Snag These Editor-Approved, Under-$15 Drugstore Buys for Every Skin Type

Photo: Getty Images/Milkos
As a group of beauty editors, we'll be the first to admit that our bathrooms (and our bedrooms, and our desks, and our gym bags) are stockpiled with products on products. Case in point: My sink currently has 17 cleansers sitting beneath it just waiting to be tested, and right now I can count no fewer than 20 bottles of skin care sitting on Rachel and Ali's desks.

The good news, though, is that we never have to battle it out over who gets to try out which product, because we all have different skin types. While mine is so dry that it practically cracks off if I don't treat it the right way, Rachel's is acne-prone, and Ali's tends to be sensitive. Because of this, we each rely on different ingredients to treat our specific needs.

And while we all love our pricey serums and salves, some of our all-time favorite products happen to be from the drugstore. Don't believe me? Here are the under-$15 picks each of us swear by.

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Zoe Weiner, Associate Beauty and Fitness Editor

"Whether it's nine degrees outside or 90, my skin is dry, dry, dry. As in, if I don't take proper care of it, it will start flaking off of my face 365 days of the year. (Gross? Yes. True? Definitely.) Because of this, my products have to be heavy hitters in the moisture department. I depend on ingredients like hyaluronic acid, which, as the derm-fave saying goes can hold 1,000 times its weight in water, and ceramides, which help with barrier function and protect your skin from environmental irritants like dry air and pollution."

 

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Rachel Lapidos, Beauty and Fitness Editor

"My skin is incredibly acne prone. Like, if someone breathes on it wrong, a zit will emerge from the depths of my dermis. That's why I have to be diligent about exfoliation, using nourishing skin-care products, and face masking on the reg to keep things calm and clear. To stay on top of things, I reach for products like antioxidant-packed, sulfate-free cleansers—nothing stripping or irritating—and pore-clearing treatments. My fave weekly face mask uses bentonite clay to soak up acne-causing gunk. I also rely on trusty witch hazel (an astringent) and willow bark extract (also to clear pores) to keep my skin happy and healthy."

 

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Ali Finney, Beauty and Fitness Director

"My cheeks are consistently rosy, but on days when I test a go-getter beauty product with a high level of actives, it goes from kind of cute to whoa-what's-wrong. As such, I lean on ultra-gentle ingredients that help to calm and soothe: aloe, coconut water, and ceramides to help rebuild my skin's barrier and make it chill out. I also keep it pretty minimal, because by lowering the exposure of my skin to different products, I lessen the risk of redness flare-ups."

For more drugstore skinspo, peep our favorite new products of 2019. And here are the ingredients you should be combining to treat every skin concern. 

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