The 25 Best Drugstore Beauty Products of 2026, Tested by 101 Industry Experts

Baked blush making a big comeback in 2026 was not a trend we saw in our beauty crystal balls, but we’ve got to admit, we dig it. This swirly version from CoverGirl is our newest fave, deftly blending two complimentary hues to create a multi-dimensional finish on your cheeks. The sueded texture is more lightweight than typical powder blushes, and it gives a luminous finish with a surprisingly bright pop of pigment that will satisfy even the most blush blind of you out there. “I absolutely love this blush formula,” says makeup artist and content creator Jonet Williamson. “I used it on set of a commercial shoot and it applied evenly while giving the skin a nice blur that translated well both in person and on camera. I'd love to see these in more shades.”

It doesn’t come in a fancy bottle, it won’t bestow a delicate designer perfume on your body, but hot damn does this no-frills lotion from Eucerin deliver a deluge of moisture to the skin. Which is really the most important thing in a body lotion, no? It has a triple moisturizing complex of five percent urea, ceramides, and natural moisturizing factors (NMF) to both hydrate thirsty skin and repair a damaged barrier to help keep that moisture in place for up to 48 hours. “It leaves my skin soft, absorbs quickly, and is an easy go-to,” says Marie Claire contributor Danielle James.

California Naturals is kind of a sleeper of a brand (which is wild to us, considering Owen Wilson is behind it) but it’s a company that delivers consistently effective, highly affordable hair and body care that’s both clean and conscious. That means no synthetics dyes or fragrances, no parabens, no sulfates, and absolutely no funny business (unless you’re talking to Wilson, but we challenge anyone not to laugh after a convo with that charmer). This oil-gel body cleanser is one of our wash day essentials, combining sea buckthorn, moringa, guava, and vitamin B5 in a skin-cushioning cleanse that leaves you hydrated, glowing (duh), and nourished. “I really really like the oil-gel texture and the smell is goop-y in the best way,” says Marie Claire contributor Sophia Vilensky. “Makes my skin feel so soft but also really feels like it's doing its job on the cleaning front (which is ultimately most important here).”

We have tried for many, many years to find a drugstore bronzer that can outperform this classic. And we have failed—there’s just no topping its skin-melting texture and the bronzed goddess glow it imparts on even the most sun-starved skin. It has a blend of murumuru, cupuacu, and tucuma butters that give it both a hydrating finish and a unique creamy powder texture. Our one complaint? We wish there were more shades as the eight hues only really work on fair to medium-light skin tones—although the shimmery Golden Glow hue can make a fab highlighter for darker skin tones.

A cleanser that also hydrates and strengthens your skin with every wash? Of course it’s from Cetaphil. The derm-beloved brand combined flaxseed oil with pentavitin, a plant-derived ingredient that delivers long-lasting hydration and plumping to skin. Together they strengthen your skin barrier and replenish lost lipids. Those with dry, flaky skin will see an immediate improvement as it soothes and calms your complexion. It’s also surprisingly good at getting rid of makeup, something a lot of sensitive skin cleansers struggle with. “The oil aspect of this cleanser makes makeup slip away, and the foam—which builds IMMEDIATELY—efficiently and fully cleanses,” says Marie Claire contributor Marci Robin. “It's a joy to use, and my skin sincerely glows when I rinse it off. New favorite!”

E.l.f. really knows how to deliver maximum impact on a minimal budget. For just $5 you can find one of the best concealers to cover up dark circles, redness, and blemishes in just one swipe of this magic wand. With 36 hues to choose from—including a range of undertones—the medium-buildable, satin-finish concealer glides on smoothly but delivers cake-, crease-, and transfer-resistant wear. It also contains both hyaluronic acid and hibiscus complex to keep skin hydrated and ensure your camouflage merges seamlessly with your actual skin. “This concealer is AMAZING value,” says pro makeup artist Jaleesa Jaikaran. “It covers well and blends out really smoothly with a great shade range. This is especially nice to be worn by itself and pairs well with my drugstore and higher-end foundations.”

