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5 Beauty Products I’m Loving Right Now: Budget-Friendly Makeup Edition

August 18, 2016

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I’m so excited to finally launch this new series – 5 Beauty Products I’m Loving Right Now! I’ve been wanting to share some of my favorite beauty products for quite some time, but have really changed up my go-tos and my routine over the course of the last year.

Now that I’m confident in the products I’m currently using and have developed a routine that works for me when it comes to taking care of my hair, skin, and overall appearance, I’m ready to share!

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Every few weeks, I plan to share five beauty products that you’d currently find in my arsenal. And each post will be focused around a specific topic – for example, today’s is budget-friendly makeup products. Future posts might revolve around my five favorite hair products, skin products, and so on.

Let’s get on with the show! Today, I’m sharing five drugstore beauty gems that you can find just about anywhere, that I have found to be just as powerful as the pricier, designer selections, for a portion of the price.

Budget Makeup 2•••

Revlon Colorstay Liquid Foundation

$12.99 at ULTA

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It’s another story for another day, but earlier this year, my skin did a complete turnaround out of nowhere and began rejecting my powder foundations. Like, my face went from matte to shiny in a matter of minutes and I was terrified to touch my face in any way, for fear of leaving massive streaks and fingerprints.

I tried at least three other (incredibly pricy) powder foundations, three liquid foundations, and a handful of various primers to no avail.

This product was my saving grace. I put it (I use the Combo/Oily option in “Ivory”) on first thing in the morning and it stays put all day long. I still get a little shine halfway through the day, but simply blot it away and move on without the fear of dabbing at my nose leaving unsightly, unrepairable streaks.

Paired with the next few products, it’s the only liquid foundation I will ever need! So please, Revlon, don’t ditch it, ever. I go back and forth between applying this with clean fingertips or a beauty blender.

Covergirl TruBlend Pressed Powder

$9.99 at ULTA

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On especially hot or humid days, or days I know I’ll be going into all hours of the night, I’ll complete my look with a dusting of this powder – usually in Translucent Light.

I especially like to have it on hand as a touch-up powder throughout the day. It’s fine and light and gets the job done using very little product, so it lasts a long time!

Covergirl Simply Powder Foundation

$8.99 at ULTA

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Again, I used to use only powder foundation (and spend a good chunk of change every month doing so) and be on my way.

Now, I use half as much on top of my liquid foundation (usually in “Creamy Natural”) to help keep oil and shine at bay. I actually bought this product as a last resort, having wrecked my beauty supply budget trying multiple other high-end powder foundations. I was blown away when it actually ended up working 100% better!

Much like the liquid foundation mentioned above, this stuff stays in place and doesn’t settle into my fine lines and wrinkles like so many other powder foundations do.

Maybelline Expert Wear Eyeshadow Quad

$6.99 at ULTA

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I’m not big into doing my eye makeup, mostly because 1.) I always wake up too late to attempt it before rushing out the door to work, and 2.) I don’t have the steady hand or amount of patience needed to get creative with it.

So, I opt for this lovely compact of natural shadows (I usually go for “Chai Latte” or “Natural Smokies”) as they work best with my skin tone. I think I’ve been using this product since late high school or my first year in college and it’s never let me down! Most days, I’ll just slide a little of the “base” color across my lids, but if I’m feeling fancy, I’ll use the “crease” and “liner” colors to top off my look.

NYX Automatic Eyebrow Pencil

$4.99 at ULTA 

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I can’t believe it took me so long to start paying attention to my brows. They’re something I’ve always felt a little self-conscious about as they began thinning pretty rapidly over the past few years. I suppose I just wasn’t sure what to do about it.

Then, while leisurely perusing the aisles of ULTA one day, I came across a selection of NYX’s brow pencils. I kind of guessed at the color I wanted (I use “Auburn”) and gave it a go. I haven’t looked back since. I have given a few other pencils and powders a try, but keep coming back to this one.

I simply brush my brows up, fill in any areas where they need it, and brush them back into place, making sure to spread and lighten the product a bit with the built-in brush so it doesn’t look drawn on. I then use a Q-tip and run it along both the top and bottom of my brows to get rid of any excess.

