Top Ten Budget Friendly Beauty Under €10

Today’s post is all about my top ten beauty products under €10. This was actually a lot harder than I thought it would be and made me realise that a lot of my makeup in my collection costs over €10. The ten I did choose however are pieces that I use quite regularly. A lot of the times when I’m in a rush for work and need to throw something into my makeup bag these are usually the items that get thrown in.

Starting with the base we have the Rimmel Lasting Finish Primer. This is a creamy, slightly iridescent primer that really glues the foundation onto the skin. As I have oily/combination skin this is perfect for it. It leaves the skin silky smooth, as well as helping it stay matte for the rest of the day. This primer comes in at €8.85 and it goes perfectly with the Rimmel Lasting Finish 25hr Foundation.

This foundation is an oily girls dream. This has the quality of a higher end foundation and one that I regularly reach for. It’s a full coverage foundation that goes on evenly and last the whole day. Not only does it have great staying power it is also very mattifying, I very rarely have to powder my nose when I wear this foundation. Coming in at €8.99, it is definitely the best foundation under €10 that I have tried.

There were a few concealers to choose from such as the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer but I chose the Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer as I’m loving it at the moment. It gives me the coverage that I need without being too heavy it also has brightening properties to help give you that bright eyed and bushy tailed look. The Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer is €5.49.

I have such a love for Makeup Revolution; they sell amazing products at extremely affordable prices. I chose this blush for the price and the quality. The blushes are so pigmented, one tap is all you need and it gives you so much colour on your cheek. I have only one of these blushes in the shade Sugar but the next time I’m on the Makeup Rev. website I’ll be ordering a few more. They are £1.00 each which I think works out at around €1.40.

The Sleek Face Contour Kit is a firm favourite with a lot of beauty lovers. I have the kit in Light which is perfect for our Irish skin. The kit comes with a bronzer and a highlighter. I get so much use out of this palette. The bronzer is a perfect brown, not too orange or ashy it’s just perfect. With this bronzer I like to build the colour, it’s very pigmented so start I start off small and build it up to my desired colour. The highlighter is really good as well; again a little goes a long way. Sweep this on and you’ll be glowing all day. This is one that all girls should have in their collection, €8.49 each and available in 3 shades.

Another Makeup Revolution favourite is their Dual Ultra Brow Arch and Shape pens. They have two ends, one with a waxy crayon and the other a felt pen. I don’t usually use the felt end but the waxy crayon end is my go to. All I have to do is comb my brows through and then shape them with the crayon. As it’s a coloured wax it keeps any stray hair down as well as filling them in. It literally only takes a few seconds to fill my brows in with this pen, I love it and it’s price at £3.50 which is about €4.90.

When it comes to eye shadows there are many under €10 but a lot of the time they are singles and very rarely palettes. I love the Sleek Palettes which I was going to include on my list but when I went to price them they were over €10, I’m pretty sure the last time I bought them they were €9.99. I then spotted the Collection Eyes Uncovered palette for only €3.99. I had bought it a while back and never tried it but was pleasantly surprised when I did. There are 3 palettes to choose from; I got the Nude Grey palette which is perfect for a smoky eye. There are 2 mattes and 4 metallic, with a mix of bronze, silver and plums. I love this little palette and I’m going to have to get my hands on the other 2, they are really pigmented, easy to blend and last all day.

Going through my collection I found that I only have one eyeliner under €10 and that’s the Maybelline Master Kajal, everything else from gels to liquids where all over €10. You can’t really go wrong with this Kajal; it’s perfect for blending out for that smoked out effect.  I know there are cheaper pencils and other liners but I have none in my collection that I could find, this one is around €8.

Again with mascara I found it hard to find one that I liked and one that was under €10, luckily though the Seventeen Falsifeye HD mascara was there to save the day. I love this mascara for slapping on my eyes when I’m not really doing anything but I still want to look like I’ve made a little effort. The mascara, lifts, separates and holds all day to give you that wide eyed look. At €8.89 it is one of my go to mascaras especially on my “No Makeup” makeup kind of days.

Finally we have lipstick, this was really hard to choose but I really like the Maybelline Color Sensational lipsticks. There are so many to choose from whether you want vivid pinks or 90’s nudes’ there’s so many to choose from. They are really pigmented and not too drying. I’ve a good few in my collection and I’m really hoping they bring their Matte collection over here, I bought some in America last year and they are some of the best matte lipsticks I’ve ever tried. They come in just under €10 at €9.99 a pop.

Added all up this makeup bag comes to €69, I wouldn’t like to think what my usual makeup bag costs or even my whole collection, I think I’d need a good lie down if I did. If you’re on a budget or have a makeup emergency then these would be my top picks for you.

All prices are from Boots or Makeup Revolution websites.

Thanks for reading.

