I listed the 5 most affordable makeup brands in Malaysian drugstores and then rated it according to five criteria.
Price, Product range, Accessibility, Quality, Packaging and design.
Disclaimer: This isn’t a poll and I rated them myself. Please do let me know if you disagree with any of these ratings or any criteria. This is just my humble opinion and not an ultimatum. I love all these brands and nothing presented here is a reflection of the actual quality of the brand.
I will insert a Table with all the scores and the average score of each brand that allowed me to put them in order of preference.
No. 5
IN2IT
IN2IT has similar price tags to Essence and Catrice although some products are slightly more expensive. Where it scores slightly lower is accessibility. Not every drugstore carries IN2IT. IN2IT also does not have the most interesting packaging to my liking and their products are sometimes a fabulous hit or somewhat a miss. And so it gets the fifth spot on this list!
No. 4
Catrice
Catrice has fast gained popularity here in Malaysia. However, I have known very few Guardians (the drugstore which the brand is exclusive to) stores that actually carry them and it scores pretty low on that aspect. However, the brand carries a wide range of products (they have makeup brushes, primers and colour correcting concealers!!!) with packaging that is just plastic but looks very sleek. Catrice scored the same points as the next one on the list but it is placed in this position simply for the fact that it is not so easily accessible.
No. 3
Essence
Essence is probably one of the more affordable brands in the list however where it scores slightly lower is packaging and accessibility. Essence isn’t so popular because not every Watsons carries it. Although improved upon their packaging is also generally not the most attractive aspect of Essence but it is my 3rd pick for the top most affordable drugstore makeup brand because they have probably one of the lowest if not the lowest price tags in the entire range of drugstore makeup range in Malaysia. Like Catrice, they carry makeup brushes and primers too!!!
No. 2
Silkygirl
Silkygirl got the second spot not just because I am a fan of the brand. Silkygirl is one of the more affordable drugstore makeup brands in Malaysia. They have many great products (although some are complete duds for me) and Silkygirl is very accessible! If you buy makeup at Malaysian drugstores, it is impossible to not know about Silkygirl! If you do refer to the table at the end of the post, you’ll see that I rated it lower on the quality and design aspect but it still made second place due to its sheer accessibility and price range.
And…
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*drum-roll*
No. 1
Maybelline
Was there any doubt? They have been in the business for a hundred years as of 2015; if there’s a makeup booth in any hypermarket, supermarket, mall, drugstore etc there’s definitely a Maybelline booth. Maybelline has also some of the best products in terms of quality for the price. And Maybelline’s booths anywhere in the country always has some kind of sales and/or discounts! ALWAYS! At any given point, one product or another would be either marked down in price or offered a purchase with purchase discount. So Maybelline takes the top spot for me!
Ratings Table (Preference based on a 5 point scale)
Honourable mentions;
ZA – It is a very Asian inspired makeup brand and like IN2IT not that popular a brand. But ZA is among the more affordable drugstore makeup brands in Malaysia and they carry skin care products too!
Cathy Doll – Very VERY elusive brand but with very affordable makeup! Thailand based makeup brand.
FiercePaint 