Today I am going to start my Back to School series as it is coming up to going back to school. Feel free to comment any suggestions or questions you may have for back to school and I will happily do that for you. So today's post is going to be for anyone who is starting out with makeup or just someone who wants some more drugstore recommendations. I also find that other peoples versions are not realistic, they pick out the most expensive products from the drugstore and give you one of everything which I think is unnecessary for any beginner. All the products mentioned are under £10 and are usually on offer so they are super affordable to purchase.
Disclaimer: In no way am I saying that every beginner needs all of this, I am going to go through each product and explain whether they are for someone who needs light or full coverage. Their is something for everyone in this post. I am not encouraging everyone to wear makeup. This is for someone who would like to experiment more in the drugstore products and still be able to wear it for school.
If you have great skin please skip to eyes!
The Basics
Concealers:
I will now go through concealers. As you can probably see I have a lot of these shown in the images above but they are all for different coverage and skin types.
For under the eyes:
Light coverage - Rimmel Wake me up Concealer (£5.49) Good for all skin types
High coverage - Collection Lasting perfect Concealer (£4.19) Works best on more oily skin to combination skin: If you use this under the eyes and you have dry skin use the MUA primer under your eyes before hand to prevent it from creasing.
For blemishes, marks, scaring and and other problems:
Light coverage - Natural Collection creamy Concealer (£1.99) Good for all skin types: Just be sure to blend well.
High coverage - Collection Lasting perfection Concealer (£4.19) Same as for under the eyes.
Multipurpose concealers:
Light to Medium coverage - MUA Pro base prime and conceal palette (£4) Works on all types of skin: In depth review linked here.
High coverage - (As you can guess) Collection Lasting perfect Concealer (£4.19) Again linked here for a mini review.
Tips for Concealer:
-If your concealer ever looks cakey just get a little bit of moisturizer and apply it over you face to give it a more natural look.
- If you pretty much need coverage all over your face just dot a bit of a concealer of your choice on each cheek, your forehead, chin, nose and just blend all across your face to act as a bb cream/foundation but a lot lighter.
- For under the eyes always buy a concealer one shade lighter than your skin colour, therefore it will make you look more awake.
- You can also apply your light under eye concealer to anywhere you want to highlight: cheekbones, nose, cupids bow, for a really natural glow.
Powder:
To reduce shine:
MUA Matte perfect loose powder (£2.50) - Great for really oily skin
To set makeup:
MUA pressed powder (£1) - Great for all skin types and good for on the go: Also is the only powder mentioned that gives a small amount of coverage.
Multipurpose powder:
Rimmel Clear complexion powder (£3.99) - All of these can be multipurpose but I think this one is the best. Good for all skin types: might not mattify for really oily skin.
Tips for Powder:
- Only mattify where you are shiny as it can look cakey
- Set your under eye concealer with a smaller brush to make sure it wont crease.
- If you have really dry skin power may not be necessary: only if you need to set makeup
Eyelash curlers:
I know your probably thinking, I must be a bit nuts, but you will thank me later. The school I go to, we are not meant to wear makeup at all, so it has to look like your skin. Once my friend had to be sent the bathroom because of her mascara. It was far too obvious and she still gets in trouble because of it. To make sure I on't get caught all I do is curl my eye lashes and that's it. It makes me look more awake and still looks natural.
Primark eyelash curlers (£1)- Eye to use, gives really good curl and length.
Tips for curling your eyelashes:
-To make your curl last longer, just heat up the curler with your hair dryer and curl as normal.
Lip Balm:
If you know me, you will know that I have a lip balm obsession. I could talk about them forever but I will just share a few of my favorites.
Really moisturizing:
Nivea essential care (£1) - My all time favorite lip balm
Tinted balms:
Maybelline baby lips electro (£2.99) - Personally I think these are way better than the original collection. They are much more pigmented, more long lasting and they have a better colour range.
MUA Sweet sheen lip balm (£2) - I really love these, super natural, buttery and lightly pigmented.
Two in one:
Maybelline DrResuce baby lips (£3.49) - Really good for a two in one
Tips for lip balm:
- Really simple, but always keep one with you at all times.
- If they are too pigmented for your liking just apply in the centre and blend with you finger.
