10 BEST VALUE BEAUTY BUYS

1) ELF Shadow Lock Eyelid Primer in Sheer- Its free from parabens, preservatives and chemical dyes. I have sensitive skin and this is kind to eyes. It keeps eye makeup in place forever yep it will not budge. I love this eye primer however I don't think it makes eye shadows more vibrant. Its skin and purse friendly at £3 available at this website

2) Soap and Glory Smoulder Kohl Eyeliner This is a creamy waterproof black eyeliner that lasts.
The packaging is great-there is a sharpener on the end with a cap to keep it clean .£5 Full review HERE

3) Barry M's Dazzle Dust and Glitter Dusts are packed with pigment and staying power for a mere £4. 59. I feel they are the cheapest pigment powders that create the greatest impact.

Barry M are also cruelty free and have a no animal testing policy on ingredients or finished product and do not engage other companies to test on their behalf. Check out their crayons (£4.59) for an eye shadow base they do not smudge and last well.

4) Real Techniques Core Collection Brushes: Initially £21.99  sounds like a lot- but the four brushes are fantastic quality, soft synthetic brushes that never shed and that are easy to clean. It works out as just over £5 a brush. If you don't want the whole set you can just sell the ones you don't want or buy from ebay.

This set contains the most wanted buffer brush. Personally I love the contour brush I have two one for blush and one for contouring. The eye detailer is really versatile it can be used for lips, inner corner of eye and as a smudger brush for the lower lid.

5) MUA Eye Shadow Singles and Palettes- The USP of this make up brand is that most of the range costs just £1. I love the eye shadows they are pigmented and last. The eye shadow palettes are even better- they have duped Urban Decay's Naked  (Undress Me) and Naked 2 palette (Undress me too, pictured above.). I also love their Heaven and Earth palette. (£4 for 12 shadows)

6) Sleek idivine Eye Shadow Palettes- I rave about these a lot, but there is good reason- very pigmented colours in good quality palettes in combinations that can create almost all looks and colours. The palettes also contain mirrors and are very affordable. My favourites are the Storm palette, Au Natural, Oh so special and Vintage Romance (pictured above) costing £7.99 for 12 shadows.

7) Essence Long Lasting Lipsticks These are so moisturising and comfortable to wear and last a fair aount of time on the lips. I couldn't believe how good they were for such an afforable price!

8) Bourjois Volume Glam Mascara one of Bourjois and drugstore cheaper mascara but it never flakes or smudges. It has been my HG for at least 16 years. It is water resistant so you can have a good cry wearing it but not a swim or shower. It makes lashes look thicker but is a slightly wet mascara. £7.99  My review is HERE

9) Maybelline Colour Tattoo 24hour Cream Eye Shadows  Finally a drugstore/high street cream eye shadow that actually works! I felt I'd tried them all and concluded it was something only high end makeup companies could achieve. It's pigmented and stays on (maybe not for 24 hours though) and generally true to colour. Also they are so affordable at £4.99 you can collect them all! My favourites are on and On Bronze and Metallic pomegranate.

10) Accessorize Nail Polishes- For £4, I'm very impressed, especially the one coat range. Many brands promise one coat and fail miserably. This was what it said on the bottle. The quality and shade range is great and they seem to keep up with the trends.

Disappointing Beauty Products #1

Fortunately I often research products before I buy products so there aren't many things I've bought and later regretted. The ones I do, tend to be impulse buys and were fairly cheap mistakes.

Stila It Gloss Shimmer In 'Amazing' (now discontinued )


This was such lovely colour, it appears bronze in the tube but in application it is sheerer, shimmery gold-beige nude: a perfect nude lip gloss. However the vanilla smell it had was really overpowering. I hate vanilla flavoured and smelling lip gloss so I couldn't stand wearing this.It is moisturising and long lasting though. This retailed at approximately  £9-13 but I bought it at .TK Maxx with the 3 for £8 offer.

Stila Long Wear Lipcolour in Treasure ( £13,)


I really wanted to love this product. I bought it in Treasure which is a bronze colour with a metallic sheen, I loved the colour it was really unique. However each time I put it on, my lips felt really dry. I might have had a mild allergic reaction against it since my lips felt tingly and the underside of my lip felt a bit swollen. I haven't worn this for longer than 5-10 minutes so I don't know if it's long lasting. But from others I  have heard that they didn't find it long lasting.

ELF Mini Eyelash Curlers (£3.75)
I bought this after watching the make up artist Robert Jones and The Make Up Chair's Sineady Cady, who used them to curl the inner and outer eyelashes that can get left out when using regular eyelash curlers especially if your eye shape doesn't fit the curler. I found they made very little difference, either perhaps because I have a fantastic eye lash curler (from Cosmopolitan, Superdrug) or my eye shape is quite regular. I felt this was more of a gimmick than an essential product. Perhaps the ones from Robert Jones' would work better as they are more expensive and better quality, I have not tried his.

MEMEME Dew Pot in Woodland Truffle 1 (£7.25)
I have become obsessed with cream eye shadows and when I saw swatches of this it looked gorgeous, a kind of a colour unique and was reasonably priced for a cream eyeshadow. However despite appearing in a recent Pixiwoo tutorial I find that the colour fades and disappears quickly and all that remains is just silver glitter. If I wanted silver glitter I would have bought another product such as Barry M's glitter dust. Very disappointing.

Miss Sporty eyeshadow Duo (£1.99 blue and yellow discontinued)
I can't remember the exact name of this duo and it's now discontinued- a decision I heartily agree with. I bought this to create a bright vibrant yellow and blue eyes summer look. However the colours were chalky and dull. Yes Miss Sporty is a cheap brand and this was less than £2, so what did I expect? However their quad for smokey brown eyes has great pigmentation and staying power was longer than most eye shadows I've tried and that's even without an eye primer underneath.

Max Factor Miracle Touch Creamy Blush in 07 Soft Candy (£6.99 ) 

This gives a beautiful healthy peachy blush ideal for summer or winter. It looks loud and scary in the pan but since it's a cream it produces a natural finish on the cheeks. I love this colour but it did sting when I put it on my cheeks. This hasn't happened before with other cream blush products. It may be that I am in the minority that is sensitive to it, but for now I'm only keeping it so I can match and find a dupe.