A hair gloss that straight up laminates the cuticle, L’Oréal’s Elvive conditioner uses an unexpected ingredient to get that glass-like glow to your strands. It has glycolic acid—yes, the same AHA you use to unglue dead and dull skin from your face—which, when applied to wet hair, does the same thing to your follicles and your scalp. By gently exfoliating away the build-up, dead skin cells, and excess oil that can leave hair looking dull, it reveals mirror-like shine and a healthier scalp. When paired with the matching shampoo, it gives your strands a high-gloss finish and soft feel that is shampoo commercial-ready.

We’d never admit to being curl cream snobs, but low-key, we kind of are. When you’re fighting an uphill battle to get your spirals to behave, you don’t want to cut corners and risk creating a big, undefined, poufy mess. Needless to say, we were thrilled when we tentatively tested this curl cream from Odele and found it delivered the same curl-taming and defining powers as salon products that were triple the price. With tomato ferment, rice protein, and shea butter, it helps to create curls and waves while fighting off frizz and ensuring your locks are hydrated, all without the crunch or stiffness that can sometimes accompany budget curl products. Instead, you're left with touchably soft, perfectly crafted curls that are protected from UV and heat.

Tangle Teezer has always been ahead of the curve, but their newest launch feels light years away from the competition. While it may look like their original Detangler brush, it’s actually an entirely new design that features a diagonal bristle placement made to work through hair strands with less resistance, and unique teeth guiding hair rather than yanking or tugging on snarls. The extra-long oval-shaped teeth smooth the cuticle and massage the scalp while the shorter triangle teeth do the actual detangling. It’s like a mini head massage, increasing blood flow to the follicle to help promote hair growth and reduce breakage. Hair looks and feels soft and polished no matter how dry, damaged, or fine it is naturally.

A daily lotion that outperforms a scrub for softer, smoother skin? Only if it’s this heavy hitter from Amlactin. Made with 12 percent lactic acid, it gently sloughs off dead skin and dry flakes while also infusing skin with hydrating glycerin. It actually helps improve your skin texture over time, helping skin retain moisture as it smooths and softens. By speeding up skin’s natural cellular turnover, it ensures you get the same benefits as an abrasive scrub without the, well, abrasiveness. Perfect for both sensitive skin and extra-dry spots, it’s a drugstore pick beloved by both derms and beauty editors.

It’s honestly no surprise that our favorite eyeliner would come courtesy of a RuPaul’s Drag Race legend. Kim Chi knows her liner, after all, and she thought of EVERYTHING when she dreamt up this ultimate eye definer. It’s a buildable pigment with a buttery texture that glides on the eyes without skipping or smearing. Beauty Stage Proof Eyeliner is more than stage ready—it’s designed to last for 32 hours without budging, in what the brand claims is “sweat-proof, swim-proof, overnight stay-proof, dance-proof, and ugly cry-proof. “This is a strong black liner and it’s a steal,” says pro makeup artist Emily Gray. “Loved it in the upper and lower waterlines—it stayed all day and night. I put some on an angled liner brush to create a wing and it glided on smoothly. This is definitely going in my professional makeup kit.”

For those who have never experienced a wrapping mask, you’re in for a good time. The peel-off treatments give your face a juicy, glowy, bouncy look in minutes. This duo from I Dew Care is our favorite take on the trend—it features a plush headband to keep your hair from accidentally getting stuck in the gooey texture of the mask. The treatment itself blends Korean ginseng, snow mushroom, and Korean pomegranate extract in a moisture-boosting, antioxidant glow-bestowing mask that improves skin firmness and elasticity. “First off, the headband is really soft, and one of the nicer ones I've used,” says James. “The face mask has a tacky texture and turns this iridescent pink when it dries, which was cool. I liked applying with the spatula, because I can use one side to apply, and the other to wipe off any product in a location I didn't want (like part of my lip). The removal process, like any wrap mask, was incredibly satisfying and it easily came off. The next morning, my face definitely had a radiance to it.”

