I know I’m not great at „beauty on the budget“ advice, as I usually use pretty pricey products myself and I’m not a professional blogger who tries and assesses everything on the market. This does not mean that I think expensive stuff is always better: there are fantastic products available for reasonable prices, but it takes time to find them. Time that I often don’t have.

If I do find something that I believe competes with more expensive options, I’m very happy to share my finds, though. So when I found a couple of great drugstore products recently, I thought I’ll do a budget version of my three-minute face. Categories are (mostly) the same and everything here is quick to apply and easy to transport.

1. Cushion foundation. I have written about the L’Oreal Nude Magique/Lumi cushion before and I still think it’s a great option, but for a drugstore foundation, it’s in fact not that affordable. Maybelline’s Dream Cushion is cheaper (I think I paid a little over 10 euros) and just as good. I haven’t compared them side-by-side, but I think Maybelline is a little bit less dewy, has similar light-medium coverage, blends very easily and looks lovely on skin. It doesn’t last too well if you don’t set it, but touch-ups are very convenient, because CUSHION. Shade 21 is pretty perfect for me.

2. Stick concealer. I’m not a concealer person, but I have been using Maybelline Instant Anti-Age Eraser Eye concealer (in some countries, it’s called Age-Rewind concealer) recently and it’s impressively good. It comes in a click-y stick with a sponge-y applicator, has medium coverage, does not crease on me and doesn’t necessarily require setting. I can use it both under my eyes and on my face and I’m frankly astonished that I currently prefer it to my (six times as expensive) Cle de Peau. Light is my shade.

3. Stick eye shadow. I haven’t found anything as good as By Terry Ombre Blackstars, but that is a terribly high bar. KIKO Long Lasting Stick Eyeshadows are excellent for the price and the colour selection is huge. The formula differs a little bit between shades, so I recommend trying them in real life, if possible.

4. Mascara. Many people will tell you to choose cheap mascara over expensive, especially as you have to throw them away every three months. L’Oreal’s new Paradise Extatic (or Lash Paradise) is a good option. There is a lot of hype around it and no, I don’t think it’s the best mascara ever, but it’s really nice. I personally don’t find it dramatically volumising, but it does a very good job with length and separation and it doesn’t budge. I like it for day wear (I prefer more volume, possibly including clumps, for the evening), my only problem is that it gets on my eyelids when I apply it. Easily fixed with a cotton bud, though.

5. Blush. I mentioned this KIKO stick in my original post and I’m repeating it here, but I’ve just realised this was a limited edition product and is probably no longer available. There are nice cream blushes in their current collection as well, however, very much worth checking out. (As a side note, that whole collection looks absolutely stunning.) My Holy Grail cheap blushes are from Canmake, but they are difficult to get outside Asia…

6. Lip gloss. My tendency to forget to actually have all the relevant products included in the photo is getting worrying. In theory, there should be a Bourjois Color Boost Glossy Finish Lipstick next to all the other thingies, but… there isn’t. Even though the name says “lipstick”, the finish is more gloss-like. It’s basically a chubby pencil that gives slightly sheer coverage, is very easy to apply, feels comfortable and looks nice. NYX Butter Glosses would also be a wonderful option with a great range of shades.

Brows weren’t included in the original three-minute post, but if you have more time, this L’Oreal kit is nice and the other products in the Brow Artist range look promising as well.

What are your favourite reasonably priced beauty products? I plan to do the skincare edition as well, but am still struggling with some categories.