Makeup is an art that women and a number of men take pride in, painting their faces like blank canvases. There are plenty of options that can help artists and newbies achieve the various looks someone could strive for. High school students don’t make a lot of money, which restricts their beauty budget to drugstore makeup purchases. This doesn’t have to be a problem if you do your research. Some products should be avoided like the E.L.F. brand. It may fit in your budget, but only a few of their products work for most people. Their products are typically known to not last all day and end up moving around on your face or crumbling on your skin under the eyes; so although it’s cheap, you are getting what you pay for. To ensure you don’t get stuck with low quality, cheap make-up, I’m going to provide a few tips below.

Before you go make-up crazy, you must find the perfect foundation for your skin. Issues with skin vary from being too oily, too dry, uneven, or acne ridden. Lucky for all of us, cosmetic scientists have tested and researched to make different types of makeup foundations, primers, concealers, and more to customize for anyone’s skin.
One of the main purposes of a good foundation is to create a base for the rest of your make-up, so the goal is to have one that stays in place. L’Oréal and Maybelline are especially good brands for foundations and are known to last all day without slipping and sliding. (Note: All face makeup, no matter the quality, will slip and slide without priming it first, men’s Nivea aftershave is a good makeup primer. Primer preps your skin to receive the foundation.)
L’Oréal’s Paris Infallible Matte Foundation is the best drugstore foundation due to it’s long wearability and full coverage, especially if you have heavy acne. If your skin is already oily, avoid Maybelline Fit-Me Dewy Foundation because it is too oily and shiny for an already greasy face. Instead, use Maybelline’s Fit-Me Matte Poreless to help with oily skin. Almay, another drugstore brand, is a lighter, organic product, making it unable to provide full coverage for acne-prone skin.

Once you’ve landed on the best possible foundation, you’re ready to move on to the eyes, with mascara, eyeliner, and eyeshadow. If you are looking for some good cheaper mascaras, I suggest the Maybelline Lash Sensational, L’Oréal Voluminous, and the Covergirl Clump Crusher mascaras. I see no sense in splurging in the mascara department, or eyeliner for that matter, on a high end brand. Stick to drugstore brands. Eyeshadows, on the other hand, need to be high quality for a result that’s worth your money. L’Oréal is the only drugstore eyeshadow worth spending on. Otherwise, I highly suggest branching out to your nearby Ulta and purchasing either a Tarte palette, Urban Decay Naked palette, or the Modern Renaissance Anastasia palette. (This palette particularly is very pigmented with strong colors, so be brave.)

Now comes the question: how do you put all of this on? There are many brushes,blenders, and other applicants to bring everything together. A beauty blender should be used to apply foundation and concealers. The Real Techniques brand has a good beauty blending sponge on the market if you are not up for spending $20 on the “real deal”. Real Techniques also has a good line of makeup brushes which are available at Walmart and Target.
Morphe brushes are an absolute must if you find yourself with a little extra cash. Though slightly higher priced than drug-store brushes, they are of amazing value. And while you’re on morphebrushes.com, purchase a Morphe 35O eyeshadow palette, your life will be blessed.

Everyone is unique, despite someone else’s review, you may have a different experience with the same product. However, if you look at multiple reviews, finding the same product being repeated, it’s worth trying. Be sure to take into account your skin type, your budget, and get a good set of brushes.