Best of Drugstore: Blushers

If there’s one product that can instantaneously transform your make-up it has to be blush. Most make-up artists will tell you that your face make-up isn’t complete without a light sweeping of colour over your cheeks. I do believe that blusher can make my skin look healthy and radiant when it normally appears sallow and tired.

But finding the right blush to give you the desired effect you want can be tricky. No amount of technique can save your make-up from appearing chalky, oily or clown like. To help, I have compiled a few of my favourite blushers from the drugstore that will help you achieve the perfect blush look.

The Best Drugstore Foundations

Recently, I was going through my foundation collection and realised there was a fair few drugstore foundations lurking around in there. When it comes to foundations, I think the drugstore have got it pretty spot on and there is one that tailors to everyone’s skin type and desired finish. Today I am going to share with you a few of my faves, and you will realise that achieving flawless skin really isn’t that expensive.

Top 5 Drugstore Lip Colours for Spring

Following my recent blog post on my top 5 drugstore nail polishes for Spring, I thought it would only be right to dedicate a post all about my favourite lip colours. During the next couple of months, I like to wear a more natural look during the day. However, depending on my mood and outfit I always like to switch up my lip colour.

Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter – Tutti Frutti

A different twist on the usual pink shades of Spring has to be this orangey red shade by Revlon. If you aren’t familiar with these lip butters you definitely should be. Due to the formula of these products the colour intensity is very sheer. This is great for an orange shade in the Spring, as it is different but isn’t too intense and bold. At £7.99 these are a great product for keep your lips beautifully hydrated.

Buy it here: Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter

 

L'Oreal Paris Color Riche Exclusive Nudes - Barely Peach by Julianne Moore

This lip colour is absolutely beautiful. For me I love wearing it as a pinky nude shade, for those days where my skin is a little bit lighter. For all the beauties out there with pale skin, this would be the perfect pink that would enhance your lighter complexion. At £6.99 and a variety of different nudish pink shades, there is one to suit every skin colour and tone.

Buy it here: L'Oreal Paris Color Riche

 

No 7 Moisture Drench Lipstick – Rose Blush

During my time working in Boots as a No7 consultant I got very familiar with the brands own products. These lipsticks that No7 have created are absolutely amazing!! During a 9 hour shift I found myself only reapplying this lipstick 2/3 to maintain the vibrancy of the colour. At £9.99 these lipsticks in my opinion are a steal. Unlike many other lipsticks these add moisture into your lips similar to a lip balm. In particular I loved this bold pink colour for days where I wanted more of a statement lip.

Buy it here: No 7 Moisture Drench

 

Revlon Colorburst Matte Lip Balm – Elusive

A big trend last season that will for sure role onto Spring, is matte lips. I love the look of matte lips however I hate how drying matte lip products can be. However, with these matte lip balms that problem is solved. I absolutely LOVE these and cannot say enough good things about them. They are by far the most moisturising matte lip products I have ever tried and are worth every penny if you love matte lips just like I do. Elusive is a beautiful mid tone pink that will suit lighter to medium tone skins. At £7.99 I would definitely recommend trying these velvety matte lip balms for yourself.

Buy it here: Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm

 

Maybelline Colorsensational Elixir Lip

Last but certainly not least are the Colorsensational Elixir Lip products by Maybelline. Whether you are wearing these products on their own or over a lipstick or lip liner these are absolutely incredible and smell so good too! I could not pick just one colour for these lip products as each of them are absolutely beautiful in their own respect, however my most used colours have to be Blush Essence and Captivating Carnation. Individually these products cost £6.99, however currently at Boots they are on offer, at 3 for 2.

Buy it here: Maybelline Colorsensational Elixir Lip

 

Leave a comment below on your favourite lip colours for the Spring time. Until next time,

 

 

 

The Best Drugstore Dupes

Everyone loves a good bargain, especially when we feel we are getting something of high quality for such a low price. Because of this beauty dupes are becoming very popular. Pintrest is a great source of inspiration, and below I have gathered a few of my favourite beauty dupes from the site.

