Can This Drugstore Makeup Rival High-End?!

Cosmetics and Makeup tricks
239 followers
3 Video Views·Sep 2, 2025
Can this drugstore makeup really rival high-end? Let's find out.
Hey everyone, welcome back. My name is Carmel and in today's video I'm sharing with you
all of my thoughts on some new drugstore makeup that I've been testing but some well-established
drugstore makeup that I've been testing out. If that sounds like something that you might
be interested in then please do keep on watching. As normal, I've spent time fully testing out
all of these products. There's only two products I'd say that I don't feel like I've had
a massive amount of time to test. That's because they arrived late as normal but I'm still going
to share them with you today and I have my beauty roundup coming up at the end of the month. Within
that video I will make sure that I fully update you. But we're going to start with this new
product from NYX. This is the Brow Glue Crazy Lift. Now if you were around last month you'll
know that I spoke about this. I only just got around to testing this one. I know and then they
brought out this one. So this retails for about 10 euros. It is a clear brow gel. It's designed
to define and set the brows. It has a long lasting formula for up to 24 hours and it has a built-in
brush applicator. This applicator is not my favourite, okay. You literally have to squeeze
out the product and because you have to squeeze out the product you are going to run the risk
of either applying too much or not enough. It's awkward but the actual formula is really really
good. So I've already filled in my eyebrows because I didn't have any new brow filling
products. So I'm just going to brush it through and if you've been here before you'll know I don't
have any eyebrows. So I really rely on brow holding formulas to help me fake the brows.
Although it's fine to apply once you have actually squeezed the product out it's really hard to kind
of know how much you should be squeezing out. I suppose it's a little bit trickier for me because
I've got sparse brows. So I don't want the product to overwhelm my three brow hairs. But yeah I
suppose it's probably a little bit easier if you have full brows. I like this product, I just
detest the applicator. I'm not the biggest fan. So that's it applied and when it goes on it actually
looks shiny and so I thought I would hate it but it really does dry to a matte finish which is
so appreciated. I definitely prefer this the Crazy Lift to the Brow Glue and I wasn't actually sure
whether they were supposed to be the same formula and just different applicators. So I did a little
bit of research and in summary the Crazy Lift is definitely designed to be a lot stronger and
longer lasting than the original. The original Brow Glue comes in clear and tinted whereas the
Crazy Lift is only in clear. The original Nyx Glue is supposed to be a natural hold whereas
this Crazy Lift is an extreme hold and I have to say I really love it. I wish they would produce
this formula with this applicator. That would be a dream come true. Well I mean that's a bit
dramatic. It wouldn't be a dream come true but it would be really really nice. This could be a rival
for my Elf Brow Laminating Gel. You heard it here first. Let's move on to the complexion and on my
complexion I have prepped with my Embryolisse as a moisturiser and a primer. So I actually picked up
a colour corrector and I've been testing it out recently and I picked up this from Morphe. So this
is the Morphe Wake Up Artist Under Eye Correcting Concealer and it retails for €14. There are
actually 27 shades to choose from. I have already used and tried the concealer. This is the shade
peach and this is such a nice peachy shade. I know I always bang on about this but if you compare
the amount that you get in here to how much you get in the Huda Beauty colour corrector there's
3.78ml in here and there's 9ml in here. Anyway we're going to go in under our eyes with this.
So I'm just going to use my fingers to blend this out. I don't need to explain my under eye
problems, they're there for everybody to see. So very thin, very veiny, yeah just maturing
I guess. So I'm just going to pop a little bit on and just tap it out there with my ring finger
and this has a really nice, it's a liquidy but not too liquidy formula and it's super hydrating.
