’oreal true match pressed powder

i like both of these powders equally. the coverage for both is good and smooth. the powders match excellent (i wear translucent tawny in covergirl) and don’t leave me ashy.

because i’m oily, these powders help to set my l’oreal true match foundation and give me a very natural and flawless finish. and again, it does not matter which powder i wear because both work equally well. i also wear these alone and just over my regular daily moisturizer.

eyeliners: wet and wild eyeliners in dark brown and black

these babies are $.99! need i say more?

often times women think that they need to spend tons of money on every single makeup product that they own. this is so not true. to be honest, imo, you can buy everything you need from a drugstore, however, there are lots of other products that have more expensive ingredients that are often worth their price tag. but i will tell you that one of those makeup products is NOT eyeliner. i don’t care what anyone says.

as long as you apply it correctly and buy it according to your needs (reg. vs. waterproof) wet and wild eyeliners, which come in tons of beautiful, royal colors, can work as well if not better than some expensive drug store brands.

lipsticks: covergirl true shine in nude shine

when i do wear lipstick, i prefer sheer and nude formulas, and this is my go-to color 90% of time, as opposed to the full-coverage ones. covergirl did a great job when with their nude shine. this color comes from their “true shine” line which are, imo, a perfect balance between balm, gloss, and lipstick – and what i like in lip coverage.

i have a “split lip”, which is common among african american women. meaning, my top lip is brown and my bottom lip is pink. when searching for nudes lip colors, sometimes this can be a problem. however, with this color, i struck gold when i picked it up.

this photo is not a photo of the actual color, but you can click on the picture to see more information on the product. the color is more like a tawny, creamy, true nude color.

we all know it’s hard to match colors in the drugstore, but this color really delivers on it’s nude claim, and i think women of any skin tone will really like this color!

what are your drugstore staples? what are some things you can’t leave cvs or riteaid without picking up?

***** (5/5)

i have a fond place in my heart for diorshow azur blue mascara.

besides the fact that it smells HEAVENLY — like rose water. it’s beautiful on.

it’s really, really blue out of the tube and on the lashes, so i DO NOT recommend this as daily wear. but it will make a evening/night face pop. or for fun, you can put just a touch on the tips of your lashes during the day – but be sure to do only one coat.

it’s worth the almost…gulp…$30. go get some!

this is a great way to do a blue eye (which by the way, blue highlights brown eyes well) without looking like you stepped out of a vintage saved by the bell episode.

please let me know if you would like to see a tutorial of this look. i have a tube of this very mascara ready to go!