It's not a secret that I have a bad shopping habit. The reception person downstairs in my new flat knew me as 'the shopacholic' not even a week after I moved in. Alas, I don't have a personal genie that's able to supply me with unlimited cash. So as the poor, poor student that uses stress as her shopping excuse I am, my favourite buys are those that are fantastic while still being nice to the bank account by not cratering a catastrophic wreck.
I've banged on and on about Rimmel Santa Rose(£3.99) a ridiculous amount of times on the blog. No seriously, it's here, here, here, and so forth. There's a reason I keep showing this peachy pink Union Jack on the blog and it's just that good. No seriously, if you were to walk away from the drugstores with one thing, this would be it. Probably one of my most reached for blushes, this cheaper-than-lunch blush is one you definitely need to add to your arsenal, if you haven't already.
I'm a concealer freak. I always have around a good half dozen (at least!) in my stash. I'll admit, I gave up on drugstore concealers quite some time back. They just don't seem to be great at doing the job of concealing my horrendous panda shadows. But the Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer(£5.49) was a different case. I was surprised at how full coverage this concealer was, especially after being let down by so many 'full coverage' lies before. But what impressed me even more is that this is near impossible to cake up and the light reflecting particles that look very Edward Cullen-esque in the tube add a natural glow to really get that 'I am bright eyed, bushy-tailed, ready to tackle the world' look. The only thing that I'd say is a slight reflectance of the price is that it's not very long lasting. I find that it starts fading away around the 5-hour mark under powder, but it'll last a good hour or two more if I wear it over an eyeshadow primer.
Seventeen isn't a brand that I'm familiar with - in fact, I don't think I've ever spent more than 30 seconds in front of their counter before. That was until the day I was feeling spendy, but still on the verge of being broke. So after rummaging around in my mess I call a purse and finding a voucher, I bought the Seventeen Trio Eye Shadowsin In the Nude (£5.49). This reminds me of a shimmery, mini version of the Urban Decay Naked Basics, which I'm sure you all know by now, is my most-abused palette. The packaging reminded me of the Smashbox trios and the quality of the shadows are on par, if not better than the higher end offering. Well, that is from the ones that I've swatched in stores, and I've pretty much swatched them all. Again, one thing that I would say reflects the price is the staying power. This is definitely one of those eyeshadows you need to wear armed with a good primer if you want it to last more than a sixth of a day (which is four hours).
Last but not least, all you lucky North Americans need to buy this. No protests allowed. Hands down the best cream coloured eyeshadow I've ever used - yes, even better than the one in my Urban Decay Naked Basics mistress - I'm still trying to get my mind around how ridiculously inexpensive the Wet N Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Singlein Brulee is. I mean not even a dollar? Only 99 pennies??? WHAT. Seriously, not only is the colour great and won't fade away into the depth of your eyes after too much blending, the quality of the shadow is buttery fantastic. It's like, the browned-butter soft sugar cookies of the eyeshadow world - aka it's looks basic and boring BUT it's pure heaven. Plus, it's the tiniest shadow ever and it's flippin' adorable.
I'm itching to hit the aisles of the drugstores again...someone stop me. What are some of your 'be nice to the bank account' budget buys?
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