Hi guys! I know... it's been a while... but I'm new at this... :) So today I want to talk about beauty bargains. Eventually I'd like to do some reviews of specific products, but today I'm going to speak in general terms. Well, I will give you a heads up on some things I love!
So, all my life I have been a beauty snob. Grocery store makeup just wasn't good when I began my journey into makeup madness. Remember, this was almost 30 years ago. My mom was kind enough to buy me Clinique and Este Lauder makeup when I was a teenager... But in recent years, grocery store makeup brands have come a LONG way. I think mascara was the first to make the leap into "as good as expensive brand" territory. For a long time I've refused to pay $20+ dollars for expensive mascara when a) you are supposed to throw it away after 3 months (mark dates on the tube with a sharpie!!) and b) some of the cheap stuff is BETTER than the expensive stuff.
That being said, there were some things I just wouldn't skimp on. Foundation, eye shadow and eye liners mostly. I am an Urban Decay junkie... I found that nothing could touch their eye shadows and eye liners... I never joined the cult of MAC, but UD was my holy grail. I'm also a BareMinerals girl. Nothing gives the kind of natural look as mineral makeup. But dang, it gets expensive to keep me in "good" makeup.
So I have started experimenting with inexpensive cosmetics... and you know what? Some of them are AMAZING!!! I also have found that I like Garnier and Loreal hair styling products better than the expensive stuff I got from my salon. The key is, you have to be willing to experiment some, and you won't like everything, but you just may love a few things. At the cheaper prices, it won't hurt so much if you don't love something. And hey, don't be afraid to take something back if it just doesn't work for you or is the WRONG color. Below are some of my favorite finds:
Makeup Geek - www.makeupgeek.com
I stumbled on this website and instantly fell in love with the hostess, Marlena. She cracks me up, and she created her own very high quality makeup line. I have tried a few of the eye shadows (5.99 each!!) and while I didn't love them all, I sure loved them enough to buy them again (but there are expensive shadows I haven't loved too...it happens!!). The ones I loved I would put neck and neck with Urban Decay shadows. Her gel eye liner pots are also amazing. Best gel liner I've ever used. She also has great reviews and convinced me to give Revlon Color Stay foundation for oily skin and NYX cosmetics a try....(see below) Actually I blame Marlena for opening my mind to inexpensive products.
Sigma - http://www.sigmabeauty.com/
So, makeup brushes are expensive. But I love them. In my searches for value cosmetics I kept hearing that Sigma makes the best brushes and they won't break the bank. SO TRUE!!! They have really great quality brushes (most are about 12-16 bucks). They are very high quality, the handles have a nice heft to them so they feel balanced.... just good darn brushes. They have cosmetics too, but I have not tried any of them. Their eye shadows run about 12 bucks and since Makeup Geek is less expensive, I just ordered brushes from them.
Coastal Scents - http://www.coastalscents.com/
So after I ordered from Makeup Geek and Sigma, I stumbled on Coastal Scents. They also do inexpensive brushes... way inexpensive! And all kinds of makeup. I wasn't sure about the makeup, the palettes looked sort of like what you would get as a kid, so I figured I would just order some brushes to see how they stacked up against Sigma. They were 1/3 the cost of the inexpensive Sigma brushes. (Can you say kabuki brush on a stick for around 6 bucks? YES PLEASE!!). The thing I loved about CS is that they have SO many brushes, and all of them come in synthetic and natural hair bristles. I like synthetic for liquids and cremes, natural for powders. But I could get any brush in either bristles! Score! Now I will say that I love sigma brushes, they feel expensive and luxurious... but the CS brushes are very high quality too. The handle isn't wood, and doesn't have the same "heft" but the brushes themselves are great. There is a little shedding till you wash them a time or two (you do wash your brushes... right????) but they are really amazing for the price. Most kabuki brushes run you at least $30 bucks. I got one for under $5. The crazy thing is... they sent me an eye shadow sample... and it was pretty darn good! I decided to order one of the crazy 252 color shadow palettes (it was $15 bucks I think... way cheap). Well, the amount of shadow you get for each color is small.... about the size of a dime... but OMG, I'm a convert. Not every color is a winner...but some hit it out of the ball park. It is like you get samples of most of their colors (they have over 300) to try and see what you want in full size. Pretty darn amazing. Color payout is great on some, they are silky and blend well. Best part, their website is pretty descriptive. They tell you if it is matte, shimmer or satin.... opaque, semi-opaque, semi-sheer or sheer (not sure what the difference is between semi opaque and semi sheer, but I like that they tell you). Best part: Individual eye shadows are 1.95. Yep, under 2 bucks. They also carry ingredients if you want to make your own makeup, fair trade black soaps, etc. Yes, I'm sure the makeup is made in China, but dang... it feeds my addiction without breaking the bank. I've been experimenting and loving it. The colors shown for the eye shadows will vary from computer monitor to monitor, so buying a specific color may be hit or miss... but for 2 bucks.... Read the reviews, that helps tell you more about the colors.
NYX Cosmetics:
I could go on and on like I did for Coastal Scents. But I'll just say NYX (pronounced Nicks, NYX is a greek goddess or something) is inexpensive and great. Again not everything is a hit... but try some things. My favorites are the Butter Glosses (OMG GO GET SOME NOW) and the Butter Lipsticks (watch for the lighter colors, not every one is a winner). The HD powder is the exact same thing as Makeup Forever's HD powder. How do I know? They both have one ingredient, Silica. (Which, you can buy silica powder in bulk at Coastal Scents... just saying). MUF's is 40 bucks I think.. NYX, 9.99. WIN. I also like their blushes, their powder foundation, their Stay Matte not Flat powder, pore hiding primer (just like Benefit's POREfessional... feels exactly the same!!), the shine control primer.... etc... etc. Really good stuff. Oh, I like their eye shadow primer almost just as well as Urban Decay's. Great every day inexpensive alternative.
Pallidio Cosmetics:
Their eye shadow primer feels exactly like Urban Decays and is cheaper (but you don't get a WHOLE lot in the tube). The ingredients are similar as well. (The NYX primer feels a little different, but not better or worse in my opinion just different...) They also have great tinted lip balms. I haven't tried much else, oh, but the Rice Powder is legendary.
Maybelline Mascara. I love the Falsies line... and the Colossal line. There is one for everyone. If you don't like one formula or brush, try another. NEVER BUY EXPENSIVE MASCARA. I've heard that Loreal's Volumionous Carbon Black is Similar BUT BETTER than Diorshow. There is no need to spend 20 bucks on mascara. I'm going to try the L'Oreal mascara soon. .. I'll let you know what I think. I also love Maybeline Elixir lip colors. But NYX's Butter Glosses have moved into my #1 spot in my heart.
Revlon Colorstay foundation. Ok, I tried it when it first came out and it was super heavy and cakey... But they have come out with an oily skin formula. Yea, for every day... it's pretty darn good. I'll probably still wear my BareMinerals for going out and such... but for work... this stuff is the bomb. Stays well, has a nice finish (you can mix it with a little moisturizer if it is too thick) and cheap.
Hair Products:
I love Loreal's new line. I have their Curl Taming Creme and their Slick It frizz vanisher. LOVE both products. Garnier... oh... Garnier... I love their hair products. They do tend to discontinue stuff then bring it back with a new name and a slightly redone formula... but they still work better than the expensive stuff I buy from my stylist once a year or so out of guilt... And in hopes I'll find something I like better... But it never happens.
So my bottom line... experiment. Inexpensive stuff isn't always great... but when it is... it is.
Kisses!! Paula
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