Where to Save: Makeup Edition

I love a bargain. It's the best feeling when you can find a product where the quality vastly outshines the price. I own a mixture of luxury and affordable makeup and I have tried and tested all different categories of makeup to give you my picks on what makeup items are worth heading to your local high street for.

Mascara

I have tried my hardest to find a high-end mascara that curls my eyelashes, makes them thicker and fuller without weighing them down and I have not found one yet. Thing is, you can't trial a mascara out properly before purchasing it and so whenever I have purchased one from a luxury brand that claims to be the holy grail of mascaras, I'm always disappointed with the end result.
With mascara that is more affordable, I find that I can trial more out without spending a fortune, and so I do have a few go-to favourites that give me the results that I want - I will list and link them below!
-  Maybelline Lash Sensational Waterproof Mascara (£8.99/9ml)
- Kiko Unforgettable WP Mascara (£7.20/9ml)
- L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes Waterproof Mascara (£10.99/9ml)

Eyeliner
I think it's so easy to find a brilliant eyeliner without spending too much. Eyeliner only lasts a few months, so I think if you can find something you like for under a tenner then you are definitely winning. From liquids to pencils - the high street has so much variety that I don't feel the need to look elsewhere! I've now found my holy grail liquid eyeliner for under £3, which I can create a thin and defined line, to a more bolder statement look:

- Collection Fast Stroke Eye Liner (£2.99/3.8g) 
- L'Oreal Paris Super Slim Eyeliner (£6.99)
- Rimmel London Scandal'Eyes WP Eyeliner  (£4.49)

Nails

If you are like me, and like to chop and change your nail colour weekly, then the high street can provide a variety of colours, textures and formulas to please anyone. I love finding the needle in the haystack when it comes to shopping for nail polishes, because I think every brand can vary so much (luxury polishes included!). Just because you might pay over £15 for a nail polish, doesn't mean that it's less likely to chip - nails are one thing that is affected by general wear and tear of your daily living. I've found some formulas in the high street that I would wholly recommend to anyone looking for nail polishes that can last for up to week without chipping. 

- Maybelline Forever Strong Gel Nail Polish (£4.49/10ml)

- Kiko Perfect Gel Duo (£7.99/2 polishes)

Lips

Similar to nail polishes, I think you can find a really nice selection of lip products on the high street, again with different textures, formulas and colours. I think because lip products are something that you will tend to reapply throughout the day, regardless of the price, you don't need to spend too much cash, whether you want to is a different story! I'm a massive fan of nude lip colours, and I'll list a few of my favourites below: 

- Nip and Fab Makeup Matte Liquid Lipstick (£7.95/2.6ml)

- Revlon Ultra HD Gel Lipcolour (£7.99)

Brushes 
No matter what makeup you purchase, it's so important to ensure that your tools are just as good as the products. In the last decade, we can see a massive increase of affordable but high quality makeup tools. I believe makeup tools are worth investing in, and finding the right ones for the right price can be difficult, but not impossible. Anything by Real Techniques is an automatic win - I've never been disappointed  in their products and they are so multi-purpose, sometimes I use them for what works for me, rather than what they are meant to be used for!
- Real Techniques Blush Brush (£9.99)
- Real Techniques Sculpting Set (£19.99)

- Kiko Blending Brush 200 (discontinued)
- The Body Shop Eyeshadow Brush (£9.00)

So that is my round up on all the makeup products that I think is worth getting for an affordable price tag. I would love to know if this is something you agree with, or whether there is something else you think is worth sticking on this list.
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3 Cheek Brushes I Can't Live Without

I talk a lot about makeup pieces on my blog, however I am a firm believer in investing in the right tools to help makeup perform it's best. Today I wanted to talk about three of my favourite cheek brushes that I use on a daily basis. 

I got this angled blush brush off a brush set on amazon when I first started getting into makeup around 6-7 years ago and it is amazing. Firstly it's angled and so you can really work product into the apples of the cheek and blend product upwards and outwards towards the perimeter of the face which gives you a more natural, diffused look. Secondly, this brush is slightly dense, however still allows movement - for a blush brush I think this is important as it allows the brush to pick up product, however still has the ability to move so that the product is able to blend out and so can create more subtle blush looks. All the features of this brush is perfect for applying blusher and I love it to bits - also it's super soft which is always a good thing.

This Real Techniques Blush Brush (£.9.99) is a brush I use almost daily but not for applying blusher. I think my face is too small for it, but it is perfect for applying bronzer, or any all over face colour that doesn't need precision in application, only great blend-ability. There are no harsh lines, as this brush is a dome shape and so the top of the brush picks up a nice amount of product and the dome shape helps to blend the product in until it's one with the skin. This brush is more dense, and so ensures that product will definitely be picked up, however again is not packed too densely that ensures that products will be blended and not just layered on the skin. This is a great brush for bronzer, and I've been known to use it for applying powder too. 

Despite having oily skin, I love highlighting my skin, because it's a glow I can control. This Real Techniques Fan Brush  (£19.99/3) is another gem I love, I got this in a set with two other brushes which I also love dearly. I love this fan brush for highlighting as it's super precise, I can highlight the tops of my cheek bones, and control the amount I want on the skin. I can also highlight smaller areas such as my cupids bow, underneath my eyebrows and also the bridge of my nose. You can really build up a glow with this brush too by layering highlighter which gives a blinding finish. I think this brush is great for quickly applying highlighter in a fuss free, no nonsense way. I've also been known to use this for powder too, for an untraceable finish as the it picks up a small amount of product that can just set makeup so well. 

