Thursday 19 June 2014

Beauty on a Budget



I recently read a blog about the difference between 'want' and 'need' in the hope that it would make me become less materialistic when it comes to cosmetics. It made a lot of sense - it went into all of the psychological reasoning behind why humans can be so impulsive and suggested we are buying 'things' to compensate for our underlying loneliness and misery, to fill that huge void in our lives blah blah blah.

This actually made a lot of sense to me. It's true. I am trying to fill a void. The huge void in my makeup bag because it's been over 2 weeks since I've bought anything remotely cosmetic-y!

We've all been there.

Payday is over a week away, you've worn all your lipsticks before and although the one you want is exactly the same as 3 or 4 (or 8) others that you've got in your makeup bag, you just HAVE to have it! There's no WAY you could wait or buy something cheaper because you want THAT one.

But then you check your bank balance and all hopes of making that lipstick a part of your makeup family are shattered and you end up looking like a more distraught version of Anne Hathaway in Les Mis. And lets face it, no one wants to look like that.

I know we all like our big brands like MAC, Illamasqua, Dior, Lime Crime, Anna Sui, Bobbi Brown... the list goes on and on... but lately I've started to get the feeling that some of the products are a teeeeeny bit overrated. Now before you think I'm crazy, let me ask you this; have you ever bought a cheap lipstick because you genuinely love everything about it? The packaging, the smell, the texture, the colour, how long it lasts, the price?! I can almost guarantee that at least one of the above would be ruled out.

I've never been one for scrimping on lipstick because it's so hard to come by a reliable one that you know you don't have to check on every ten minutes in case it's turned into lip liner or it's smeared halfway across your face. But then I went to catch up with a friend and knowing how much I love makeup, she gave me a few pieces to try. I fell in love with the colours straight away - matte lipsticks in bright corals and nude-brown shades. One in particular I really wanted to try...


This is MUA Luxe Lip Lacquer in 'Atomic' - a really striking shade of coral that applies like a lipgloss but dries in the most gorgeous looking matte effect. Okay so I've kind of contradicted myself here but it doesn't smell great... unless of course you're partial to sniffing rubber. But odour aside, this product (in my opinion) cannot be faulted.

I used to think super pale people like myself couldn't wear any colour other than pinks or nudes and maybe the occasional red if you're feeling really adventurous. But I think this really compliments my skin tone. Especially when I put a bit of shimmer on my cheeks.

So what do you think?
It dried into it's matte texture pretty quickly, but unlike other matte lipsticks I've tried it didn't feel uncomfortable and like it was going to crack if I smiled and it stayed on all day! When I say all day I don't just mean whilst I was at work I mean ALL DAY. So from 7:30am when it was applied to 7:30pm at night when I went to take off my makeup; it battled through two apples, fought with multiple cups of tea and various other hardships. It put the rest of my melting face to shame.

So here's the real corker. The lip lacquers are £3.00. Yes, 300 of those awful little pennies that you never want until you find one on the floor and all of a sudden it's lucky. And let's face it, you've probably chucked ten times that many away just because you don't want them clogging up the change section of your purse anymore.

Think of these cheap lipsticks as the 'nice guys' of the cosmetic world that rarely ever get a look in. They've probably got lots of friends but everyone thinks they're no where near as cool as the popular kids because they don't have the latest trainers or football stickers or whatever is popular with kids nowadays... who knows. Anyway, my point is give the nice guy a chance. It could be the best thing you ever did for your bank account and sanity. There's nothing more satisfying than knowing you can buy amazing products on whatever budget you have.

I'd love to hear about more cheap products that have proved to be a real find, so feel free to comment and send me a link to your blogs so I can have a read!

Ciao for now beauties.

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