There are a lot of beauty products out there on the market. I mean A LOT. And when you’re standing in front of a seemingly endless array of them in your local drugstore or Walmart or Target or ULTA or Sephora, it can be insanely overwhelming.
My personal little trick is to make a list of what I’m looking for ahead of time, otherwise I’ll either leave with NOTHING but anxiety, or a whole mess of stuff I probably didn’t want or need in the first place.
But there are some products that tend to be overlooked, or highly under-rated. So I’m here today to bring you some of MY favorite under-rated beauty products! Let’s go!
GARNIER NUTRITIONISTE SKIN RENEW ANTI-DARK CIRCLE EYE ROLLER ($13)
For my 27th birthday my sister made me a bag of anti-aging products (wise ass). This product was in there, and at first glance I was like ‘I’m only 27, I don’t need this stuff!‘. Well hold on a minute. This isn’t your typically eye roller. It’s tinted, so if you fall into the fair to light category, it’s basically a really nice, sheer concealer that can not only be used on the under eye area, but for that hormonal redness on either side of your nose, or to tone down a blemish that reared its ugly head in the overnight hours. If you’re more light to medium, it’s a great, subtle, every day under eye highlight, because it’s just enough to brighten that area without being all WHOA! It contains lemon essence, caffeine, and mineral pigments, which help to depuff and brighten the under eye area while nicely concealing any darkness.
VASELINE COCOA BUTTER LIP THERAPY ($4)
You might be thinking ‘this is under-rated? I’ve been using this forever!’, but hear me out. I have a bunch of these – when I saw they were making little ones, I ran out and bought one of each – the original, the cocoa butter, the creme brûlée, and the rose tint one. But lately I’ve been using the cocoa butter one at night ON MY LASHES! Now I’m still testing this one out, but it’s been about 2 and a half weeks, maybe 3 weeks now, and I’ve noticed my lashes are growing longer and thicker, and I’ve had no more lash breakage and shedding like I had been seeing for quite some time. I’ve also been removing my mascara with coconut oil, so I’m sure that helps too. I’m going to give it another couple of weeks and then I will most certainly be updating you on whether or not it’s working for sure! I just take a very small amount (like what you apply to your lips) and warm it up on the back of my hand, and work it into my lashes right before bed. So far, so good!
WET N WILD ICON COLLECTION BRONZER in RESERVE YOUR CABANA ($3)
This is actually NOT a bronzer. It has no bronze pigment whatsoever. But it IS an absolutely beautiful HIGHLIGHTER. I’ve seen it swatched next to theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer Highlighting Powder and to be quite honest I can’t tell the difference. For $3 you get a GENEROUS amount of product. For how little you really need to use, it will take you a very long time to hit pan. I’m a die hard fan of Hard Candy So Baked Bronzer in Tiki ($9) for highlighting, but lately I’ve been reaching for the Wet n Wild more. It’s not too white, not too gold, it’s somewhere in between, and it’s great for every day use.
NYC SMOOTH SKIN LOOSE FACE POWDER in TRANSLUCENT ($3)
This is for sure used for more than just setting your makeup or keeping shine at bay. By now I’m sure we’ve all heard of the terms ‘baking‘ and ‘cooking‘ when it comes to our makeup. It’s far from a new thing – it’s been around for years in the drag community. But if you’re familiar with highlighting and contouring at all, then let’s just refer to it as highlighting on steroids. Basically what you do is take a translucent loose powder like the NYC brand (you DO NOT need anything super expensive for this) and a damp makeup sponge like the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge ($6), and apply a thick layer under the eyes, down the center of your nose, or under your contour (along the top of your jawbone), to set, highlight, sharpen, and seriously define those areas to make them POP! Just let it sit for about 5 minutes, and sweep it away carefully with a fluffy brush. Done!
L’OREAL PARIS INFALLIBLE THE SUPER SLIM LIQUID EYELINER ($9)
I’m not generally one for eyeliner. I may whip it out for special occasions, but that’s pretty much it. Maybe it’s because I’ve always struggled with applying it so I didn’t look ridiculous. And I’ve tried them all – pencil, kohl, liquid, gel, everything. This is pretty much the only one, out of the 40 some odd eyeliners I own that I actually enjoy using. And I NEVER see or hear it talked about on Pinterest, YouTube, other blogs, anywhere. It’s a liquid liner in pen form, with a super slim (duh) fine point applicator. It’s blacker than black, dries matte, stays put, and SOOOO easy to use! Thick lines, thin lines, barely there wing, full blown cat eye, this little liner has you covered! If I can do it, ANYONE can do it!
Have you guys tried any of these? Or do you have some under-rated favorites of your own that you could recommend? Leave me a comment below!
And as always, go follow me on Twitter and Instagram @dlynnesposito. There’s some exciting stuff coming that you won’t want to miss out on!
LOTS OF LOVE!!
XOXO – DONNA
Affordable Gorgeous 