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7 new budget beauty buys to see you through until payday
Eeking your wages out until the end of the month is never a joy, but being short on funds doesn’t mean total deprivation. Whether a lipstick would give a lift, or you’ve come to the end of a swanky foundation and need a high street dupe, stat, I’ve got the low-cost beauty loot that won’t push you too much further into the red. Not long to go people. If you’ve already been paid, pipe down. We don’t want to hear it.
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Bourjois Rouge Velvet The Lipstick, £8.99
I haven’t been this impressed by a high-street lipstick for yonks. Some are calling it a poor man’s take on Charlotte Tilbury’s Matte Revolution range , but I actually prefer the shape of this. The curved ‘nib’ is designed to hug your lips to the extent that the brand claims that you don’t need a mirror to apply it. That is perhaps a bit far, especially if you’re partial to a red lip, but it does glide on seamlessly, stay within the lines of your lips therefore removing the need for lip liner and deliver an intense yet weightless veil of colour. It’s matte yet nourishing and is in no way flaky, and it lasts for hours without fading or migrating. I’ve got three swimming around my handbag currently, which is excessive, but it’s excellent.
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Superdrug B. Micellar Water, £1.99 for 400ml
A whacking bottle of gentle micellar water for less than the price of a London coffee? Superdrug know what cash strapped clean freaks need. The high street chemist’s B. skincare range is fast becoming the budget skincare line of choice for beauty editors, and this makeup melter makes for a simple, straightforward first cleanse at the end of the day, and you don’t have to ration it as you might something more high-end. Alcohol-free, fragrance-free and quick to dissolve base makeup in particular, you may need something a bit more thorough around the eyes, and definitely follow up with a proper water and flannel wash afterwards, but for clearing the decks, it’s a pretty unbeatable basic.
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Clairol Colour Crave Hair Makeup, £5.99
The 21st century equivalent of hair mascara (neon blue fronds at the school disco anyone?), this temporary colourant allows you to mimic a unicorn/mermaid/ fairy creature without bleach, commitment or general expense, not to mention a frank conversation with HR if you work in a conservative office. The jewel-like, metallic hues range from amethyst to rose gold to ruby, and the iridescent finish is intended to show up brightly on even very dark hair. You definitely lose a bit of impact if you’re on the brunette end of the spectrum, but you do still get an eye-catching effect for your efforts, and said effort is minimal- colour simply smudges onto dry hair by way of a sponge applicator and is sealed in by the heat of your hair dryer. The colour polymers then wash out when you next shampoo your hair. If your beauty regime is starting to feel a bit groundhog day, this will get you out of the rut for a weekend.
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Botanics Nourishing Facial Oil, £11.49 for 25ml
100 per cent organic, this plant oil blend is rich in omega fatty acids to repair and soothe while leaving the skin with the kind of glow that you just can’t quite achieve via a cream. Rosehip and sweet almond oil are the stars of the show, and you only need a drop or two to get a bit of skin-plumping facial massage going on. I can imagine this being quite the saviour on a cold winter’s evening, or a lovely perker-upper if you’ve not slept and are feeling and looking more than a little ropey.
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Max Factor Healthy Skin Harmony Foundation, £13.99
A pocket-money skin perfector that feels and looks seriously premium, this medium to full coverage base is available in 16 shades and offers up that elusive combination that is hydration plus t-zone grease-control. It is more on the creamy, luminous side, but it looks like real skin, which is what you’re aiming for after all, and covers redness, blotchiness and light pigmentation without caking. You’ll need a concealer to tackle full on zits and dark spots, but otherwise, healthy skin is a pretty accurate description, especially considering you’ve got SPF 20 thrown in alongside clarifying niacinamide and moisture-binding glycerin. Just watch out for the talc if that’s a sensitive skin trigger for you.
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invisibobble SLIM, £6 for three
Oh how we love an invisibobble in the office- the curly wurly band seemingly lasts a lifetime, is the key architecture to many a tousled ponytail and doesn't tangle or snap in your time of ‘hair off the face’ need. They can be a bit chunky if you’ve got thin hair or are attempting a ‘half-up, half-down’ thing, however, and that’s where the new slimline incarnation comes in. Available in clear, black, chrome and bronze, the bobbles are work as well as workout appropriate, plus they don’t call breakage, pressure on the root or that mare of a situation where you’re cutting out your hairband with nail scissors, along with a chunk of precious hair. Been there.
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Rimmel Magnif’Eyes Blush Edition, £8.99
I’ve been honking on about the Magnif’Eyes palettes since they launched, and the new shadow palette incarnations are just as tonally genius as the first. With twelve shades and a combo of matte and shimmer finishes, it’s a bargain for under a tenner and proves that a peach eye isn’t always a terrible look (it works particularly well on blue and green eyes). Even if pink eye isn’t your thing, the smokey aubergine, metallic taupe and cold matte chocolate are nothing less than delicious, graduated to create depth or worn alone with mascara for some daytime definition. Rimmel is onto something with this palette line- keep ‘em coming.