Love Sarah xoxo

My Most Used Shadow Palettes

If there is one thing a girl loves it’s eyeshadow. I can swoon over shades sometimes, literally scream with pure joy when I swatch a new shade on the back of my hand, it might sound OTT to some but I know some of you can relate.

I have so many palettes in my collection that I even have some that I haven’t even used yet, but I do have some in my collection that I get constant use out of.

I’ve picked 5 palettes out of my collection that I use on a regular basis to show you all.

First up is my Urban Decay Naked 3 palette. I go through phases of using this one but the pink tones can really change up a smoky eye. Most of my palettes and single shadows are brown or grey toned so it’s nice to mix it up a little. You can do so many looks with this palette from a light girly pink day time look to a dark purple smoky eye. These shadows have great staying power, really pigmented and have hardly any fall out on application, which are all thumbs up for me. I got this palette as a Christmas present but you can get it for €46 in Debenhams, do shop around though because I’m sure I’ve seen it cheaper. If you don’t want to spend that kind of money on a palette Makeup Revolution and Crown Brush do really good dupes for a fraction of the price.

Next up is my MAC palette, my friends sister works for MAC and was over in their Pro Store in London so I gave her an idea of the colours I wanted and this is what I got. I use the browns and the reds mostly on a daily basis as well as the Shroom as a highlight and the black shadow Carbon for when I’m adding a bit of smoke to a look. The other colours I use for going out looks. I’ve had this palette for a good 2-3 years now and I haven’t really made too much of a dent in it even though I use it nearly every week. The colours are so pigmented that I don’t need to dig my brushes in like I would with other shadows. I need to make up another palette soon though as there are loads of other shades that I want to get my hands on.

My YSL Couture Variation Eye Palette Nude palette was a total splurge but when I swatched the colours on my hand I was in pigmentation heaven and knew I had to have it. The palette costs €58. When I got it I knew I couldn’t just let it sit in my drawer so I’ve made sure I use it regularly and have used it for work on many occasions. Even though it’s on the pricier side I don’t mind throwing it into my bad. It’s so petite and handbag friendly that I can pop it into my makeup bag without it taking up any space at all. There are some great matte and shimmer shades in this palette and what I really loved about it was the brush that came with it. I never use the brushes that come with palettes but they put just as much effort into the brush as they did with the shadows.

Onto more affordable palettes now and this one is finally on shelves in Boots. The Maybelline The Nudes palette is a really great affordable palette that you all need to go get your hands on. I bought mine last September in the states for $9.99, with the exchange rate at the time I think it worked out at 6 or 7 euro. It’s slightly pricier in Boots at €14.99 but I really think it’s worth it. The palette comes with 12 shadows and the ability to give a brown, bronze or black smoky eye. There are so many looks you can do with this palette. The colours are really good, some you have to work a little more than others but the staying power of them is excellent. I love this as an on the go palette, there has been more than a handful of times that I have just thrown this into my bag to do my makeup on the go.

Finally we have the Sleek I-Divine palettes. I have a few of these but I get most use out of the Au Natural palette. I brought this on holidays last September as I didn’t want to bring one of my more expensive palettes in case they got damaged or lost so I went with a cheaper option and was really surprised at how good it was. It has a great mix of mattes and metallics so I could get a lot of different looks out of it. You can get a bit of fall out with this palette so I usually do my eyes first with this one and then apply my foundation. The mattes can take some blending but the metallic colours are the reason I really love this palette, especially the bronze colour (hence the big dent in it). I think these used to be under €10.00 but Boots are selling them for €10.49.

What do you guys think of my favourites? Let me know in the comments below.

Thanks for reading.

Love Sarah xoxo

My Big Boots Haul

I was given a Boots voucher for €50 the other week and yesterday I decided to spend it. At first I didn’t think I was going to spend it all in one go but Sarah being Sarah I managed to spend €74 in total, I don’t even feel like I bought that much but I must have, but because I only really spent €24 I don't feel too bad.

In this post I’ll just be showing you what I bought and I’ll be doing a few posts from this haul over the next few weeks.

Here's what I bought: 

I bought 2 Collection Lasting Gel Colour polishes, these are €3.99 each but if you bought 2 you got them for €6.50. I got them in Raspberry 7 and Vixen Red 3. I’ve tried the Models Own gel effect nail polishes and didn’t think they were worth the money so I’m hoping these will be worth the price if not more.

 I got 2 of the Rimmel Moisture Renew lipsticks, I’ve never bought these before but I liked the colours that were on offer. These where €7.95 each and had an offer of buy one get the second half price. I chose 260 Amethyst Shimmer and 360 As You Want Victoria. I don’t think these are new but I do think they have just redesigned the packaging, but seeing as I’ve never tried them before they’re new for me.