So it doesn't have the most full coverage but honestly I don't think you need something that's
super full coverage from a colour corrector and you can see there how much it's already
improved my under eye. So nice. I actually really like this big doe foot. Now with the colour
corrector I don't really need it. Over here the less amount of product I use in that area the
better because that's where all my wrinkles are and my lines, my fine lines. So I'm only really
concentrating this colour corrector in the areas where I really do need the brightening. It's a
really, really, really good colour corrector. One of the best that I've used. So I'm then going to
use a concealer type shade over the top of the colour corrector. So this is from the same range
but this is in the shade Sand 5W. So that is supposed to be a warm shade but I feel like it's
fairly neutral. This concealer I have featured on the channel already. I reviewed it a good while
ago and it's nice. I like how hydrating it feels. The only problem that I had with it is that it did
crease and I don't find that the colour corrector creases which is really, really strange. It's not
terrible creasing. It's not dry creasing. It's just if there's lines there to begin with it's
going to sit into them eventually. Even when I set it, it can crease a little bit but again it's not
terrible and I can just pat them out. So yeah, it's not really been a concealer that I've used
a ton of but I do absolutely adore how it feels. It's actually ideal for people like me with more
mature under eyes. So this claims to be a serum infused concealer which brightens, corrects and
smooths the appearance of the under eyes. And in relation to the claims that it's a serum concealer
you can absolutely feel that. It's definitely a traditional serum concealer and it feels
absolutely lovely. But if you have a look at some of the ingredients, it's got hyaluronic acid in
there, tremella mushroom, it has glycerin in there which is a hero ingredient. If you've got dry and
mature under eyes, you're going to love these products. So I recently put out a poll on my
community page on the channel which asked you which drugstore foundation you would like me to
test next. There are no new ones out there that are available to me. So I picked four well-established
drugstore foundations. You all unanimously voted for one foundation and it's this from L'Oreal.
The L'Oreal Infallible 32 Hour Fresh Wear Foundation. This contains vitamin C and an SPF
of 25. So this is a transfer proof and waterproof foundation with full coverage. It contains vitamin
C and SPF 25. The innovative oxygen technology gives a lightweight feel whilst the ultra
stretchable formula ensures full coverage application. So a little goes a long way. So
this was going to be a challenge for me because this is a full coverage foundation and I am not
a full coverage girly. Finding my shade was probably the trickiest for me because I was
looking for a neutral. I am an olive but I have fairly neutral undertones and all of the shades
around my skin tone tended to be warm. Now the one that I went for in the end was 125. So that
is described as natural beige. I knew that beige would fit. Anything I pick with beige suits me.
Suits me and my personality as well actually. My beige personality. This retails for around about
16 or 17 euros. It really does depend on where you go when it comes to the drugstore. But yes,
shade is decent. I'm going to do something a little bit different today. I'm going to do one half
with a brush and then one half with a sponge. And as you can see, I've got a little bit of
rosacea here, unfortunately. Now I'm going to pump one small pump onto the back of my hand.
Honestly, you do not need a lot of this at all. I promise you. So I'm just going to use a small
foundation brush. This is the BK Beauty A101 and I'm just going to just tap really lightly into it,
kind of pushing it into the brush evenly rather than just swiping up a big amount of product
because you will regret that. If you do that, you will regret that. All I'm going to do is
just start tapping it just into the skin. And obviously, you can always go in for more if
that's what you need. But I would just start little because it's really full coverage.
I only put half a pump on my hand there and I haven't used it all. So there you go. That's
how much it's covered. So obviously, you can still see texture. Definitely say that this
is a natural finish. So I expected it to be really, really matte, but it's not at all.
This is a Real Techniques Beauty Blender. And all I'm going to do is just push it in to the skin.
So it's just damp. I wet it this morning. Sponges will give you a lighter coverage,
which I figured would be ideal for this foundation because I just don't like full
coverage foundations. I feel like they are fairly mask like and I haven't really had that experience
with this foundation. I haven't felt like it has been mask like on me because I use a minimal
amount. You can see it going on. Can you see it there? And I'm using the tiniest amount.
But just tapping and blending. So this is the side with the sponge.
This is with a brush. Honestly, when I've been testing this, I have definitely
been back and forth between preferring a brush and a sponge. I think I genuinely just think that
if you keep things fairly minimal, you're going to like the coverage of this, even if you're not
like me, a full coverage girly. I'm going to show you that it's buildable. I'm going to use a sponge
today. It definitely looks better with a sponge. And do you know what? I didn't expect to enjoy the
finish of this because I thought it would be very dull, but it's actually not at all. I'm just going
to pop a little bit extra over my hyperpigmentation up here. I actually think it does a really good
job covering that. OK, let's take a look at a quick before and after of this. Do I like this
foundation? Absolutely. I really, really do. Is it going to be a new everyday foundation for me?
