Top 10 Under £10- Makeup

We've all had times where we're standing in a Boots or Superdrug with money in our pockets and we quite frankly, have no idea what to buy. It can be quite overwhelming sometimes, there's just so much to choose from. You're just left standing there trying to decide between a new mascara, or a new eyeshadow. It's a difficult decision. I have constructed a list of my top 10 makeup products under £10, so that all of you lovely people don't have to go through the 'I don't know what to buy because I want it all but I don't have enough money' dilemma. And if you're a newbie to makeup, this may be quite helpful to you too as I'm sure spending £15 on a MAC lipstick or £22 on a highlighter sounds a teensy bit extreme. It was incredibly difficult narrowing all my favourite products down to only 10, but after lots of um-ing and ah-ing I finally whittled them down.

The first item that has crept its way into my top 10 is the MUA Undress Your Skin Highlighting Powder. Highlighter is something I've just recently been getting into and this has got to be one of the best I've tried. For £3 (yes you read that right), you really can't go wrong. 

I have read a few reviews saying that the packaging is 'tacky' which I 100% disagree on. I think that it's very simple, pretty and sturdy. 

Can we all just take a moment and admire how beautiful this highlighter looks? At a glance, this looks like a MAC highlighter. 

This isn't the most pigmented highlighter ever, but with one swipe you can pick up enough product to make your cheeks all glowy (not vampire glowy) and fabulous. As you only need a small amount of this, I'm sure it will last agesss. It can be a hard to find these in store, it took me 3 weeks to find one *sigh*, but you can get them here from the MUA website.

The second item that has found it's way into my top 10 under £10 is the Barry M Natural Glow Shadow and Blush Palette, here's a challenge, try saying that quickly. I know what you're all thinking, 'Barry M, doing eyeshadow palettes? This can't be true'. Well indeed it is.

This palette, from the outside, looks like a Stila palette *thumbs up* and it is quite sturdy. I really love the big mirror you get inside as it can be used when travelling. 

All the shadows are really nicely pigmented but the blush is hardly pigmented at all. It does however make a really nice highlighter and it's not completely useless (yay!).

At £6.49 this palette is really good value for money and it has a really good range of colours. 

The third item that has sneaked it's way onto my list is the Maybelline Colossal Volum' Express Mascara. This is (dare I say it?) my holy grail mascara. As I have naturally quite long eyelashes, I always go for mascaras that promise to volumise your eyelashes. This mascara promises '9x the volume'. Now I wouldn't say it gives quite that much volume but it definitely makes a dramatic difference and creates the effect of fuller lashes. It doesn't flake or smudge during the day and my eyelashes look the same at the end of the day as they do when I first apply this mascara.

The tube makes it really easy to find in the mornings when I'm still half asleep and raking through my ridiculous stash of mascaras. 

In terms of the brush size, it's not massive but it's not tiny. It's, as Goldilocks would say, just right! For £7.99 this mascara will remain a staple in my makeup bag, unless I find a better one.

Lipstick was a hard one to choose, but in the end I just went for my favourite lipstick of the moment which is the Kate Moss Matte Lipstick in Shade 107. I'm not going to speak about this too much as I did a full review on it here.

It's so beautiful. Don't you agree?

No matter how many times I swatch this, I'll never get over how pigmented it is!

Now I have a love-hate relationship with this next item. I used to hate it but now I love it, but then some days I hate it again. It's very strange. But when I love it, I really really love it, which is why I've decided to put it in this post. It's the oh so famous Rimmel Stay Matte. This has got to be the most hyped up powder ever. Everyone and their mothers talk about it. If you haven't heard of it, then where the heck have you been!?

Apologies for the battered packaging, this little guy has been everywhere with me, hence the reason it is no longer 'Stay Matte' but 'Sta Matte'. 

I have the shade '001 Transparent' which I feel is the best shade as you can build it up as much as you like without it going cakey. This keeps me matte for around 4 hours before I have to touch up but so far, this is the longest any powder has kept me matte.

It lasts ages, I've had this for about 8/9 months and I've only just hit pan, anyone else get really excited when they hit pan? Or just me? Probably just me. 
Anyways, even though I sometimes hate this powder, the majority of the time I love it, so if you want to hop on the bandwagon (if you haven't already) then go out and get this, go on, I dare you;)it's only £3.99 after all.

