Some would say I spend too much money on beauty products, I have 4 bottles of foundation on-the-go at the moment and my friends have tirelessly teased me about my 4 step, morning & nighttime, skin care routine. To be fair, I have horrendously sensitive and spot prone skin so I need my products, although arguably, shouting my friends through the routine they must perform on my face for me while slightly intoxicated is maybe a bit far. I am quite a big believer in good quality beauty products, although, being a student I have had to learn priorities and therefore realise that spending £32 on an eye-shadow palette is probably not okay. Despite this, sometimes it is fine to go a bit crazy/treat yourself/replace your weekly shop with an eye-shadow palette. So, having avidly followed beauty blogs for years and tried quite a lot of different things I thought I would compile a list of products that, if you’re going to splash out and treat yourself on beauty, are some of the best.
Foundation/tinted moisturiser:
For a light coverage Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer is great, because it’s a tinted moisturizer it feels light on your skin and keeps it hydrated but also has a decent amount of coverage.http://www.lauramercier.co.uk/store/shop/Step%202:%20Apply%20Foundation_Tinted%20Moisturizer%20SPF%2020_prod210061 £33.00
My favourite ever foundation is ‘Le Teint Touche Eclat’ by YSL, there are so many different shades that you can get it almost perfectly matched to your skin, this means that if you are having a particularly good skin day you can just put a bit under your eyes/on your cheeks to brighten your face up. Plus, it includes ‘touche eclat’ within the foundation, another product by YSL, which is essentially the best skin highlighter to ever exist if you hadn’t heard about it. Overall, it gives your skin a really lovely radiant glow, can be exceedingly well-matched in terms of colour and has the added bonus of smelling AMAZING, a rarity among foundations. http://www.yslbeauty.co.uk/make-up/complexion/foundation/le-teint-touche-eclat-foundation £29.00
For heavy-duty foundation that covers most spots and doesn’t budge, the best is Estee Lauder double wear. I don’t actually own this foundation but my housemate does and it is my go-to product for when I’m having an exceedingly bad skin day (she lovingly applies it for me while I’m in a state of despair). The coverage that double wear provides is basically the one below the stuff that’s used to cover up tattoos and it doesn’t budge, at all, in fact I have to cleanse my face twice to get it off, but it’s a great foundation if you are self conscious about any skin problems. http://www.esteelauder.co.uk/products/643/Product-Catalog/Makeup/Face/Foundations/index.tmpl £28.50
Concealer:
NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer. This concealer has changed my life. For someone who STILL suffers from spot-prone skin at the unfairly post-pubescent age of 21 it is a lifesaver. It is the first concealer I have ever used that doesn’t dry the skin over and around the spot, the colours are really lovely and actually match skin tones rather than being pinky/orange like so many concealers. I recommend this to EVERYONE, and I do think it’s well worth the money. http://www.narscosmetics.co.uk/complexion/concealers/~/radiant-creamy-concealer £21.00
Blusher:
Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick, I think if you’re going to splash out on blusher then this is your best option because it does so many things. The shimmer brick can be used as a blusher or on the eyes, and the multi-tonal way that the powder is built means it highlights cheekbones as well as providing colour. http://www.bobbibrown.co.uk/products/2325/Makeup/Cheeks/Shimmer-Brick/index.tmpl?cm_re=Gnav-_-Makeup-_-Cheeks-ShimmerBrick £32.00
Mascara:
Charlotte Tilbury, Full Fat Lashes. This is without doubt the best mascara I have ever used, Charlotte Tilbury is one of the most famous make-up artists of the last few decades and is Kate Moss’ go to for a catwalk transformation. Last year she created her own beauty line, the idea being that she would make the products that she needs and wants when she’s making up the models of fashion week etc. Anyway, I digress; this mascara is perfect volume, lengthening, a great, great, proper black colour and stays on all day. http://www.charlottetilbury.com/full-fat-lashes-glossy-black.html £22
Eye shadow:
Naked ‘2’ eye palette, okay so this eye shadow palette is very, very pricey but it is honestly amazing – I was actually bought it for my birthday however that was 2 years ago and I am still using the same palette now, with a long time in it yet, and the eye shadows are still good quality and stay well on the eye. There is such a good range of colours within this palette for daytime and nighttime, if you can fork out or add it to your birthday list it is well worth the money. http://www.debenhams.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/prod_10001_10001_123932010699_-1 £37.00
Charlotte Tilbury Colour Chameleons. Back to more amazing Charlotte Tilbury products…her colour chameleon eyeshadow pencils are the one. They are basically big crayons, which are in two shades one for day and one for night, for each different eye colour. The idea is they bring out the colour in your eyes, which sounds a bit gimmicky, but they genuinely do. I have fairly big eyes and my pupils are pretty large, to the extent that you can often only see a small part of the colour of my iris, however these actually work and the colour of my eyes does seem enhanced. These eyeshadow pencils are also so easy to use, you effectively just colour in your eye lid & then smudge them to your preference and a major advantage is the colour does not slip, I have worn these to two Fabs and can prove this to be true. http://www.charlottetilbury.com/shop-by-product/eyes/eyeshadow-pencil.html £19.00 each.
Liquid eye liner:
Rimmel…EVERY time. Okay so the point of this article was supposed to be sharing the best upmarket beauty buys for when you want to splash out BUT there is no expensive competitor for Rimmel Glameyes Professional liquid eyeliner, in my humble opinion. Despite being just over £5 Rimmel liquid eyeliner is the most easy to use, does not run and is the best shade of black, a fail safe purchase. http://uk.rimmellondon.com/products/глаза/glameyes-professional-liquid-liner £5.29
Top product:
Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour cream. So I couldn’t write a piece on expensive beauty products without mentioning the fail-safe skin saver that is Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour cream. The cream is a gel-like consistency and is designed to be worn overnight to solve the problem, you wouldn’t want to wear it in the day because it’s thick, sticky texture needs the 8 hours to sink into your skin. I probably haven’t made it sound too great however this cream solves chapped and sore lips, dry skin patches, some redness and even drastically reduces sunburn in one night. (during a more young and naïve period of my life I managed to sunburn my whole face on a sunbed… slathered face in Elizabeth Arden 8 hour over night, looked like I had some sort of weeping skin condition because my face was thick with gel, the next morning redness was drastically reduced and no more soreness*) http://www.boots.com/en/Elizabeth-Arden-Eight-Hour-Cream-Skin-Protectant-50ml_9783/ £25.00 for 50ml.
*Just because the sunburn was improved does not mean it is advisable to burn your face on a sunbed…use fake tan instead.