No, it's not. It's just a little bit too heavy for me. And I have to be really, really careful when
I'm applying it. If you are looking for a bit more coverage on certain days or going to a certain
event, I think this would be a beautiful foundation. And it's definitely not a matte foundation.
Look, it definitely has radiance to it. I would say this borders on, I think I would describe it
as a natural finish for sure. And I think if you have dry or mature skin, I genuinely think you
would like this. I think if you had more combo skin or oily skin, well, I think you would really,
really enjoy this. So it does claim to be transfer proof as well. So let's give it a little test.
Yeah, it's transfer proof. There's nothing on there at all. See, clean as a whistle. I would
recommend it. But just be careful when you're applying it because it can get, it could get
crazy. So moving on to bronzer now, and this is the Morphe Sudden Heat Creamy Bronzing Stick.
So this cream bronzer retails for about 17 euros. And for that, you get eight grams of product. This
is an ultra creamy, yet lightweight bronzer enriched with vitamin E and jojoba oil. It glides
on luxuriously and melts in seamlessly with no caking, creasing or fading with wear. So I picked
this up in the shade Ignite, which is light to medium with neutral, slightly golden undertones.
This is my BK Beauty A507 brush, and it's just angled and perfect for bronzer. So just pushing
that in. This really is really nice. I knew it would be. I just knew it. I've been eyeing it up
for months, literally months. For this next bit, I'm going to pick some up on the brush from the
back of my hand. It's definitely more natural when you pick it up on the back of your hand.
What I really like about this is it's really, really creamy, but really lightweight. This
feels like nothing. It feels so lightweight. Just bronze up the forehead a little bit.
I feel like the Morphe is definitely a bronzer that you would struggle to mess up.
I don't think you could mess this bronzer up, genuinely. So I know what you're going to ask.
Do I like this more than I like the Maybelline Lifter Stix? I feel like the Maybelline Lifter
Stix are possibly a little bit more creamy. They are not as lightweight as the Morphe. Maybe the
is a little bit more seamless in the blending, but it's by a whisker. But they're both absolutely
gorgeous. And I think we're really lucky now to have two incredible cream stick bronzers at the
drugstore. I would recommend either of these. Gorgeous. Really, really nice. This next product
was an absolute pain to try and get hold of. Honestly, this is the new Catrice Blur Balm
Blush Palette. So this palette includes four blushes, one blush lighter and a highlighter
topper. The Balmy texture is effortlessly blendable for a natural blurry finish. I cannot
tell you how pigmented these blushes actually are. Just take this one, for example, down here.
Look at that. That's amazing. But you also need to be very careful because they are so pigmented.
But I don't know whether there are different palette shades. I didn't see any other colour
stories. But this is called Blush Blindness and this cost me seven euros. Seven euros. So I'm
using my BK Beauty 109 for this. I'm actually going to start with this shade here because it
looks really nice and natural. Definitely buildable. Absolutely seamless to blend,
honestly. We'll just build it up a bit more. Don't worry. I won't look like a clown.
I know I do like that look, don't I? Don't worry. We will blend it more, but we're going on this
side. Oh, no. Oh, no. We could have a disaster on our hands here. Let's blend, blend, blend,
blend. I don't know what I did there, but I'm going to rescue this. Give me a minute.
OK, so that's the blush. I think I've managed to save it. That was a little bit traumatic.
I think it gives you what it says it's going to and it gives you a very, very natural soft
focus finish. Sometimes the worry when it comes to blush and it's very, very balmy is it can feel
maybe tacky, sticky and it doesn't last very well. Whereas I've had great success
in the longevity with this blush. You've got a range of undertones within this palette as well.
I think there's something for everybody in there. I'm not going to use the highlighter because of
my rosacea at the moment, so I'm going to give that a miss. But I really like the blush palette.
I think it's absolutely worth every single little penny, seven euros for all of this.