Tools (not including eyelash curlers):
I know what your probably thinking, I am going to say Real Techniques. As much as I love their brushes, I don't think they are the best and most bank friendly for beginner. If you want to spend that little bit more on brushes feel free to but Real Techniques but you can find good ones for so much cheaper.
As a beginner the only tools I think you need are:
- Tweezers (eye brows)
- Sponge
- Big fluffy brush
You can find tweezers anywhere and it's almost likely that your family will own some but Primark sell them for super cheap.
When I first started wearing makeup the brushes i used were Primark's PS Beauty Brushes. They ranged from £1-£2. I only two brushes I bought were the concealer and eye shadow double ended brush (£1.50), and the blusher brush (£1.50) which I used for powder. Still to this day, I use these brushes so they are really good and cheap.
I also discovered last year, Home Bargains Beauty Blender dupe (99p). This is great for concealer as it looks really natural but giving good coverage. For 99p it is worth the try and I own two off these. Instead of cleaning them you can just repurchase it and not have to break the bank. Primark also do one but I have never tried it as I love the Home Bargains one too much.
The brushes I think you should buy:
Concealer - Home bargains Beauty blender (99p) - For more coverage
- Primark Stippling brush (£1.50) - For a lighter coverage
Powder - Primark Blush brush (£1.50) - Distributes the product really well
Extras you may want to try out
As well as the basics you may want to experiment more, but still look appropriate for school. These are the extra products, I think are great if you want to have bit more fun with doing your makeup.
Base:
Instead of foundation, I would recommend you use, MUA Pro-Base Primer (£4). I would suggest this because it evens out the skin, as well as making anything that goes on top of it, last longer.
Blush:
For blush I am going to give two options for two different skin tones and formulas. Not everyone needs blush, this is completely optional, only use if you want to add some colour to your face.
For fair and pale skin: Go for a more pink/ peach based blush.
For tanned skin: Go for a blush with a more red/ coral undertone.
Collection Speedy Blush (£3.99), Cream blush - This formula is very pigmented, and very easy to blend. A little bit does go a long way and looks really natural on the skin. Also great if your in a rush.
Fair skin colour - Tickled pink
Tanned skin colour - 02 Cheeky
Natural Collection Blush (£1.99), Powder blush - This formula are very pigmented but are build able, they look super natural, have a great colour range and the formula is said to be long lasting.
Fair skin colour - Peach melba
Tanned skin colour - Sugar plum
Tips for Blush:
- Always apply in natural day light.
- Only apply a small amount to begin with then build if needed.
- Smile when applying and start to apply on the apples of the cheek then blend to hair line.
Eye liner:
Personally I think black it too bold, so for beginners replace the black with a white. A white eye liner is a multi purpose product to make you look even more awake then using a black eye liner. On an everyday basis, I will use my white eye liner in my inner corner of my eye and just blend. It instantly makes my eyes look bigger and more awake.
MUA intense colour eye liner in Snow White (£1) - I only have one eye liner to show you as it is the one I would recommend over anything else. This is £1 and you can't get any cheaper. Pigmentation is great, it comes with a sharpener and lasts a really long time.
Tips for Eye liner:
- You can use your eye liner as a cream eye shadow, just swipe gently across the lid and blend.
- White eye liner can be used on your brow bone, inner corner, water line, lash line and all over your lid.
Mascara:
As well as curling your eye lashes you can make them even longer and thicker by adding mascara. There are so many at the drugstore, so I will share my favorites for a natural fluttered look.
Revlon Lash potion mascara (£7.99) - Gives really good length and lasts a long time.
Maybelline Big eyes mascara (£7.99) - This is great as it has two ends one for upper lashes and lower lashes, great for on the go.
Tips for Mascara:
- Less is more for school
- Do small layers an build
Lip scrub:
I think these are super fun and also they are really beneficial for the lips.
Lush Mint Julips lip scrub (£5.50) - This may seem really expensive but they do last a really long time. This is my favorite one to use and it does wonders for my lips. They are also edible and they do taste amazing.
DIY Lip Scrub (linked here)
So I hope you enjoyed this post. It was a bit longer than my regular Sunday post but I hope you enjoyed reading me babble. Please let me know if this has helped you.
