Bright, blendable blush: Milani Baked Blush
This blush offers a richly pigmented and highly buildable formula. Its generously sized domed pan is designed for even application with a fluffy brush.
Baked blushes are cream formulas that have been “baked” dry, lending a sheer texture and rich tone that’s more pigmented than powder formulas. Milani Baked Blush comes in about 10 pearlescent shades subtle enough for fair skin tones but with enough color payoff to show up on darker ones, too. One writer was so impressed with the formula, she replaced her favorite prestige brand blush she’d been using for more than two decades. The big flip-top compact also looks and feels expensive.
A less-expensive lip oil dupe: Maybelline Lifter Gloss
Available in a range of nudes, pale pinks, plus brighter dramatic options, this creamy, unsticky gloss delivers see-through color and shine with decent staying power.
With their squeezy tubes and glittery finishes, most drugstore lip glosses feel too juvenile for grown-ups. But Maybelline Lifter Gloss is downright elegant, with a flocked doe foot applicator and a Lucite-like square tube. Supervising editor Hannah Morrill thinks its lightweight, smooth formula performs a lot like Dior Addict Lip Glow Oil. And it’s pigmented enough to show up, even on darker skin tones. It has a fruity vanilla scent, but it’s not cloying like many we’ve tried, including CoverGirl’s Clean Fresh Yummy Gloss, and it dissipates quickly.
Shockingly precise brow pencil: Nyx Professional Makeup Micro Brow Pencil
This slim pencil features a precise tip, which is ideal for filling sparse patches with tiny, hair-like strokes, and comes in a dozen colors so it’s easier to find a natural-looking match.
For fair, sparse, or over-plucked brows, it’s hard to do better than Nyx’s Micro Brow Pencil. The twist-up, retractable tip is itty-bitty thin, which allows you to precisely define your brow’s shape and density. It took Hannah two tries to find her proper shade among the dozen or so to choose from—ash blonde was too yellow, taupe was just right. Other comparable drugstore brow pencils we’ve tried over the years, like Revlon ColorStay Brow Pencil and Wet n Wild Ultimate Brow Retractable pencil, have a prohibitively limited shade range.
Subtle but volumizing brow gel: CoverGirl Clean Fresh Brow Enhancer Gel
A mini tapered spoolie grips individual hairs and coats them with clear gel for soft hold and extra fullness with no flakes.
Brow gels set your brows exactly where you want them, especially if yours are thick, curly, or unruly. CoverGirl Clean Fresh Brow Enhancer Gel is clear with conditioning agents and humectants to soften and plump hairs while laying them flat, sans the crunchy texture or end-of-day flakiness we’ve experienced from other brow gels. Beauty editor Patricia Tortolani likes that this one doesn’t have any color but still adds polish and oomph. CoverGirl’s tiny, nimble brush is particularly helpful for lifting and shaping brow ends.
Elegant cream eye shadow: E.L.F. Cosmetics No Budge Eye Shadow Stick
These long-wear shadows, with a chubby crayon-like tip, offer fast, foolproof use in a range of elegant matte and metallic shades. Most are lovely, some are a little garish.
For people who are not particularly skilled at eye shadow artistry—so few of us are—cream shadow sticks, such as the fan-favorite Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Waterproof Cream Eyeshadow Stick, are a game changer. But those are seven times the price of the E.L.F. Cosmetics No Budge Eye Shadow Sticks, which offer identical shimmery, blendable, long-wearing enhancement. Sadly the E.L.F. shade range is limited, even with the addition of the matte options, but Thrift Shop, a matte mushroom-taupe, is a go-to for three members of the beauty team.
Lengthening mascara: Maybelline Lash Sensational Sky High Mascara
With a nimble, bendy brush and a satin-slick formula, this mascara delivers long, perfectly delineated lashes.
Maybelline says its Lash Sensational Sky High Mascara is both volumizing and lengthening, but we found it to be exceptional at the latter. After we tested two dozen brands for our guide to mascara, it’s the best we’ve found at the drugstore for creating long, deftly separated lashes in a shiny, believable black. And it doesn’t transfer or crumble.
From: The Best Mascara
Standout basic lip balm: Dr. Bronner’s Naked Organic Lip Balm
This solid, unscented blend of avocado oil, hemp oil, and beeswax glides on smoothly, absorbs readily, and isn’t too shiny. Lips are left supple, not slick.
Our beauty team tested more than 56 lip balms, only to find the humble Dr. Bronner’s Naked Organic Lip Balm was something special. The no-fuss stick formula disappears into lips while making them feel healthy and happy. The near-matte finish even works well under lipstick, and you can find it in almost any drugstore.
From: The Best Lip Balms
Creamy lip liner: Revlon ColorStay Lip Liner
This skinny, twist-up pencil doesn’t skip or drag, and the formula feels as luxurious as liners triple the price. The dozen or so tones flatter a range of skin tones.
Whether you’re looking to create an impeccable statement lip or subtly enhance your cupid’s bow, Revlon ColorStay Lip Liner offers excellent precision and color payoff. The tip looks minute, but it has a creamy glide that’s easy to control and doesn’t snap. Patricia likes the mid-range nude color for quick pre-Zoom glow-ups.
Bright and buildable lip color: Maybelline Super Stay Ink Crayon Lipstick
A chunky, twist-up tip both defines and fills in lips with a smooth, glide-on formula. Out of more than two dozen shades, the neutrals lend a unique, believable enhancement.
The twist-up Maybelline Super Stay Ink Crayon Lipstick has a somewhat misleading name. It’s not ink-like at all, but soft and creamy with an opaque, near-matte finish that’s more forgiving than traditional lipstick. The darker tones (called Make Moves and Be Bold, Be You) offer intense, sophisticated color, but we really love the excellent range of subdued neutrals, including senior editor Jennifer Hunter’s favorite nude, Lead the Way. Don’t miss the included sharpener, which pops off from the opposite end.
