Welcome to Drugstore Heroes, a monthly series in which we spotlight the often-overlooked and underhyped drugstore beauty products that industry experts count on. We’re asking tastemakers, from editors to content creators and even celebs, to share their top recommendations for affordable yet effective products. Get ready to see the best of drugstore beauty, period.
Natalie Aguilar is a celebrity facialist, a dermatological and plastic surgery nurse, and the founder of N4 Skincare in West Hollywood. That means she has all the practical, hands-on experience of an aesthetician along with the cold, hard backing of a medical degree. She uses her almost 20 years of experience to keep her patients’ skin calm, clear, and camera ready. Yes, there is more than one celebrity among them.
As Aguilar is a true “skin therapist,” there’s no one more qualified to offer skincare recommendations. Lucky for us, it’s what she loves. She regularly shares her expertise as a global educator for others in the skincare industry. Today, she’s sharing her expertise with you, dear reader, in the form of the best budget-friendly products. This is Drugstore Heroes, after all, where only the most effective, skin-transforming products are plucked from the often-obscure aisles of the drugstore. Keep scrolling to see Aguilar’s top 10 recs.
How often do you use/recommend drugstore beauty products?
My phone is always on for my clients, even after hours. That being said, I am always receiving “skin-mergency” text messages, and while I can’t be there for them physically, I can be there for them while they navigate aisles at a drugstore. I think I send my clients to drugstores well over 15 times a week.
As a facialist and dermatological nurse, you’re an expert in aesthetics. What would you say to someone who thinks only expensive products are effective? In your experience, can drugstore beauty products make a real and visible difference in someone’s skin quality?
When I was a student in nursing school, I sold high-end, luxury products in department stores. I used to think, “It does not get better than this. I mean, these products are so expensive. You even feel rich putting them on,” but I was wrong! As I started to educate myself on ingredients, formulas, and, yes, even packaging, I started to realize one thing: Most of us let marketing decide for us. A $5 lip balm can absolutely be better than a $225 lip balm. It all comes down to the formula and not the brand or price.
It’s important to do your research. There are so many online tools that can compare products for you and break down ingredients for you. It’s always nice to find what works for—not against you or your beauty budget. Drugstore beauty products can make a difference in someone’s skin, hair, and makeup routine.
Any tips or tricks for navigating the drugstore beauty aisles and finding high-quality products?
I like drugstore beauty shopping because you have the space and time and can shop the aisles in peace. But you don’t have the support you would have at a beauty department store or the guidance you would have with your facialist or aesthetic practitioner. One piece of advice I have is [this]: If you are not sure, just don’t buy it. Say no, take a photo, and go home and do your research. There are so many research tools available online. There are also many influencers who make videos on product reviews. So take your time to review products before making a purchase.
Aguilar’s Favorite Drugstore Products
“As an aesthetician, I wash my hands at least 30 times a day. Not only do I use beautiful, luxurious products, but I also use disinfectants and several exfoliating acids as well as frequent glove donning. Clients always ask me if the skin on my hands is flawless because of all the good products I use, but the truth is my overwashed and overworked hands need help throughout the day.
“I always have a bottle of Cetaphil Restoraderm Eczema Rapid Relief Cream with me at all times. One of the star ingredients in this cream is 2% colloidal oatmeal, which is hard to find. Most products that include colloidal oatmeal are usually 1%. Colloidal oatmeal is very soothing, provides itch relief, and reduces inflammation. This cream not only gives my hands and body skin relief, but it also repairs, strengthens, and provides irritation relief. It has helped me soothe weird little rashes here and there. It doesn’t sting, and my skin instantly feels relief. I also love that it has no fragrance or color.”
“I fell in love with zinc-based diaper creams after having a baby—like obsessed! I would see these skin irritations would be gone almost instantly. So it quickly became a mandatory staple in my house and now in many of my clients’ homes as well. Sometimes, clients text me with eczema patches, scratches, allergic reactions, skin sores, or bug bites. I immediately send them a photo of Boudreaux’s Butt Paste Max Strength, the red tube, because it has 40% zinc oxide, and if it’s safe for a baby, well, it’s definitely safe for our skin. Zinc oxide forms a protective barrier that protects skin and reduces redness and irritation. Zinc oxide also has natural antibacterial properties. Just make sure to use a thin layer, as zinc paste can spread. And don’t use it if you have a zinc oxide allergy or an allergy to any of the ingredients in this product.”
“I can’t live or function with dry lips. It would be my biggest nightmare to be somewhere where I don’t have access to a hydrating lip product. I don’t even own actual lipstick, so when I stumbled across Cocokind Ceramide Lip Blur Balm at a drugstore, it was like finding water in the desert. I read ‘ceramides, peptides, smoothing, and designed for sensitive lips’, and it had color? I bought one because I was skeptical at first. Then I read it had no fragrance, no petrolatum, no lanolin, no essential oils, and no flavor!
