I love to go to Sephora and walk around. I usually start with a few things in my hand and very slowly start to put them back on the shelves. This whole process takes about 20 to 30 minutes and I walk out with nothing. There are somethings I will never give up, things like Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer or Nars bronzer, but some things are also so expensive! It’s not even the amount of money, it’s that I know I could get the same for less, while that’s not true with every product out there, I think there are suitable substitutions at any local drugstore. Here are my top five drugstore beauty products that I can’t live without!

1. Sinful Colors Nail Polish – I love to get these and really trendy colors. For the classics, I suggest paying a little more, but you can’t beat $1.99 for neon!

2. Olay Pro X - I have had my eye on a Clarisonic forever. My skin is super temperamental, so I didn’t want to spend $100+ on a product I wasn’t 100% on. I bought the Olay Pro X with the intention of upgrading to a Clarisonic. But, wow, my skin is completely different. I have used it for a little over a month now, twice a day. I did break out for a week or so after I started using it, but my skin has cleared up and is glowing. I don’t see the point of paying more, so I’m going to stick with it. I don’t use the cleanser, I found it too abrasive so I switched out for my Cetafil cleanser.

3. L’Oreal Color Riche Balm in Caring Coral - I was so sad to find my favorite lip gloss (don’t laugh) Wet N’ Wild’s AmazeMint was discontinued. I picked this up, thinking it would just have to do. Well, I am obsessed. I like lip color, but I hate feeling like I have too much on. This is perfect, it’s like a tinted chapstick only better, and it has SPF 15. I’m sold!

4. Maybelline Falsies Volume Express Mascara - I had been back and forth through different higher end brands and it seemed pointless. It’s kind of hard for me to tell the difference between mascaras, so I grabbed this because it was a little more heavy-duty than the Maybelline Great Lash and haven’t looked back.

5. Cetafil Daily Facial Cleanser - Cetafil and I have a long history. I used it in high school and then as I got older migrated to more high-end brands. After buying a $65 face wash, that somehow managed to make my skin look worse than it already was, I decided to go back to the basics. I had to ask myself, what was I doing when my skin was at it’s best? What am I doing differently. So, I recreated my high school routine and adjusted from there. Every once in a while I get a little ballsy and try something new, but it never lives up to expectations (or the price tag) so I just go back. I’ve used both the Daily Facial Cleanser and the Gentle Cleanser and both are great!