Thursday, April 19, 2012

The Primary Beauty Products


Well this is my second post on Makeup on a Budget and I’m itching to bring you my next review.  I’m pretty excited about this review and I truly believe that this product will make or break your look.
Smashbox makes a product called Photofinish and it’s a foundation primer.  I purchased mine for $16 for .5 oz. at amazon.com.  If this product was cheaper and came in a bigger bottle I would bathe in it.  Although this primer is not the cheapest, it’s the best quality for the price.  If you use the right amount, it will last you a long time.  This product goes under your foundation and above your moisturizer.  It fills in pores and wrinkles like spackle on a wall.  This allows your foundation to be applied smoothly and evenly.

I wrote this last paragraph the day before my E.LF. shipment arrived.  Today I received the E.L.F. Mineral Infused Face Primer.  I purchased it for $6.  To me, it is the exact same product as the Smashbox product, less $10.  Actually, I take that back.  You get almost .09 oz more with the Smashbox product.  The point of this blog is to bring you items that will allow you to look exactly the same as if you had a champagne budget.  And this review is delivering exactly that.  It’s the same effect, less expensive, and a better feeling for it.  So I’d say, use the E.L.F. primer and you’ll be thanking me for it.

Now, onto the foundation.  This one’s tough.  There are so many more options than primer.  So let me just let you know what the necessities are for foundation.  An SPF is important as with any other topical application to your skin.  It’s also important to wear a product that feels light and isn’t cakey.  That means when it’s applied, there’s a seamless appearance.  I rarely wear foundation, but when I do, I use FIT Me foundation by Maybeline.  You can find it on Beauty.com for $5.59 for a 1 oz bottle.  It’s a great product that has a vast variety of colors which is critical to a great foundation. 
I mentioned that I rarely wear foundation, which is true.  I usually wear a tinted moisturizer which does the job of evening my skin as well as moisturizing.  It gives you a very natural feel and look and it’s one product instead of two.  Anytime you can eliminate extra products, you should.  I have Olay Definity Color Recapture.  It’s $23.97 on Walmart.com for 1.7 oz.  I have found that tinted moisturizer’s tend to be pricey, perhaps because it does replace two products.  I have also found that if I wet my beauty sponge applicator, it waters it down and will take it a much longer way.

I’d like to finalize my reviews by saying that there are lots of products out there but there’s no need to spend a lot of money on a product if you’ve found something inexpensive that works just the same.  Looking good shouldn’t have to cost much if you do the right research.  And I'm here to help make the research process a little less painful.  So until next time when we'll discuss my favorite beauty enhancement item...false eyelashes!  Don't be scared, they don't bite, they adhere :)

Staying Beautiful,

Makeup Maverick

Friday, April 13, 2012

The Foundation under Foundation

So this blog is intended to explore makeup deals and specials as well as product test and instruct.  I'm here to help you create a makeup routine that's affordable and will keep you looking put together and looking your best.
So here's where we should start: facial moisturizer.  It's the foundation of every great makeup application.  You must have a clean, smooth canvas to make a great work of art.  So I'm going to suggest two moisturizers that I've been using for years and the products themselves have been around for years.  The one I'm currently using is Cetaphil.  I purchased a 4 oz bottle from www.beauty.com for $13.99.  It's gentle enough that it works for every skin type.  It has an SPF of 15 which is a great bonus.  But more importantly, beauty.com offers something called drugstore dollars.  Every purchase you make earns you 5% back in drugstore.com dollars.  Beauty.com and drugstore.com are two different websites that allow you to use one shopping cart.  So the credits can be used at either website.  I recently ordered $16.47 worth of makeup and paid only $1.71 using my drugstore.com dollars.  Getting deals like this makes makeup even more fun!
The other moisturizer I'd recommend is Olay Complete by Oil of Olay.  This also has an SPF of 15 and it sells for $8.99 for a 6 oz bottle on drugstore.com.  There's currently an additional $1 off coupon but I'm not sure how long that's going to last.  I buy most of my beauty products online but you can certainly find the same prices (maybe better) at stores like Target or Wal-Mart.  I enjoy the convenience of having my purchases shipped to me and not having to deal with driving or poor customer service.  The other benefit of purchasing through these kind of websites is getting free samples.  I've learned of other great products and started using them because of the free samples.
This was an introduction to makeup which may seem odd since we didn't discuss makeup at all.  But skin is the basis to beautiful makeup.  Next week I'll be discussing foundation and primers.  I recently ordered a couple of new items that I'll be testing and reviewing in my next blog.  I'm looking forward to bringing you more beauty tips and reviews.

Staying beautiful,

Makeup Maverick