$22 or Less: Beauty Editors Share Their Desert-Island Drugstore Beauty Products

Welcome to Drugstore Heroes, a monthly series in which we spotlight the often-overlooked and under-hyped drugstore beauty products that industry experts count on. From editors to content creators and even celebs, we’re asking tastemakers to share their top recommendations for affordable yet effective products. Get ready to see the best of drugstore beauty, period.

The drugstore beauty aisle is an interesting place. There are hidden gems, but they’re, well, hidden. It usually takes time and effort, not to mention some much-needed patience, to find them. In this way, shopping for drugstore beauty products is a lot like thrifting. If you want to find that one diamond-in-the-rough item, you often need to work for it. But who really wants to do that? With hundreds of products lining the shelves, it can feel overwhelming, even dizzying, to make an attempt. For this reason, many drugstore beauty products that are well worth their weight in gold go undiscovered.

To right this wrong, we’re working on a monthly series called Drugstore Heroes, in which we’ll ask experts to share their favorite, desert-island drugstore items. The goal is to cut through the noise and limit the trial-and-error necessary to find the best budget-friendly products.

Who better to kick things off than our very own beauty editors? They’re constantly researching and testing new formulas (drugstore included). They have a good—no, great—grasp on what sets a product apart from the rest.

Their skincare, makeup, and haircare collections are the epitome of high-low. Sure, there might be luxury lipstick in their makeup bags, but it’s next to a budget-friendly lip liner. Or there might be a high-tech serum on their bathroom countertop, but they lather on a drugstore sunscreen once their faces are dry. You get the picture. Ahead, see every desert-island drugstore beauty product we swear by, from a $12 glow-boosting foundation to a silky bronzing powder and beyond. Happy drugstore beauty shopping, from us to you.

Kaitlyn McLintock wearing Revlon Colorstay Foundation

Jamie Schneider wearing Covergirl Clean Fresh Brow Nano Eyebrow Pencil