My new face routine with drugstore makeup

Last day of the year! What are your plans for New Year's eve tonight? Sadly I don't have any plans as of now nor do I know what opportunities to celebrate will materialize tonight...I am truly the hermit make-up beauty blogger lol.

With a new year, comes new opportunities to try new things. Even routines. For this past year, I have relied on the magic of BB creams for my face make-up. When I came back home to my parents' house this winter, I noticed how dry it was here and how BB creams alone cannot fight against winter weather. As well, I needed something with a little more coverage than BB cream with my skin's condition fluctuating up and down.

I took a risk and bought some items from the drugstore without really having researched much about them. Oh well, that is the beauty in trial and error. This time it really paid off.

So first of all, I bought this Maybelline Instant Age Rewind primer to wear as a base for all my make-up. Dry weather makes it difficult to spread and blend make-up, so it is nice to have a hydrating base before applying foundation.





I found this primer very easy to use. You only need a very small amount of it to cover your whole face and it goes on smoothly while drying quickly. It worked very well to mask imperfections and I like how there wasn't any scent to it either. This primer is very comparable to Smashbox's primer, a great alternative if you want to save a lot of money.

The second part came looking for a decent drug store foundation. I was initially going to try the infamous Revlon Colorstay foundation, but sadly there were not a lot of shades left when I was shopping. I bit the bullet and bought L'oreal's Truematch foundation in N1 Soft Ivory, without really getting the chance to test out my shade (this is the downside of shopping drugstore). I figured it was safe to go with the Neutral tones, since I am still unclear if I am cool or warm.









I still suspect that N1 may still be a little too light for me (I think N2 would have been a perfect match, but alas they were sold out of it too...), but my neck is light enough for me to get away with it. This foundation worked out very well for me in the end. It is easy to blend, has no terrible scent and lasts very well throughout the day without flaking or caking (I think the primer really helped with this though). A little goes a long way; you do not have to use much to get good coverage. I recommend using a sponge or brush for even and clean application. I also recommend setting it with a translucent powder for even more lasting effect :)

Lastly is concealer and since I was running low (and reluctant to shell out the money for more MAC Mineralize Concealer), I decided to pick up the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind concealer in the light shade.











All I have to say about this concealer is love at first sight. It blends amazingly and covers my pesky undereye veins and circles effortlessly. Its texture really reminds me of MAC's Mineralize concealer as well-I think I've found a great dupe! The packaging comes with an application sponge that you have to twist around to dispense the concealer. Although it is a good idea, I don't find much use for the sponge and I prefer to pat the concealer with my fingers anyway.

In the end, the results of my skin were wonderful. For the first time in days, I had bright and healthy looking skin-no pesky BB cream oxidizing for sure.





It cost me a total of 30 dollars to purchase all of the items above (which isn't too bad, because 30 dollars is the base amount of a higher-end foundation alone), so I totally did not break the bank. :) If you are looking for a new face routine, I suggest playing around at the drugstore, looking for sales and doing your research to find out what will work best for you. The results may surprise you!