Affordable Starting Out Makeup Products

I personally joined the makeup bandwagon quite late and only really started wearing a proper full face between the ages of about 17-19.

When I was a lot younger of course I bought bits and bobs of makeup with my pocket money - but this usually meant a 2 minute trip into Boots with £5 in my hand to buy a blue eyeshadow and 'ultra black waterproof mascara' all from The Natural Collection. 

Oh the good old days hey.

(I also remember a silver and glittery eyeshadow my Nan gave me once which I used to use my finger to awkwardly spread over my eyelids with no sense of shape or blending..)

I feel like now I have a sturdy makeup collection and all the products I use I love and am always recommending to others, so it only feels right to share these products with you guys - especially for those of you who are starting out and want a little help choosing where to start or maybe you just want a little change up of your products.

(Side note - some of these products I know longer use but I am including my 'firsts' as they are more affordable than some I now use - but each one I have used before and loved).

To help you out, I'm also going to list them in the order that I put them on when applying my makeup so it gives you an idea of how to get the best use of each one (or what I can only assume anyway), plus each product is linked!

Every good makeup look starts with moisturising. 

It balances out your skin and makes a lovely smooth surface for concealer and foundation to be applied on to.

Simple make lovely little affordable bottles of daily moisturiser each one different depending on your skin type.

They are also a very good dupe for higher end creams.

I personally used the Kind To Skin Replenishing Rich moisturiser, and its super affordable in a nice sized bottle.

[Picture taken from Superdrug website.]

For concealer Rimmel Wake Me Up is always the winner.

It comes in a variety of shades so you can find the perfect one for you (use the testers in store and blend into the back of your hand - I am very pale and am the shade Ivory). 

It has a wand so its easy to apply and covers up not only under eye circles and red blemishes but also spots as well. 

I love this product and still use it religiously.

When first starting out with makeup I knew foundation was important and finding the right shade was also something that needed to be right - you don't want to end up looking like an Oompa Loompa.

After watching a lot of YouTube reviews and tutorials I settled upon Rimmel Match Perfection in the shade Classic Ivory.

This is a liquid foundation with a pump and has a lovely buildable coverage. It also applies smoothly over concealer and covers blemishes and spots.

During the summer or maybe even for a pick me up in Winter an alternative to Match Perfection is Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation. This has a subtle glittery look to it which I LOVED when I first started using. 

It gives your skin a radiant and healthy look without being borderline fairy. 

[Pictures taken from Superdrug website.]

I love bronzer. It gives your face that extra bit of natural glow and colour rather than the kind of ghostly and plain look foundation can leave you with.

For me the Barry M Chisel Cheek palette is perfect. 

It's super affordable and comes with three useful shades.

The lighter shade acts as a highlighter and the light brown in the middle I use as to add colour to my cheek bones, (the darker shade on the right may make a better bronzer shade for you if you are not as pale as I am!).

Be warned though - both bronzer shades need to be blended with a tiny bit of foundation as the shades are not that subtle.

But for the price you pay for this set it's not that much hassle, plus it comes with a helpful little guide on the inside of the packaging directing you the best places to use each shade.

Another bronzer suggestion if you fancy something a bit different and slightly cheaper is this little gem I found - MUA Pixel Perfect Multi Bronze in the shade Terracotta Glow.
It looks a bit funky (as well as cute on your dressing table) and works not as well as Barry M but still adds a bit of colour to your cheeks.
I tend to use a big powder brush which I rub evenly around the palette to mix the colours together and generally brush this along my forehead, chin and tops of my cheek bones. Its a bit lighter than Barry M Chisel Cheeks to they work well together as a pair, this one acting slightly like A mild highlighter.

Moving onto eye shadow.

I LOVE eye shadow palettes. They are so pleasing and pretty to look at and own waaaay more than I actually use.
In fact at the moment - during this week January/February time where nobody really knows what season it is - I'm finding myself reaching for the same one everyday, and it is actually one of the first palettes I ever purchased!
Maybelline - The Nudes.
It has a lovely variation of nude shades some with a little bit of sparkle and others just normal block colours - and each colour blends perfectly with another to create different looks.
My most used shade is on the top line second from the right (they don't have shade names unfortunately), which I sometimes like to blend second from the left on the bottom layer with.
This palette is great for starting out with eye shadow as there arn't any colours too daring (apart from maybe the black at the bottom) but all in all you can't really go wrong! Get yourself a couple of blending brushes and you're good to go.

Mascara is one of the parts of makeup that I love the most. As soon as it's applied it opens up your eyes and generally finishes off any makeup look, so having a decent one is important - and it's even better when it's at an affordable price!
And of course it's Maybelline Lash Sensational.
What sort of blogger would I be if I didn't mention this mascara right?!
I'm not going to go on too much because you all know from every other blogger in the world that this product is amazing.
Use this mascara along with some eyelash curlers before and after applying and your eyes will be popping! (In the best way possible haha).
In my opinion it beats the higher-end Benefit Lash Sensational by a mile!

Finishing off with lipstick.
I've gone with a nude shade to share with you as I feel like when you start out with makeup you don't necessarily want to try anything too daring until you've figured out what colours suit you and your style.
For me my perfect nude is Kate Moss in the shade 45.
This can also be used over the top of Kate Moss 101 to create a lovely natural pink shade for a cuter look!
I love both these lipsticks 45 being the ultimate nude that I loooove and definitely use on a  daily basis, whether that's on it's own, over the top of a pink or even to lighten up a red shade.

All these products in my mind form a lovely quick and easy makeup bag for anybody wanting to start out with makeup with affordable products.

If you were to buy all the products I've suggested (minus the Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation and Kate Moss 101) the overall price would be around £52 which could buy you one bottle of high end foundation and shops like Boots and Superdrug always have sales on so you're more than likely to get most of these half price!

As for applying makeup I will always recommend the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge  for concealer and foundation. These are about £5.99 or £9.99 for a pack of two.
As long as you keep them clean (use your own shampoo about 3-4 times a week) they last ages and blend perfectly!

Bronzer, eyes shadow, highlighter, etc etc I use brushes to apply (and the sponge above to blend out the bronzer once applied) and the B Collection contains everything you need.
They may not be as soft or accurately shaped as higher-end brushes but they do the job and help you work out what type of brushes you like using for certain products.


 I hope this has helped you guys out in some way or another and you may have spotted a product you fancy popping into your makeup bag.
Either way let me know below and leave your blog links!

Molly
xox

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