Where to Spend and Where to Save|Makeup

You don’t always have to splurge on makeup but sometimes it’s worth it. 

I’ll be the first person to say that I love a good bargain especially when it comes to makeup because sometimes the price tags are just ridiculous, however I definitely think that there are certain items that deserve that extra bit of cash. As a rule I tend to buy mid-range products mainly because most of them are cruelty free and from smaller brands which is why they have the higher price tag.

Where to Spend

I spend the majority of my money on a good quality foundation, a bad base is just going to mess with the rest of your face and although there are some great high street versions they aren’t cruelty free and are often full of a lot more chemicals. My current favourites are New Cid Foundation and NARS Tinted Moisturiser, both around the £30 price mark but so worth it as they last a long time and create a great base for the rest of your make-up.

The other products that I tend to spend more money on are contour products mainly due to the fact that I am a pale girl and finding inexpensive contour products is a nightmare, most of them tend to make my face look muddy or orange. The more money you spend the better shade range there is so it’s easier for both paler and darker skins, I love Illamasqua Hollow and the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kits, Hollow retails at just under £20 whereas ABH for the whole palette is £40.  It sounds like silly money but both of these last a long time and have multiple uses.

Where to Save

You’ll be pleased to know that there are far more products that I tend to spend less on. Although there are lot’s of beautiful eye shadow palettes from high end brands there are also great shadows that won’t break the bank. Makeup Geek and Inglot are two of my favourites as they have a great shade range from neutrals, to brights, to shimmers all of them with great pigmentation, buttery texture and easy to blend plus each shadow is around £5 so you can easily build up your own palette without spending too much.

Concealer is a bit of a grey area as I love both high end and budget concealers however there are certainly some great inexpensive concealers so if you want to save some pennies I would highly recommend the La Girl Pro.Conceal it retails at around £5 has a fantastic shade range and highlights as well as conceals under the eyes.

If you need a snack while reading this I would suggest going now, plus maybe a cup of tea! 

Mascara is something that I used to spend a lot of money on, remember when I used to rave about the Clinique All About Eyes but since going cruelty free I realised that mascara’s are pretty much all the same, if you want super long full lashes then you’re going to have to get some falsies involved. For a mascara that doesn’t smudge but adds some length and volume Soap&Glory is the perfect answer and at £10 it’s not going to affect your bank balance too much.

Blushers; I have to admit i’ve never used a high end blusher so i can’t really compare them but i’ve been using the Topshop Cream Blushers for forever and love them so keep buying them. Highlighter however is something that i’ve used both high end and high street and I have to say I prefer high street versions. Soap & Glory Peach Party at just over £10 is a great powder highlight which adds a warm glow, it’s not overly pigmented and blends easily. No7 Skin Illuminator again just over £10 is a great liquid highlighter especially if you want to mix it into your base for that lit from within glow.

Liquid eyeliner is another one that i’ve never really tried anything other than high street; Soap&Glory Supercat is highly pigmented, doesn’t smudge and as the name suggests is precise enough to do the perfect cat eye and at just over £5 how can you say no. Lastly lip products; i’m not a huge wearer of lipstick but I think seeing as there are so many in the world by so many different brands whats the point on spending lot’s of money on one when you can definitely find the same colour and formula at a cheaper price point. Obviously I own some high end lip products, Illamasqua i’m looking at you with your crazy colours! but I love Soap&Glory and No7 for more neutrals both under £10.

If you’ve made it down this far, congratulations! Let me know where you tend to spend or save when it comes to make up?!