100% DRUGSTORE MAKEUP LOOK

If you’re not from North America you may be thinking, “What on earth is a drugstore?” Well, the equivalent of drugstores in the UK is a store that has a pharmacy and also sells beauty products. So think of stores like Boots and Superdrug, but I would also include grocery stores like Tesco and Sainsbury’s because they often stock makeup items.

Drugstore makeup has come a loooooong way in the last 10 years. The quality is much better and sometimes even rivals that of high end products; therefore, cheap makeup does not always mean bad quality! I’m also very happy to see that makeup for darker skin tones is now more available as well as more daring lipstick colours.

I’m a firm believer that one can look great on every budget; there’s no point looking red carpet ready and not being able to pay your rent – it’s just not worth it. Therefore, I decided to challenge myself and create 100% drugstore makeup look; the most expensive product I used was just £12.00 which is a bargain. I did have quite a few drug store items in a makeup kit already, but I picked up some great new products which I will be reviewing for you. So today’s post is a combination of a makeup look and a product review. Do grab yourself a drink, sit back in a comfy chair and keep on reading. As usual, all the shopping links are below. Enjoy!

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P.S. For more makeup looks check out my Facebook page and Instagram.

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No7 Beautifully Matte Makeup Base & Elf Eyelid Primer

No7 Beautifully Matte Make Up Base

The Pros: This primer does a great job at mattifying my skin and controlling oil. It’s lasts all day which means that I don’t need to frequently touch up my makeup.

The Cons: It leaves a slight white cast on darker skin so it can’t be worn alone. However, once you apply foundation over it you don’t notice the cast at all. Sadly, I just discovered that it’s no longer available in the UK – NOOOOOO!!! But, you can buy it from the USA, click here.

Rating: Star rating

Elf Eyelid Primer

The Pros: This primer is so cheap (approx £5) and does a really good job of keeping my eyeshadow in place for hours. I think it’s a good alternative to the cult ‘Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion’. I like the wand applicator which means that I don’t apply too much product to my eyelids. Elf is a drugstore brand in the USA but in the UK you can only buy it online, click here and please note that the packaging and name of this product has recently changed.

The Cons: It doesn’t feel like there is much product in the tube, but it should still last you quite a while if you use it sparingly.

Rating: Star rating

Revolution ‘Flawless’ Palette

The Pros: I was impressed with the great pigmentation and buttery texture of these eyeshadows! There’s a pretty good mix of matte and shimmer eyeshadows which means you are able to create both day and night time looks. I was very happy that the dark brown colour was dark enough to contour with, because many brown eyeshadows are just not pigmented enough – Yay!! It’s a fantastic palette to travel with because the packaging is really lightweight and it has a mirror. I love mirrors in palettes because when you are travelling you can’t always be certain that you’ll find a mirror for those all important touch-ups and selfies!! I think that 32 eyeshadow colours for £8.99 is an amazing bargain. (By the way I’ve put stars on the colours that I used to create my makeup look).

The Cons: After about 2 hours the eyeshadows began to crease on my eyelids :-(. I think that the ingredients in these eyeshadows and in the Elf Eyelid Primer clashed. I have tried using another eyelid primer and the eyeshadows didn’t crease, so don’t use the Elf Eyelid Primer with this palette. Creasing may not be a problem for you if your eyelids aren’t oily like mine. The only other cons are that I would have loved a dark orange/reddish brown colour to use as a transition colour and less of the lighter colours.

Star rating

Rimmel Extra Super Lash Mascara

The Pros: I liked that the formula of this mascara wasn’t too wet which made it easy to apply without being messy. Also, the wand gave a good separation of my short little lashes

The Cons: I don’t feel it lived up to the ‘extra super lash’ claims because my eyelashes didn’t look any longer. I’ve tried better mascaras to be honest so I won’t be buying this one again.

Rating:

Sleek MakeUp Translucent Powders

Sleek MakeUp Translucent Pressed Powder, Light

The Pros: I was sent this powder in pressed form by mistake, I actually ordered the loose powder. But I am sooooo happy about this apparent ‘mistake’ because the pressed powder was so easy to use and not as messy as loose powder. The colour was perfect to set my highlighted areas and didn’t look frosty at all. It also lasted all day which was fantastic. For only £5.99 it’s a huge bargain and very comparable to my usual Ben Nye Setting powders. Oh, and I love the fact that it has a mirror so it’s great for touch ups on the go.

The Cons: Absolutely None!

Rating:

Sleek MakeUp Translucent Loose Powder, Chocolate

The Pros: I loved this setting powder! I was sooo impressed at the amazing colour match for my dark chocolate skin! My MAC foundation shade is NW 55 and I find that some setting powders are either too dark or too light, but this was purrfect! It left my skin looking chocolatey and velvety, AND it lasted all day. Since trying this powder I no longer regularly use my MAC Mineralise Skinfinish – that tells you how good it is because I used to apply my MAC Skinfinish daily. Please, don’t sleep on this product, it’s definitely worth every penny of its £5.50. Well done Sleek!!

The Cons: I wish I got it in a pressed form because loose powders can be messy and not fun to travel with, especially if you don’t shut the lid tightly. Oh well, next time I will definitely be ordering this powder in pressed form.

Rating:

Sleek MakeUp Blushes

The Pros: I used both ‘Coral’ and ‘Pomegranate’ blushes to create my makeup look and I liked this combination. The Pomegranate colour is a plum tone with flecks of gold in it, and the Coral colour is a very light peach colour on my skin tone. The pigmentation of the Pomegranate blush was great and I like the fact that these blushes come with a mirror. You can probably tell by now that I have a thing for mirrors 🙂 .

The Cons: I felt that the Coral blush could have been a lot more pigmented. It didn’t give me the colour that I was expecting but it probably will be more vibrant on a lighter skinned person. Another very, very small negative: I wish that Sleek Makeup would allow you to make your own custom blush palette so that you don’t have to buy the blushes you want separately.

Rating:

Sleek Matte Me Lipstick, ‘Velvet Slipper’

The Pros: This matte lipstick is probably the best discovery of my entire drugstore makeup haul! Wow! With only one swipe of the applicator wand I was able to create an opaque layer of colour. It dried quickly to a nice matte finish but gave me enough time to blend it with a lip liner which I loved. It was not too drying and lasted a good 6-7 hours before it began to wear a bit on my inner lip (and I ate too whilst wearing it!). It performs better than some more expensive matte lipsticks that I’ve tried. For £4.99, this Matte Lipstick is truly a credit to drugstore makeup worldwide!

The Cons: I wish it would last for 14 hours but that’s asking a lot for £4.99.

Rating: (I would give it 8 out of 5 stars if I could)

NYX Matte Finishing Spray

The Pros: NYX products are finally available at Boots in the UK!! Yay!! (N.B. shop online if you can’t find what you want inside the store). This setting spray is awesome. It really keeps my face matte all day; hmm…..I just don’t have anything bad to say about it. It’s a product that does what it says on the tin and I think it performs just as well as the Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray. It also comes in a Dewy formula for those of you who prefer a more ‘glowy’ look.

The Cons: Absolutely None!

Rating:

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Well done for making it to the end! I hope I’ve given you sufficient proof that drugstore makeup is great value for money and that you can still look great while saving your pennies. So give these products a try and see what you think (all the shopping links are down below).