I know recently my Blog pictures have been a bit hit and miss but as soon as I go back to school, I will be putting a lot more of my time and effort into blogging for you.
Grace xx
If you have great skin please skip to eyes!
The Basics
Concealers:
I will now go through concealers. As you can probably see I have a lot of these shown in the images above but they are all for different coverage and skin types.
For under the eyes:
Light coverage - Rimmel Wake me up Concealer (£5.49) Good for all skin types
High coverage - Collection Lasting perfect Concealer (£4.19) Works best on more oily skin to combination skin: If you use this under the eyes and you have dry skin use the MUA primer under your eyes before hand to prevent it from creasing.
For blemishes, marks, scaring and and other problems:
Light coverage - Natural Collection creamy Concealer (£1.99) Good for all skin types: Just be sure to blend well.
High coverage - Collection Lasting perfection Concealer (£4.19) Same as for under the eyes.
Multipurpose concealers:
Light to Medium coverage - MUA Pro base prime and conceal palette (£4) Works on all types of skin: In depth review linked here.
High coverage - (As you can guess) Collection Lasting perfect Concealer (£4.19) Again linked here for a mini review.
Tips for Concealer:
-If your concealer ever looks cakey just get a little bit of moisturizer and apply it over you face to give it a more natural look.
- If you pretty much need coverage all over your face just dot a bit of a concealer of your choice on each cheek, your forehead, chin, nose and just blend all across your face to act as a bb cream/foundation but a lot lighter.
- For under the eyes always buy a concealer one shade lighter than your skin colour, therefore it will make you look more awake.
- You can also apply your light under eye concealer to anywhere you want to highlight: cheekbones, nose, cupids bow, for a really natural glow.
Powder:
To reduce shine:
MUA Matte perfect loose powder (£2.50) - Great for really oily skin
To set makeup:
MUA pressed powder (£1) - Great for all skin types and good for on the go: Also is the only powder mentioned that gives a small amount of coverage.
Multipurpose powder:
Rimmel Clear complexion powder (£3.99) - All of these can be multipurpose but I think this one is the best. Good for all skin types: might not mattify for really oily skin.
Tips for Powder:
- Only mattify where you are shiny as it can look cakey
- Set your under eye concealer with a smaller brush to make sure it wont crease.
- If you have really dry skin power may not be necessary: only if you need to set makeup
Eyelash curlers:
I know your probably thinking, I must be a bit nuts, but you will thank me later. The school I go to, we are not meant to wear makeup at all, so it has to look like your skin. Once my friend had to be sent the bathroom because of her mascara. It was far too obvious and she still gets in trouble because of it. To make sure I on't get caught all I do is curl my eye lashes and that's it. It makes me look more awake and still looks natural.
Primark eyelash curlers (£1)- Eye to use, gives really good curl and length.
Tips for curling your eyelashes:
-To make your curl last longer, just heat up the curler with your hair dryer and curl as normal.
Lip Balm:
If you know me, you will know that I have a lip balm obsession. I could talk about them forever but I will just share a few of my favorites.
Really moisturizing:
Nivea essential care (£1) - My all time favorite lip balm
Tinted balms:
Maybelline baby lips electro (£2.99) - Personally I think these are way better than the original collection. They are much more pigmented, more long lasting and they have a better colour range.
MUA Sweet sheen lip balm (£2) - I really love these, super natural, buttery and lightly pigmented.
Two in one:
Maybelline DrResuce baby lips (£3.49) - Really good for a two in one
Tips for lip balm:
- Really simple, but always keep one with you at all times.
- If they are too pigmented for your liking just apply in the centre and blend with you finger.
Tools (not including eyelash curlers):
I know what your probably thinking, I am going to say Real Techniques. As much as I love their brushes, I don't think they are the best and most bank friendly for beginner. If you want to spend that little bit more on brushes feel free to but Real Techniques but you can find good ones for so much cheaper.
As a beginner the only tools I think you need are:
- Tweezers (eye brows)
- Sponge
- Big fluffy brush
You can find tweezers anywhere and it's almost likely that your family will own some but Primark sell them for super cheap.
