In college, it’s imperative to be savvy about how you spend your money. Sometimes that means sacrificing things, like skipping takeout in favor of Ramen noodles and whatever’s lurking in your refrigerator. 

In fact, you’d be surprised at how creative students have gotten when it comes to saving money.

Our beauty routines are no exception when it comes to this forced frugality, and as a result, they often suffer. 

Many products that are currently popular aren’t cheap, making it seem like quality makeup is out of reach for us low-income students. However, not being able to afford a $90 lipstick, a $50 foundation, or a $192 primer (!!) doesn’t mean you can’t look like a million bucks.

In recent years, drugstore brands have stepped up their game, releasing products with quality that far exceeds expectations. 

Don’t get me wrong, drugstore products can be disappointing. A $4 drugstore highlighter may work better than a $7 drugstore highlighter and vice-versa. It’s often like rolling the dice.

Sometimes, however, you find that unicorn product that’s cheap and works amazingly well. Today, I have five of those. Here are my 5 favorite makeup products under $5:

Table of Contents

1. Wet n Wild MegaLast Liquid Catsuit Lipstick, $4.99

This liquid lipstick is a recent discovery of mine. I hadn’t heard anything about it before purchasing, so when I got home and tested it out for the first time, I was blown away by the opaque pigmentation and the stunning color quality. 

This formula is also extremely long-wearing and isn’t nearly as drying as my Kylie Cosmetics liquid lipstick kits!