I think it's fantastic. We're going to move on to the eyes now, and I have another product from
Catrice and I picked this up on a whim and I'm so glad that I did. This is the Catrice Desert
June Shimmer Eye Tint, and this is in the shade Endless Sand, and that looks really,
really pigmented. But actually, it comes out quite sheer when it's on the lids. It's so nice.
So this cost me five euros for this, and it's honestly so worth it. I'm going to tell you
once I've applied it what I think this is a dupe for. So this is a liquid eyeshadow,
and all I'm going to do is apply it to my bare eye. I'll just pop that on.
Now, you can blend with your fingers with this if you want, but I'm just going to take,
I think this is a Mac Brush 2-2. I can't remember what it's called. It's all come off. I think it's
a 2-2-4 possibly. And all I'm going to do is just blend and just blend upwards just a little bit.
This is a shimmery product, but it's definitely not super glittery at all, and it lasts
beautifully. I've been trying to figure out whether I think this is very cool toned or
whether it's quite neutral. I think on my hand, it looks really cool toned. But yeah, I think it
depends how much you apply of it because I only put a sheer wash on. It kind of looks quite neutral.
That could pass for a high-end liquid shadow, I'm telling you. And you know what these really
remind me of? The Lisa Eldridge Lorex Liquid Eyeshadows. I mean, those by Lisa Eldridge,
the shimmery ones are much more shimmery, but oh my gosh, they have the same staying power.
And these are a fraction of the price. They feel the same. They apply the same. They blend the same.
That's just one sheer layer, and I think it's perfect for just every day. This isn't new,
but I've not used it before. I was just thinking I need a bit of eyeliner.
This is the Essence Precise Kajal Eye Pencil. So I'm just going to tightline a little bit with this.
This is in the shade, I don't know, I think it's brown. So the Essence Kajal Eye Pencil retails
for about two euros. It's actually 179. It's so easy to apply and to blend out. It's really nice.
We're going to move on to mascara now, and I'm really, really excited to share this product
with you. Really excited. This is the new Catrice Stay In Place Tubing Mascara. I was so excited to
try this. This retails for six euros, and it's already sold out on Boots Online, which is crazy
to me. I think it only arrived a few days ago. I really do adore tubing mascaras, so I'll tell
you a little bit about this as I pop it on. So this has an innovative tube technology. So each
lash is coated with tube-shaped polymers that create buildable thickening and lengthening
without crumbling or smudging. Now, as with every tubing mascara, you can remove this
with just warm water. However, I have found much better success by using just my micellar water.
So this is just one application of both eyes. This is everything you would want a tubing mascara to
be. Okay, this did not disappoint me. It is fantastic. This is definitely now my favourite
tubing mascara at the drugstore. This performs as you would want a tubing mascara to perform,
so it's easy to apply. It stays there all day. It will hold your curl. It will hold the product
in place all day, and you're not going to get any flaking with this. This is a true incredible
tubing mascara. I don't think it's particularly volumising. I think I do get a little bit of
volume there. Definitely lengthening, and for six quid for real, it's so good. If you can get
your hands on this, get it. And if you are looking for a replacement for the Elf Lash Extender,
it's right here. I have a new loose powder to test. This is the Catrice Soft Blur Matte Setting
Powder. This is 001 Translucent, and it retails for six euros. So this is one of the products
within all of these that I've only tested once, and it performed really nicely. So I'm just taking
an old Morphe eyeshadow brush. So just going to tap under. So I feel like this is definitely a
product that I need to come back to you on. My one take from this is it's really, really
lightweight. It doesn't give any coverage. So if you're used to something like the Huda Beauty
or even the L'Oreal Blurfection, this is extremely lightweight. It's extremely
finely milled. So if you are not a fan of super finely milled powders and you are looking for
something with a little bit of substance to it, you're probably not going to appreciate this
as much. I do have another powder to pop on, but I'm going to use this first. This is another
product that I've only used once. This is the Catrice Blend and Bond Setting Spray. So this
setting spray retails for 5.75. So this has an ultra fine mist, which creates a flawless makeup
result with a seamless finish. And it is formulated to blend both powder and liquid textures effortlessly,
