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Doing Drugstore
Doing Drugstore: Aveeno Positively Ageless Warming Scrub
I had one severe case of dry, peeling skin, and I had it bad. My chin and mouth area were flakier than both Heidi and Spencer Pratt combined. I needed one mighty fine exfoliator, and I needed it stat.
Doing Drugstore: Palmer's Dark Chocolate Peppermint Lip Butter
I have a hard time going into Walgreens without picking up some sort of lip thing or other, and my initial purchase of Palmer's lip butter ($2) was no exception. I've always loved Palmer's cocoa butter — my dear mama swears by the stuff, and even sometimes sends me care packages with sticks of it — but I've only used it as a hair and elbow/knee moisturizer.
I assumed anything made with cocoa butter would be creamy and need a little heat to deliquesce, so I was pleasantly surprised by the lip butter's moist, gel texture (I think the result of added vitamin E).
Doing Drugstore: Wet 'n' Wild Mega Eyes Defining Marker
Wet 'n' Wild Mega Eyes Defining Marker in Blackest Black ($4) is probably the best deal you can get on a felt tip eyeliner pen. It's not waterproof, so no waterlining, and the color is a little thin, but if your usual beauty routine includes light lining on your lids, you can't do better than this. The formula is thin enough so that it's not dramatic, but it's still very visible three hours after application.
Doing Drugstore: L'Oreal Infallible Never Fail Eyeliner
As far as waterproof eyeliner goes, my current loves are the Bourbon and Zero Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On pencils ($17). But 24/7s are expensive, and they do smudge after a few hours, so I set out to find something a little less movable.
The best of the pencils I've tried so far has been L'Oreal Infallible eyeliner ($8).
Doing Drugstore: Maybelline SuperStay 24hr Makeup and Concealer
For those of you that are fans of Max Factor's Lasting Performance Stay Put Makeup (RIP, old buddy), perhaps you might find somewhat of a replacement in Maybelline's new SuperStay 24hr Makeup ($10). The consistency, which lies somewhere between Revlon's ColorStay and Lasting Performance (see my comparisons here), skews more on the slightly creamy end of the spectrum, so it's quite easy to blend.
As for the wearability factor, SuperStay definitely delivers, although by the end of the day, I did have some slick spots in the t-zone.
Doing Drugstore: Revlon Brow Specialist Kit
Last week, I met up with eyebrow guru Anastasia Soare, and ever since then, I've been paying extra special attention to the brow area — or lack thereof. More tips from Anastasia to come, but in the meantime, after passing by this Revlon Brow Specialist Kit ($9) at Walgreens over the weekend, I couldn't resist. My makeup area at home is getting a little cluttered these days, so anything that is compact, compartmentalized, and brow-related captures my attention.
Doing Drugstore: Wet 'n' Wild Fantasy Makers Collection
October is a great month for cheap beauty, not only because all the fun seasonal products are coming out now, but also because the absurdly inexpensive Halloween makeup that's on the shelves can be surprisingly trendy and high quality. The granddaddy of the cheap Halloween makeup lines is, of course, Fantasy Makers, Wet 'n' Wild's special effects line. This year so far, my biggest steal has been Extreme Blue Monster's Ball Polish, which is exactly the shade of blue that was all over the runways last month.
Doing Drugstore: Wet 'n' Wild Wild Shine Nail Color
You all know by now that I usually love some Wet 'n' Wild makeup. It's not just the ridiculous name — the brand makes several products that I swear work just as well as $20 or $30 versions. Their Wild Shine Nail Polish ($1.29), however, is not one of those products.
Doing Drugstore: Eos Lip Balm Spheres
I'm sort of addicted to Eos lip balm spheres ($4); there's something about the colorful packaging, the way you can apply it to your whole mouth all at once, and the nonslip texture of the "egg" that makes them really fun to use. Plus the lip balm inside is pretty great, and it's 95 percent organic. I've tried both the sweet mint and the honeysuckle honeydew flavors, and while the former is more refreshing and good if you tend to forget your mints, I like the sweet, herbal flavor of the latter.
Doing Drugstore: L'Oréal HIP Color Rich Cream Eyeliner
I'm a big fan of Bobbi Brown's great Long Wear Gel Eyeliner ($21) for waterlining and intense pigment, but Bobbi doesn't make bright teal, which is one of my favorite shades to wear, so I turned to HIP Color Rich Cream Eyeliner ($12). I like it because it sticks nicely on the rims of my eyes, and therefore I don't have any trouble with bright blue smudges. If you're a fan of waterlining, I highly recommend this one.
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