MAC VS NYX

Like many make-up lovers, I adore MAC. However, not everyone has money to spend excessively on the high end make-up, therefore I wanted to find dupes for the make-up brand and in particular there eyeshadows. No one can deny the pigmentation of their shadows is fantastic and you really are getting what you pay for. A single MAC eyeshadow can cost £13, whereas the NYX dupe costs only £2.95. That's 4 eyeshadows for the price of 1. Above similar colours can be shown, and the pigmentation of the shadows is fantastic for the price. Not only is the pigmentation great, the NYX eyeshadows are super easy to blend. What a steal!!

Smashbox VS NYX

The colour correcting primer by Smashbox is a beauty must. With a 4.7/5 rating on the smashbox website I couldn't not look for a dupe for this product. According to Pintrest, this primer by NYX does exactly the same job as it's more expensive alternate. At only a fraction of the price (£10) of the smashbox primer (£25.50), this is definitely one to try!

MAC VS Drugstore

Is there anything better than a new MAC lipstick? I LOVE the formulation and colour range of these lipsticks, however what I don't love is the price. Setting me back £15.50 for a single MAC lipstick, I have been on the hunt for cheaper alternatives. Especially when it comes to night's out and not wanting to lose a lipstick you had to take a loan out for, or wanting to try new colours and see if they suit you, these dupes are perfect! The price of the lipstick dupes above do vary depending on brand, however are all a lot more affordable than the more expensive alternative. 

Make-up Forever VS Revlon

In 2015, Make-up Forever products really took off and were sold out almost everywhere I looked. Debenhams introduced these products to their site last year, and the HD PhotoReady foundation in my shade was sold out every time I looked. I was prepared to spend £29 due to the hype around this foundation however due to it not being in stock I had to look for an alternate. When researching dupes for this foundation I stumbled across the PhotoReady foundation by Revlon, which I already had in my make-up collection but had never used. This foundation does what it says, my skin looked healthy and radiant due to the light reflecting pigments it had within, and it gave me a flawless coverage which photographed beautifully. Slightly pricey for drugstore foundation, at £12.49 I think this is great cheaper alternative for those who love the Make-up Forever HD foundation!

MAC VS ELF

A great alternative for the MAC setting spray which retails at £17 is the elf make-up mist and set. At only £5 this is a definite steal!!

Benefit VS Drugstore

A brand I have loved for years is Benefit so when I found dupes for the products they have I was super excited!! Compared to the Benefit products above that range in the price region of £20-£30, the drugstore alternatives come at only a fraction of that cost. In particular, the ELF eyebrow kit is absolutely fantastic and I have kept it in my make-up kit for years. No matter what other eyebrow products I go to I always find myself going back to it.  

Benefit VS Maybelline

As I stated above, Benefit is one of my all time favourite brands that I have loved for years. The "They're Real" mascara that Benefit sells is absolutely incredible and really does transform your lashes. Not only does this give lift, definition and drama, this mascara is so amazing that you don't even need to wear false lashes!! At £19.50, this is definitely a splurge item, however because mascaras should be changed every 3 months due to hygiene reasons, this is an expense that we all can try to avoid. My alternate has to be the "Falsies Volume Express" by Maybelline. On Ebay you can grab this mascara for under £5 which means you could buy a years supply of this mascara for the cost of one Benefit mascara. By applying multiple coats of this mascara you will be able to create a similar look as created by the Benefit mascara.

High End VS Drugstore Blushes 

Finally, I wanted to add in some of the blush dupes I found on Pintrest. Although the alternate of the Benefit blush was listed as MAC Peachy Keen, there are loads of drugstore alternatives out there that can be used instead if the MAC blush is too expensive. However, the other 3 comparisons are all very affordable and all cost under £10. 

My Holy Grail Products of February

Today I come to youse with a slightly different blog post. Personally, one of my favourite types of blog posts that I like to read is monthly favourites. These posts give me an idea of different products to try out and may also love.

Although some of these products I have been using and loving longer than just this month, I thought I would include them since this is my first monthly favourites. As always I will split these products into categories, letting you know if they are budget friendly or more of a "spoil yourself" product.

