Vesta made some really good points.
I have used Clinique for probably 30 years....primarily because of their sensitive skin line.
In the last 5-6 years....I have started using many of the drug store products when Clinique stopped making some of my favorite things...in particular an eye cream.
If you've read above....my skin is a real pain in the tush! If I walk through a spider web...which is quite common in my job, and also around the outside of my house since I live in the woods....I will rash up everywhere the web hit me. If I touch something with mold or mildew on it - or something that has gotten "bug-y"....very common with lockboxes...and then touch my face....I welt where my fingertips touched....
I have gotten better about carrying Purell in the car and using it after going in a foreclosure or messing with a lockbox.
In any event....I started using Neutrogena products. I really, really like them. Also Aveno.
Neutrogena has a liquid moisturizer with a 15 sun screen, Daily Skin Saver that I have used for years. I mix a bit of it with a dab of Neutrogena anti-acne/anti-aging (it's in a tube) and spread it all over my face. It has a bit of salicylic acid in it. I do still use two Clinique products for skin tone evening out, and anti-gravity cream - on top of the other. Only reason I'm still using them is, though they are quite expensive, one bottle will last a minimum of 6 months and one jar will last me for close to a year. I can justify the costs that way.
I keep flipping around on the eye cream....I go back and forth between a Clinique(a cream), the Fructis roller ball, and an Aveno liquid. I sleep in my contacts, and my eyes tend to be swollen when I wake up and all of those are "puffiness reducers". I did buy a L'Oreal product that is two products in one container. I like what it did for the skin around my eyes...but it make little bumps too...
Neutrogena has the best eye concealer that I have tried other than Clinique...again there is the huge cost difference.
I have stuck with Clinique loose powder, as it lasts a long time, and it's all I put on my face. Then I flip around with different L'Oreal blushes.
I have used Cover Girl or L'Oreal mascaras and eyeshadows for years. Can't really tell the difference in them from the Clinique. They are less than half the price, and have a good color selection. Neutrogena has started making eyeshadow and liner, I have one of each and like them....though I prefer the eyeshadow over the liner. I don't take them off before going to bed (hate oily eye makeup remover and so do my contacts) and none of them smear all over my pillowcase or my face while sleeping.
I still like Clinique lipsticks the best, but usually will pick up a L'Oreal. Cover Girl makes me look like I got bad Botox injections..
L'Oreal has a good "stain" lipstick with a glosser. I don't really care for the glosser, but the stain stays on forever, and I use a different glosser. It does dry my lips out so, I tend to use it when going out to dinner or something rather than just running around.
I use the Dove cleansing cloths for Sensitive skin to wash my face with at night and the bar soap for washing my face in the shower and getting rid of eye makeup.
What works for one person, may not work for another, but at least with the "drug store" brands....if it doesn't work or you get a reaction from it....you haven't spent a whole bunch of money finding out it's not a good product for you.
The View and The Today Show w KathyLee and Hoda....both shows frequently do segments comparing the drug store brands with "designer" brands...and I believe they keep the info on their websites. Good place to find out about makeups, shampoos, lotions and potions.