Beauty Spend Vs Save – Part Two

It’s often been said that the most important part of any development is it’s basic building blocks. Get your foundation right, and the rest is significantly easier. On a makeup note, if you get your base right you can get away with a lot of other stuff on the colour front.

Even if you ignore everything else I suggest (and hey, I’m just a blogger – what would any of us know?) please heed my advice on this one: do whatever it takes and spend whatever you can afford to get a quality base happening for your makeup.

With the number of budget-end brands being bought out by cosmetics conglomerates, they have access to all the research and development that goes along with being part of a billion-dollar empire. This means that we’re less and less needing to fork out top dollar for makeup and skincare products to get quality produce.

Here’s why you should ignore all of that and still spend a lot on the items that constitute your base:

1. Although they have access to the R&D, they don’t generally get it on the market for at least a few years after the flagship brand in their parent’s stable.

2. Cheaper label means they’re always going to substitute slightly cheaper ingredients. You might get a similar effect to the big-sister equivilent, but the product won’t be as refined and the effect will be just that – similar, but not identical.

3. You get personalised consultation in proper light and often samples when you choose a pricier alternative.

Although everyone’s skin type and requirements are very different, I’ll tell you what’s in my makeup bag and how I came to choose these products over all others.

Base foundation

Becca Luminous Skin Colour. It has an SPF of 25 which I’m sure we can all agree is extremely important, has a sheer finish that evens out my skin tone without providing unecessary coverage. It’s very lightweight – only a little heavier than a tinted moisturiser (in fact, in some places it’s actually marketed as a tinted moisturiser).

Top up foundation

Becca Stick Foundation. I know what you’re thinking – why do you have two foundations you crazy woman? Well – on the whole, my skin is pretty decent. I don’t feel the need to wear a high coverage foundation all over my face all the time, so instead I use a low coverage base (the luminous skin colour) and then ‘top up’ the coverage where I need to (on my chin for example) or just at night when I’m looking for greater coverage. This is a great product – creamy but not oily and wears well. Has an SPF of 30 too!

Under eye concealer

Napoleon Concealer an extremely sheer lightweight number that will lighten up the eye area, but sure as heck won’t cover a blemish to save its life.

Blemish concealer

Joey New York Hide and Heal - I have no idea how I’ve lasted so long without this. Finally a concealer that actually covers blemishes and better yet, does something good for them at the same time!

Powder:

Stila Illuminating Powder - It will set you back about $100 depending upon where you get it (for the powder plus the compact, although you can buy refills), but I’m a big believer in the value of a powder compact. It’s the difference between looking ‘dewy’ (good) and ‘oily’ (bad). You’ll find your makeup lasts longer with a powder and it’s suddenly very easy to touch up with a coloured (and not translucent) version.

I actually also really recommend using a primer for the majority of people, and in winter I often enjoy using Clarins’ Beauty Flash Balm. Every primer I’ve ever tried to use to combat my oily skin ends up causing me to break out though, so I’ve long since given up on that option!

When I worked in the industry, clients would often claim that I only needed so many products because I worked in the industry or would remark “Oh, I don’t like my makeup to look caked on!” – this is the thing, people – it won’t look caked on if you do it properly, and there’s no sense in replastering an entire room just to cover a little dent. I use this many products so that the end result isn’t caked and I don’t have to subject my entire face to a product only needed for some areas.

If you’ve always bought budget-end brands and don’t see the value in a pricier alternative, indulge me and at least go and try some high-end options on your skin with the help of the consultant, ask for samples, and see how it feels and wears on your skin for a few hours. Explain to the consultant how you want your skin to look and how you wear your makeup. Finally, please please please don’t stop at the first counter you see! The following labels are generally known for their foundations: Becca, Prescriptives, Mac and Lancome.

At the end of the day though, it’s about what your skin likes – so run with that! :-)

BB