Best Everyday Products at Your Local Drugstore, Tested and Reviewed

We never leave the house without lip balm. And our top choice in tests was also our least expensive one.

Not all lip balms perform well under lipstick, but this one hydrated our lips without being goopy. We could easily layer lip liner, lipstick, and gloss on top with no problem.

This classic balm, packaged in the cutest packaging ever, was hydrating and smooth on our lips, and its scent was delicious enough to eat.

Use a detangling brush to gently remove knots from your hair without pulling on strands and causing damage.

This TikTok favorite was our top choice for curly hair. The traditional paddle brush is lightweight and comfortable in hand (and tops when it comes to detangling curls).

This brush was our top choice for thin, fine, or straight hair.

Many times, dry shampoo has saved our lives by refreshing our roots and giving our strands more volume without having to spend an hour shampooing, conditioning, and drying our hair.

This was our top pick in tests because it absorbed grease and oils exceptionally well, blended in with different hair colors (nothing worse than white residue from dry shampoo), and its scent was light but not overpowering.

Klorane was our choice for the most absorbent dry shampoo, but it worked best on dark hair. Our lighter-haired testers found that it temporarily altered their hair color.

A good hair gel is a must for anyone with curly hair who wants a great hair day free from frizz.

This gel is thick, difficult to dispense, and a little gloppy, but it produced curls that were soft and moisturized, and lasted two to three days.

This coconut-scented gel was the least expensive one we tested and gave our testers soft, mostly frizz-free curls. It was also great for refreshing braids and perm rod curls.

Curls, coils, and waves need a fantastic hair mousse to keep them lively and manageable.

Our testers were enamored with this mousse’s ability to create defined waves and curls by simply applying it and scrunching their hair. Be careful, though: A lot of mousse comes out of its pump, and application can be messy.

The lightweight foam mousse gives good curl definition and keeps frizz at bay, but it’s not the best pick if you desire perfect day-two hair.

While it’s true that many great makeup brushes are pricey (and can’t be found at drugstores), one of these two picks was also our cost-conscious runner-up in testing.

We found E.L.F. makeup brushes to have soft bristles that don’t shed and lightweight handles. And you can’t beat their prices.

These brushes aren’t as densely packed as some others, and a few bristles became straggly and uneven during testing, but they have soft bristles and are perfect in a pinch.

Cut down on plastic packaging and go old-school clean with one of these top-rated bar soaps.

Dove was one of our longest-lasting soaps in our tests, lathered well, smelled clean, and fit in our tester’s travel case.

Although this soap left our tester’s skin feeling kind of “slick,” it was the second best at dissolving (which means it will last longer) and was comfortable to hold.

This bar soap’s scent is nostalgic for many, and our tester found that it lathered well and didn’t strip her skin of moisture; however, it was our worst performer in the dissolving tests.

With so many razors on the market, it can be tough to choose. These two were comfy to hold and removed hair without having to run over skin more than once.

Our runner-up has a very comfortable grip and five blades that don’t tug at hair, and it comes with a wall holder.

This five-bladed razor’s handle is nicely weighted, is comfortable to hold, features a wide lubricating strip, and comes with a convenient shower holder.

Experts recommend using sunscreen daily, regardless of the season. We tested over 100 sunscreens for protection, smell, and feel. These three picks were among just 19 that we recommend.

With an Overall Score of 75 out of 100, this lotion has SPF 50 protection and is water-resistant up to 80 minutes.

Eucerin Advanced also has a score of 75 and features SPF 30 protection and a formula that includes antioxidants and hyaluronic acid.

If you prefer a spray sunscreen that’s widely available, this one has an Overall Score of 71, with an SPF of 50 and water resistance of up to 80 minutes.

Prevent annoying and itchy bites with one of our most highly rated insect repellents.

This 30 percent deet insect repellent has an Overall Score of 93 out of 100 and was found to offer excellent protection against mosquitoes and ticks. It can stain fabrics and other materials, though.

CR tested six paper towels, and these two Top Picks can be picked up at drugstores.

This popular paper towel earned the highest scores in our test for water absorbency, and it proved strong and durable, retaining its shape after cleaning some big messes like oatmeal. 

Even though Scott is a single-ply paper towel, it tied with Bounty in our tests as the best towel for picking up chunky messes, such as oatmeal. These are great paper towels to have on hand when big messes strike.

CR rigorously tested 10 of toilet papers and found that these two are soft and strong.

It’s not the cheapest choice, but Cottonelle is a two-ply toilet paper described as “velvety” soft and strong.

This super-soft three-ply toilet paper is thick and performed well in our tests, but was also described as “lint-y” by our tester.

Cold and flu season is no match for these facial tissues.

These popular tissues were a top scorer in softness (which is good news for your nose), but weren’t the strongest or most absorbent in our tests.

Despite being available only at Target, these tissues are a fantastic, budget-conscious three-ply option that comes in really pretty boxes you won’t mind displaying.

Everyone needs a good set of sponges in their kitchen to tackle messes on pots and pans, dishes, and glasses. We were happy to find our Top Picks at drugstore stores.

This extremely popular and readily available sponge has a nice-to-hold S-shape and scrubby side made from 100 percent recycled plastic. It lacked the scrubbing effectiveness of the Skura, but was one of our top choices for cleaning wineglasses.

