Every girl who’s a fan of make up should have these staple items in their make up kit. Ballin’ on a budget has been my motto as your everyday University student. I like looking good, and feeling good but without feeling guilty I just spent way too much than I originally needed to. Make Up is no different than throwing an outfit together for an evening out–to be honest, you could throw on a $19.99 dress, Fashion Nova heels and an expensive designer purse/necklace to pull the look together. It’s the same thing with makeup, just a few high end products, majority ‘drug store’ and ‘beauty supply’ products, can really help you look amazing, but on a budget that nobody could be able to tell.
Foundation
Foundations are a hit or miss product. It’s self-explanatory, a great foundation is the base to a great, flawless look. Personally, I prefer going high end with my foundations, but there are a few honorable mentions with drug store make up. My TOP recommendations for high end foundations:
1. Estee Lauder Double Wear
This IS a high end foundation and retails at $42.00. I am a budget kinda girl, but I spend when I see the worth and TRUST me this is worth every penny. A bottle I’ve had for a little over 7 months, and it’s only now running low whereas I can get another month out of it. A little goes a LONG way. It’s a matte finished, does not move or streak at all and I never remember I’m wearing it–that’s how light weight it is. The finish is what really makes me recommend this to everyone. It’s such a beautiful, finish that has your skin glowing in all the right ways, especially for darker skin tones. People have to question whether I’m wearing foundation or not with this product because it’s that seamless and that beautiful.
2. NARS All Day Luminous
This is another beautiful foundation that honestly made me glow in ways I never could imagine with full coverage! It retails at $49.00, and I highly recommend.
Maybelline FitMe foundation is a great drug store foundation, along with Lo’Real Tru Match and that’s just my personal opinion. It’s a hit or miss with these so please test it out before buying!
Concealer

L.A Girl Pro Concealer is amazing. It’s just $3.99 at your local beauty supply store. This is a STAPLE for every make up kit. You can highlight, contour or clean up your eyebrows with this concealer. Great buy!
Highlighter
Highlighter needs to be in every girl’s make up kit. I love seeing a cheek highlight, inner eye corner pop and a strong eyebrow. It is something that can really make your look go from casual work day to date night. It matters! I started out using the ELF baked highlighter which is a pretty affordable one, but I’ve now switched over to Fenty Beauty’s Trophy Wife highlighter.
Eye Shadow Palette
A neutral palette with your browns, deep reds and dark oranges are beautiful that you can spice up or wear down in whatever matter you like. I genuinely believe that if you have one good palette, it can serve you a long time–you can buy glitter and gems to change up your look. This doesn’t necessarily have to be a high end palette, but if you want long lasting and if you want pigmented–just get it and be done.
I recently added the Urban Decay Heat Palette which is astounding. Super pigmented, super blendable and worth the buy BUT I won’t lie–this was a pricier item retailing at $54.00. This will last for years however and I know that it’s worth every penny.
Morphe has palettes for $22.99 which are just as beautiful. Look into it, a good palette is amazing.
Beauty Supply Picks
Mascara, eyebrow pencils, liquid eye liners and lip glosses are all easy pick ups at your local beauty supply store. These items do not necessarily matter much to me, as no one can tell the difference between a Wet N Wild mascara and a Lancôme mascara.
Every make up kit needs a few staple items, whether it’s high end or drug store. It’s very important for creating a flawless, professional look. You can build you way upwards once you secure these listed items in your make up kit.