My favourite budget beauty products

 

There was a time where beauty products had to be high end for me. I spent a month in New York with work back in 2003 and my apartment was just off 5th Avenue,  I therefore spent ALOT of time in Saks trying out (and buying) pretty much anything I set my eyes on.  I got the bug and carried on spending when I got home!

Fast forward a few years (and a couple of expensive children) and I have learnt that you don't have to spend loads to get good results.  Don't get me wrong, there are definitely some high end items that I wouldn't be without but there are also loads and loads of really good items that are affordable even the week before payday!

Here are a few of my favourite budget beauty products.  I have loads more favourites which I may post about later but these were the first things that sprung to mind when I decided to do this post.

 

 

First up is the mega impact gel eyeliner in black flash. avonshop.co.uk £6

Now, I must point out that I paid nowhere near £6 for this.  I buy my Avon products through my local Avon rep and in the Avon catalogue there is always loads of offers.  I'm pretty sure that this cost me no more than £3.

 

 

This eyeliner is amazing.  It glides on so smoothly and it is really, really black.  When I use eyeliner on my waterline I find quite often it can irritate my eyes but that doesn't happen at all with this.  Just one stroke of this is all you need, no going over the line again and again to try and deepen the colour.

It's a pencil style rather than a twist up which I prefer as you can sharpen it to a nice point if you want.  Next time I see this in the catalogue on offer I will definitely be buying another for when this runs out.

 

Next up is the tea tree and witch hazel cleansing and toning lotion from Boots.com £3.59 for 150ml

This is currently on 3for2 so is even better value!

 

 

I have used different variations of these Boots lotions for years - since I was about 14.

As I have got older, my skin has got drier so I don't use this all the time anymore (as it can be quite drying) but I always have a bottle to hand.

This really cleans my skin, every single tiny weeny piece of dirt is left staring at you on your cotton wool pad after using this.  The tea tree and witch hazel really helps when I get breakouts  I've been having a nightmare with my chin for the last few months and this really helps.  I would have thought this would be brilliant for oily spot prone skin.

 

Third in my favourites is the No.7 beautiful skin cleansing water from Boots.com £9

This is currently on 3for2 but I bought this with a £5 off No.7 voucher so it only cost me £4

 

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I'd love to try the Bioderma micellar water but it is really expensive so for £4 I thought I would give this a whirl.

I mainly use this for taking off my eye makeup if I am not using my Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish and it does a really good job.  Unlike some of the dedicated makeup removers I have tried it is not greasy and I don't find I have to scrub at my face to remove my eyeliner r mascara.  Next time I get a No.7 voucher I will definitely be using it to buy another one of these.

 

Moisturiser next.  This is the Johnson's daily essentials nourishing 24 hour day cream for dry skin.  This is sold everywhere, including supermarkets and Wilkinson's and normally at least one place has an offer.  I think it was £3 in Superdrug the other day.

 

 

I have tried countless moisturisers, expensive and budget and this is hands down my favourite.  It moisturises my skin, keeps the dryness at bay and doesn't cause my skin to break out.  It has a gentle, pleasant scent and I do not have a bad thing to say about it!

If you have dry skin you really should try this.  They have a night cream version too but I always just use this at night time as well.  This was the first moisturiser that I actually finished which definitely says something.  It's so cheap and works so well that I am sticking to this from now on.

 

Next is the MUA cosmetics Undressed palette from muastore.co.uk or Superdrug £4

If you haven't heard of MUA or have but haven't tried their products then hotfoot it down to Superdrug now and buy this!

 

This palette is the exact dupe of Urban Decay's cult Naked palette. Hmmmm, £36 for the UD version of £4 for this???  Plus, to make it even more of a bargain, this is often on 3for2 at Superdrug or if you like the MUA Facebook page, once they get to 50,000 likes they will be releasing a 50% code!  I bought my palette (the second one of this I have bought) a week or so ago when they got to 35,000 likes and had 35% off everything.

If you are not already convinced, the pigmentation and staying power is great!  I'm not going to do a massive review here but if you google it, you will find lots of blog posts all raving about this!

 

Another blogger favourite next, the Collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer - Boots.com £4.19

I have it in shade 1 - fair.

 

 

When I bought this, I did not believe the hype.  Everyone said it was amazing but I have never found a concealer that actually covers up my spots so did not hold out high hopes for this. I was wrong.  It has great coverage but yet blends really well so if I am wearing just powder on top and no foundation (as I often do for work) my face does not look at all patchy.  I will definitely be repurchasing this.

 

Last but by no means least is another Avon product, this time the Colortrend Dazzlers nail top coat in gold fleked £3

This is another item I got discounted through my local rep.  I paid £1.50 for this and it was really worth the money.

Some glitter top coats are really annoying.  You need about 100 coats to get any hint of glitter but with this, a couple of coats and you are good to go.

 

 

In the picture below I have quickly put 2 coats over the nail varnish I was already wearing (Essie Penny Talk) so sorry it doesn't go very well or look very well done.  I really like this and will be wearing it loads over the Christmas season no doubt.

 

Phew, that went on didn't it??  What are your favourite budget beauty items?