Stashing the Cash

Ben Nye Neutral Set Colourless Powder

By far this is my number 1 must have product that I refuse to change in my makeup routine. I am a girl that suffers from a super oily face, so powders are my saviour in life. Although I find myself reapplying every 3/4 hours, this powder makes your foundation look FLAWLESS. Suitable for any skin type or shade, this translucent powder will blow out anything you've used before. When I worked as a make-up artist in Boots, so many people would compliment and ask me what they secret was to a flawless base; and this is it!! I seriously cannot say enough good things about this powder, and what is even better for an 8oz tub it only costs £12.50! What a bargain.

http://www.gurumakeupemporium.com/epages/BT4080.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/BT4080/Products/308%5B7%5D

 

L'Oreal True Match Foundation

My next favourite for sure has to be the L'Oreal true match foundation. At £9.99, this foundation comes in a range of cool, neutral and warm shades that will suit any skin tone. This foundation is medium coverage but can be built up to give a flawless full coverage finish without looking cakey. For my oily skin, this product lasts pretty well but I would definitely recommend a powder of some sort.

http://www.boots.com/en/LOreal-Paris-True-Match-Foundation_16049/

 

Maybelline Brow Drama Sculpting Mascara

Similar to the Benefit Gimme Brow mascara, this product is fantastic and better than the expensive alternative in my opinion. At a fraction of the price, you can grab this at Boots for £4.99 and set those brows in place. Unlike the rival, this product doesn't dry out as fast, and really coats each individual brow hair. A must for your makeup bag!

http://www.boots.com/en/Maybelline-Brow-Drama-Sculpting-Mascara_1365297/

Eylure False Eyelashes

An absolute must for my makeup collection is having a stash of false eyelashes. By far my favourites have to be by the brand eylure which you can find at Boots, varying around the £6 mark. My favourite styles a the moment have to be the 143 for everyday use and the 141 for night time. Both of these eyelashes exaggerate the eyes and gives the most beautiful look. I would definitely try these lashes out if you are falsies lover like myself!

http://www.boots.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SolrSearchLister?storeId=10052&langId=-1&catalogId=11051&stReq=1&searchTerm=eyelure+lashes#container

Splashing the Cash

Hoola Matte Bronzer

Seen in my contour and highlighting blog post, a favourite of mine has to be the Hoola bronzer by Benefit. This ashy tone contour shade is perfect for my skin shade and gives me the most beautiful sun kissed glow. However, what is not so pretty is the price of this product. At £23.50, this item is definitely a splurge item for me, although the actual product itself is beautifully packaged and lasts a long time.

https://www.benefitcosmetics.com/uk/en-gb/product/hoola-matte-bronzer

Versace Eros Pour Femme Perfume

Of course I had to include my favourite fragrance of the month! Recently I have been reaching for this perfume, and at the higher end of the price scale, I am not too generous when I spray this on myself. Ranging between £50 to £95, this product smells absolutely beautiful: mixing both sexy and classy. On the website, the scent is described as "An alchemy of tempting, bright and feminine notes. A refined accord of lemon and jasmine, exalted by sensual and smooth woods."

http://www.boots.com/en/Versace/Ladies-Fragrances/Eros-Pour-Femme/

Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette

When I can be bothered applying eye shadow, this month the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette has been a winner for me. With more cooler tones feature in this palette, both matte and sparkly, this product has created the most gorgeous smoky eye looks I have sported on many nights out this month. My favourite shades of this palette have to be Pistol (light gray-brown with shimmering finish) and Verve (oyster with shimmering finish). This palette retails online for £38.50 but is worth every penny!

http://www.feelunique.com/p/Urban-Decay-Naked-2-Palette?curr=GBP&aff=mrn&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=naked%202%20palette&utm_campaign=Urban+Decay&mkwid=x54yrd9P_dc&pcrid=4201370470&pkw=naked%202%20palette&pmt=e&utm_content=x54yrd9P_dc|pcrid|4201370470|pkw|naked%202%20palette|pmt|be

Benefit The POREfessional Primer

Finally my last favourite has to be a long time goodie. Although pricey, for long lasting makeup that isn't going to sink into my pores, I have to recommend the POREfessional primer by Benefit. Costing £24.50, this is a brilliant product, that smooths pores before the application of makeup, and helps control oil and keep makeup in place. With a silicon base, this is perfect for my greasy skin, and gives me a nice finish even on it's own! Furthermore, this can be used for any skin tone or type out there and will leave your skin feeling silky soft.

http://www.feelunique.com/p/Benefit-The-POREfessional-PRO-Balm-22ml

And that's a wrap! Let me know if any of youse have tried any of these products before and what your thoughts were on them. If you have any recommendations of what I should try out, please feel free to leave a comment. Until next time,