Budget Beauties
It simply isn’t necessary to have a makeup bag full of pricey items to look your best. While it’s a good idea to spend money on a few classics, there are plenty of budget buys that compare well with more expensive items. Carissa Casey rounds up some of the best low cost beauty buys available.
1>> Paula’s Choice 2% Bha Liquid Exfoliant €8.80 for 30ml visit spacenk.com
Paula’s Choice is a very affordable skincare brand with excellent credentials. It’s founder Paula Begoun is a former investigative journalist who relished in busting through the beauty industry’s marketing hype. This BHA exfoliant manages to clear dead skin, minimise lines and even skin tone without stripping the skin’s natural balance.
It’s worth checking out the entire range since it includes a highly rated retinol treatment and an antioxidant concentrate treatment, both excellent for older skin. Most of the products are available in smaller sizes, which brings the cost of a ‘try out’ down considerably.
2>> Cerave Moisturising Cream And Lotion €11.19 and €8.80 widely available at pharmacies
No beauty budget piece would be complete without name-checking CeraVe. If you’re searching for inexpensive but excellent quality cleansers or moisturisers, look no further. The brand, which languished in the back aisles for years, forced on to reluctant buyers by their dermatologists, is having a moment.
Young ones are posting it all over TikTok (or whatever they’re posting on these days). At one online site, sales of CeraVe products rose 564 per cent between February and March of this year. In short, CeraVe is not only cheap, it’s bang on trend too.
3>> Patchology Best Foot Forward Foot Mask €10 visit mcilhinneys.com
Patchology has a huge range of masks for just about any skincare issue, wherever or whatever it is. The masks use all-natural ingredients and are very affordable. ‑ is foot and heel mask softens the skin with a blend of shea butter, coconut oil and Japanese Cypress. After a summer on display it’s getting time to tuck those tootsies up for the winter and spoil them as often as possible.
4>> E.L.F. Poreless Putty Primer €9 visit boots.ie
E.L.F (standing for eyes, lips, face) is a very under-rated affordable brand that can be hard to source. But it’s well worth checking out, particularly the Poreless Putty Primer, which is something of a cult product. It does what it says on the tin, reducing the appearance of pores and providing an excellent base for makeup. It smooths on easily and best patted in small amounts over areas that need a little extra help. Other products to try are the lip exfoliator and the lip primer and plumper, both come in at less than €10.
5>> L’Oreal True Match Liquid Foundation €11.95 visit mccabespharmacy.com
Possibly one of the best affordable foundations on the market, True Match blends easily, doesn’t cake and provides relatively long lasting medium coverage which can be layered and built up to full coverage.
It's ideal for everyday wear. If you're looking for all-day coverage go for L’Oreal’s Infallible which is good for dryer skin. Oilier skin types are better off with Maybeline’s FitMe for long lasting coverage.
6>> Maybeline Lash Sensational Primer & Lash Lift The Falsies Length And Volume €9.50 and €9 respectively, widely available.
This is a superb combo for full, curled lashes. The idea of adding a white thickening agent to lashes isn’t new and there are plenty of options on the market. The Maybeline offering is as good as any I’ve tried, even more expensive ones. The Falsies Length and Volume really does provide curl, and used over the primer imparts a falsie-like look without the hassle.
7>> Inglot Duraline €12, visit inglot.ie
A bottle of this little gem has sat untouched in my makeup kit since I purchased it on a recommendation a few months back. Then a crisis hit; my favourite mascara began to clump and I did not have time to track down a new one before a night out. So I dug out the Duraline, added a drop or two and, voilà – non clumping mascara. It’s said to do the same for lipsticks and eye liner. Since it’s on the dressing table now, I’m going to try using it to create gel eyeliner from powder eyeshadow (dip the liner brush into a drop or two on a palette and then into the powder).
8>> Nyx The Brow Glue €9, visit boots.ie
Brows can be one of the trickiest of all facial features to get right. While we’ve all been told to remember they're sisters, not twins, mine sometimes have felt like warring cousins. is brow glue has become my go-to in recent weeks. Use it to pull the brow hairs into shape and once set, they really won’t move for the rest of the day. A light flick of brow powder to fill in any gaps and the result is sister brows, if I say so myself.