When People Travel to the U.S., They Bring an Extra Suitcase for These Beauty Buys

Photo: Getty Images/Granger Wootz
Beauty fanatics are always gushing about how they need to travel to France to shop their famous pharmacies, and to Korea to buy up bottles with innovative textures and trendy ingredients, and to Germany for science-forward clean-beauty buys. And yes—it's true that overseas you can score some pretty cool skin-boosting products, but American beauty is nothing to sleep on. The United States is home to a slew of MVP beauty brands and must-have products—gems like Covergirl mascara, Glossier Boy Brow, and Drunk Elephant skin care, among many others.

I guarantee that whenever beauty aficionados from other countries visit the States, they turn into the heart-eyes emoji immediately upon glancing at our skin-care and makeup selection, bred in the U.S. of A. With that, we're rounding up the absolute staple American beauty buys to find now.

Keep scrolling for the 12 best beauty finds that hail from the U.S.

Photo: Neutrogena

Neutrogena Hydro Boost Hydrating Water Gel Moisturizer, $17

I can wax poetic about Neutrogena's full line of Hydro Boost products, but this moisturizer is the one that started my love affair. The line is known for using rockstar hydration ingredient hyaluronic acid, and this particular moisturizer has a jelly consistency that leaves my skin soft and glistening all damn day.

Photo: Glossier

Glossier Boy Brow, $16

Since the brand launched in 2014, it's catapulted into cult-fave status. My personal must-have from the line? The Boy Brow, an absolutely perfect brow gel that fluffs up your brows like none other I've ever used.

Photo: Drunk Elephant

Drunk Elephant C-Firma Day Serum, $80

Out of all the vitamin C serums that exist, this one's continually praised as a magical skin brightener. Drunk Elephant's also just a cult-fave skin-care brand that consistently launches effective, active products that beauty fanatics can't get enough of. My second fave? Their Protini Polypeptide Moisturizer ($68).

Photo: CoverGirl

CoverGirl Lash Blast Volume Mascara, $9

All hail the drugstore mascara. My all-time fave is CoverGirl's all-famous Lash Blast, which literally makes my eyelashes look like beautiful, voluminous butterflies that flutter all day long—without clumps.

Photo: Fenty Beauty

Fenty Beauty Pro Filt'r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation, $35

Rihanna made major waves when she launched her beauty brand's foundation, which now offers 50 shades to match more people's skin tones. This product is a major win from the U.S.A. and is also just a really good foundation with amazing coverage.

Photo: Mario Badescu

Mario Badescu Drying Lotion, $17

This pimple potion has been a staple in my beauty cabinet since I was a mere teenager. Every beauty lover has probably heard of this product from longtime facialist Mario Badescu, because it truly dries out a blemish overnight.

Photo: Beautycounter

Beautycounter Dew Skin Tinted Moisturizer, $45

Beautycounter not only formulates clean beauty, but advocates for it (seriously—I've lobbied in D.C. with them before). Their products are dependably good—and this Dew Skin tinted moisturizer is my go-to for when I want a bit of gleamy coverage to my skin.

Photo: Maybelline

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles Treatment Concealer, $10

Maybelline's an OG American makeup company that's been around since 1914. While I'm super into their always-good mascaras and long-lasting lipsticks, this concealer actually makes me look like I've never experienced dark circles in my life.

Photo: SkinCeuticals

SkinCeuticals Hyaluronic Acid Intensifier, $100

This derm-backed brand is a cult fave for highly active skin-care MVPs. Most people swear by the brand's vitamin C serum—which is amazing—but I actually love their hyaluronic acid serum, because it literally keeps my skin moisturized all day. The secret's in the product's combo of licorice root and purple rice extract, which work together to actually help the hyaluronic acid do its job.

Photo: RMS Beauty

RMS Beauty "Un" Cover-up, $36

Rose-Marie Swift, founder of RMS delivers the OG clean skin-care-makeup hybrid formulator. Her iconic "Un" Cover-up is an ultra-light, buildable concealer that covers redness and blemishes and hyperpigmentation while treating your skin with nourishing botanical ingredients.

Photo: EltaMD

EltaMD UV Sport Broad-Spectrum SPF 50, $49

If you've ever wanted a mineral sunscreen with a high SPF that blends imperceptibly into skin, this is your jackpot. The zinc-based sunscreen is recommended by, like, every dermatologist ever and it's quickly rising to cult status thanks to its amazing finish on skin.

Photo: Revlon

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick, $5

Yet another drugstore gem that's one of the best: Revlon's lipsticks. It's five bucks, and their Certainly Red shade is a bold, perfect red that's a perfect pick when you're looking to rock a bold pout—without your lips drying out.

To look at other countries and their beauty philosophies, here's the deal on the Icelandic beauty product trend. And these are the Japanese skin-care rituals to try for yourself. 

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