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Affordable Makeup that Kicks High End's Butt
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items Cut all the noise. These are by no means extravagantly packaged or bougie. But they WORK. Even better than high-end makeup. If you have oily, acne-prone, reactive skin and want some affordable picks that won't break you out, you'll love this list. Ev...
Sections
8
Primer
Concealer
Cushion
Blush
Lip
Eyes & Brows
Primer
For the price, K Beauty primers reign supreme
For oily skin. For the people who need a pore-filling primer that does not break us out! This glides on your skin, feels like velvet, and makes makeup last so long while erasing your pores. I absolutely love it. It's quite gentle on your skin and I s...
PDRN Spirulina Poreless Primer - SOME BY MI | Ulta Beauty
For flaky combination or dry skin. If your skin barrier is compromised, I do recommend you focus on skincare over coverage. If you found the famous Yunjac primer to be too heavy, I think you'll love this watery primer from dasique. It's hydrating, bu...
dasique - Water Veil Primer
For dry skin people who want that glowy, glass skin look. Etude's primer has a tackiness that locks onto makeup and maintains a glassy glow.
ETUDE Nymph Aura Volumer
Concealer
The Saem fan over here!
The BEST liquid concealer for the money. Korean makeup artists still use this product (it launched a MINUTE ago) on celebrities to this day. It applies thin, has high coverage, and feels weightless on your skin. Do consider slight oxidation. I person...
The Saem - Cover Perfection Tip Concealer
COVERAGE KING. Honestly speaking, I prefer this one over the NARS pot concealer for price. The difference in the two are length of wear (NARS gives maybe 3-4 hours longer wear) and shade range. If you have a east asian skin tone like me, I think you'...
The Saem - Cover Perfection Pot Concealer
Need color correcting and more shades? While I personally have not tried these, this triple pot concealer from NARS offers a much larger shade range! And if you cannot tell I am a huge fan of The Saem complexion products. Worth trying and sure to las...
The Saem - Cover Perfection Triple Pot Concealer
There is nothing like this pencil concealer. Precision, glide, and matte coverage. It's perfect to use around the lips to clean up your lip line, eyebrows, and on top of makeup for touch-ups or added coverage on high pigment or textured areas such as...
The Saem - Cover Perfection Concealer Pencil
Cushion
Excellent for sensitive skin, but keep in mind you will need concealer if you have active acne and hyperpigmentation. For a skincare cushion foundation the coverage is still impressive. It sits on the skin naturally and doesn't feel greasy or separat...
PARNELL Cicamanu Serum Cushion
I would recommend for winter use or dry skin people. This cushion is so famous that there are replicas being made of it! Created by the legendary Korean makeup artist Jung Saem Mool, it is beloved in Korea. It provides a natural, glow-from-within loo...
JUNG SAEM MOOL Essential Skin Nuder Cushion
Blush
One of the only blushes that I have repurchased for years and years. It's THAT good! I could never compare to this to a high-end blush because I think it's better. The color payoff, affordability, blendability, and how it seems to never get used up! ...
lilybyred - Luv Beam Cheek Balm
Blush is where I think K Beauty truly loves to have fun with colors and mood stories. They now come with a full chart of color seasons and which would suit your skin best. This Peripera blush has so many shade options to choose from, a tad sheer so b...
peripera - Pure Blushed Sunshine Cheek
As a habitual blush-layerer I adore this 2aN blush with a built-in layering combo. You get two shades in one product and they also look so cute to use on your eyes to make a monochromatic look.
2aN - Dual Cheek
Everyday peachy-pinky blush that takes your colorless cheeks to a lovely flush. This is a very lovely, cutesy blush! It flatters your mood when you're feeling natural, dainty, and soft. From my experience, benefit powders last so dang long. A mini is...
Dandelion WANDERful World Silky-Soft Powder Blush Mini - Benefit Cosmetics
As an OG Milani baked blush girl, I had to try out their other blushes and can confirm I love the rose powder blush also! In fact, I do prefer it over the baked blush now as I think something has changed in the baked blush. It tends to disappear and ...
Blossomtime Rose Rose Powder Blush - Milani
It's giving rhode, but K-Beautified. Remember, I am not one for cream blush, but I know for a fact that so many people absolutely adore it. And I understand why. It looks so natural on the skin, easy to blend even without any tools, and can even be u...
[20colors] BANILA CO Romantic Blush Lip & Cheek 0.13 oz.(3.7g)
Lip
Truly flattering, kind to your wallet, and super smooth color. Revlon has some of the best lip products in stick form in the drugstore tier. They mastered it!
004 Nude Illuminator Super Lustrous Glass Shine Balm - Revlon
If you love GLITTER even in your lip gloss, try out Half Magic's mini! For those of us who have a lot of color/pigment on our lips - to the point where a nude lipstick looks very patchy unless it's opaque or VERY sheer (no inbetween), a good liner an...
