A Cosmetic Chemist Shares Her Favorite Drugstore Products, Including a $5 Mascara

When Cincinnati cosmetic chemist Kelly Dobos says a product works, we trust her—and all the scientific knowledge she has to come to that conclusion. From a very personal, very hands-on attachment to Lip Smackers to the Neutrogena cleanser she’s used for years, these are the drugstore steals she swears by.

1 / 6

Neutrogena Fresh Foaming Cleanser ($7)

“I’ve been using this cleanser for years because the blend of gentle but effective surfactants that removes even my eye makeup without irritating or drying my skin.”

2 / 6

O’Keeffe’s Soothing and Calming Body Cream ($12)

“I slather on this cream every morning after my shower. This product contains an effective concentration of lactic acid, an alpha hydroxy acid, that helps smooth skin and stimulate cell turnover. We incorporate these kinds of ingredients in our facial skin care routines so why shouldn’t we be taking care of our body skin in the same way?”

3 / 6

Essence Cosmetics Lash Princess False Lash Effect Mascara ($5)

“At $4.99 a tube, this product is a real steal. The star ingredient in this formula is Nylon-12, a polymer microsphere that enhances pigment pay-off on lashes while significantly boosting lash volume.”

4 / 6

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel 3.0 Shiny Top Coat ($10)

“This patented top coat extends the wear of just about any brand of polish in my collection. Most importantly, it removes just like regular polish minimizing time and hassle.”

5 / 6

Lip Smacker Dr. Pepper Lip Balm ($6)

“Full disclosure, my first job as a cosmetic chemist was formulating for the Lip Smackers brand and I have some fond memories of my work there. I always left work smelling with strawberry, vanilla, or whatever other flavor I was working on that day. This flavored balm adds shine and contains just a hint of red pigments to add a little color to the lip.”

6 / 6

Batiste Original Dry Shampoo ($16)

“In addition to highly absorptive rice starch powder to control oils, this product also contains conditioning molecules distearyldimonium chloride and cetrimonium chloride.”

It's Personal

At NewBeauty, we get the most trusted information from the beauty authority delivered right to your inbox

hbspt.forms.create({ portalId: "8806970", formId: "a8aef9b2-6178-4dad-9e2a-98b7661febc2" }); Find a Doctor

Find a NewBeauty "Top Beauty Doctor" Near you

Select a state State AL AR AZ CA CO CT DC FL GA HI IA IL IN KY LA MA MD MI MN MO NC NE NJ NV NY OH OR PA SC TN TX VA WA WI Select a state Specialty Cosmetic Dentist Dermatologist Facial Plastic Surgeon Hair Restoration Specialist Oculoplastic Surgeon Periodontist Plastic Surgeon Prosthodontist Vein Specialist Select a state Treatment Abdominal thread lifts Accent your Body Acne Treatments Alexandrite Laser Arm Lift Asclera Bellafill Belotero Blue Light Body Body Lift Botox Botox Browlift Brachioplasty Brazilian Butt Lift Breast Augmentation Breast Augmentation with Fat Grafting Breast Implants Breast Implants with Saline Breast Implants with Silicone Breast Lift Breast Lift with Implants Breast Reconstruction Breast Reduction Browlift Butt Enhancement Carboxytherapy Cellulite Treatment Cheek Augmentation Cheek Augmentation with Fat Grafting Cheek Implants Cheek Lift Chemical Peels Chin Augmentation CO2 lasers Cool Lipo CoolSculpting CoolTone Crowns Dental Bonding Dental Implants Dimpleplasty Diode Laser Dysport embrace Active Scar Defense Emsculpt Endermologie Endoscopic Browlift Endoscopic Facelift Endoscopic Tummy Tuck Erbium Lasers Exilis Ultra 360 Eyelift Eyelift with Fat Grafting Face Facelift Facelift with Fat Grafting FaceTite Fat Melters and Fat Reducers Forma Fractional CO2 lasers Fractional Resurfacing Lasers Fractora Glycolic Peels Glytone Enhanced Brightening Cream Gum Dermabrasion Gum Lift Hair Hair Removal Hair Transplant Hair-Loss Treatment Injectables & Fillers for Cheek Augmentation Injectables & Fillers for Eyelift Injectables & Fillers for Lip Enhancement Injectables And Fillers Injectables and Fillers with Fat Grafting Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) Invisalign Isolaz Juvéderm Juvéderm Volbella Juvéderm Voluma Kybella Lactic Acid Peels Laser Liposuction Lasers Lateral Tension Tummy Tuck Limited Incision Facelift Lip Enhancement Lip Enhancement with Fat Grafting Lip Implant Lip Lift Liposculpture Liposuction Liquid Facelift Long Pulsed N: Yag laser Lower Blepharoplasty Lower Body Lift Lower eyelid surgery Lower Facelift MACS Lift Mandelic Peels Microdermabrasion Microinjection Microneedling Microwave Laser Treatment Mini Tummy Tuck Mini-Facelift Mommy Makeover Nd: Yag Neck Liposuction Necklift Nonsurgical Facelift Nonsurgical Rhinoplasty Obagi Blue Peel Otoplasty Perlane Phenol Peels Photobiomodulation Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) Photofacial PiQo4 Plasma Resurfacing Lasers Power Assisted Liposuction Prevelle Pulsed Dye Radiesse Radio Frequency with Microneedling Radio Frequency-Assisted Lipolysis Red Light Restylane Restylane Defyne Restylane Lyft Restylane Refyne Restylane Silk Revision Rhinoplasty Rhinoplasty Salicylic Peels SculpSure Sculptra Aesthetic Selphyl Silhouette Instalift Skin Skin Tighteners Skin Treatments Slim Lipo Smart Lipo SMAS facelift Smile Smile Makeover Smoothshapes Straightening Stretch Mark Treatments TCA Chemical Peels Teeth Whitening Thermage ThermiTight Thigh Lift Titan Tooth Contouring Traditional Facelift Tumescent Liposuction Tummy Tuck Ulthera Ultherapy Ultrasound Assisted Liposuction Umbilicoplasty Upper Blepharoplasty Upper eyelid surgery Vanquish ME VASER Lipo Vein Treatments Velashape Velasmooth Veneers Xeomin Search