If you think of the drugstore as being a sort of “standard” beauty destination—a place where you can go to quickly grab that shaving cream and less-than-$10 moisturizer you’ve faithfully been using for years, but probably not a stop that’s going to completely “wow” you with its new skin care offerings—think again. These eight really unique, really effective brands are taking the shelves of CVS by storm and we bet you haven’t even heard of some of them yet.
You May Also Like: Editors’ Picks: The 30 Best Drugstore Must-Haves We Swear By
CVS coins its in-house, exclusive beauty brand as one of “essentials,” but we can’t help but wonder why it didn’t consider adding the descriptor of “necessary” to that tagline. There’s eyelash curlers, makeup brushes, nail tools and lots and lots of skin care. Five dollars will get you some very effective under-eye masks, great-tasting lip balms, ultra-hydrating cocoa butter lotions and more (with some change left to spare).
A peel that’s also a serum? Anti-aging emergency boosters? That’s just a small sampling of the very targeted, very different skin care offerings you’ll get from this French brand that’s all about protecting skin from the environment. No matter what you want to snag, do it fast; the most popular picks are often out of stock online.
This color-coded face and body line has some of the best (and easiest-to-actually-understand) ingredient descriptions out there. Each product calls out three active ingredients (but every single product contains antioxidants!) and three key benefits. One of our favorites: the silver peel-off Liquid Assets mask with colloidal platinum.
This derm-developed, clinically tested brand is perfect for sensitive skin that’s also interested in anti-aging. There’s no fragrances and no dyes, and everything successfully manages to be gentle, yet effective.
It may have been created by the pros, but this very practical makeup line makes life easier for everyone (think adjustable mascara wands, easy-to-make-look-good shadow palettes and stay-all-day lip crayons).
The Kourtney Kardashian–endorsed line offers a ton of natural products based on the star ingredient of—you guessed it—Manuka honey. If you aren’t sure where to start, you can’t go wrong with a facial oil.
We’ve praised this brand a ton and strongly believe everyone should run out and buy the Retinol Wipes, stat. Alas, there are a whole bunch of other great products in the line—including acne solutions—that deserve equal attention.