“You buy cheap, you buy twice.”
While one of my favourite mantras, this doesn’t always have to be the case when it comes to beauty. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my premium beauty products but I still appreciate a beauty bargain that delivers the goods. I mean, who doesn’t love a good deal?
Saying that though, with so much choice on offer, even high-street beauty can be a minefield. How do you know what to spend your hard-earned cash on so you don’t end up ‘buying twice’?
To help sort the wheat from the chaff, here are a few of my tried and trusted high-street picks…
1. Garnier Skin Perfector Daily All-In-One BB Blemish Balm Cream £9.99
A perfecting, all-in-one moisturiser, primer and base. It melts into the skin, making skin smoother, softer and more even with a sheer, luminous coverage. An SPF of 15 also helps protect the skin. It’s such good value that you can use it all day, every day, slapping it on as often as you want.
2. Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation £9.99
This gives a light, radiant, flawless finish that can be layered for a heavier coverage and lasts for up to seven hours. Having used it on the Strictly Come Dancing tour this year, I’ve really seen it put through its paces and still come out on top.
3. Garnier Skin Naturals BB Cream Skin Perfector Eye Roll-On £9.99
A firm fave of mine in my kit and my own makeup bag. It conceals dark circles and blurs fine lines simply and easily. The roller ball is cool, helping to reduce puffiness, and the liquid texture is light and hydrating so it doesn’t dry the area or cling to lines. It covers naturally without too much illumination, so not a dodgy panda eye in sight.
4. Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer £7.99
This one is also great under-eye with its creamy liquid texture, but it can also be used to cover any skin imperfections on top of your foundation/base. This rivals many premium concealers, offering a really good but natural coverage. Works perfectly with the Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation (above).
5. Sleek Face Form Contouring Kit £9.99
With contouring being right en vogue right now, the market is flooded with products to help you achieve the Kim Kardashian look. Here’s one that won’t break the bank, and if applied correctly, will give you a beautifully sculpted and defined appearance. Includes a powder blusher to boot.
6. Topshop Cream Blush £7
Fab cream-to-powder blush, easily applied to the apples of the cheeks with fingers, giving a natural, luminous, rosy glow.
7. Maybelline EyeStudio Color Tattoo 24hr Cream Gel Eyeshadow £4.99
I love these little pots of intense cream colour. Easy to apply with either fingertips or brush, the colour glides on effortlessly and then dries to a long-lasting, non-crease finish that doesn’t fade with wear.
8. Topshop Brow Pencil In Brown £6
I personally use this pencil and love the fact it is a two-in-one tool I can use to groom and sculpt my brows. The pencil itself is creamy and blendable, meaning I can get the natural look of an eyebrow powder with the precision of a pencil. Available in two colours.
9. Max Factor False Lash Effect Mascara £10.99
Despite many dalliances with premium mascaras, I always come back to this little bobby dazzler. It’s volumising, wrapping each lash right to the tip for a false-lash effect.
10. Barry M Nail Paint £2.99
Basically these are bargainous, good quality nail polishes. They come in a whole colour spectrum with varying finishes to suit every mood and taste. So if you change your polish as often as you change your pants then this range is for you. For a longer wear finish, try the ‘all-in-one’ Basecoat, Topcoat & Nail Hardener Nail Paint.
11. Palmer’s Cocoa Butter £4.15
An iconic beauty classic that softens, smoothes and relieves dry skin beautifully. Fact. I first started using this when I was a teenager (a loooong time ago) after reading in something like Just Seventeen that the model Lisa B used it and I haven’t looked back. My fella is always complimenting me on my soft skin. For anyone who doesn’t like the smell of cocoa butter, they also do a fragrance-free version, so you too can enjoy the benefits. Hurrah!
12. Blistex Intensive Lip Moisturiser £2.59
Nothing beats this product for intensive lip moisturisation. It helps relieve dry, cracked and chapped lips brilliantly, with a deep-down tingle leaving your lips soothed and refreshed. I use this on everyone during skin prep on jobs. It’s a lip lifesaver.
13. Bioderma Sensibio H20 100ml £5
This is a firm favourite of many a makeup artist as it’s a soothing, fragrance-free, non-rinse cleanser that perfectly removes makeup from the face and eyes. Formulated for sensitive skin, it’s fantastic at soothing and minimising redness, a must for most fashion week artists.
14. Simple Kind To Skin Facial Cleansing Wipes £3.25
I use these wipes on every job. They also come in handy on those late drunken nights when you just can’t be bothered to wash your face. Perfect for all skin types as they’re not drying or oily like many other wipes can be, I trust these even on the most sensitive cheeks.
15. Bourjois Paris Pencil Sharpener £3.49
Can be used for two sizes of pencil, has a shavings collector for minimal mess and guarantees you get the maximum usage out of your favourite pencils. Trust me, it might look like a small insignificant thing, but keep this in your makeup bag and you will no longer have sluglike, blunt-pencil brows or waste any product. Proper bargain. On so many levels.
@HeatherBmakeup
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