“After using this lip product, I couldn’t wait to go back to the drugstore and get more colors. My lips look fuller without the drying out, tingling, or burning that many lip products cause, with just a tiny pop of natural color. It has become my go-to, and it is way more affordable than many of my high-end lip-smoothing products.”
“As I’ve mentioned, dry lips are my biggest pet peeve, but chapped lips are a true nightmare. When traveling, different climates make the skin on my lips feel different things. My lips tell me everything I need to know about what the rest of my skin will face.
“The minute I feel my lips going into overdrive and heading toward chapped territory, I reach for my Blistex Medicated Lip Ointment. This is a drugstore staple that I have purchased for many years. I buy this before I need it and keep it in my skincare bag in case of emergencies. I prefer the ointment because I love how it seals. I also find that friends and family I’m with need to borrow it too, so it’s cleaner and easier to squeeze out and share with them. The camphor in the balm instantly soothes and distracts you from discomfort while sealing in moisture to prevent further dryness and irritation.”
“Avène Cicalfate+ Restorative Protective Cream is a cream that my family and I go through like no other drugstore beauty product. I believe we go through a tube every two weeks. My daughter not only has sensitive skin, but she is frequently scraping her skin during outdoor play. My husband comes inside the house with rashy arms and hands after cleaning the pool or mowing the lawn, and nothing soothes us or puts these rashes and scrapes behind us like Avène Cicalfate+. It’s also equally amazing post-sun or post-ski!
“It prevents that flaky, compromised barrier. I also recommend this cream to my clients undergoing chemo and radiation or who are on medications that make them sensitive to most skin products. This unique cream is formulated with Avène thermal spring water, a copper–zinc sulfate complex, and C+-Restore, which is a postbiotic. Postbiotics are beneficial ingredients created by good bacteria that help support the skin barrier and calm irritation. Redness, irritation, and scrapes feel better almost immediately.”
“Vanicream Gentle Facial Cleanser is a predictable, simple, and bland staple. I often recommend this cleanser during after-hours when clients text me in a panic that they are out of cleanser, used too much retinol and are now irritated, tried a new product and are having irritation, or had a laser or beauty treatment somewhere and want a gentle cleanser stat. Straight to the drugstore they go.
“After using it, they often keep it stocked on their beauty shelves in case an emergency strikes again. I have this in my shower because my neck is sensitive to hair shampoo and conditioner, so I always wash my neck thoroughly with this cleanser. This cleanser doesn’t sting or burn, and I say predictable because it’s as gentle and bland as a face wash can get. It cleanses the skin while keeping our pH balanced and is good for all skin types, from eczema to acne prone.”
“Vanicream Moisturizing Cream, like its cleanser, is a great moisturizer that never fails when clients are in desperate need of a moisturizer. Formulated without irritants or fragrance, it is deeply hydrating, soothing, and locks moisture into the skin’s barrier. It can be used head to toe and makes a wonderful hand cream as well because it is not greasy. I am always comfortable recommending this cream to clients, especially those with sensitive skin. I recommend getting the jar with the pump to avoid sticking your hands in it.”
“Nothing complements great skin better than a bright smile. I love getting my teeth professionally whitened, but to maintain a bright smile, a product that I often return to the drugstore for is Crest 3D Whitening Strips. They are so easy, quick, not messy, and they work! I do a strip a week.”
“I am self-conscious of my dry hands. When my hands are dry, they are uncomfortable and look horrible. Every now and then, I go to bed wearing a pair of Aquaphor Advanced Therapy Repairing Hand Masks. They force me to go to bed and not use my phone. Then, before falling asleep, I take them off and massage the remaining product into the skin. I love how my hands feel after, especially how they look in the morning. They are easy to put on and contain shea butter, avocado oil, and chamomile extract. A bit harder to find but a true drugstore beauty gem.”
“I am team SPF forever! I usually have three different sunscreens in my bag. However, I once forgot to pack SPF on a trip, and to the drugstore I ran. I was so nervous to go to the drugstore and to buy a sunscreen. I am used to the high-end, quality, pricer versions that I have on my retail shelf. But to my surprise, there were plenty of clean, mineral-based sunscreens available.
“One that stood out was Prequel Mineral SPF 50 PA++++. Upon application, I was surprised at how lightweight, nongreasy, clean, and comfortable it felt. It has plenty of recognition by the National Eczema Association, National Psoriasis Foundation, and is accepted by the National Rosacea Society. Its formulation is hypoallergenic, nonfragrant, and is noncomedogenic. It didn’t leave my face white or greasy, and since then, it has been my drugstore SPF recommendation.”
Natalie Aguilar’s 10 desert-island drugstore products cost just $173.