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There you have it! My five go-to drugstore makeup products. What are your favorite budget-friendly beauty must-haves?

xo, Aly

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Posted by Aly Hess
Filed Under: Beauty, Style Tagged: beauty

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  1. 5 Beauty Products I’m Loving Right Now: Splurge-Worthy Makeup Edition says:
    September 8, 2016 at 11:03 am

    […] couple of weeks ago, I shared five of my favorite budget-friendly makeup products. Today, I’m highlighting five makeup products that I’ve found to be totally worth the […]

  2. Celebrating One Year of Beard + Bloom! says:
    September 21, 2016 at 7:32 am

    […] 5 Beauty Products I’m Loving Right Now: Budget-Friendly Makeup Edition | I launched a new series – 5 Beauty Products I’m Loving Right Now – just last month and am loving all of the feedback I’ve gotten from my first couple of posts. […]

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Hi! We’re Aly & Jeremy, a wife and husband based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. We use this space to share about our adventures at home, around the world, and in life.

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Life Lately

alyhess

I never could’ve imagined the kind of duality 20 I never could’ve imagined the kind of duality 2025 would hold. The highest highs braided in tightly with the deepest lows.

A year of celebrating friendships old and new, engagements and weddings, pregnancies and births, and quiet personal wins—while also learning how to carry the still-fresh grief of my dad’s death, mourning a friend lost to suicide, navigating major shifts at work, and relentlessly advocating for long-unanswered health questions.

I juggled new side projects and passions while spending countless hours closing an estate. In April, I took a whirlwind trip to Waco to see family and rerouted to Vegas instead of home at the last minute for a work conference. And in August, found myself alone in a cabin in the Smoky Mountains (except for the night a bear came knocking).

Hosted a few gatherings. Baked many cakes. Took tons of photos. Got back into reading. Grew a garden. Gave extra snuggles to a newly, nearly-toothless Rosie. Learned how to stop taking myself so seriously. Forgot how to sleep.

I’ve never cried more. Never laughed more. Never been so social, yet so isolated.

It was a year of progress and growth—and also of bone-deep exhaustion. A year that tested my limits in every direction.

But we made it.

And I’m endlessly grateful for the friends and family who met me with patience, kindness, and unwavering love along the way. As someone who tends to disappear to rebuild and recover, the time spent with you was just as healing, and what got me through.

Every favorite memory from 2025 lives here—rooted in the people I love—and I can’t wait to make even more with y’all in 2026. 🫶🏼
Happy Christmas Eve, friends! As I spent the last Happy Christmas Eve, friends!

As I spent the last couple days baking holiday treats with only my thoughts as a soundtrack, I reflected a lot on how lucky I am to be surrounded by so many incredible people in my life—and how grateful I am to have been invited into so many meaningful moments in yours.

This year was full in the very best way: engagements and weddings, babies and promotions, anniversaries and sweet sixteens, graduations, big moves, bold leaps, new beginnings. Being trusted to bake the treats, capture the photos, and help plan the celebrations for these chapters is something I never take lightly. It’s an honor beyond words, and I’m endlessly grateful for it.

And if your greatest accomplishment this year was simply making it through—please know I see you, and I’m celebrating you, too. Some of the most life-changing seasons are the quiet ones. The heavy ones. The years that stretch us, soften us, and ask us to begin again. I’m always here for those chapters, too… whether that’s sitting with a listening ear or in shared silence, or supporting you from afar.

Wishing you all a gentle, joyful holiday season and a year ahead filled with exactly what you need. Thanks for being here. 🤍
December’s been a blur—as has the entirety of December’s been a blur—as has the entirety of 2025. Slowing down a bit to soak up what’s left of the holiday season and reflect on the past year. I hope you’re able to do some of the same, friends. 🕯️ 

#cottagechristmas #holidaydecor #christmasathome #dachshund #rosiepoesy
“In this autumn town where the leaves can fall O “In this autumn town where the leaves can fall
On either side of the garden wall
We laugh all night to keep the embers blowing

Some are leaping free from their moving cars
Stacking stones ‘round their broken hearts
Waving down any wind that might come blowing

Mice move out when the field is cut
Serpents curl when the sun comes up
Songbirds only end up where they’re going

Some get rain and some get snow
Some want love and some want gold
I just want to see you in the morning” 🍂

#ironandwine #november #wanderfolk #peoplescreatives #indiana
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Who is behind Beard & Bloom? Hello! We're Aly Hess and Jeremy Weiks, a wife and husband living in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with our sweet miniature dachshund, Rosie.

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