35 Affordable Alternatives To Pricey Beauty Products

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3 days ago

A Briotech spray for soothing rashes, sunburns, rosacea, eczema, and other skin irritations, *extremely* similar to the beloved (but pricey) Tower 28 SOS Daily Rescue Spray. Its secret is hypochlorous acid, an ingredient found naturally in our white blood cells that helps soothe inflammation and strengthen the skin barrier. This stuff = magic in a bottle.
Cosrx Snail Mucin 96% Power Repairing Essence, a holy grail serum for many people with dry, sensitive skin and a gentler, cheaper alternative to many name-brand products. It's effective on all skin types, and reviewers report seeing improvement after just a few uses! Acne scars, dark spots, and fine lines are about to meet their match.
And SeoulCeuticals Snail Repair Cream for applying after any serums — this non-comedogenic moisturizer contains 97.5% snail mucin filtrate as well as vitamin E, organic aloe, and shea butter. Softer, smoother, brighter skin is in your future...and you didn't even have to splurge on Sunday Riley or Drunk Elephant.
A bottle of Elizavecca Hair Treatment formulated to deeply repair and hydrate your hair thanks to restorative ingredients like collagen and ceramide 3. You just apply it after shampooing, wait as little as five minutes, then rinse it out for hair that looks *and* feels silky soft. Some reviewers say it's even BETTER than Olaplex, which is over three times the price!
Long-lasting Peripera Ink Velvet Lip Tint, worth the try if you like a little color on your lips but can't be bothered with lipsticks that constantly need touch-ups. This'll give your pout a smooth, ultra-pigmented stain with a silky finish, *and* it also has a lightweight feel that's not sticky or clumpy!
E.l.f. Poreless Putty Primer, which blurs your pores and creates a smooth, velvety texture for makeup to glide over and also grip onto. Infused with squalane for hydration, Poreless Putty Primer has a mattifying effect that doesn't look dry — plus, it's small enough to take on the go in case you need touch-ups. Blink, and you might mistake it for Tatcha's Silk Canvas primer and other pricier options.
A pack of two Venus Visage teeth whitening pens, minty fresh without the weird aftertaste and completely painless — no discomfort for sensitive teeth and gums! But most importantly, it leaves your teeth noticeably whiter, and at a fraction of the cost of the dentist (and Crest Whitestrips).
A bottle of Fanola "No Yellow" purple shampoo to help your blonde or gray hair continue looking its best in between salon appointments, since this'll neutralize yellow, brassy tones that start to peek through over time. Reviewers say they see a big difference in their hair after each use!
Peach Slices acne spot dots for a *super* budget-friendly hydrocolloid acne patch option compared to other brands like Mighty Patch. Keep them around if you're prone to sudden breakouts, and they'll come in clutch: Just apply one to a zit, and it'll literally suck out all that nasty gunk, leaving the area noticeably flatter with less redness overnight.
Or LivaClean Superstar pimple patches if you love the look of those cute but pricey Starface patches — reviewers swear up and down that these work waaay better, *and* you're literally paying 3 cents per patch.
A L'Oreal Paris rinse-out lamellar water treatment that'll transform your hair in just eight seconds (!) to leave your hair shiny, silky, and ultra-hydrated, no matter your hair type!
LilyAna Naturals eye cream to brighten and firm undereye skin to reduce puffiness, fine lines, and bags, but it doesn't stop there — this potent cream also nourishes the delicate area with restorative ingredients like rosehip seed oil, organic hibiscus flower extracts, and vitamin E. And unlike some eye creams, it also won't break the bank — a win-win.
Essence's Lash Princess mascara beloved for its ability to give you bold, dramatic lashes while also separating them to prevent clumping — and for its $5 price tag. People *rave* about this bestselling tube as a swap for more expensive mascaras like Too Faced Better Than Sex, L'Oreal Telescopic Lift, and many, many more.
A Revlon one-step hair dryer and volumizer so you can give yourself a gorgeous blowout without visiting the salon — it knocks out drying *and* styling your hair in one step to save time in the mornings too! Dropping $500+ on a Dyson Airwrap suddenly seems...even less appealing.
An internet-beloved set of makeup sponges — reviewers sing their praises as a budget-friendly swap for Beautyblender and Real Techniques, since you get five of these for less than $10! Plus, when it comes to blending foundation, concealer, powder, and BB creams, there's no better tool for a ~flawless~ finish.
And a bottle of makeup brush-cleaning shampoo because chances are, your sponges and brushes are overdue for a good cleaning. Made with gentle, plant-based ingredients, this cleanser will remove all the built-up makeup, oil, and impurities from your tools — and watching all the gunk be washed down the sink is *so* satisfying.
Nyx Fat Oil Lip Drip in case that $40 Dior lip oil has been in your cart forever, but you just can't bring yourself to pull the trigger. At $9, this version's a much lighter hit to your wallet, with the same burst of hydration (made with vegan squalane!), sheer color, and non-sticky finish reviewers can't get enough of.
A pack of bamboo oil-blotting sheets to keep yourself from looking greasy by 10 a.m. — you can keep these in your bag for quick touch-ups throughout the day as needed! (Don't worry, your makeup will remain unscathed.) This 100-count pack will cost you less than 10 bucks, a fraction of what premium brands like Tatcha charge.