The sixth item is a very predictable one. If you haven't heard of this, then I think you need to come out from that rock you've been living under because I genuinely do not know one person that hasn't talked about this concealer. And, if you haven't already guessed (and seen the photos) it's the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer.

This concealer is just the best concealer ever. It covers spots, under eye circles and redness perfectly. One tube lasts AGES, and it just seems never ending! 

 I have managed to preserve this tube and prevent the writing being rubbed off (yay me) but be warned, the writing does rub off and does ruin the inside of makeup bags.

I have the shade 'Fair' which is the lightest shade there is. In summer I'm the next shade up but in winter I turn into a vampire, and this matches perfectly. 

As you're all probably very well aware, this concealer has a doe foot applicator. It can be a little unhygenic but I wash mine every so often so I'm not spreading bacteria around my face (anyone else?). I'd recommend this concealer to anyone and I don't know how I survived without it before. And it's only £4.19, what's not to love?

Staying on the 'facial area' my next item is a blusher. Now I'm not usually one for blusher, I'm quite often very heavy handed and end up making myself look like a clown but Natural Collection's Blush in 'Peach Melba' is perfect for me.

In the pan, this blusher looks quite brown toned, but on your cheeks it gives such a natural rosy flush.

This blush isn't insanely pigmented, but I find that to be a good thing as I can't really apply too much and make myself look like a clown. The pot is also a really nice size for travelling. This blush was only £1.99 and I'll definitely be going back to Boots and seeing what other shades are on offer.

We're getting there(finally). My 8th item of choice is the Maybelline Colour Tattoo in 'On and On Bronze'.

This is yet again another incredibly hyped up product in the beauty blogging and YouTube world. This is just the perfect eyeshadow, in terms of lasting power and colour. One quick swipe is all it takes to tranform your eyelids from dull and dreary, to glittery and gorgeous! 

Well hello there fantastic pigmentation, how you doin'?

These are perfect for throwing on in a morning when you have very little time to get ready and also for parties or meals out etc. Sometimes I like to apply this all over my lid and then blend out the edges with my Real Techniques Deluxe Crease Brush to create a (sort of) smokey eye.

You really cannot go wrong with these and I can't recommend them enough!

If you've been following my blog for a while, you'll probably already know what eyeliner I'm going to recommend, it's my holy grail eyeliner and I've just recently purchased my 5th one. That's how much I love it.

It's the Collection Extreme 24hr Felt Tip Liner. When I first got this it was by accident and I'd actually meant to pick up a pencil liner, but that mistake was one of the best mistakes I've made before. This baby doesn't smudge at all, stays in place all day and is as black as anything. 

 

I've spoken about this so many times before, so instead of rambling on about it, I suggest that if you're a liquid eyeliner wearer, like myself, you should go out and get this! Go on, you won't regret it!

The final item in my top 10 under £10 is the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush.

 Sooo many people have hyped this brush up, and being my usual curious self, I finally gave into the hype and asked for it for my Christmas. This brush is everything I expected it to be and more. 

As you can see, the bristles are very dense and this results in you getting a very flawless finish. This brush is so so so so soft (not got quite enough so's) and it's my go-to brush for applying foundation. It literally gives you the most perfect, airbrushed finish ever and I cannot describe my love for this. And for £8.99, you can't say no!

And finally you have reached the end of this post! I hope it wasn't too long (although it was rather lengthy) and it helped some of you in some way! If you've tried any of the products mentioned in this post please let me know your thoughts on them!

My Daily Makeup

Well hello again. As you can probably already see, today's post is going to be about my daily makeup. This post will be quite long so grab yourself a cup of tea or whatever, and get comfy.

To start off I do my concealer. The concealer I am currently using is the ever famous Collection Lasting Perfection concealer.

I apologise for the state of the tube, all the writing has rubbed off.

I do find that this concealer can cling to dry patches and make them more noticeable and even if I do moisturise, it does still cling. If you have very dry skin, I would avoid this concealer like the plague. 

Please comment below if there are any concealers which give the same amount of coverage as this, but are a bit more hydrating. 

I use this concealer on blemishes and occasionally under my eyes and it does a great job of concealing the blemishes but I do find it to be a bit too thick and cakey for underneath my eyes. 

I have this concealer in Shade 2 'Light'. It is an almost perfect match but my only niggle is that it is rather pink toned, I don't know if that's just me or not?

