My top 10 list of budget make up products

In a former life, I was a make up artist amongst other things. I’ve always had a passion for make up which started when I messed about with borrowed my sister’s make up aged 13. In relation to my make up business, I specialised in bridal make up and make up lessons. I still do the odd wedding now and then but not many these days. My hubby works away a lot at the weekends and we now have our daughter to look after, so by the time I’ve paid for childcare it doesn’t leave me with much profit!

Anyway, back when I started my business, I began stocking up my kit with oodles of high quality make up brands including MAC, Benefit, Smashbox, Urban Debay and Estee Lauder. All really great brands with really great products.

Do I use these brands myself? With the exception of one tiny item which I buy twice per year – nope. Given our current situation I can’t afford to stock out my own make up bag with these brands and I never ever touched any make up products in my kit due to hygiene reasons and the fact that they were for my business. Honest.

Cheap make up is crap, right?

I wear make up every day and I’m satisfied with the cheaper make up brands that I use. Don’t get me wrong – using high quality make up products will mean a better overall finish. But these are luxury items that I can’t spend money on right now (with the exception of that one tiny item which I will get around to in a minute).

I choose my budget make up products carefully, mixing and matching to get the best results for me. It’s possible to achieve a great finish with make up that hasn’t cost the earth. The secret is in how well the make up is applied and choosing the right products for your skin.

Here’s a list of my top 10 budget make up products

1. Maybelline Fit Me Concealer – £5.99 (Boots)

There are a lot of mediocre concealers out there for around £12 – £15 before getting on to the big brands. For me, this concealer is good for reducing redness and as long as I don’t put too much on under the eyes, it sits quite well. I think it’s really good value for money.

2. Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation – £28.50 (Debenhams)

This is the tiny item (ahem) I wanted to mention that I do splash out on. Ok this isn’t budget make up – but I only buy it twice per year and I really think it’s one of the best foundations out there in terms of giving a flawless finish and being long lasting. You only need a very small amount and it lasts for ages!

I prefer it to MAC, Benefit and other big name brands. If you want your make up to look good all day, getting the base right with foundation is really important. Buying a cheap foundation such as Rimmel or Maybelline may result in it sliding off along with the rest of your make up or wearing away throughout the course of the day. By spending a little bit more on foundation, the rest of your make up will be instantly given a facelift (pardon the pun).

3. Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Power – £3.99 (Boots)

I set my foundation with face powder to help eliminate shine. In my opinion, Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed Powder is great for doing just this and it comes in a range of colours including transparent. I find it almost as good as MAC loose powder which costs a hefty £20.

4. The Body Shop Brush On Bronze – £14 (The Body Shop)

Isn’t a sunkissed glow something that people just talk about? If there is such a thing, these bronzing pearls are the closest product I’ve found which goes someway to achieving such a look (at a reasonable price). I find some bronzers a bit heavy and orange looking unlike these pearls which are slightly iridescent and not too overpowering.

5. The Body Shop Shimmer Cube Palette – £16 (The Body Shop)

This little box of joy contains 4 shimmer eyeshadows which are actually a substantially chunky size. They are available in 5 beautiful colour palettes and they last for ages! They apply really easily and smoothly too and are great for blending in with other colours.

6. Rimmel Scandal Eyes Waterproof Kohl Liner – £3.99 (Boots)

I like using pencil eyeliners as opposed to liquid eyeliners as I prefer a softer look around the eyes. Any pencil eyeliner as long as it’s a kohl eyeliner is great for highlighting lash lines. This one is my favourite budget eyeliner – it applies brilliantly and the colour intensity is pretty good.

7. Maybelline Mascara Great Lash Waterproof Very Black – £4.99 (Superdrug)

Budget make up at its best! I’ve tried so many waterproof mascaras over the years and I absolutely can’t fault this one. I think it’s just as good as MAC waterproof mascara. The brush isn’t so big that it leaves mascara on the eyelids and it doesn’t clump like some other mascaras do – in fact the MAC one that I used to have did clump! It is waterproof but you can still remove it without ripping some eyelashes away.

8. Rimmel Professional Eye Brow Pencil – £2.99 (Boots)

For the price, this does the job of enhancing and filling in gaps in the eye brows just fine and it also has a handy little eye brow brush on the lid. It’s available in 3 shades too.

9. Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss – £6.99 (Boots)

This lipgloss is available in some really nice colours and is non sticky when applied. It won’t stay on all day, so reapplication is necessary but it’s really good value for money.

10. The Body Shop Line Softener Brush – £3.60 (Amazon)

Brushes are a major factor in the success of make up application. Usually cheap brushes are indeed rubbish quality. However, the brushes manufactured by the Body Shop are actually a reasonable price and very good quality.

The bonus with buying anything from The Body Shop is that the brand is very ethical and therefore really against cruelty to animals. Their brushes are made with synthetic hair. But not this one! It’s made with a special foam tip and can be used in a variety of ways.

I think this is the most useful make up brush ever as it can be used to soften eyeliner and also to blend in eyeshadows when using multiple colours.

For some bizarre reason, it’s not possible to buy this brush from The Body Shop online at the moment. There is a statement on The Body Shop website about finding out more about it in store. But anyway, for now they’re available on Amazon at an extremely fair price.

What are your favourite make up products at the moment? Are you a big brand make up fan or a budget make up fan?

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