Beauty Pieces I Will Always Invest In

Sep 23

We all have our different vices in life and beauty products are definitely mine. And even though my relationship with beauty and consumerism has changed drastically over the years it's still something I love to spend my spare money on. There are a certain set of products where I will always spend a little more if I'm able to and I'm excited to share them with you today and explain why I choose to spend a little more on certain items.

BASE

PRIMER

For a long time, you weren't able to purchase primer from the high street which I think is what initially pushed a lot of people to look at the more luxurious brands. And since then the high street have released variance different primer products but nothing quite beats the high-end options for me. There is a huge amount of variance when it comes to picking a formulation and I always love to go for something that can smooth out my skin as well as hydrate and add radiance to a lacklustre complexion. Favourites include;

Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch
Too Faced Hangover RX Primer
Clarins Beauty Flash Balm*
Becca Back Light Priming Filter*

FOUNDATION

The highstreets shade range when it comes to foundation whilst still not the best used to even worse which is what initially pushed me to look at more expensive options. I was so fed up of products either going orange within 10 minutes of applying them onto my skin or being so matte and dry on the complexion that they looked terrible. And thankfully now there are some really amazing bases out there and the shade range is much more varied but I still prefer to shop high end. Not only because I can get a near perfect colour match but I always find that the formulations are superb and really do wonderful things to the skin. I like bases that are medium to full coverage but can still allow your natural skin to shine through as well as being able to last all day and wear evenly. Some favourites include;

Clinique Even Better Foundation
Beauty Beauty Pie Great Skin Foundation*
Makeup For Ever HD Foundation*
Becca Ultimate Complexion Coverage Cream*

YSL Youth Liberator
Tarte Amazonian Clay Foundation*
Lancome Teint Idole Ultra Wear Foundation*
YSL Le Teint Touche Elcat*

POWDER

If you want a powder that can simply mattify the skin then there really is no need to shop high end as there are plenty of options to do that on the high street. But I like something that can set everything into place, add a little bit of coverage and not be completely matte. So I'm quite a tricky customer when it comes to powder but here are some that fit the bill;

bareMinerals Original Skin Foundation*
MAC Mineralize Skin Finish
Beauty Pie Powder*

BLUSHER

I wrote a post recently all about why I'm such a blusher snob so it's not a surprise that this product makes it into this post. You can read that post [linked below] if you want to delve into more detail about my favourites. But the reason why I do love to shop high end for blush is mostly to do with the colour selection. Of course, if you just want a standard peach or pink then there are some great blush options for those on a budget but I tend to go for things that are a little more a dusky and berry. As well as the dreamy formulations that the high-end brands tend to offer like dreamy creams and liquids. Long-term favourites of mine come from;

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush
Stila Convertible Colour
Nars Blush
Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush
Pixi Blush*

Why I'm Such A Blusher Snob

PERFUME

In general, I don't think perfume is a really affordable beauty item anyway. Whatever you buy you're looking at £30 and above but something I do really love is more luxe fragrance options. Typically fragrance isn't something that you buy yourself either and a fancy fragrance is such a wonderful gift to give to somebody. And it's not the formulation that pulls me to the high end of the price spectrum it's the scents. They are always so unique and you know that you're more than likely not going to end up smelling the same all the other females around you. Firm favourites of mine are;

Jo Malone
Clean Reserve*
Penhaligons*
Aqua Di Parma*

BEAUTY TOOLS

It took me a long time to really get into beauty tools and get to grips with them. But now they're an integral part of my beauty routine and the way that they make my products perform and last throughout the day isn't something I can deny. When I was still finding my feet with the world of beauty tools I picked up some cheap pieces and whilst they worked well for a little while they never stood the test of time. So now I tend to spend a little more on the tools that I use because I'm a firm believer that when you spend a little more on them then they can last a number of years rather than just a few months. There are only two brands that I tend to shop from now and that is Real Techniques and Zoeva. Both are still pretty affordable in my eyes but they're not a £1 a brush like some brands so I would class them as an investment. I've had brushes from both of those brands for years, they've been washed hundreds and hundreds of times. They've never shed, become damaged or really shown much wear and whilst the initial spend can be a little painful they are well worth it.