A trio of hydrating lip sleeping masks if you've been hesitant to pull the trigger on that $24 Laneige lip mask that's *everywhere* these days — getting three flavors for under $10 feels like a great alternative if you ask me. Just smear some on your dry, cracked lips before bed and dream of the smooth, soft lips you'll have come morning.
A rainbow-inspired eyeshadow palette with 40 matte, shimmer, and metallic shades so you can play with pretty much any color to paint the ~canvas~ that is your lovely face. Loved by amateurs and professional makeup artists alike, this is a great all-in-one palette for anyone who's not afraid to dabble with bright colors.
And a tube of Elizabeth Mott Thank Me Later Eyeshadow Base because if you're applying eyeshadow without primer, you're not getting its full effect. Not only will it make your eyeshadow look bolder and extra pigmented, but it'll also combat oil and creasing so your smoky eye looks flawless all night long.
Physicians Formula Diamond Dust translucent powder for brushing some shimmer onto your cheeks, eyes, lips, and elsewhere for a glassy skin effect. Reviewers compare this to Fenty Beauty's Diamond Bomb highlighter (which retails for over $40), though this is *slightly* less pigmented, which some said they actually prefer.
Maybelline's Cheek Heat gel-cream blush, because, don't get me wrong, we love Glossier Cloud Paint around here...but stocking up on your favorite shades is admittedly painful at $20 per tube. This water-based formula will give you that gorgeous natural flush, applied easily using just your fingers, for a fraction of the cost.
An eyebrow soap kit reviewers love as an alternative to name brands to help you sculpt your brows so they have the exact shape, volume, and texture you're going for — and keep them looking defined and fluffy throughout the day. When it comes to precision and hold, this stuff is *chef's kiss*.
Or! E.l.f. Wow Brow for making your brows presentable in a matter of seconds when you don't have time to be messing around with a full kit. This buildable wax-gel sculpts your hairs into place while also depositing hair-like fibers that make them look fuller. Reviewers say it's a great swap for pricier brands like Glossier and Anastasia Beverly Hills.
CeraVe's Retinol Serum in case you've been wanting to add a retinoid to your routine but have been scared off by potential flaking and redness — or the price tag of other brands, like Murad's $92 retinol serum. This uses encapsulated retinol designed to help prevent irritation while still resurfacing the skin to help reduce the appearance of acne scars, pores, and more.
A bottle of Nyx matte setting spray so your carefully crafted makeup look can survive up to 16 hours of wear, through humidity, sweat, rain, and snow, without any smudging or melting. Reviewers have put it to the test and say it's a cheaper swap for Mac and Urban Decay's setting sprays.
A 12-pack of soft microfiber makeup removing towels, a true hack for budget-savvy makeup wearers, since they can gently remove makeup using only water and be reused over and over! Perfect for travel and everyday use, they'll cost you just over $1 per cloth, which amounts to nearly 20 times cheaper than the infamous Makeup Eraser.
Or Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water in case it's time for you to replace your beloved bottle of Bioderma. This has the same gentle but powerful makeup-removing abilities, lifting away even waterproof makeup along with dirt and excess oil (without totally stripping your skin of moisture).
BestLand's high-performance matte lipsticks, which might be cheap (less than $2 each!) but bear results that feel ~expensive~ — especially since so many reviewers swear they're even *better* than those pricey name brand liquid lipsticks! This set is honestly a must-have if you love red and pink lip shades, since it contains six long-lasting staples that'll have you look fierce all day long.
Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer, a cult-favorite you can wield as part of your multistep daily routine *or* for quick touch-ups (without cakiness!) on days when you're not feeling a full face of makeup. Dark, puffy under-eye circles and redness are no match for it — and neither are the name-brand concealers, at this price.
L'Oreal's illuminating Lumi Glotion if you're going for a dewy, no-makeup makeup look — this works beautifully as a lightweight foundation alternative or for adding a little glow on top of your makeup! And at under $15, it's a reviewer-fave swap for pricier options like Glossier Futuredew and Drunk Elephant's D-Bronzi Drops.
Eve Hansen Hydrating Hyaluronic Acid Serum reviewers compare to the coveted TNS Recovery Complex serum that's — prepare yourself — over $200 for a 1-ounce bottle. This budget-friendly alternative offers similar benefits: It deeply hydrates, reduces under-eye puffiness and dark circles, smooths fine lines, boosts overall hydration, and creates a radiant glow that's giving, "I just got a facial."
The Ordinary's AHA 30% Peeling Solution, an at-home peel designed to ~resurface~ skin, exfoliate dead cells, unclog pores, and boost surface turnover so you're left with noticeably smoother, more ✨ radiant ✨ skin. Some reviewers say it's hard to justify the cost of Drunk Elephant's T.L.C. Sukari Babyfacial when the ingredients here are so similar and, in many people's experiences, provide the same effects.
Eva Naturals' vitamin C serum, which deserves a spot in your bag because it's basically a skincare superhero with powerful ingredients like retinol, hyaluronic acid, niacinimide, and salicylic acid all rolled into one. This stuff might just spell the end for any acne, rough skin, fine lines, clogged pores, and dark spots you have.