So these are my three go-to cheek brushes, I would love to know what yours are and if you do have other preferences, what makes you go for it? I would love to know, so be sure to let me know in the comments section below.

Top 5 Make-up Brushes

My make-up brush collection is one that I have been meaning to show for a long time. Although I have way more brushes than this, the ones that I will show you today are the 5 stand-outs in my collection...

So first up is the Real Techniques Contour Brush (£9.99) which is my go-to brush for foundation. It is a pretty dense brush, which means that you can achieve coverage that is even, leading to a flawless base. It's super soft and doesn't leave the dreaded streak marks on me. Since this is quite a bigger brush than the rest of my base brushes, I find that I spend less time buffing the product in, which is ideal for anyone who wants a good coverage in the least amount of time. My next love was a part of the same set as the Contour brush and it's the Real Techniques Setting Brush (£7.99), this brush is just fantastic at blending in a highlighting concealer around the face. I don't personally use this for setting my face because I find it a tad too small, but because it has long and flexible bristles, I find that this blends in the concealer seamlessly, without making it seem like there is a lot of product on my face. 

The last base product I am going to mention is the bareMinerals Hydrate and Brighten Brush (£21.00). This brush is one of the softest brushes I've ever felt, and it's so sad but this brush is reserved for the use of my Chanel Natural Finish Loose Powder. I think it's the perfect product to pair this brush with as it's intend for a light and natural finish, and the bristles on this brush reflect that by being tapered and flexible, and so doesn't cake the product on the face. 

For eyes, the M.A.C 217 Blending Brush (£20.00) is the one. I gave into the hype on this one, not going to lie. I was sceptical that this brush will change my life, like I've heard people proclaim. But damn, there is something special about this brush that other brushes can't quite mimic. I can get by without this, but I feel like now I've experienced it, there is no looking back. To those who want to try this, I would say go for it. It blends like a dream and helps to make a more perfected shape for your eye. 

The last brush I want to mention has been my eyebrow brush for the last few years. Yup, it's probably time to get a new one. This was one of the first brushes I ever used, I bought one of those really cheap sets off Amazon (They still sell it here!!!), when I wanted to practise and this one actually was one of the few good ones out of the rest of the duds! I like this for my eyebrows because it's angled and flexible which means that you don't get too much product on the brush, which leads to more natural looking brows. As much as I love the Instagram brow trend, it's not my personal style for myself. I need to find a brush like this, so if you have any recommendations, I would love to hear them.
I hope you liked having a sneak peak of my brush collection. If you would like to see more, let me know in the comments. I would also love to know your top brush recommendation! Subscribe to my blog on Bloglovin' to keep up to date with my next post! 

Real Techniques: Sculpting set

Around two weeks ago I got my hands on the Real Techniques Collectors Edition Sculpting Set (£20.99/3 brushes) and I swear it was not planned. I was in Superdrug almost about to be called to the cashier in the 'isle of doom' where I saw one of the packs left, and I swear time stopped for a second. Obviously, it being the last one available I had to get it because...yeah I just had to. Here is what I was rewarded with!

Sculpting Brush

Sculpting Brush

So the whole set is supposed to be getting a better sculpted face and this sculpting brush is designed for contouring and I have to say it does fit nicely into my cheekbones. The thing is I don't use this for contour at all, I actually use this as a foundation brush and it is phenomenal at that! Prior to using this brush I was using the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush (which I love) because it gives me a lot of coverage. This one however I love for sheering out my foundation as the brush is dense but it can move around a bit more than the Expert Face Brush. I use Estee Lauder's Double Wear foundation which is a medium to full coverage and somehow the sculpting brush manages to make it look and feel like more of a light-medium coverage which I think is definitely needed for summer. Another thing I love about this brush is the shape, for foundation it fits nicely on the contours of my face, making it easy to blend in at the jaw line and all those pesky to reach area's!

Fan Brush

Fan Brush

So I was actually in need of a thinner fan brush and this is the perfect brush! It works nicely if you wanted to add some highlighter on the high points of your cheek, it can also sweep away any eyeshadow fallout if you add some powder onto the brush. I actually think this is a really nice setting brush too if you didn't want too much powder on your face. I'm all about using brushes for different things as you can tell. The best thing about all of these brushes is that they are all super super soft, I can't get over how soft it is - it actually just makes you want to apply make-up just so you can feel the brush on your face!

Setting Brush

Setting Brush

So if you are a blogger, I think you may know of this brush already, it's being hyped a lot because they say it is the perfect setting brush and I actually do agree. I think this is great for setting your make-up in those hard to reach area's like around your nose or under the eyes, and unlike the fan brush adds a bit more coverage to those area's. If you are in need of a setting brush if you conceal certain area's then this is the one for you. I think for more oily skins a more bigger brush would be needed though. I think this would be great for applying highlighter on too though! 

Overall I am happy that I purchased these brushes, because I did end up getting two brushes that I didn't already own and I got a new foundation brush too! The quality is fantastic too, I'm not kidding about how soft these brushes are and the packaging, with it's metallic pink is something that I really like! It makes it easier to wipe away any product that may make it's way onto the handle and it's very easy to pin point where  it is in my brush holder. So if you were on the fence about purchasing these, I would say go for it!
What do you think of these brushes?