I always like Halloween as it a holiday where anything goes in my book in terms of playful make up. I also enjoy that no one considers it taboo if I look too garish or wild. This is one of the only times of year that I get to mix glitter, false eyelashes, glow in the dark lipstick with sprayed color in my hair and actually walk out of my building.

Instead of buying a beauty palette at my local Department store, I opted for affordable choices from my nearest Duane Reade, CVS and Rite Aid.

I have been noticing for months that their cosmetic aisles keep on getting larger and larger and I found some worthwhile options for Hollow’s Eve:

Duane Reade read like a lash bar when I saw what Scream Queen was offering with all of their false lashes. I considered it similar to a designer lash bar yet theirs cost $ 5.99 a pair and were quite dramatic both in color choice and style.

Some of the Rite Aids I shopped were offering buy one, get the second half off until 10/15 of their Wet n Wild Fantasy Makers collection which included many themed make up options such as the Hauntingly Hip Madame Butterfly stencil kit and the Wicked Pair combinations of lipstick and nail polish in colors such as Poison, Wicked and Toxic, all for $ 1.99 each pair. I still had my glow in the dark nail polish from last year and have used on occasion since. At the Hayden Planetarium I noticed all eyes were on me as I forgot I was wearing the lipstick and the nail polish but it was of a once in a lifetime snafu on my part that I still laugh about today.

Sally Hansen is offering five Limited Edition Salon Effects nail polish strips and I only found them at one out of the six Duane Reades I had visited. Like the others in this collection, they retail for $ 9.99 each. I bought the “Wishnets” as it is reminiscent of the Misbehaved pattern only with a bright red background color.

Jesse’s Girl glitter liners are also a good option for trying a new color at $ 1.99 each as well as Ma-nish-Ma’s Chopstick Glitter Eyeliners for the same price. Please check with your local drugstores to see their particular inventory and options before making the trip.

Remember, there is usually a party city or pop up Halloween shop nearby that has the very basics of kits that are a great option as well. I wanted to go the drugstore route this time.

Be safe and have fun on Halloween beauty lovers!

– Nicole Gordon Levine

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