This liquid foundation is proof positive you don’t need to drop all your cash to get a high-performance base. A full-coverage, matte, waterproof foundation that wears like a lightweight tint, this formula is available in 26 shades and infused with niacinamide. It can stand up to sweat, humidity, and heat with zero melting or smudging. “This foundation impresses me every time,” says Gray. “It’s one of the most comfortable, breathable, high coverage, thin foundations on the market and it’s only $10, which is crazy. I’m not normally a matte foundation lover, as I have sensitive dry skin, but I definitely love this one. The foundation also doesn’t sink in any lines, which I always have issues with on more matte foundation. Additionally it’s vegan, cruelty free, and great for those with sensitive skin. They did their thing with this one!”

A lip definer that also cares for your pout, Versed’s sculpting pencil has mango butter and marula oil to comfort and moisturize the lips as it delivers natural lip hues in a demi-matte finish that glides on smooth. The bullet dome tip makes it easy to apply for even those with the shakiest hands, so no need to hold your breath while you try to draw an ultra-thin line around your lips. “A comfortable and hydrating formula that doesn’t feel dry or crusty,” says celebrity makeup artist Amrita Mehta. “It blends out and diffuses nicely because of the shape of the tip.”

We’ll admit now that we were skeptical of the whole peel-off lip color craze. It looked more gimmick than great and we worried that once you got past the novelty of it, the color would be muddy and drying in practice. Color us impressed with this peel-off liner from Maybelline because it is none of the above. The five shades are vibrant without being garish and create a super defined lip stain that stays in place through eating, drinking, kissing, wiping, and talking—all things we do frequently throughout our days. It’s a gorgeous lip blush effect that pairs well with everything from matte lipsticks to juicy glosses. The addition of vitamin E ensures that the formula doesn’t get patchy or settle into lines or dry spots. Consider us converted.

For as much as we adore lip oils, we’re not huge fans of their application process. The wands and squeeze tubes make it way too easy to overuse and they’re messy to try and apply on the go. Not so with this so-called Slipstick from e.l.f.—it puts a nourishing lip oil in a solid stick for easy, fuss-free application. The formula hydrates with squalane, jojoba oil, and mango seed butter while imparting a shimmery, buildable hue on your pout. “Perfect for the gal on the go,” says pro makeup artist Natalie Dresher. “Love that it nourishes while depositing color, smoothing lines, and treating chapped lips while giving the effect of a lipstick!”

One swipe of this lash lengthener will have you wondering if you’ve accidentally picked up the wrong tube in your bleary-eyed morning rush to get ready, because there’s no way a mascara this good can be both clean and at the drugstore. And yet, Expressionist Mascara exists. It contains plant-based ingredients like castor seed oil, sunflower seed oil, and cellulose plant fiber to condition and volumize lashes for a feathery fringe that stays put. “It’s not every day that you find a mascara that lifts, lengthens, volumizes, is transfer resistant and is longwearing,” says pro makeup artist Dominque Lerma. “The wand offers a dramatizing application lifting the lashes. My favorite way to test masacaras is by wearing them through an intense cardio session. I wore this for 60 minutes on the soccer field and there was zero transfer and the loft remained intact.”

This is everything you want from a face lotion—hydrating, works well under makeup, smoothing, and non-greasy. It uses a plant-based alternative to silicone to give your skin that velvety smooth feel and plump up fine lines without the potential to clog pores or giving you that smothered-skin feel. It’s lightweight and contains nourishing macadamia seed oil, soothing shea butter, and antioxidant vitamin E. It’s a no-brainer daily hydrator that you don’t have to worry about—which is great, because we’ve got enough going on without having to panic that our moisturizer is messing with our skin.

