I’m always looking for budget friendly winners. Ideas?
Ben Nye but that is probably not the kind of make-up you are asking about. They do make some that are more cosmetic than zombie but few people use it that I know of.
Visit makeupalley.com the virtual Disneyland for makeup users. Search for products, read reviews, ask questions. You will happily spend many hours there. 
There’s no brand that’s great for everything. CoverGirl’s LashBlast Mascara is the best I’ve found (all the varieties are good). Maybelline’s 24-hour Lipcolor is the best I’ve found. On the more boutique end, Missha’s BB cream is one of the originals, and superior to any other kind I’ve tried.
I have used a lot of L’Oreal products over the years. I always use their foundation and usually use their mascara. I always have a compact of Cover Girl pressed powder in my handbag, I like how it smells. Every once in awhile I’ll try something from one of the luxury brands, but they never impress me enough to feel that they’re worth the extra money.
ELF. It’s getting a lot of good reviews comparing their products with more expensive brands.
Sattua has it right- there’s really no single brand that’s good at everything.
It also depends strongly on what you’re going for. ‘Good’ means a lot of things.
Do you want something that is chemical or cruelty-free?
Do you want something you can consistently find on the shelf at the drug store?
Do you have a skin tone that is historically underserved by legacy brands?
Do you want something more muted and ‘skin-care’ oriented like b.b. or c.c. formulas, or do you want a heavy pigmented coverage for uneven skin?
Do you want foundations or concealers or eye makeup or lipsticks or brow fillers or mascaras or?
What forms do you like? Pencils or powders or creams or serums or kohls or oil-free formulas or long-lasting formulas or?
All those questions have to be answered, and the many possible different answers are going to lead you to very different brands and lines that will work for your specific preferences.
I don’t wear makeup very often, but for whatever reason within the past year I suddenly felt the urge to occasionally wear bold lipstick colors. I spent some time doing research online – there are a LOT of beauty blogs out there – and eventually bought a couple of Revlon lipsticks, a Maybelline, and a Wet n’ Wild from the grocery store cosmetics aisle.
I’m happy with everything I chose. The Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick is probably my favorite, and generally costs $5-$7. The Wet n’ Wild MegaLast matte lipstick is by far the cheapest (about $2), and I’d previously assumed that meant it was of poor quality. However, I decided to give it a try since I’d seen reviews saying it was actually pretty good. They were right. It can be a bit patchy, but a simple trick I learned online – put on some clear Chapstick and wait a couple of minutes – helps with that. It doesn’t come in as wide a variety of shades as other brands, but there’s decent variety and it’s a cheap way to try a new color.
The website Temptalia has a lot of photos and reviews of different makeup items. You can search by color. Temptalia also lets you look up a particular item and then find “dupes” (short for duplicates), or similar looking items from different brands. For instance, my Wet n’ Wild “Cherry Bomb” lipstick is considered a close match for several much more expensive lipsticks from high-end brands like MAC.
For drugstore: NYX
For counter: MAC
But really, Lamia is right. It really depends on what you want out of makeup.
Clinique for liquid foundation and powder. Plus the Clinique freebies you get with purchase at times. I count it as economic overall because the freebies balance out the good but slightly pricey things I’m willing to pay for. Most of the rest: the very economical Ulta.
I’ve been using Avon products for years. Skincare and makeup. Love it all! Avon also has some great sale prices.
Oh man, I came in here all ready to talk about the expensive brands I like until I saw “budget-friendly” in the OP, which I assume means drugstore. So now that I’m rearranging my head: Revlon Colorstay Lip Colors are the most long-lasting lipsticks I’ve tried from dozens of brands. Bare Maximum is my favorite color in that line. L’Oreal makes a tubing mascara that I love because it removes so easily in the shower and feels so comfortable on. And Maybelline makes wonderful foundations.
Oh yeah, Revlon ColorStay is well named lipstick. It’s almost like a semi-permanent stain. (This is a feature, not a bug.)
I rarely wear much makeup, but I’m partial to Illegal Lengths mascara, by that titan of drugstore cheapies, Maybelline. Dunno why I associate the brand with 15 year olds spending their allowance, but here I am, damn near 40 years old, having tried plenty of other mascaras … and Illegal Lengths is still my favorite. There’s no volumizing, so no clumps or the dread tarantula leg appearance. Just whispy but super long lashes, which to me looks realistic and therefore much better.
Like, my eyelashes are ALWAYS this long! flutter flutter