High-end beauty on a student budget

Credit: LendingMemo.com

As a university student, I know and understand the pain of running out of mascara, or bronzer, or concealer and realising that I’m going to have to fork out yet another £10 on something that, really, should be about £3.

There’s no denying that makeup is ridiculously expensive, but after six months of being a student, I’ve managed to find good quality products that you can buy without spending half of your weekly budget.

Foundation & powder:

I used to use the Revlon Colorstay Foundation, but have found a much cheaper, just as shine-controlling an alternative in the shape of Rimmel’s Stay Matte Foundation. The texture means that you don’t have to use a lot to get good coverage, and at only £5.99 it’s half the price of most other high quality foundations.

Sticking with Rimmel’s Stay Matte products, their pressed powder is great for keeping my makeup in place all day, and the shade 001 Transparent means you can apply it over any foundation and it won’t change the colour.

Blusher & bronzer:

Since coming to university I’ve purchased the Sleek blusher in the shade Rose Gold, and although it doesn’t achieve quite the same effect as brands like Benefit, it’s still a good quality blusher for a low price.

Sleek’s contour kit is also a fantastic purchase for those on a budget, as the colour and tone is very similar to the bronzer from Bourjois, except that you get more of it for less.

Eyeshadow, mascara & eyeliner:

The £2.99 mascara from Collection has been my saving grace these past few months. It doesn’t run, doesn’t clump your lashes together and creates the same length and volume as any other more pricey mascara.

Another Collection beauty steal is their felt-tip eyeliner. It’s easy to apply, doesn’t smudge and saves me from the hassle of applying liquid eyeliner every morning.

I mentioned one of their palettes in my last post, and the i-Divine eyeshadows from Sleek are genuinely becoming my favourite value-for-money beauty products. Any one of these palettes gives a similar coverage to the Naked palettes from Urban Decay, only this time they cost £10 and not £30.

Hopefully this post will help those of you on a similar budget to myself and that, next time you run out of something, you won’t have to break the bank to pay for it.