Every time I take a trip to the mall, it takes everything in me to avoid walking into Sephora and spending far too much money on makeup. Ballin’ on a budget when it comes to beauty can be difficult with a lot of drugstore brands having less than stellar products, but there are some gems mixed in with all the pebbles that just take some digging to find. It’s even easier to find high-quality but low-priced makeup products online, where sometimes shipping is the same price as the product you’re buying.

This list of makeup brands and my favorites from them just proves that you don’t need to pay a small fortune to look like a million bucks. After all, you’re the only one who knows what’s on your face anyway! Plus, it’s so much easier to convince yourself buying a new lipstick is okay when they’re only $6 rather than $20, and that you can never have too many makeup brushes when you only have to pay $10 for a set of them.

NYX Cosmetics

• Where to find it: your local Ulta, Target, CVS, and online.
• What I recommend: Pore Filler Primer, $14-$25. If your skin is like mine and your pores just refuse to shrink, do the next best thing and hide them. This primer applies easily and makes skin super smooth, dries almost instantly, and fills any pores so any makeup you put on applies evenly. It’s cheaper than the Benefit POREfessional primer (which runs for $31 for a .75 oz. tube) but works just as well at blurring the look of pores. The only downfall of this primer is how much you need to use – an amount smaller than a quarter, but larger than a nickel.

ColourPop Cosmetics

• Where to find it: Online only at colourpop.com
• What I recommend: Ultra Matte Lip, $6. The beauty world has been going crazy for the last few months over liquid to matte lipsticks, but when high-end brands charge $20+ per lipstick, they aren’t the cheapest things on the market. Luckily, there’s ColourPop. With 25 shades to choose from (plus 8 new limited edition colors) there’s an ultra matte lip for every person and every occasion. And at $6 a pop, there’s no question that you won’t find a few colors you love. The formula is super long lasting, doesn’t dry out your lips, and won’t transfer. Go ahead – order a few.

BH Cosmetics

• Where to find it: Online only.
• What I recommend: Any brush set, $10-$32. Finding good brushes when you’re ballin’ on a budget is no easy task, but thankfully BH Cosmetics is just a click away. With 21 different sets to choose from, it’d be impossible to not find a brush set that has everything you’re looking for at a reasonable price. Every set comes with its own distinct packaging/storage and can vary both in handle color as well as in what the brush hairs are made from. Some brushes shed more than others, specifically their duo fiber brushes, but at such a low price it’s hard to complain about a few stray hairs.

City Color Cosmetics

• Where to find it: Online only.
• What I recommend: Contour Effects Palette (first or second edition), $13.99. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, odds are you’ve heard of contouring. Made famous by the Anastasia Beverly Hills contour palette, as well as Kim Kardashian’s impeccable cheekbones, every beauty guru probably has a contouring tutorial somewhere on their social media. But if you don’t want to drop $30 for the Anastasia kit, you could turn to City Color’s contour effects palettes. It may be worth it for you to spend more if you’re already a pro at contouring, but for anyone just beginning, these palettes are perfect. There’s only three shades – two to contour and one to highlight, but for most of us, that’s all we really need. The two different palette options ensure that someone of any skin tone will be able to use them and have Kim K cheekbones in no time.

L.A. Girl Cosmetics

• Where to find it: Online only.
• What I recommend: Pro Conceal HD High-Definition Concealer, $5. If you’ve ever had trouble finding a concealer that actually matches your skin, covers any and all imperfections, and stays put, here’s your holy grail. In 21 shades, plus 3 correcting colors, and at only $5, L.A. Girl pro concealers are a dream come true. They can be used for anything from concealing under eye circles, blemishes, and redness, to contouring and highlighting your face. The brush tip makes application super easy and allows you to put the product exactly where you need it to be. It blends out to be as natural looking as possible and won’t crease or wear off throughout the day.

Milani Cosmetics

• Where to find it: Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, Duane Reade, Ulta, online.
• What I recommend: Baked Blush, $8.49. For whatever reason, most blush simply doesn’t stay on my cheeks. On top of that, having a very fair complexion, a lot of blushes can tend to make me look like a clown. The baked blushes from Milani, however, are one of those products that just work. The colors are all beautiful with just enough shimmer to make your face glow, but not too much that you end up looking sparkly. From bronze to bright pink to red, there’s a shade of blush for everyone that’s guaranteed to transform your cheeks with the perfect flush of color. Next time you head to your local drugstore, pick up a shade and watch it become a staple of your beauty routine.

L’Oreal Paris

• Where to find it: Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, Duane Reade, Ulta, online.
• What I recommend: True Match Super Blendable Makeup, $10.95. L’Oreal is one of those brands everybody knows, but it still remains unappreciated, especially when it comes to their True Match foundation. This is, hands down, the best product I’ve ever used on my face and the only one that’s consistently matched my skin. It comes in 33 shades and even though the bottle looks small, a little goes a very long way. It’s buildable, blendable, and keeps your skin looking like skin underneath it. The finish is natural, but you can make it matte with a setting powder or luminous by mixing a liquid highlighter to it before applying. With colors for warm, neutral, and cool undertones, it’s impossible for you to find a shade that doesn’t work with your skin.

Maybelline New York

• Where to find it: Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, Duane Reade, Ulta, online.
• What I recommend: EyeStudio Lasting Drama Gel Liner, $9.99. As someone who does a cat eye wing every single day, I’ll be honest: eyeliner is hard, and it can be almost impossible depending on the type of liner you’re using. Maybelline’s gel liner is just the right tool for the job. It applies smoothly every time, doesn’t dry out after having it for a few months, and comes in four different shades if you ever want to change it up from just a regular black wing. I even use the brown liner for my brows instead of dropping $20 on Anastasia pomade because of how easy it is to use and how long it lasts, but it’s biggest downfall is that only people with brown hair/eyebrows can use it like that.