Our tester found these pretty sponges to be lightweight and comfortable to hold, with an effective scrub side for tough jobs and some pretty cool tech: The sponge’s scrub side fades in color when it’s time to replace your sponge.

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is the brand most people think of when it comes to melamine cleaning sponges, and it lives up to its reputation: It quickly removed messes (even crayon) and has a textured side for tougher jobs.

Use multitasking Magic Eraser Sponges on walls, tile, baseboards, grout, and even dirty white sneakers.

Multipurpose cleaning wipes can be used on so many surfaces (like baby furniture, counters, and desks). These two choices were our first and second favorites.

These thick wipes may be on the drier side, but they were excellent at cleaning a variety of surfaces and messes and smelled great.

These large 10x12-inch cleaning wipes were tough, durable (we could even reuse them), and excellent at deep cleaning.

For those times when soap and water won’t cut it, these disinfectant wipes help kill germs while effectively cleaning surfaces.

You won’t have trouble finding these widely available wipes. They were easy to remove from their tube and cleaned some areas well, but they’re also on the thinner side and have a strong chemical lemon scent.

These thick wipes had a more subtle scent and performed well in all our tests.

Out of the 11 multipurpose cleaners CR tested, these two impressed us with their ability to handle sticky messes and stainless steel.

This pick meets the Environmental Protection Agency’s Safer Product Standards, excels at cleaning up greasy messes, and features a “power nozzle” that provides more control over the amount of spray emitted.

This cleaner performed best on stainless steel appliances (with no streaks!) and boasted a transparent ingredients label, as well as recognition from the EPA’s Safer Choice program.

With abrasive ingredients that tackle rust, soap scum, burnt-on foods, and mildew, powder cleansers are a must-have product to keep in your cabinet for cleaning day.

Our editor’s choice produced noticeable cleaning results without leaving streaks behind on surfaces. Even better: All but one of its ingredients are included in the EPA’s Safer Chemical Ingredients List.

CR advocates using a separate glass cleaner to tackle mirrors and windows in order to avoid streaky messes.

Our No. 1 favorite glass cleaner was Sprayway, which dazzled us with an ammonia-free formula that cuts through dirty mirror messes without leaving streaks. We do wish the can were transparent, though, in order to see how much product is left.

If you don’t mind its ammonia base, Windex is probably the most popular glass cleaner and one we found to be the most versatile. We tested it on mirrors, stovetops, windows, and glass shower doors, and it made all these surfaces spotless.

Our favorite vinegar-based glass cleaner rivaled the original Windex in its cleaning effectiveness, and its fresh vinegar scent didn’t linger.

Tile and grout are notoriously difficult to clean, but these grout cleaners make the job much easier.

Once you get over the smell of bleach (which is strong with this product), you’ll appreciate how easy it is to use and how squeaky-clean it leaves grout.

So many laundry detergents out there, so little time to see which is best. Let us help: This one was a top performer in our tests.

These pods were above average at removing stains in our tests (they even removed dirt and salad dressing stains) and are a solid choice if eliminating unpleasant odors is a top priority. 

Spoiler alert: One of these top laundry stain removers removed stains even better than laundry detergent in our tests.

This is a highly effective laundry stain remover that effectively removes most stains. However, we recommend allowing it to soak into stubborn stains overnight for optimal results.

This spray costs more than all the others we tested, but it was also the best of the best: It removed stains in just 5 minutes and even tackled chocolate ice cream stains with efficiency.

A staple in the kitchen, a great dish soap gets the job done without drying out our hands.

Dawn produced a satisfying sudsy lather, cleaned like a dream, and boasts one of the most noticeable clean scents that we can only call iconic.

This soap created long-lasting suds, and was lightweight and easy to handle, but it did leave our tester’s hands dry after use.

Whether you’re roasting chicken or baking biscuits, you need a good package of aluminum foil that won’t rip or leak.

This refillable option costs a little more upfront, but it features a built-in cutter that cleanly cuts through our foil, and the box is compatible with your preferred aluminum foil.

A great plastic wrap is strong enough not to rip the second you put it to good use—these two picks aced our puncture tests.

We were blown away by Stretch-Tite, which proved to be the strongest wrap we tested in our labs. It adhered beautifully to bowls and foods, didn’t leak, and ripped cleanly from the roll, thanks to a built-in cutter.

This unique, strong plastic wrap could be reused several times without ripping or losing its shape, and it didn’t leak. It is more difficult to remove from its packaging than many other wraps, though.

We tested gels, packs, pods, and tablets in our comprehensive dishwasher detergent tests.

This one was the most effective dishwasher detergent we tested among pods and gels, and it excelled at cleaning dishes and resisting water spots, film, and discoloration.

These dishwasher pods achieved above-average results in our tests and performed well in resisting film and water spots.

These trash bags were our Walmart winner and editor’s choice in our extensive lab tests, which tested for strength and drawstring quality.

Our Walmart winner wasn’t just a great value (true to its name) but was also strong and durable.

These bags from Simplehuman were the strongest when filled with water, and surpassed all others in our tests when it came to resisting blunt and sharp objects.