I really want to try to be adventurous and experience new brands and innovative beauty products in order to really propel my knowledge on the subject as well as discover new and interesting things to slap on my face...but hey lets face it-this is no established beauty blog nor am I a beauty guru on YouTube. It's rather expensive to expand the daily essentials I have used over and over again. But for those of you with no 'special' skin requirements who want to try some of the products I use and not break the bank, then definitely give this a read...
- The first thing I want to review is something that I bought recently to try and that is the 'Lash Accelerator' by Rimmel. Now this item is not an essential for me however I will probably purchase it again as I truly believe I can see results. I bought this because I am...........a mascara addict. Yep, my go-to make up is definitely mascara and I noticed that my lashes were falling out and becoming extremely thin. I started to panic and frantically began researching serums that would help. This product was the cheapest I found that retails for around £10, but I bought mine for around £6 off Amazon. Its simple to use with its pointed brush tip for the lash line and spoolie wand for the lashes. In my opinion, it should only be used at night or during those I-am-not-going-out days as it's tacky and clumps your lashes together. What I noticed (and no this was no placebo as others noticed too) was that my lashes appeared longer even after 2 days of use. I use it almost every day and believe it is helping towards the growth of my lashes. It also contains castor oil which is a highly recommended home remedy for lash growth. Now, this product does seem to be slowing in its results; I no longer see such a rapid change but rather a consistent (perhaps a very slow increase of growth over time) appearance of my lashes. It is by no means life changing however it is good for those who wear plenty of mascara and need that extra help sometimes.
- Onto my favourite foundation. I have an uncommon pale-ish olive/brown/tan skin (it's a whole Dulux paint palette) but with the added problem of uneven skin tone and dark circles around my eyes. Pfft and people tell me because I am 20 I should have perfect skin *rolls eyes*- I was born this way goddamnit! I, like many others, find it extremely difficult to find foundation in my skin tone. Even beauty staff at stores find it difficult to match me. BUT when I found out about No.7's Match Made service where a special device tells you what shade you are in their brand I thought- This.is.genius. I got them to match the more tan part of my face and got the right shade! It's been the best full coverage and affordable foundation I have tried yet. The more full coverage liquid foundation I have is the 'Stay Perfect' foundation which is thicker and more creamy. I loved it so much that I bought the 'Beautifully Matte Light' foundation too which is a medium coverage but much lighter and less oily on the skin. The oiliness didn't matter too much to me even though I have oily skin as I always use a mattifying powder after. It retails for around £15.
- My second favourite foundation for a more casual look as it is more for light coverage is the Maybelline 'Dream Matte Mousse'. This has been a foundation I have been buying since I was about 15. It blends really well as the consistency is smooth and velvety so the texture is easy to manipulate. They have less shades in stores now so I buy mine online- and it has been consistently the same shade. It goes from dry looking to dewy for me as my oily skin changes it, so it works really well in looking 'youthful'.
- I don't tend to be picky with blemish concealers but for my under eyes I need something that is moisturising so not to create lines and wrinkles or dry out such a sensitive and tender part of my face. I first like to use Garnier's 'eye Roll-on' which is under £5 and contains caffeine. It is smooth to apply with the roller ball top and light and thin to touch (more light than a cream). This is a good moisturising base and perfect light concealer to leave as it is or build upon; sort of like a BB cream just for your eyes. As my under eyes are so dark (which may have something to do with the fact that I am basically nocturnal) I like to then top it up on top of that with 'True Match-the concealer' by L'oreal (about £7). I buy this in a lighter shade and use it on top as it is thicker and provides a fuller coverage without clogging my under eyes up with cakey product.
- For a bold lip I usually grab my Barry M 'Lip Paint Genie' which retails for about £5. I was first attracted to it because it's bright green!!!! I had to try it on- turns out it changes to a shade (varying slightly according to your natural lip colour) of highly pigmented rich pink. I wear this all year long and it lasts ages too as it is a lip stain. It is not at all drying like a lot of lip stains and is in actual lipstick form. The colour suits most skin tones in my opinion but is very bright and difficult to remove so be aware.
- Last but not least- my all time favourite drugstore brand of mascara is Max Factor 'False Lash Effect' which is around £8. I also have the same mascara but with 'Fusion' added on the end so that they can charge it higher because it is so popular, but I haven't noticed any difference in overall effect. The actual formula of mascara is rarely ever ground breaking; it is the wand that is the most important factor! I have moderately small (horizontally across), rounded eyes. This thick, extremely bristled brush works perfectly for me. It brushes out and separates so well as well as making the lashes look thicker and longer. It is very build-able so that you can get your desired look without feeling like you have applied too much and now you have spikes for eyelashes. This is because the formula is not too wet and the brush does not pick up a lot of the product so you have to keep dipping it. Thus, it runs out quite fast compared to other mascaras but it is totally worth it for the results.
I know that ever since Instagram, Pinterest and Tumblr we all see more of those high-end beauty brands, but even though that seems to be what everyone else is wearing, that's completely untrue. With a little research anyone can get the same results (or close enough) with other more cheaper brands. Hope this helped anyone looking for cheaper makeup products to try out!
xx
