After two decades of sitting in a makeup chair, model and influencer Ruth Crilly knows all the best cheap tricks. So we set up a Zoom date to discuss her ride-or-die beauty bargains (including a £4.99 shampoo)
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“When I started modelling, I noticed the makeup artists would have this huge array of products – they’d be sent everything from very expensive brands to very cheap ones,” says Ruth Crilly, model, beauty influencer and author of How Not To Be A Supermodel, as we chat over Zoom. “I always took note when they picked out a budget product because I knew it must really hold its own.”
It was the insider knowledge she’d accrued during her time as a model in the early 2000s – she travelled the world, doing campaigns for the likes of Agent Provocateur, Jigsaw and Asos – that led Crilly, 44, to set up A Model Recommends, her beauty blog, in 2010. Today she has half a million followers across YouTube and Instagram. She posts useful (and funny) beauty reviews and tutorials, alongside self-deprecating glimpses into her life in the countryside near Bath, where she lives with her photographer husband Richard Grassie (they met on the job) and their two children, aged seven and nine.
A Zoom makeup tutorial: Ruth Crilly shows GTG’s Kerry Potter how to contour like a pro with a bargain buy from Elf
The book, by the way, is hilarious. A memoir of Crilly’s modelling days, it has you laughing one minute at her escapades and gasping in horror the next at the way models were treated back then. I especially liked the story about how cross her teacher mother was when Crilly was featured in a Patrick Cox campaign, naked except for a pair of heels, straddling Sophie Dahl. That image ended up on the front page of various newspapers – and in her mum’s staff room.
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But back to all things budget. What are the affordable buys that Ruth Crilly can’t be without? Let’s find out.
Head & Shoulders Bare Soothing Hydration Anti-Dandruff Shampoo, £4.99
“Shampoos have got really expensive – how did the £30 shampoo happen?! But this bargain one works really well when I have a flaky, itchy scalp, which used to happen a lot when I was modelling due to the sheer amount of stuff that was plastered onto my hair. There’s nothing trendy about this – no offence, Head & Shoulders! – but it’s clear and clarifying, leaves my hair in great condition and smells amazing too.”
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Elf Holy Hydration Makeup Melting Cleansing Balm, £11
“I get asked about budget cleansers a lot – people often can’t justify spending lots on something that goes down the sink. This cleansing balm is fragrance-free, really simple, cheap as chips, and reminds me of Clinique’s Take The Day Off. It’s also excellent at removing eye makeup, which not all balms are. I spend a lot of time on cleansing in the evening – two to three minutes, really massaging this in. You can’t go wrong with it.”
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Revolution Skincare X Sali Hughes Placid 5 Acid Daily Exfoliant, £9.80
“When I first started blogging, everyone was going crazy for acids – including me. I’d do an aggressive peel twice a week. But many of those products were too strong, we didn’t understand how to best use them in a routine and lots of people have compromised skin barriers now. However this blend of different acids is very gentle – I use it every morning – and it clarifies and brightens my skin beautifully.”
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Ceravé Skin Renewing Vitamin C Serum, £19
“If ever I’m going to have a problem with a product category, it’s vitamin C. It can make my skin go wild. But this is a new discovery for me – I’ve been using it for a couple of weeks each morning and I’m having great results. Ceravé is one of the brands that are big on strengthening the skin barrier but at a slightly friendlier price point than, say, La Roche Posay.”
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Isle of Paradise Face Self-Tanning Drops, £10
“You don’t need to spend a massive amount of money on tanning drops because you’re just adding a tiny amount into a skincare product. I put a couple of drops of this in my moisturiser every other day and it stops me looking dead during the winter. It’s a cheap trick because it makes such a difference: when I look in the mirror in the morning I sometimes think I’ve got makeup on already.”
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Aveeno Calm + Restore Oat Rich Balm, £8.75
“I reached for this the other day as an emergency fix because my skin was so dry and I had to go to London to work. Whenever I touched my face throughout the day, it still felt really plumped out and moisturised, and I found that very comforting. It’s a lovely base for makeup too – mine looked dewy all day and didn’t go cakey.”
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Hada Labo Tokyo Super Hyaluronic Acid Super Hydrator Lotion, £17.99
“The only other hyaluronic acid serum I’ve tried that is as potent as this is the Skinceuticals one, which is about 10 times the price. I got this on Amazon and it’s huge – 150ml – I’ve been going at this bottle for years and it’s still half full! It’s a no-brainer to layer in a hyaluronic acid – it locks in hydration and pretty much suits everyone’s skin. You don’t need to spend a lot on it.”
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“I’m really into skin treats that contain fragrant oil blends. When I was modelling in Paris, they’d always have Darphin or Decléor oils and really massage them in, so it’d be such a sensorial experience. It feels like those kinds of products aren’t popular now though – everything is very clinical and unscented. But I love this classic cream with its uplifting herbal and floral fragrance that you can smell on your fingertips for the rest of the day. It’s really rich so I use it when my skin feels dry. It’s brilliant on rough feet and elbows.”
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Hildun Silk To Set Kajal Eyeliner, £16
“My audience are currently very into Victoria Beckham Beauty eyeliners – I get asked about them a lot. They are great but they are also very expensive. I don’t want to spend over 30 quid on an eyeliner. So take a look at this new-ish Irish brand – the pencils are smooth, blendable and long-lasting, and the colour range is really good.”
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Elf Halo Glow Contour Beauty Wand in Medium Tan, £6.80
“Sorry that this is Elf again but this contour stick is amazing and it’s a dupe for the Charlotte Tilbury one. I apply it with a small, firm-ish brush, in a stripe under the cheekbone and a bit on the temples, and buff it in. It instantly gives you a lift and it stays put.”
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L’Oreal Paris Telescopic mascara, £9.52
“I bulk buy these from Amazon when they’re on offer, or when I go into London and forget my mascara I’ll buy another one. So I’ve always got about seven hanging around the house at once! Most makeup artists I’ve worked with always reach for a budget L’Oréal or Max Factor mascara – and they plough through so many of them, you know they must be good. I like the small brush which allows you to wiggle it right into the root of the lashes.”
SHOPHow Not To Be A Supermodel (£12.94, Blink Publishing) by Ruth Crilly is out now
