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Post by A F Beauty

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I love beauty products. I love them more than my wallet loves them. So to try and balance desire with budget I like to keep my ear to the ground for bargain products that do a great job at a brilliant price. I wanted to test genuinely well priced products, not just a fabulous lipstick on 90% discount so I have aimed for items under AU$15.

Budget Beauty Reviews

First the oldies but goodies. I’ve been re-testing Rimmel’s Hide the Blemish concealer – AU$9 and Barry M’s Showgirl Extra Lengthening Mascara – AU$10.

Hide The Blemish. So, it transpires I am the biggest idiot! This concealer is great – why did I stop using this as a teen?!! I’ve gotten on great with the texture and coverage and the way I can layer to build coverage – I will add this as a staple to my make-up bags. (Yes, both!)

Barry M Mascara. This says it is extra lengthening; maybe it is, but in that case, so is it extra time consuming! The wand is one of those plastic spikey ones, not an old fashioned brush, which I think do a better job of lengthening or volumising. That said, it goes on well without clumping, it’s great colour and texture, you just have to apply a few coats to get the extra lengthening.

Next the supermarket products. Here I got lucky! I was in Aldi, which has some well-reviewed products at amazing prices. I tried the 3-in-1 Primer at AU$5.

At $5 I didn’t have massive expectations, but Aldi consistently receives great write ups for their budget skincare line. I really liked the primer, much more than I expected. I am not a huge fan of the silicone type primers which feel overly silky but this is more of a light moisturiser. I used my daily moisturiser followed by the primer, then foundation. The primer instructions were to apply over the face concentrating on fine lines – this seemed odd to me given the lightness of the fluid, but I think my foundation applied well, evenly and smoothly. Although much lighter, I found this similar in concept and result to Clarins Beauty Flash Balm, smoothing the face and leaving me looking marginally, inexplicably, better, but it was less sticky (good!).

Lastly, a wildcard, an eyebrow kit from Priceline (Walgreens/Boots equiv), a brand known as Model’s Prefer. Model’s Prefer Eyebrow kit from Priceline AU$13, the most expensive item in this group, but worth the little extra.
The kit contains a brow powder, coloured gel, a slanted brush to apply and a mini tweezer. I’ve learned to spend 30 seconds of the few minutes I spend on make up each morning on brows to frame the face. I used just the coloured gel usually and this is both reliable and easy to give a decent lasting result.

I have happily added the concealer, primer and eyebrow palette to my daily routine and it’s some of the best money I’ve spent! What are your favourite budget beauty products?

A F Beauty xx