there are limits to the drugstore...

Let me be the first to say: you can get really great makeup at the drugstore. In fact, while I may spout off a million beauty tips, you'll never hear me say you couldn't get a version of the same thing at the drugstore. It won't be AS good, but there are darn good options at the drugstore, and anyone looking you in the face likely wouldn't know the difference.

The exception to this rule? EYESHADOW. There is no other pigment quite like MAC. So, if you need to, buy everything else at the drugstore, and splurge on your MAC eyeshadow. Urban decay does a pretty good job, particularly with their "Perversion" deep, true black, but for variety and incredible lasting shadows, you have to go with MAC.

My favorite MAC basic color, if I have to choose one, is TWINKS. It's a basic brown-ish color with a hint of violet. For an added boost, buy a MAC paint pot base for your eyeshadow, it makes a foundation on which your shadow will sit comfortably all day. In my opinion, it's better than Urban Decay's cult favorite equivalent, and will last you a million years. If you don't feel like buying that product, however, you can always just use some foundation on your lids before painting on your Twinks. ;) (twinks is not what's pictured above)