When I first started wearing makeup the brushes i used were Primark's PS Beauty Brushes. They ranged from £1-£2. I only two brushes I bought were the concealer and eye shadow double ended brush (£1.50), and the blusher brush (£1.50) which I used for powder. Still to this day, I use these brushes so they are really good and cheap.
I also discovered last year, Home Bargains Beauty Blender dupe (99p). This is great for concealer as it looks really natural but giving good coverage. For 99p it is worth the try and I own two off these. Instead of cleaning them you can just repurchase it and not have to break the bank. Primark also do one but I have never tried it as I love the Home Bargains one too much.
The brushes I think you should buy:
Concealer - Home bargains Beauty blender (99p) - For more coverage
- Primark Stippling brush (£1.50) - For a lighter coverage
Powder - Primark Blush brush (£1.50) - Distributes the product really well
Extras you may want to try out
As well as the basics you may want to experiment more, but still look appropriate for school. These are the extra products, I think are great if you want to have bit more fun with doing your makeup.
Base:
Instead of foundation, I would recommend you use, MUA Pro-Base Primer (£4). I would suggest this because it evens out the skin, as well as making anything that goes on top of it, last longer.
Blush:
For blush I am going to give two options for two different skin tones and formulas. Not everyone needs blush, this is completely optional, only use if you want to add some colour to your face.
For fair and pale skin: Go for a more pink/ peach based blush.
For tanned skin: Go for a blush with a more red/ coral undertone.
Collection Speedy Blush (£3.99), Cream blush - This formula is very pigmented, and very easy to blend. A little bit does go a long way and looks really natural on the skin. Also great if your in a rush.
Fair skin colour - Tickled pink
Tanned skin colour - 02 Cheeky
Natural Collection Blush (£1.99), Powder blush - This formula are very pigmented but are build able, they look super natural, have a great colour range and the formula is said to be long lasting.
Fair skin colour - Peach melba
Tanned skin colour - Sugar plum
Tips for Blush:
- Always apply in natural day light.
- Only apply a small amount to begin with then build if needed.
- Smile when applying and start to apply on the apples of the cheek then blend to hair line.
Eye liner:
Personally I think black it too bold, so for beginners replace the black with a white. A white eye liner is a multi purpose product to make you look even more awake then using a black eye liner. On an everyday basis, I will use my white eye liner in my inner corner of my eye and just blend. It instantly makes my eyes look bigger and more awake.
MUA intense colour eye liner in Snow White (£1) - I only have one eye liner to show you as it is the one I would recommend over anything else. This is £1 and you can't get any cheaper. Pigmentation is great, it comes with a sharpener and lasts a really long time.
Tips for Eye liner:
- You can use your eye liner as a cream eye shadow, just swipe gently across the lid and blend.
- White eye liner can be used on your brow bone, inner corner, water line, lash line and all over your lid.
Mascara:
As well as curling your eye lashes you can make them even longer and thicker by adding mascara. There are so many at the drugstore, so I will share my favorites for a natural fluttered look.
Revlon Lash potion mascara (£7.99) - Gives really good length and lasts a long time.
Maybelline Big eyes mascara (£7.99) - This is great as it has two ends one for upper lashes and lower lashes, great for on the go.
Tips for Mascara:
- Less is more for school
- Do small layers an build
Lip scrub:
I think these are super fun and also they are really beneficial for the lips.
Lush Mint Julips lip scrub (£5.50) - This may seem really expensive but they do last a really long time. This is my favorite one to use and it does wonders for my lips. They are also edible and they do taste amazing.
DIY Lip Scrub (linked here)
So I hope you enjoyed this post. It was a bit longer than my regular Sunday post but I hope you enjoyed reading me babble. Please let me know if this has helped you.
I know recently my Blog pictures have been a bit hit and miss but as soon as I go back to school, I will be putting a lot more of my time and effort into blogging for you.
Grace xx
Wow this post is very helpful! I hope the tips you gave alongside it, thank you. Next time my concealer looks cakey I am going to add moisturizer x
ReplyDeletehttp://thriftyvintagefashion.blogspot.co.uk/
I have always done that. It just makes your makeup look a lot more natural, and stops it looking cakey. It might differ with different concealers and moisturizers but all the ones I own work fine with it. x
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