Sometimes I don’t have
the money to spend on high-end make up, and when I’m running ridiculously low
on something, I sometimes try a highstreet alternative. This either ends with
me falling in love (rare) or running for the closest department store (more likely).
Never the less, I always like trying high-street products and sometimes you do
come across gems that are just incredible. Therefore I thought I would show you
a few things I bought in the last couple of months and my thoughts on them.
Garnier Oil-free BB Cream - £9.99
The packaging is quite an elegant slim line
squeezy tube with a pointy tip. Scent wise - it is fragrance free so doesn't
smell much, which is a massive bonus. The texture of the Garnier Oil-free BB is
very runny. Never the less, it is exceptionally easy to spread and doesn't set
too quickly so you have time to work it. The finish is surprisingly beautiful.
It's a nice soft matte, very skin like. It is light to almost medium coverage
and is particularly good at hiding areas of redness. The oil control is good,
but not fantastic. I am oily on my nose and I still need to apply a mattifying
primer to this area before applying the cream. I love the finish of this. Count
me very surprised. It lasts around 8-10 hours and makes my skin feel so silky. I
happily wear this when I’m just going to university, work placement or anywhere
I don’t think needs me to use my high-end, much more fuller coverage
foundation.
Rimmel Fix and Perfect
Pro Primer 002 - £6.99
I bought this because I
wanted a cheap matte primer to use under my Garnier BB Cream, instead of using
my rather expensive illamasqua primer. It states that the primer will will “smooth, resurface, brighten, mattify and
protect” as well as make your foundation last longer (if you choose to wear it
under make up). It definitely did the latter – my make up stayed in place and
still looked fresh by 8pm – despite putting it on 12 hours earlier! As for the
other “5 in 1″ things, I wasn’t too sure. Smooth, yes,
brighten, yes, but protect? Protect against what? It has no SPF in it, so I
wasn’t too sure what this primer was “protecting” me against. Despite this, the
first time I used it I was just amazed. It made my skin so smooth and my BB
Cream went on so nicely over the top of it. No patchiness or caking like with
other high-street primers I have tried. Overall first impressions…very
impressed, never the less I will keep using it and keep you updated if my view
of this primer changes in any way.
Collection 2000 Lasting
Perfection Concealer - £4.19
Firstly I apologise about
there being no photo, my tube of this gets so much use it looks rather horrific
at the minute, it also has no writing on it due to it rubbing off. I'm REALLY impressed with this concealer. For
the price it’s an absolute steal for the high quality. It's thick and creamy so
provides a good coverage, but isn’t cakey and is easily blended into
foundation. It comes in 4 different shades and they are all so very different,
currently I have shade 3 which is medium, however next time I might try 2 which
is lighter, just to see if it blends that bit better with my false tan wearing
off lighter foundation.
I totally recommend this concealer for anyone
after a new concealer with staying power and good coverage. Don’t be put off by
the cheaper brand (guilty makeup snob right here), it’s most definitely a
drugstore product deserving a chance.
Maybelline Fit Me
Foundation - £7.99
I received a tester of
this foundation when it first came out. The best thing about this foundation for me, and the
thing that intrigued me the most, is the fact that it contains no oils or
waxes…'no nonsense' being the selling point of the Fit Me range. However, this
foundation just wasn’t for me. I have rather sensitive skin with an oily t-zone
and it definitely didn’t like this foundation at all. Within about an hour of
applying this foundation it began to somewhat disappear and slide off my face,
and it just wasn’t a pretty sight. I did try to apply another lighter layer on
top but the same seemed to happen again and it was just become cakey and felt
heavy on my skin. Another down side was that when I took it off at night my
face was ridiculously red and not at all happy. Usually I give foundations
another try to see if it works better, however with this I don’t think I will
risk it.
Rimmel Stay Matte Pressed
Powder - £3.99
This is something so many
bloggers rave about, and therefore I thought I would try it. I have it in shade
5, which is a really good match to my skin/foundation. Rimmel claims it contains natural minerals that
help control shine for up to 5 hours and it also helps minimise the appearance
of pores. For me this just didn’t live up to my hopes. I don’t usually use
powder anyway, my past experiences have been that it makes your face really
cakey and doesn’t really do much. This was for me no different. At first it
looked nice, and gave me a lovely matte look, however soon it began to cling to
any dry areas on my face, and also set into my pores. It just wasn’t good at
all. I tried just using it throughout the day when I was becoming a little
shiny, but it just looked shocking, I found it easier and better just to blot
my skin and maybe add a little extra foundation over the area. Its cheap enough
to try, and for some people it might work, for me…I wouldn’t use it again.
Rimmel Apocalips - £5.99
The Apocalips range is a type of lip-gloss/lipstick hybrid aka lip
lacquer; they have all the pigmentation of a lipstick and the sheen of a gloss
without any stickiness. The consistency of these products is what impressed me the most. They
are really creamy and opaque. The applicator has a little well in the center
that collects product so you can apply it with only one or two dips. However,
sometimes it can be a bit of a nightmare when you want to get it exactly
perfect, therefore I prefer to just us a brush to apply it. The product has a
satiny finish that actually dries quite matte, so it can get a little dry after
a few hours, however I just put a bit of balm or lip-gloss over the top to give
my lips a bit of hydration then it’s it looks good as new. The staying power is
fantastic. The bright colours especially, stay on my lips for hours and hours,
even after eating! The
'scent' of these are slightly off putting, it’s very plastic-y and fake
smelling. Overall, I think these products are really good, but not fantastic. Lovely packaging, the colours are ok, and the formula is good for the price
No7 Extreme Length Extend
Mascara (fibre enriched formula) -
£12.95
This mascara is amazing.
Personally, I think it can give any high-end mascara a run for its money. I’ve
done a much more in-depth review here. Trust me, it’s definitely worth a read.
