Testing Drugstore Makeup

12:49 am

Recently I've been getting a lot of questions on why I don't do more hair and makeup posts.  Apparently, people following me on Instagram have noticed I love experimenting with makeup, so I started receiving all these positive and encouraging comments, for which I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart.

As for the real-life inquiries on doing your special occasion makeup, I have to say I have literary never done anyone's makeup but mine (except for Mardi Gras). Also, I don't think I would qualify for the job. Best I can do is show you how I do it and pray you'll be able to copy it :) 

And without further ado... per your request, I'm finally doing a makeup post!

Most of the cosmetics I use on daily basis is either drugstore or catalogue bought. I own a ridicuously wide range of items in terms of both price and quality. The reason behind this is that I tend to buy things impulsively - if I like something at first glance, I'll buy it, regardless of whether it costs €1 or €50 (damn those colorful eyeshadows calling on me!). Need I say that numerous times I ended up disappointed with a widely publicized product, and thrilled by a cheap, no-name one? Of course, we all agree that same products work differently for different people. So my intention is to create a look with a bunch of drugstore makeup products I own and let you know how they worked for me.

But first thing's first. Below is a no-makeup photo of me. In my defence, this was a very bad skin day: my skin is usually not that problematic at all. However, as I didn't want to violate the purpose of the post, I refused to use filters or Photoshop in any of the featured photos. As you can probably tell, my greatest enemies are the dark circles under my eyes (I've been suffering from a sleep disorder for a very long time, and the consequences show). Also, I have milia under my left eye.  Once a month, I get an acne on my chin. Other than that, my facial skin is actually perfectly fine. The tone is pale but even, as is the texture. And my most recent stress-triggered acquisition, the depigmentation that shows on other parts of my body does not - luckily! - appear on my face.
Now let's see what I can do to enhance my appearance using only drugstore makeup products.
The products I'll be using are: 

FOR MY EYES: 
  • Max Factor: Masterpiece Nude Palette in 03 Rose Nudes (shades 4, 7 and 8)
  • Kik: Nr. 2 Palette in Warm Nudes (shade 8)
  • Catrice: Absolute Eye Colour eyeshadow in 140 The Captain of the Black Pearl
  • She by DM: Mono Eyeshadow in Silver
  • Catrice: 010 Blossom 'N Roses Eyeshadow Palette  (shade 1 for lighting) 
  • NYX: Voluptious Mascara
  • Max Factor: 2000 Calorie dramatic volume mascara
  • Essence: Get BIG! Lashes mascara
  • Essence: Kajal pencil in 01 black 
  • Trend it Up by DM: Ultra Black waterproof liquid eyeliner
  • Maybelline: Affinitone concealer in 02 natural
FOR MY EYBROWS:
  • She by DM: Duo Eyebrow set
FOR MY FACE:
  • Eveline Cosmetics: Magical CC Cream in 51 natural
  • Maybelline: Affinitone Mineral Liquid Foundation in 030 Sand
  • Catrice: HD Liquid Coverage Foundation in 020 Rose Beige
  • Catrice: Healthy Look mattifying translucent powder 
  • Oriflame: Bronzing Pearls in Natural Peach 
AND FOR MY LIPS:
  • NYX: Soft matte lip cream in 18 Prague (ok, not really a drugstore product) 
Wow, that's a lot of makeup to use all at once :/
Fast forward to 2 hours later, and we have the final results: 
Now, I am not going to walk you through the entire makeup application process. Instead, I'm just going to tell you what I though of the products used.

Considering the foundation, I must say I wasn't completely pleased with any of the products used. Catrice HD is too thick and heavy for my liking and I usually use it only to cover for my dark under-eye circles (unusessfully, though). Maybelline Affinitone, on the other hand, is my everyday foundation because it's much lighter, but I don't think I picked the right shade for my winter skin. I am most probably going to completely replace it with a CC cream some time soon. 

If you look closely, you'll notice that none of the products completely covered up my milia and dark under-eye circles. I'm getting Dermacol Make-Up Cover, desperately hoping this legendary high covering make-up would finally work for my severe condition of looking weary.

Oh, I almost forgot. I didn't do any contouring 'cause I couldn't find my contouring kit. The perks of living in multiple places. I only used some bronzing pearls in place of blush (and even though it says above these are by Oriflame, I think I had mixed them up at one point with another ones, but I can't remember which).

Also, I my humble opinion, that Instagram eyebrow trend is just ridiculous. I wouldn't want my face to look as if someone had glued a pair of moustache onto my forehead so, although mine are sparse and uneven, I do my eyebrows just by filling them up where needed. The listed set works just fine for me.
Moving on to my eyes.
I genuinely liked all of the eyeshadows that I applied. They are all highly pigmented and blend nicely. Mind you, the KIK one I got for approx. €3 and found that it contains the most beautiful bugundy shade I have ever seen. Also, the Captain of the Black Pearl is the blackest matte eyeshadow I have ever owned and I regularly use it in place of eyeliner because it comes off more easily. However, when applying it, you'll notice it is prone to heavy fallout. Too bad these photos do not show the eyeshadow colours faithfully: for the purpose of keeping it real, I was using only natural daylight. But I promise they are beautiful! 

Speaking of eyeliners, I didn't really like the Trend it Up one. I found it lacking precision, leading to clumsy and uneven application. Also, taking it off was a real struggle: it reminded me of taking off black eyelashes glue. Come to think about it, I really liked H2O Proof Liquid Eyeliner by Wet n Wild (which I didn't have at hand when doing this review). As for the mascara, I regularly use 2000 Calories for the first coat, and Get BIG Lashes! for the second. I must say here that the later was a revelation for me: following a recommendation by a friend, I bought this mascara (for €2.50!) and got stunned. I swear to God, this is the best mascara I have ever used. Just look at what it did to my lashes! I'm buying a 100 pieces stash and finding a formula to preserve them for when Essence decides to cancel this amazing product. 
Finally, the lips. NYX's soft matte lipsticks are my favourite, and I keep repeatedly returning to them. Prague is a beautiful, bold shade, perfect for nights out. For everyday wear, I prefer shade 11 Milan. They do come off easily, though. 

In general, I am quite happy with the way my look turned out. Drugstore makeup - thumbs up from me! 

To wrap it all up, in case you were wondering, my hair colour is a mixture of too much bleach and many, many hair dye products, but the last one I used was B98 Silver by Annyer. And I'm absolutely in love with this colour! 

Do let me know how you liked this post and whether you would like me to keep similar posts coming.

As always, thanks for reading!  

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