Since I only got interested in makeup this year, basically everything I try feels pretty new. I wanted to do a wrap up 2018 post on the items I fell in love with this year. Today’s post is the low-end products.

Let’s start with non makeup related items:

I don’t remember who I was watching on youtube who mentioned the makeup wipes that could be found at big lots. $2 for 60 wipes. We decided to give them a try. I bought two packages, one for Miss Butterfly and one for me. We think they are fantastic. They work great and don’t break the bank. Plus they have the plastic snap closure that works nicely to keep the wipes fresh. I hate purchasing wipes that just have the sticky cover, it always stops sticking before I am done with the wipes and infuriates me. I actually don’t use makeup remover wipes that often anymore, I got concerned with how much waste they were creating and decided to limit their use in my home. So, this package has lasted me at least 6 months, likely even more.

The Almay eye makeup remover pads for removing waterproof makeup have also been a staple in my collection this year. I used to use two pads, one for each eye, then go in with a makeup remover wipe afterward. Now I am using cleansing balms or just plain coconut oil. If that doesn’t finish removing my eye makeup, I’ll take one of these pads and finish the job. So, the back-ups I purchased of this product are sitting unused in my collection. Reminder-Don’t Buy Back-ups!

Also pictured is the elf lip exfoliator. I have mine in sweet cherry. This is $3, and it works fantastically. I don’t use it every night anymore, as I’ve discovered lip sleeping masks and my lips are in much better condition than they were when I started messing around with makeup, but I do use it regularly. Miss Butterfly purchased Brown Sugar, and a quick word of warning, that went bad on her pretty quickly. But mine I purchased at the same time is just fine. I think I got this back in April and there’s quite a lot of product left to use.

And finally, the Pixi Glow Tonic. I really enjoyed this toner with glycolic acid. I think it went a long way to helping fix some of the damage years of no skincare whatsoever did to my face. I am currently trying a Mario Badescu glycolic acid toner, but I’ll be going right back to this Pixi one as soon as I am through with it. I think I am learning that if I find something that really works it’s fine to just stick with it for heaven’s sake.

Now on to makeup:

First of all, let’s talk extremely inexpensive products, and that goes to AOA studio items! For $1 I can get a number of great products to keep my makeup costs low. Featured here are the AOA Studio BB cream, the perfect setting powder, and the AOA go brow mascara (taupe). Not pictured is the paw paw makeup sponge which is amazing as well. I am really impressed with these items. The bb cream is light coverage and the first time I used it I felt it might be too light. But, once I got my powders and so on applied it looked great on the skin. It’s also fantastic that Miss Butterfly likes it, a teen can afford this product and my teen doesn’t need full coverage. The powder isn’t overly mattifying so if that’s what you need, this might not be the one for you. But, it works well to set makeup and that’s really what I am looking for in the winter. And the brow mascara I’ll be moving toward using exclusively after I finish up the other products in my collection.

Now let’s talk Flower Beauty. I am eager to try more items from this collection, but at the moment I’ve tried the blush and the lipstick. I’ve tried both a cream lipstick and a matte lipstick, I prefer the matte formula. Both of these products perform beautifully and I am so glad to have them in my collection. I plan to try the foundation someday, and I want to try one of the illuminating primers. And of course more blushes! I love blush way too much!

And the other things. First of all, there’s the Wet n Wild photofocus foundation. I suspect this will be a staple in my collection. It’s so inexpensive, looks great on my skin, and it’s super easy to apply. It works quickly and it works well and it sticks around on my skin very nicely. I am almost done with the container I have and I will repurchase. Maybe not immediately, but I will.

Then there’s the maybelline age rewind concealer. This is another one of those things that has a great reputation in general and works very nicely. It’s lighter coverage than I’d prefer but I think that’s part of what makes it look so nice under the eyes.

I’ve added the Physicians Formula butter bronzer as one does. Meaning, this product has so much earned hype on the internet. I’ll tell you what, I HATE the smell of it. When I purchased it I thought I wouldn’t even be able to use it. It stunk up my entire makeup room. I did leave it cracked open a couple of days, and after a while, the smell did begin to dissipate. I barely smell it at all now, and I’ve hit pan! I’ve used other bronzers this year but this one I’ve used most of all. So has Miss Butterfly. So, that’s two people using it very regularly and we’ve got tons of product left to go through. It’s not just a good product but a pretty good investment. (If you can get over the initial smell.)

And finally, L’oreal silkissimee eyeliners. I’ve got 3 but I only put my two favorites in the photo. The black and the teal are just lovely. These stay on the eye so well. Inevitably it’s when I use these liners that I have to go back and use the Almay makeup rounds to finish removing my eye makeup. Ok, I went to check the price on these and realized they’ve been discontinued. Ah well, I still discovered and loved them this year, so this still holds up! I’ll have to give the L’Oreal infallible pro-last waterproof pencil liner a try to see if it works as nicely.

And that’s about it. I’ve had a nice opportunity to try quite a few products this year and these are the low-end items I believe truly stood out to me. I’ll have to look through my collection and find what higher end items I also tried and enjoyed.