Wednesday 16 September 2015

The High-Street Makeup Starter Set

It wouldn't be a high-street-centric month without a post dedicated to my top high-street makeup picks, so I've rounded up my recommendations for what I'd pick up for someone just starting out in makeup. Maybe you don't need an item from every category but if you wanted to buy a full face with every step, here's what I rate from the high-street:


So for primer, there's only one, high-street or high-end, that I really reach for these days and that's the MaxFactor FaceFinity Foundation Primer. It's designed to make your makeup stick to your face better and I think it does a great job at just that. This is one of those products that I maybe don't reach for everyday, but when I need my base to really last I crack this out.

In my opinion, L'Oreal do some of the best foundations on the high-street, and their True Match Foundation is one I've been a fan of for a long time now. It feels light on the skin but the coverage is nice and last a long time without feeling heavy on the skin. Also? The shade range is great, so there should be something for most people.

Concealer was always that product that I thought high-street brands didn't do overly well, I'd tried a good few over the last few years and they were all just a bit heavy or drying on the skin. In the last year or so that seems to have changed dramatically and now you can pick up great formulas for less and my favourite at the moment is actually the New Look Liquid Concealer, it feels like it could be a skincare item it's so light on the skin, and the coverage is nice without being cakey, it's also insanely affordable.

My powder recommendation is obviously the Soap & Glory One Heck of a Blot, will I ever stop bleating on about this? Probably not. Its finely milled, controls oil amazingly. A must-have for all with oily skin.

I've foud that MaxFactor seem to do the best blushes on the highstreet, with both there Creamy Touch Blushes and their Creme Puff Blush formulas being lovely, L'Oreal do some nice powder blushes too but I think MaxFactor wins on the grounds that they offer two different but great formulas in a good range of shades and so I can imagine most would find something they liked from Maxfactor.

If you're into contouring, you can now have that on a budget with the release of Maybelline's Master Sculpt Contouring Palette. I really struggle to find contouring products even in the high end, they're always a bit dark or a bit orange or a bit muddy. But this one is amazing, and it comes with a small but perfectly formed highlighting powder too. Genius.

If contouring isn't your thing but you just want a bronze-y glow, the Soap & Glory Solar Powder is probably a pick you'll enjoy. It's has two shades, a lighter and a darker bronze that can be used separately or swirled together which means you can customise how much bronze you get. And they're updated the packaging so it's not so flimsy anymore, yay!

Finding a traditional eye-primer on the high-street was a tough-y. The only brand that really seems to stock one was Rimmel, and while their Exaggerate Shadow Primer doesn't quite rival formulas from Urban Decay and such the like, this is still going to be a nice base for your eyeshadow that will make them apply a little easier and last a bit longer.

For a powder eyeshadow palette, I was going to choose the Maybelline The Nudes Palettes because the shadows in that palette are not messing around, they're buttery and pigmented and rival higher-end brands in terms of quality, but if you're trying to cut back the price even more then it's got to be the Revolution Redemption Iconic 1 Palette, as mentioned in my review post last week, it's a dupe for the Urban Decay Naked Palette for £4, who could ask for more?

Now for eye-liner I was going to recommend the Rimmel Scandaleyes, and if you want some nice coloured liners, that's where you need to go, but for a basic black the Maybelline Master Drama swooped in at the last minute and stole my heart. It's a great formula, a solid jet black, so comparable to Urban Decay's Perversion liner. I won't dwell on the Maxfactor 2000 Calorie Curved Brush Mascara because we all knew it would be in here. It's amazing, it's the best, need I say more?

For brows I'm loving the No7 Beautiful Brow Sculpting Pencil the chunky nib makes for a speedy application and the spool-y brush on the end is perfect. This has kicked my Soap & Glory Archery Brow Pencil to the back of the class in my collection.

And then for lip products, I had to pick two, a bold matte and a glossy neutral, becuase not everyone likes both. The bold? Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvets, again you've heard about them on here quite frequently but they're just great. The my glossy option would be the Maybelline Colour Sensational Shine Glosses, nicely tinted, not sticky, great shine.

And there we have it, a whole face of high-street products.

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