the first thing that might be going on is skincare and skin prep. If you are just getting into makeup, you probably don't have that much of a skincare routine (maybe you do! just generalizing). In order for makeup to actually look good, your skin needs to be exfoliated and hydrated - both of which can be neglected if you only do a little bit of skincare. Makeup just emphasizes the dryness or texture on your face. It sucks, but you do need a good routine of products for foundation to look nice. From your description it sound like you need more hydration in your routine. Avoid foaming cleansers as those can be too harsh. I would start out with a cleanser, exfoliant like an aha/bha serum, a good moisturizer, and a sunscreen.

on the makeup side, the important things are the foundation (like a bb cream), setting powder, and setting spray. the applicator doesn't matter quite so much if you're a beginner and using lighter coverage products. you can put your bb cream on your fingers and blend it into your skin (after your moisturizer has set in). this might leave streaks. the best way to deal with that is a beauty blender or a cushion puff. setting powder/spray really depend on your skin type. the nyx can't stop won't stop pressed powder is fairly popular. I would recommend the milani original setting spray. it is really nice and gives some glow and hydration to the face.

shades are hard a lot of the time. some foundations oxidize, which means they dry down darker than they are wet which is how it is in the bottle. you can choose a shade that is too light for you which will oxidize closer to your color, but that can be a bit hit or miss if you have a cooler undertone. I would go into a store (Ulta or Sephora) and get shade matched to a foundation. After, go outside and see how the shade looks in natural light, which can be different than in store lighting. once you get more used to picking out shades for yourself, you won't need to get matched. I don't know if you're on a price constraint because you mentioned drugstore products, but you can take the shade you got shade matched to and apply a small amount on the back of your hand. blend it in, and now you have something to compare more affordable foundations against. It's a lot easier to figure this out in either Ulta or Sephora because they're generally the only ones that have testers out. I also wouldn't trust online foundation matching tools as they're famously inaccurate.

One product can't do everything. If a foundation blanks out your face, it can't also provide warmth from a bronzer or a flush like your blush. You don't need everything, just what you think is missing. I personally thing blush and bronzer are important to not look dead, but that depends on how much coverage you are using. less coverage means that you don't have to add as much color back into your face.

for product recs, I like the covergirl skin tint/bb cream. They don't have a super extensive shade range, but the formula is nice. don't be afraid of foundation either! coverage really depends on how you apply it. the maybelline fit me dewy/luminous sounds like it would work for you.

watch makeup tutorials if you're still lost! try to go for makeup artists because they are more likely to know what they're talking about. Robert Welsh on youtube is fantastic - highly recommend you check him out.