Y2K Cherub Magic Drip Glitter Lip Gloss Mini - HALF MAGIC
rom&nd is a master of the lips. They propelled to house-hold brand status in S Korea with the launch of their juicy lasting tint collection. I actually enjoy their glosses much more! The colors they're cooking up over at rom&nd are unmatched....
romand - Glasting Color Gloss Cream Nude Edition
LOVE this lip gloss! Not only does it smell like fruity candy, but it applies thin. For the amount of shine it provides it's quite an unusual thing. Never goopy, never uncomfortable, and sometimes I want to reapply because the feeling is so comfortin...
dasique - Pure Water Lip Gloss
Finally Dinto is at Ulta! Dinto pulls flattering colors into their cosmetics like true color theory masters. SO flattering, so moody! These types of colors are so hard to come across in an affordable price range.
Frozen Lip Jelly - Dinto | Ulta Beauty
For those who need the ultra flattering colors from Dinto but also need a stain - check out Dinto's tints
Blur-Glowy Lip Tint - Dinto
Why are we using the benetint when this exists? One of the OG creators of the water tint that stains like the world depends on it. As it should, because your snatched lips do depend on it. If you're one of those beauty lovers who just can't let go of...
Dear Darling Water Lip Tint - ETUDE
Tried this at Ulta and holy crap does it STAY PUT. It sets in seconds and looks way more natural and easier to blend than a stain liner would as it comes in a blending combo. I also think the jumbo size grip is so fun! It's like stationery but makeup...
fwee Long-Lasting Dual Coloring Stick Lip Liner
Somebody paying attention to the Asian beauty market is in charge of product development at L'Oreal! “Mocha Mousse” is a super trendy color for the past year or so in KBeauty. Perhaps this attention to detail made me fall in love with these lip liner...
L'Oréal Blurfiller Blurring Lip Contour
Another lip liner that stays PUT. It reminds me a lot of the glossier lip liners in staying power. IYKYK.
Maybelline Lifter Liner Lip Liner with Hyaluronic Acid
Eyes & Brows
My new fav tubing mascara! I am extremely picky about mascara. My asian lashes are straight, thin, but sharply shaped at the same time. It cannot hold a curl with typical western formulas that tend to be heavy and wet to coat lush lashes of those ble...
Lash Sensational Sky Tubes Tubing Mascara - Maybelline
My favorite waterproof mascara of all time. Make sure to select the one with the red cap. It will NOT budge so be careful not to smudge anywhere. Could probably hold a curl for 10 years.
CLIO Kill Lash Superproof Mascara
If you prefer an ultra-natural look I think romand's mascara is your best bet. For those no-makeup-makeup days.
rom&nd Han All Fix Mascara 0.24 oz.(7.0g) | OLIVE YOUNG US
If you do eyeliner with eyeshadow like me, you need to try this gel-powder formula. It is way easier to use as there is NO fall out. It is a plush, soft, jelly/powder hybrid. It gives a soft, opaque color payoff that looks as natural as regular eyesh...
Holika Holika My Fave Piece Gel Tail
The most natural colors, lightweight, and freezes the brows in place without feeling crunchy. If you want to try a lighter eyebrow color before you bleach them, I believe these colors are your best bet.
PERIPERA Speedy Skinny Brow Mascara
Super flattering and comes in a whopping 20+ combinations. I have the “Sand Pink” palette and have been using it for my everyday makeup. It has the base color, aegyo-sal emphasizers, and even the pearl/glimmers are beautiful!
2aN - Better Me Eye Palette
Setting Powder
For oily gals - this is a cult favorite in Korea for a reason! Sets and reduces oil production more than even my high end products. This zaps oil so if you need to reapply they even have a pressed powder form - but this is not a bad size to carry aro...
innisfree - No-Sebum Mineral Powder
This is the No Sebum powder in a less drying formula for those with dry skin - I am quite oily so I do use this in the winter, instead.
innisfree - No-Sebum Moisture Powder
Maybelline Fit Me powder was my pick in high school when I needed a powder ASAP, I knew I could go to the store to grab this. They made it in a loose powder format which is so much easier to build up and control and they even have it in translucent a...
Maybelline Fit Me Loose Finishing Powder
Highlight
I am a highlighter SNOB. I never grew out of the 2016-2018 blinding highlight phase (only toned it down a little to not look crazy). Highlighter snobs know it best, the price truly does not matter! This one in “Iced Pearl” is one of my favorite highl...
Sephora Colorful® Powder Luminizer - SEPHORA COLLECTION
The OG affordable highlighter that stood the test of time. They brought the jelly, plush gel-to-powder formula to an everyday price point. These highlighters are beautiful and announce that your cheek bones have arrived.
ColourPop Flexitarian Super Shock Highlighter
A super cute highlighter that gives that pearly KBeauty sheen
COLORGRAM Milk Bling Heartlighter
2aN is officially one of my fav KBeauty brands. For their price, they give a variety of color options and such beautiful and easy-to-use powder formulas.
2aN Pure Glash Highlighter
For the people who want an ultra-natural highlighter. In my eyes, Japan has two makeup scenes: uber natural, barely there makeup vs transformative, strong identity makeup. For those who appreciate the uber natural makeup look, this one is great!
CEZANNE - Pearl Glow Highlight
Clio has beautiful highlighter colors that look so unique and wearable at the same time.
CLIO - Prism Highlighter