This concealer has a doe foot applicator which some people may find unhygenic because you're dabbing it onto blemishes and under your eyes but I think it works just fine and I haven't experienced any problems at all.

Next I do my eyeliner. The eyeliner I use is Collection Extreme 24 Hour Felt Tip Liner. I love this eyeliner so much. It's waterproof, stays on all day, comes off really easily and never smudges.

As the name suggests, it is a felt tip liner. I prefer this type of eyeliner as I feel as though you have a lot more control over the thickness of the line etc. 

This eyeliner is incredibly pigmented and is super black and glossy, exactly how I like liquid liner to be. I'd recommend this to anyone that wishes to start using liquid eyeliner as it is easy to use and affordable.

Next, while waiting for my eyeliner to completely dry (even though it is fast drying, I like to be sure), I do my eyebrows. I use an eye shadow from the MUA Undress Me Too palette as it is a perfect colour match to my brows.

I use the shade 'Lavish' which is an ashy brown sort of colour. It's not the most pigmented but it does the job fine. I apply this to my brows using an angled brush.

To set my brows I use my MUA Clear Mascara.

This is perfect for setting your brows as it doesn't leave a white flaky film (as some clear mascara's have done for me in the past) and it's super duper cheap at only £1. This keeps my brows in place all day and is definitely my new 'go to' brow gel.

Once I've done my brows I move onto my eyelashes. Firstly I curl them using my Superdrug Eyelash Curlers.

  

These were actually a 2 minute purchase as I needed a new pair and I had a bus to catch in 5 minutes so I ran into Superdrug and grabbed these. These do the job and curl your lashes nicely but I will be looking into a better pair for the future as there are many others in the market. I would however recommend these to anyone who is just starting out with makeup because they are cheap, and do a good job.

After curling my lashes I then apply mascara to both my top and bottom lashes. This past week I have been using my new Scandal Eyes Flex mascara that I featured in my 'Makeup Haul' post last week.

I have been absolutely loving this mascara. It makes my lashes look absolutely huge without making them clumpy or stiff. The brush is massive but delivers such incredible results. Look out for a full review of this mascara coming soon.

When I've finished my eyes, I then move on to my lips. I always apply a lip balm before applying lipstick as I like to make sure my lips are always hydrated, even if it is a hydrating lipstick. At the moment I have been using my Burts Bee's Beeswax Lip Balm.

This lip balm is a lovely creamy consistency and it sort of melts onto your lips. It smells incredible, a nice minty smell and when it's on your lips, you can feel it tingling. I have a strong feeling that this will be a staple item in my makeup bag this winter.

Over the top of my lip balm I apply a lipstick. The lip colour I choose to wear usually depends on what sort of mood I'm in, but this past week I've been swapping between 2.

The first one I've been wearing is my Rimmel Colour Rush Colour Balm in the shade 'On Fire'. This is another new purchase that I have been absolutely loving. 

I just absolutely love this shade and I think I will continue to love it all year round as I feel as though it is an 'all seasons' lip colour. These are so moisturizing and so pigmented and I just can't express my love for them. They also smell AH-MAZING. Watch out for a full review coming soon.

The other lip colour I have been swapping my Rimmel Colour Rush Colour Balm with is my Kiko Smart Lipstick in Shade 905 'Coral Red'. 

I love this lipstick. It's so creamy and pigmented and it doesn't dry out your lips at all. 

This colour is a light orangey-red with gold glitter through it. It looks so nice on the lips and out of the few Kiko lipsticks I have, this one is definitely my favourite. It is also very natural on the lips and is not too over the top.

Finally to finish my whole face off, I powder using my Rimmel Stay Matte Powder. This is yet again another new purchase, but I still haven't made up my mind on what I think of this. It definitely doesn't keep me matte all day, 4 hours max. The hunt for the perfect mattifying powder continues. If anyone has any suggestions on a good mattifying powder that WILL keep me matte all day, please leave a comment below.

I have this in Shade '001 Transparent' as I do not wish for any colour pay off, just something to mattify my skin.   

Now, that is my whole face of makeup finished. A lot of you may be wondering why I don't wear foundation, truth is, I just feel like I don't need to wear it so that is why I leave it out. Also I do wear more makeup than this for special events etc but this is just my daily makeup that I wear to school.

I really hope that this post has been helpful and may encourage you to try some new products.