Boots have finally started to fit permanent Sleek Makeup stands in their stores, it used to be that you could only get them in the Liffey Valley Boots but they are now in Dundrum and Jervis Centre too. I’ve a good few products from them already so I just picked up the Matte Me Gloss in 431 Fandango Purple as I haven’t tried the matte glosses before and the colour really caught my eye. The Glosses cost €6.49 each.

I love my volumising mascaras especially ones that are super affordable so I’m dying to try this Seventeen Falsifeye HD mascara. It promises “lash by lash separation, corner to corner volume and length for HD Impact” so I’m hoping it does exactly what it says on the tin (or at least box). Because it’s only new it has an introductory offer of €5.98, after it will cost €8.89 so if it lives up to the hype you still get bang for your buck. Silly Sarah was too excited though and just grabbed the first box she saw and ended up getting it in Brown/Black so it will be interesting to see what the colour is like when I get it out if the box.

Another mascara and another piece from Collection. This is the Colour Lash – All Day Wear Colour mascara, as the name suggests it’s a coloured mascara and I bought it in blue as you do. I’m not sure where I’m going to wear it but it only cost €2.69 so I’m not too worried if I only wear it a few times.

Bourjois where doing a 3 for 2 offer plus a free pair of glasses, I bought 2 of the Rouge Edition Velvet Matte lippies (€10.49 each) and one the new Color Boost Glossy Finish Lipsticks (€10.99). I’ve already bought one of the Rouge Edition Velvet Matte Lipsticks a month or so ago and I’ve wanted to buy more since, they have recently brought out a few more colours in the range that are a bit more darker than the ones they had on offer first. I chose 7 Nude-ist and 8 Grand Cru, I do love the darker colours. The Color Boost intrigued me, it says on the lipstick “comfort & Hydration with SPF15 for 10Hrs” it also says its waterproof and that’s the seller for me, I  can’t wait to see if this is true or not. I’ve a feeling the free glasses won’t suit my face but I haven’t tried them on yet but as my dad says “if it’s free, take it”.

I went over to the Soap and Glory stand to look at the new blush sticks that they have but wasn’t impressed by them, I looked around the rest of the stand to see if anything caught my eye (of course something did, I’m a makeup magpie). I picked up the Archery Brow Tint and Precision Pencil (€13.00), I’ve never seen a brow pencil like this, it has a tinted pen that you’re supposed to fill and shade your brow with and the pencil you use to shape your brows, it sounds very intriguing to me and it’ll be a bit different to what I’m used too. €13.00 seems a bit much for a drugstore brow pencil so it better do the business.

Finally I bought two Barry M polishes from their Aquarium Collection. They’re two toned which I don’t think I have any polishes that are two toned and I have a lot of polishes so I needed to get one for my collection. I got one two toned polish in 417 Arabian and a glitter polish in 412 Mermaid and they both complement each other. This was another multi saver offer of buy one get the second half price and they’re €5.99 each.

Hoping something caught your eye in this post and if you see anything that catches your eye and you want me to do a post about it before another product then leave a comment below.

Thanks for reading :)

Love Sarah

Urban Decay Electric Palette Dupe

I’m always on the lookout for a bargain and I especially love finding a cheaper product that will give me the same effect as a more expensive brand.

A few weeks back Urban Decay launched their new Electric Palette, now it’s completely different to all any of the other palettes they have brought out. The colours are bright and bold and probably not everyone’s cup of tea but they are such a welcome to see bright colours especially with the summer finally starting to knock on our doors!

The palette contains 5 matte shades and 5 shimmers and comes with a double ended brush as well. Like most Urban Decay palettes the price does some damage to your purse with a cost of €45 (in Debenhams right now with 10% of).

But if you don’t want to fork over that much money, especially on a palette that has a lot of colours that you won’t necessarily use on an everyday basis then why try out Sleek I Divine palettes.

I Candy

Acid

Ultra Matte V1

These palettes range between €14.39 and 9.99 and you can’t really get better than that. They have 3 palettes – Ultra Matte V1, I Candy and the one that is most like the Urban Decay Palette the I Divine Acid.

They obviously won’t be as good quality as the Urban Decay palette but if you use the right tools then I think you’ll get nearly just as good a look as you would with the Electric Palette.

So if you want to get the look but not have to fork out scores of money then head over to Sleek and choose your favourite palette.

You can get them at www.sleek.com or try your local Boots, I know the only one boots in my area that does them is Boots Liffey Vally, I've tried other boots around South Dublin but you can't find them anywhere.

Facebook Competition

Good Morning Girl's!!!

I finally have a picture up of the goodies that you can win on my Facebook competition. 

If you haven't entered yet just click the link and like, share and don't forget to follow as well :)

You can win the new Cocoa Brown Travel Set, the Oh So Special Sleek Palette and a little nail polish set from the PS Love Beauty range from Penny's.

Enter Here :)