Sounds simple enough right? I thought so too. At first. She asked me on the spot what I think is worth the splurge and I said mascara, lipstick and blush. And after it came out of my mouth, the wheels started turning and I was lost in a land of beauty product-induced ADD. Lipstick is worth splurging on right? Oh wait, Revlon! NARS bronzer is the only bronzer of life. Crap! Sonia Kashuk cream bronzer is the bomb dot com. And then I had to pull myself back to reality and the rest of my work day.
After noodling this around for a couple of days I have the following blog post for you. Thanks for the challenge Wendy!
Okay I will try for the love of Sephora, to keep this short and orderly. I could have gone through every step in my routine to compare products but for your sanity (and mine) I will not do that to us.
First and foremost, you can really find some seriously awesome gems at Target/Walmart. Seriously, I could buy a complete face of makeup and be 100% satisfied. But when I really thought it through and went into my collection and swatched and played, I realized there were some things I think are worth the splurge if you're going to do it.
One thing I think every woman should have is a classic go-to "I am more awesome than She-Ra, Wonder Woman and Storm combined." lipstick. It could be red, nude, pink or black. Whatever your go-to shade is, splurge on it. Go ahead and buy that tiny little tube of awesome at Chanel, YSL, Dior, NARS, or Bobbi Brown. Why should you have this? If you have to whip out that lipstick and reapply at dinner with clients, the boardroom, whatever, it should be classy. And if its something you wear everyday, it's worth the money. My go-to? NARS Audacious lipstick in Audrey. This is obvious if you know me.
Lip gloss is not worth the money. You can find some amazing options from NYX, Revlon and Bonne Bell (yep. I said it.). Same with lip balm or lip salve. My absolute all-time fave is the Smith's Rosebud Salve. $6 of sassy in a tin.
Mascara is another product worth the splurge. There are some AWESOME mascaras from L'oreal, Maybelline and Almay. BUT there are some AWESOMER, all that and a bag of chips mascaras at Sephora. A few of my faves are Benefit's They're Real!, Sephora's Outrageous Volume and my new love YSL Baby Doll mascara (holy-balls Batman!). They last longer, don't smell, don't flake and are just worth it.
Eyeshadow. This is a toughie. You can get some really awesome palettes from high-end companies (LORAC, Urban Decay, Too Faced are some of my faves!) but you can save a bomb and get an E.L.F. palette or the new Maybelline the Nudes palette and have just as great of an end look. It really depends on your budget. If you are going to splurge, get a palette. You get to try so much more and often palettes come with a brush and/or liner or even eye primer so it's a way to try more with less.
Eye liner and eye primer. Meh. Covergirl, Maybelline and Milani all have great options at Target and CVS. Save the cash and hit up your local drugstore for great options in tons of colors.
Face products. This is the area I have the least experience with. I have two foundations from Target that I love (Revlon Color Stay and Maybelline Dream Wonder Liquid Touch). And I just don't feel motivated to seek out $40+ liquid foundation at the department store. I used to be a die-hard Bare Minerals user about 10ish years ago and I still like it, but I have found that it doesn't work the best with my dry skin.
Blush on the other hand is something I think is worth the splurge. I have several great blushes from E.L.F. and Wet N' Wild that I use often, but when it comes down to it NARS, Tarte and Benefit are just better at it. Sorry. I have a NARS palette from last year's holiday collection that I use everyday. The pigment is amazing, the lasting power is perfection and I love all the color options from the higher end brands. Again, it's something I wear everyday so for me it's worth it.
Setting powder, primer and concealer can all be money savers. Check out Maybelline's Fit Me concealer, or the Instant Age Rewind line. My fave is from E.L.F. (it's $3 online). Check out Rimmel for primer and setting powder. The Stay Matte powder is like $3 and comes in translucent as well as some actual colors. The Fix and Perfect Primer is $7 and it lasts forever and does everything the Smashbox primer does.
So if you are going to splurge on products I recommend you do it on blush, mascara and lipstick. Save your money on everything else.
Some other money saving advice:
- Ask for samples at Sephora and Ulta or whatever department store. Or do the free makeovers and request they use products you are considering purchasing. Once you see how it looks on your face, you can decide if it's splurge-worthy.
- If you are looking to try a trend (i.e., the Kendall Jenner lip, Lorde's dark purple lipstick, electric eyeshadow, blue mascara, etc.) try cheaper brands like Wet N' Wild, N.Y.C. or E.L.F.
- Sephora does a VIB sale in November (roughly) each year where you get 20% off your total purchase. Save larger purchases for that sale.
- Look online for coupons.
- Download Target's Cartwheel app (I have saved $315 so far!) and the Retail-Me-Not app to look for online or in-store coupons.
- Do not splurge on something unless you have the cash in that moment to do it. DO NOT put makeup on a credit card. Don't.
- Splurge on skin care items like serums and moisturizers. Cleansers are only on your face for seconds, the other stuff goes with you through the day or night. Spend money there. Also masks and treatments are worth the money.
- There are a lot of great in-between brands of makeup to try too! It doesn't have to be Wet N' Wild vs. Dior. Check out MakeUp Geek cosmetics for some of the best eyeshadows and blushes hands down! Eyeshadows are $5.99 each and blushes start at $9.99 each.
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