Quite a bit of make up I have is middle to high end brands such as MAC, NARS, Chanel, Dior, Urban Decay, etc. Even though these brands are pretty good (and some of it is still hit and miss!) there are also plenty of brands that you can find at drugstores that only cost a fraction and are still as good. Since these products are a bit more hit or miss than the higher end stuff I have decided to share with you some of my favorite budget/ drug store make up products. These may not be available to everyone world wide, but I’m sure that with some googling/ help of Ebay you may be able to find these online. I have picked 5 products that I really like.
The 5 products
In the picture above you can see the 5 products I like best, I have taken close up pictures and will show you some swatches of each below.
Products featured:
– NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils
– Catrice Gel Eyeliner
– NYC Mosaice Face Powder
– ELF Mineral Lipstick
– Essence Smokey Eye Brush
NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils in Slate, Milk & Oyster
NYX Jumbo Pencils are the best low budget base shadows that I know. I have a bunch more of these, but I bought those before I knew what they were for. You can try wearing these on their own as eyeshadow but since they are super creamy they won’t last very long when you do. They work best as eyeshadow bases, i.e. a color that makes you other eyeshadow colors pop. For that you don’t need a gazillion colors. You can make do with Milk (a plain creamy white) and a dark one. My favorite dark one is Slate which is a deep dark charcoal gray. Some people also like Black Beans, but I find that only works well with silver eyeshadows. Since Slate is a bit lighter it is better for layering other colors underneath. These retails for 4 euros each.
Catrice Gel Eyeliner in Sherlock & Khaki Holmes, In Love with a Robot, Nautica
For me, Catrice Gel Eyeliners are up there alongside my MAC fluid lines AND my Bobby Brown Shimmer Ink. They are creamy, well pigmented and go on like a charm. These are the three I have and the dark brown with shimmer one is my favorite in the bunch. I love the texture and it has a bit more oomph than MAC’s fluidline in Dipdown which is my go-to brown eyeliner. There are 4 euros each.
NYC Color Wheel Mosaic Face Powder in Pink Cheek Glow
Whenever I feel like wearing a soft pink blusher, I automatically reach for this one. It’s a very subtle pink which gives you just enough color and a slight glow that makes you look healthy, but not too made up. That is definitely one think I love about this blush. The color is pretty, the texture is nice and soft and apart from the cheap packaging this looks like it could be a whole lot more expensive. The price is great too as this blush costs around 3 euros.
ELF Mineral Lip Sticks in Barely Bitten & Cool Coral
If there is one line where the make up can be quite hit or miss, it’s ELF (or Eyes Lips Face). It is however a cheap make up brand with products for as little as 1 euro. The mineral line is slightly more expensive (5 euros per product), but it definitely makes it worth the money. Barely Bitten is a very subtle red color that is great if you want to wear red, but not make it look too overdone. For me this lipstick gives me a lipstain effect without it being a lipstain. Cool Coral is a fairly dark neutral color that I think goes with many skin colors. The texture is creamy, the staying power is pretty good and all that for only 5 euros!
Essence Smokey Eye Brush
Ever since I bought this brush I’ve been loving it. The hairs are pretty dense, but not too much. I use this mostly for placing colors in my outer V and to define my crease. The dome shape and size of the brush give you plenty of control to precisely place colors. The darker bristles make it great for using with darker eyeshadows and it also works wonders for smudging liner on your lashline. And at only 1.79 euros I think this is a brush worth having.
ELF Mineral lipsticks in Barely Bitten & Cool Coral, NYX Jumbo Pencils in Slate, Oyster & Milk, NYC Mosaic Face Powder in Pink Cheek Glow and Catrice Gel Eyeliner in Sherlock & Khaki Holmes, Nautica and In Love with a Robot
I think these swatches tell the rest of the story! Great pigmentation and really cool colors. I took this picture in direct sunlight with my new camera, hence the shimmer. From this picture it almost looks as if that ELF lipstick in Cool Coral looks like NARS Orgasm blush in lipstick form don’t you think?
These are my 5 favorite budget make up products. They all cost 5 euros a piece or less, which I think is super low budget. You can find NYX and ELF online. NYC, Catrice & Essence are available at Kruidvat in the Netherlands and other drug stores across the world.
What are your budget make up faves?
5 responses to “Budget make up favorites #1”
Been wondering about the ELF lipsticks for a while – my lips are quite pigmented and a lot of lipsticks just seem to make them look weird – or they just make my lips dry and flakey. I only have ONE lipstick that I wear but I love it. It’s a deep (but not dark) red which put on lightly can just be a tint of colour. It’s from Avon.
Budget make up favs – Actually loving my ELF 100 palette at the moment, I’ve been using a lot of different and bright colours which would have cost me a small fortune to collect if I’d have brought singles/duos even in cheaper brands.
The mineral ones are great. And I have the same problem, so many lipstick won’t show up on my lips. The solution is MAC’s lip erase. But you can only buy it at pro stores and it costs around 15 pounds. It’s pretty much a lipbalm with a flesh colored tone. You could try using concealer or foundation to take down the color in your lips so you can try lighter colors. That may be a bit drying though, which is why I purchased the lip erase. You just put it under the lipstick and it works wonders.
I’ll have a look on eBay. No chance of a pro-store – or any store around here lol.
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