Kim Chi strikes again with this makeup primer that performs almost as impressively as she does. A hybrid skin treatment and makeup gripper, the Korean-American drag star infused a little K-beauty into Give Me Grip with the addition of salmon-derived PDRN to soothe the skin barrier. It’s heavy on the skin care, with brightening niacinamide, plumping hyaluronic acid, and refreshing and cooling rosemary and peppermint water. The high-performance gel grips makeup in place for a smoother, longer lasting base. “If it's good enough for the queens it's good enough for us,” exclaims Dresher. “I LOVED this product. PDRN is all the rage right now and having it inside of a primer is SO unique. It also provides the perfect grippy, slightly tacky base for makeup!”

For those suffering from flakes and breakage, a hair and scalp oil can mean the difference between split-ends central and a glossy, hydrated mane. This beauty by Carol’s Daughter uses a blend of seven(!) oils—castor, sunflower seed, jojoba seed, olive, coconut, black cumin seed, and flaxseed—to deliver weightless moisture to the scalp while preventing split ends and protecting against breakage. For under $15, curls will look healthy and feel strong while the scalp is moisturized without feeling greasy. “A well-executed treatment oil that addresses breakage concerns through rich conditioning and scalp support,” says L.A.-based celebrity hair stylist Keisha Tabaran.

This luxe serum is proof positive that you don’t need to empty your wallet to get a well-formulated product overflowing with powerful actives. We’re talking hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, and a triple-peptide complex that work in harmony to address wrinkles, uneven texture, dark spots, and firmness in one age-defying formula.“Three really important ingredients in one is a great move for someone that wants a serum that'll pack a big punch,” says Vilensky. “It feels nice on the skin, soaks in easily, and my skin looks more hydrated and feels a little brighter when using it consistently.”

Honey hair care has been big in Asia for awhile, but is just now starting to gain traction in the U.S. We’re stoked because that migration means we get cool products like this hair hydrator from &honey. Inside this adorable bottle is one of the most hydrating and best frizz-taming hair products that has ever touched our strands. A wash with the Deep Moist shampoo will give you shiny, soft, flyaway-free strands with a blend of argan oil and three different types of the sticky stuff: acacia, manuka, and raw honey. You’ll be a honey hair stan the minute you step out of the shower and see how soft and manageable your mane is post cleanse.

Body SPF always throws us for a loop. We know it exists, we know we need it, but every time we apply it, we feel like we just went down an oiled-up Slip N Slide. Not so with this tropically scented sunscreen from Sun Bum: It’s made for daily application, so instead of the heavy waterproof formulas you pack for a beach day (that leave you slippery like a seal), it’s akin to rubbing on a hydrating body lotion. With vitamin E and antioxidants, it provides all day moisture to keep skin soft and supple. With a water-resistant SPF 50, your skin stays protected without the lubed up feeling.

There’s a reason this face sunscreen from CeraVe is a derm favorite—not only is it a mineral formula, but it’s one you’ll actually want to actually put on your face and reapply. It uses what the brand calls Miner-All technology for a near invisible and weightless application that works with all skin tones and types. While no mineral SPF is truly invisible (especially for those with deep skin tones), this one is pretty close. It also has cermaides, niacinamide, hyaluronic acid and a unique time-release feature that releases those moisturizing ingredients over time for long-term hydration and skin barrier health. “Truly invisible, as the name suggests—it disappears into skin instantly and feels so lightweight with no white cast on my light skin tone” says Marie Claire contributor Catharine Malzahn. “Note that it appears a little oily on the skin upon application, but quickly dries down and looks like nothing.”

Are eye drops a beauty product? They are when it's this redness eliminator by Bausch + Lomb. Bloodshot eyes don’t really go well with a smokey eye, after all. Drop these in and a minute later you’ll see brighter, whiter, less tired eyes that stay that way for eight hours. They work by selectively targeting blood vessels without limiting oxygen flow to your eyes, ensuring you are less at risk for side effects like rebound redness and preservative irritation that are common in other brightening eye drops. With seven clinical trials for safety and efficacy, these drops make you look like you actually got some sleep (even though you definitely did not) or like allergies aren’t making your life a living hell (they are).