Makeup brushes!

[Lizzie McTrucker]

Looking for decent quality makeup brushes but don't want to pay for fancy-shmancy high end brushes like MAC? (which are great brushes, btw)

Well honey, I got you covered. Real techniques is a brand with decent quality brushes at drug store-ish prices. Also it's female-owned, so yay!

No but seriously, a friend of mine suggested them, and I looked online at Ulta and saw they have really good reviews. What's nifty about them is, like, where I bought some at Walgreens: they have a few 3-pack sets for various steps in your making up, and the 3-pack brushes come with a rectangular cup to put your brushes in (fits more than 3, btw) that you can set on the counter. Handy! The set I bought is for contouring so the 3 brushes are for bronzer, blush, and highlighter. They have another 3-pack just for a couple steps in foundation, and another just for eye shadow. If I recall, they do have individual brushes, but the 3-pack sets were what caught my eye.

I'm not sure what other drug stores carry these but I know for sure Walgreens does, so if you're curious you can start there. Or take a gander online at Ulta and look through their selection and online reviews. 

Oops, forgot to actually mention the important detail. a 3-pack of brushes runs about $19.99, which is a great price considering how much individual MAC brushes are. Also, and this is just between you and me, most of the brushes that come included with makeup (like blush brushes for example), are utter garbage. An actual blush brush is much better than that skimpy one that comes with the blush. Better coverage, better application, better blending.

Just thought I'd share! 

[Jani]

Thanks Lizzie.  You always have good tips.  I just have a hard time spending a lot of money on this stuff.  I like good products at reasonable costs. 

Jani

[Lizzie McTrucker]

Fortunately, there is some good makeup out there in drug stores. It's a lot of mixing and matching, though. One brand doesn't have a lock on the whole beauty package. These brands have good foundation, these brands have good powders, these brands have good mascara, etc. etc. 

Plus what works for me may not work for you based on your skin type, complexion, etc. So it's a lot of online reading "best drug store...(makeup product)". Luckily for us, there are a lot of women who love makeup, so it's just a matter of taking their collective opinions and going to the store. 

[JodyAnn]

Thank you! I like your new avatar picture too.