I love makeup. I love hair products. I love everything to do with making myself look and feel a little bit better. I've been obsessed with it all ever since I was a child, taking to the stage to perform a solo ballet piece with blue eyeshadow slapped all over me like a leftover from the 70's. I worked in the industry for many years, later turning that passion into this blog, so I've seen both sides of the beauty industry and pretty much every product imaginable. Although I love a luxurious cream packaged in a delightfully beautiful pot, the buzz I get from finding a fab budget buy is possibly just as strong. Just as Primark and charity shops have become on-trend and adopted by high fashion, affordable beauty is having a resurgence - because spending more doesn't always mean you're getting better quality. (Read why not here.) There are now so many products and brands offering amazing quality for a more than reasonable price point, ensuring that beauty is once again accessible to all and affordable enough to be fun again. This week I'm going to be bringing you a series of posts which showcase my favourite budget beauty brands, top product picks and hidden gems that will all be worth picking up - plus every single one will be under a tenner. In celebration of my forthcoming #BudgetBeautyWeek, here are my top five reasons why I love a beauty bargain and even an opportunity to win a huge hamper of goodies for yourself...
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1. It's A Quick Pre-Payday Fix
Got two weeks left before this month's pay check hits your bank account, but really need a shopping fix? Keep your credit card stashed well and truly away, because picking up a bold lipstick or brand new nail varnish can give you the same buzz as a pair of shoes. Adding a bright colour into your reportoire can make it feel like new, helping to ensure even a white tee looks straight off the pages of Vogue. A slick of pink lipstick, a hit of bronzer or an on-trend layer of nail paint can inject life into a tired wardrobe and doesn't need to cost more than a fiver.
2. Trends Move On
How many times have magazines told us to buy into the hype of Chanel's latest £45 eyeshadow palette because it contains this season's must-have green shade? Budget beauty brands, or even more affordable high street alternatives, often copy those shades but charge a fraction of the cost - great when you know you won't be wearing it two months later. Save your pennies for a real investment (such as a foundation you know perfectly suits your skintone and type,) and pick up cheaper alternatives when you know you're just buying into a current trend.
3. Sister Brands Are Doing It For Themselves
So many luxury or premium names have more affordable sister brands, developed and made by the same factories (and more often than not using a practically identical formula.) Bourjois and Chanel, L'Oreal and YSL, Rimmel and OPI - all made by the same overarching companies. In a lot of cases you pay extra for the quality control process and a fancy container, so if you do your research you can really discover an amazing gem that doesn't have to break the bank.
4. All In The Science
Technology and formulations have moved on so much in recent years that we're all getting much more for our buck. I can remember products that cost only a few pounds being horrendous quality, but ten years later you can grab an eyeshadow palette for £4.00 that seriously competes with one ten times its price. Ingredients are cheaper, manufacturing processes are slicker, quantities are higher and demands are greater, all leading us into a market that produces seriously good stuff for only a few quid.
5. It's Accessible To All
Although us beauty obsessives get wrapped up in the fact that we happily throw away fifty quid on a new face cream, for the masses that's simply not realistic. Budget beauty and affordable brands ensure good skincare and makeup is accessible to everybody. My mum loves bright colours, changing her nail polish four times a week and glittery eyeliner come the festive season, but there's no way she'd spend the same amount as me - just like she'd never part with £800 for a Mulberry bag. Our high street stores are filled with affordable products that bring beauty to the masses, and that could never be a bad thing.
Because I love budget beauty products so much, I'm giving away a huge hamper of 20 different budget goodies to one lucky person so you can try out some of my favourties and hopefully discover some of your own. If you want to be in with a chance of winning then just enter via the widget below. Why not let me know your favourite budget beauty buys by leaving me a comment: I'll be summarising them in a future post (and hopefully picking up some new gems myself as a result!) I hope you enjoy LBQ's #BudgetBeautyWeek as much as me...
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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1. It's A Quick Pre-Payday Fix
Got two weeks left before this month's pay check hits your bank account, but really need a shopping fix? Keep your credit card stashed well and truly away, because picking up a bold lipstick or brand new nail varnish can give you the same buzz as a pair of shoes. Adding a bright colour into your reportoire can make it feel like new, helping to ensure even a white tee looks straight off the pages of Vogue. A slick of pink lipstick, a hit of bronzer or an on-trend layer of nail paint can inject life into a tired wardrobe and doesn't need to cost more than a fiver.
2. Trends Move On
How many times have magazines told us to buy into the hype of Chanel's latest £45 eyeshadow palette because it contains this season's must-have green shade? Budget beauty brands, or even more affordable high street alternatives, often copy those shades but charge a fraction of the cost - great when you know you won't be wearing it two months later. Save your pennies for a real investment (such as a foundation you know perfectly suits your skintone and type,) and pick up cheaper alternatives when you know you're just buying into a current trend.
3. Sister Brands Are Doing It For Themselves
So many luxury or premium names have more affordable sister brands, developed and made by the same factories (and more often than not using a practically identical formula.) Bourjois and Chanel, L'Oreal and YSL, Rimmel and OPI - all made by the same overarching companies. In a lot of cases you pay extra for the quality control process and a fancy container, so if you do your research you can really discover an amazing gem that doesn't have to break the bank.
4. All In The Science
Technology and formulations have moved on so much in recent years that we're all getting much more for our buck. I can remember products that cost only a few pounds being horrendous quality, but ten years later you can grab an eyeshadow palette for £4.00 that seriously competes with one ten times its price. Ingredients are cheaper, manufacturing processes are slicker, quantities are higher and demands are greater, all leading us into a market that produces seriously good stuff for only a few quid.
5. It's Accessible To All
Although us beauty obsessives get wrapped up in the fact that we happily throw away fifty quid on a new face cream, for the masses that's simply not realistic. Budget beauty and affordable brands ensure good skincare and makeup is accessible to everybody. My mum loves bright colours, changing her nail polish four times a week and glittery eyeliner come the festive season, but there's no way she'd spend the same amount as me - just like she'd never part with £800 for a Mulberry bag. Our high street stores are filled with affordable products that bring beauty to the masses, and that could never be a bad thing.
Because I love budget beauty products so much, I'm giving away a huge hamper of 20 different budget goodies to one lucky person so you can try out some of my favourties and hopefully discover some of your own. If you want to be in with a chance of winning then just enter via the widget below. Why not let me know your favourite budget beauty buys by leaving me a comment: I'll be summarising them in a future post (and hopefully picking up some new gems myself as a result!) I hope you enjoy LBQ's #BudgetBeautyWeek as much as me...
a Rafflecopter giveaway
