Why You Don’t Have To Spend Big To Get Great Quality Make Up

Last year I was fortunate enough to work as a beauty writer for eight months at a prominent online lifestyle website. Although many of you have probably never wondered what a beauty editor’s daily routine consists of, the truth is it is every girly-girls dream come true and then some.

Think glamorous product launches up to four times a day at some of the most exclusive and beautiful venues in Sydney, champagne, delicious food, mingling, dressing up, amazing experiences like being chartered to events via sea place and lets not forget ALL THE FREE PRODUCTS!!

Like I said, it was an extremely fortunate and otherworldly career experience for a 20 year-old to find herself in, and I can safely say that going from knowing close to nothing at all about beauty, I now know quite a few tricks of the trade.

One of the beauty lessons I discovered over my eight month stint in ‘girly career dreamland’ is that MOST OF YOU DON’T NEED TO SPEND A HEAP OF MONEY TO GET FANTASTIC MAKE UP. Notice I say ‘most’ here, because I’m sure some of you have been around the beauty block a few times and have discovered you need to buy a more expensive brand to get the best results out of your make up. And I can definitely understand. High-end, luxurious beauty brands and their products are often something magical, and treating yourself to a Chanel lipstick can be one of the best confidence boosters a woman could ask for. Also, I’m not saying go and buy all your make up from those el cheapo make up bins placed at the chemist door to suck you in with the promise of $2 lipsticks (although I must admit I’ve succumbed on quite a few occasions.)

I make this statement to say that from my experience, the most expensive doesn’t always mean to the best FOR YOU. Now my beauty writing days have come to a close, the trickle of amazing Chanel, Sisley and Elemis products have slowly dried up and I quite simply can’t afford them. Upon finishing my Chanel foundation, which had kindly been given to me (though in actual fact was one shade off my skin tone and was waaay too dry for my skin), I decided to start from the cheaper products and if they didn’t suit, I would work my way up to mid-level brands.

As you can probably tell already by this article, my experiment been a great success. So, just to clear things up once again, I’m not saying cheaper brands are better than high-end ones, I LOVE LUXURY PRODUCTS and have used enough to know that they definitely work and they work well. But beauty can sure result in a lot of cash spent over the course of just a year, so don’t be afraid to try a few non-expensive products before you leap for the $70 Dior foundation.

Here are some of the best-priced, fantastic products I use in my everyday beauty routine:

Rimmel London Wake Me Up Foundation

After walking into a chemist on the hunt for a new foundation and seeing this baby on sale from $19.95 to $14.95 (!!!) I knew I had to give it a go. It’s safe to say my experience with Rimmel has always been a great one and this foundation was no different. It has an extremely creamy texture, which is fantastic for me because my skin is often on the dry side, with horrible flakes of skin appearing on my forehead if there isn’t enough hydration. It is light weight, but still thick enough to cover up blemishes and redness, which is very important to me. I will definitely be buying this foundation again.

RRP $19.95. Available from Priceline, Kmart, Target, Big W, Coles supermarkets & selected pharmacies nationally.

Face Of Australia Mineral Therapy Illuminator in Angel Mist

There was a huge online buzz about this product when it was released and for a very good reason. At the price of $14.95 for 50ml of product, the value and quality is incredible. If you don’t have an illuminator BUY ONE RIGHT NOW. It is one of the most amazing and underused beauty products out there, stripping away tiredness and bringing much-needed light to the face – think Cate Blanchett’s glowing cheekbones – that woman knows how to use illuminator!

$14.95. Visit http://www.faceofaustralia.com.au for stocklist info.

Rimmel London Professional Eyebrow Pencil

Since I’ve been trying to regrow my eyebrows, which are naturally sparse anyway, I’ve come to rely on this eyebrow pencil more than I thought possible. The difference it makes to my features is enormous, so much so that I now feel slightly naked when I leave the house sans eyebrow pencil! This Rimmel London pencil does a great job and I love the darker colour, which makes brows much more striking.

$8.50. Available from Priceline, Kmart, Target, Big W, Coles supermarkets & selected pharmacies nationally.