Where to Splurge and Where to Save?

Now the clue really is in the title of this one. Today is my birthday and I was all inspired to do this post while carrying out my extra indulgent getting ready ritual this morning, I began with a nice deep bubbly bath and all my favorite luxury products followed until I was totally beautified ready to eat loads of cake. Now I love a nice fancy product and I have to say you really do get what you pay for most of the time so where possible of course I would always splurge but not everyday is so special and sometimes cut backs are needed. So the question is, where is best to make them?

Firstly lets talk the big guns, where to splurge. 

Skincare, if you’ve checked out any of my previous blog posts you’ll know that I really stress the importance of a good skincare regime and i’d say definitely invest in your skin, you 100% get what you pay for as the price reflects the quality of the ingredients, the research and science gone into making the product and where and how it has been tested, all of which is very important to how efficient it is at making your skin fabulous. As a general guideline i’d say pay £15+ for any skincare product and allocate a big chunk of your budget for all your face lotions and potions. 

Foundation, in my experience high end foundations are so much easier blended, they have a much more extensive colour range and so getting the perfect match is much easier,  they are kinder on the skin and so breakouts and reactions are fewer and generally they last longer. My absolute favorites are the Armani Luminous Silk Foundation and Dior Nude Skin. 

Primers, this is for all the same reasons as mentioned with skincare. A good primer will ensure your make up lasts so much longer and applies beautifully and so definitely worth the investment. I have found cheaper primers to be cakey, cause breakouts and not do a whole lot to keep my face from slipping off. See my previous post on primers for a more in-depth review but top recommendations include the Laura Mercier Radiance Primer and the Hourglass Mineral Veil Primer. 

Eyeshadows, now I did have a little argument with myself over this because more recently I have been impressed with some more budget eyeshadow buys, specifically the Rimmel ScandalEYES shadow stick and Maybelline 24hour Colour Tattoos are both very good. However I do still believe it’s worth investing in more luxury eyeshadow products as the colour pay off, especially when talking powder shadows is considerably better meaning you’ll get the colour on your lids that you’re seeing in the eyeshadow pan. These high end eyeshadow products blend so easily and this will make such a difference to the overall look of your shadow especially with more dramatic dark smokey looks. I love the Dior ‘ 5 Couleurs’ eyeshadow palettes and the Tom Ford Eyeshadow Quads (which at £60 a pop are very luxury!!). Sitting nicely at middle ground MAC do brilliant eyeshadows at £12 which are still affordable but give you a nice bit of luxury with all the benefits mentioned above. 

Now lets talk tightening those purse strings, where to save. 

Mascaras, I nearly always pick up my mascara from boots and I do find the quality generally to be equally as good. There are so many mascaras out there and new ones launching each week and we all get suckered into those ads on TV so picking a more budget buy means you can switch and change more frequently and you don’t have to put up with it when its gone gloopy due to guilt of how much it cost you. It really is all in the brush which is totally down to personal preference, I prefer a more traditional ‘teddy’ brush type but appreciate a comb style mascara is great for separating your lashes. I recommend the MaxFactor False Lash Effect Mascara, Loreal Volume Million Lashes and a true classic the Maybelline Great Lash Mascara. 

Body Scrubs, I do love a good body scrub to keep my skin nice and soft and have used so many different ones over the years. There are a few luxury ones which are very good, I particularly like the Caudalie Divine Scrub but actually I tend to pick mine up from Boots. At the moment I am using Soap and Glory’s The Scrub of your Life which is fairly gentle by my standards and foams up and so also doubles up as a shower gel. I do team it with the Soap and Glory Scrubbing Mitts when I want a super scrub. Another favorite which I tend to use before a night out is The Sanctuary Salt Scrub, as well as sea salt it has a rich mix of moisturizing oils that remain on the skin once dry leaving a gorgeous glow to the skin, looks amazing on legs and just makes you feel hollywood expensive. 

Nail Polishes, There is something very indulgent in splurging buying a Chanel Nail Polish and I have definitely been guilty of spending over £15 before on the perfect polish but I have to say with polishes it really is the name and the packaging that adds the hefty price tag. I would definitely recommend splurging more on nail treatments, base coats and top coats but colour polishes can be as cheap as possible. I love Barry M, Revlon and Rimmel for polishes, they do every colour imaginable and I have far too many! With a steady hand and nice thin layers your manicure will look Chanel expensive and be pretty chip resistant. 

Lipsticks, Now similar to nail polishes I completely appreciate the power buying a fancy new lipstick has in increasing a woman’s happiness. I regularly do this myself and would often serve women at SpaceNK who really were medicating a bad day with a new lipstick to make things better. I hear you girlfriends and for the record if shit really has hit the fan in my experience Tom Ford offer the best lipstick cure. BUT actually you can get really good lipsticks on the high street and i’d recommend this especially if you are trying out bolder, brighter colors or finding the perfect nude, use these budget lippies to experiment and then when you love it you can replace it with the queen equivalent. I love the Loreal Colour Riche Collection Prive and have Cheryl and Eva which are both beautiful nudes. The Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Moss collection is also fab for everything from nude to pillar-box red. 

Ok so I haven’t had any birthday cake in a while, this post really could go on and so a part two may be in order for a future post. I hope this helps and for those of you saying my blogs are costing you a fortune well this is a small nod to helping your bank balances.

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