giving you a radiance look without heavy residue. So this can be used before, during or after makeup
application. It can also refresh your makeup as well. So I like this because there's no fragrance
to it. It's a really nice, fine mist, and I find it really pleasant to apply. Really nice. It feels
super refreshing. And I think, I don't know if you can see there, that it's just given my complexion
just a really nice filtered finish to the skin. Now, this foundation that I've got on lasts anyway,
but I feel like it really does help to lock in my makeup. I feel like it just gives me a little bit
more of a filtered look to my skin, but I need to keep testing it to give you my full report back on
it. So let me report back next week and I'll let you know how I found it. Okay, next we have another
powder. This is the Morphe Cloudlight Soft Glow Veil Powder. So this retails for 17 euros. This
is a sheer weightless multi-tone powder featuring light reflecting technology and infused with
squalene, shea butter and hyaluronic acid, which sweeps on to finish your look with natural
radiance. So the shade that I got is Sunset, which is Cocoa with Balancing Orange. So this is my
Beaky Beauty N15 brush. So this definitely has a luminosity to it. And like you would expect from a
Can you see that? How blurring it is? I would say this is a hybrid between a finishing powder and
a setting powder, but you have to like luminosity. What I find is with, for example, the Say,
although it looks really nice for a while, it will fade. But this, I can still see it just the same
as when I put it on at the end of the day. I have been missing out on this powder. It is absolutely
flawless. One of my favourite makeup products of the year so far.
OK, I have a couple of lip products to show you, and the first one is this from Kiko Milano. This
is the Long Lasting Colour Lip Marker. I wanted to pick this up because I have been on a mission
to try and find a dupe for the Huda Beauty Lip Contour Stain. This is the shade Natural Rose,
and it really is a very, very natural nude. So these claim to give a matte finish,
long lasting colour. It's a water-based formula and it has a sweet fruit fragrance. It does have
quite a fragrance, actually, but it's not not offensive. It's quite nice. This product retails
for £12, so about 14 euros. Now, it definitely doesn't dry as fast as the Huda. OK, so that's
how it looks as a liner. Let's fill in a little bit more of the lip. I definitely prefer this to
the Huda Beauty Lip Contour Stain. The only difference is, I would say, the Huda Beauty
definitely lasts longer. But if I was to choose one, it's definitely going to be the Kiko Milano.
It's so much more flattering. I do still feel like you get a little bit of patchiness with
lip contour stains and I guess it's the dry down time. But I much prefer the shade range of the
Kiko Milano and they are way more affordable. There's the lip stain. You can see that it's not
shifting. Look, it doesn't move, but it definitely fades faster than the Huda in my experience.
I do have a good few new lip products, but I've just decided to go with a really lightweight one.
I picked up the Catrice Diamond Glaze Gloss Stick. So this is in the shade 010, no glitter,
no glory. I love that. And can I just say this is definitely a dupe for the Tom Ford Soleil Lip Balm
and it's not too dissimilar to the Fenty Gloss Bomb Sticks. It's just a much more lightweight
version. This retails for five euros and it's really nice. I don't usually go for stuff like
So I've just wiped off the lip stain a little bit because I want you to see this on its own.
So this claims to be a transforming texture, a lipstick to balm gloss effect. It has a soft,
hydrating feel with a dewy shine finish. I feel like this is really innovative because it goes
on like a balm and it transforms into a glossy shimmer. I really like that. I don't usually go
for products like this at all. I don't go for metallic-y, super duper shiny lip products. Now,
when you kind of purse your lips together, I don't know whether I can feel glitter,
but I can definitely feel a little bit of something there. But it feels really nice.
I could literally keep applying this. I'm going to be wearing this all the time. Look at how glossy
my lips are. It feels hydrating. They are affordable. Oh, they feel absolutely gorgeous.
I'm delighted today. I really am. There's just so many beautiful products here. I'm excited to
update you next week, which I will do in my Beauty Roundup. But yeah, today was a great success.
I'm very, very happy. Don't forget to let me know if you've tried any of these products or if you've
got any of them on your list. Thank you so much for joining me for this video. I so appreciate
you being here with me. I'm really looking forward to seeing you in the next video.
But until then, take care and bye for now.
