Best Buys Under 5 €

It's actually not that easy to find a good product that is under 5 € and I admit I struggled to get a nice bunch of products for this post. I have loads of products that I love which are just above the price mark (literally a few cents more), but I won't cheat and I plan to show them in a another drugstore favourites post. I selected 11 products that are available either in drustores or online or even in larger supermarkets and all are nice cheap thrills. So here is my selection.

CATRICE Absolute Eye Colour Mono

2.89 €.

Yes, I could select a lot of products from Essence for this post, but you know what - I don't find them that thrilling and I much, much prefer Catrice, especially when it comes to quality. Although L'Oreal's eyeshadows are my uncontested favourites in the drugstore ranks, Catrice's are a close second. I love the colour range, there are some gorgeous neutral shades as well as a few brighter colours and you can create a selection that rivals any combination in the popular neutral palettes. The pigmentation of these is great and they blend really well, even the matte shades are excellent quality. If you're looking for some inexpensive fun products I highly recommend you check them out. My favourite is a taupe shade called 350 Starlight Expresso.
By the way, I just quickly swatched the new velvet matte eyeshadows by Catrice and they are fabulous as well. 

CATRICE Defining Blush

3.79 €.

I just can't shut up about these blushes. The formula of these won my heart - it's just perfect - smooth and pigmented, these blend so well, but foremost they actually manage to stay put on my cheeks a lot longer than any other blush I tried, except Benefit's Coralista. My favourite shade is Rose Royce which is an amazing rosy-neutral shade that goes with everything. 

MAYBELLINE Color Tattoo 24 HR

4.95 € (might be more expensive depending on where you buy them).

These really are so good! They boast with a lovely creamy texture that is super pigmented, blends well and once it sets stays put for hours. I tend to use them for a quick eyeshadow look or, my preferred way, as a base. There are a lot of shades to choose from, but Permanent Taupe, a matte taupe, is without a doubt my favourite cream eyeshadow as well as one my favourite colours in general.

LABELLO Fruity Shine Peach

1.85 €.

These could easily be described as the most convenient product to satisfy the craving for a cheap trill. Everyone needs lip balm, you use it all the time and they are usually in every grocery shop at the registers. Fruity Shines are one of the most fun ones with is a nice selection of tinted balms with juicy scents. My favourite is peach and I find it has one of the best peach scents out there as well as a lovely natural peach tint. These aren't the most moisturising lip balms, but they are nice for everyday use. 

EBELINE Blending Brush

2.95 € , only in DM (not in Slovenia, sorry).

I never expected such a brilliant brush for such an affordable price. It's an excellent super soft blending brush that I use also for applying a gentle wash of colour in the crease or on the lids. Basically, I can do almost an entire eye makeup with it, though due to its softness it's more for subtle looks and it performs best with high quality eyeshadows. 

E.L.F. Studio Flawless Concealer Brush

£3.75 (4.7 €), E.l.f. website.

I love how dense, yet still soft this brush is and it's just feels so well made. I use it for so many things from blending concealer, applying setting powder under the eyes and around the nose, applying a base eyeshadow colour all-over the lid, blending and even contouring. Truly a versatile brush.

INELL Eau Micellaire

2.29 €, only in E.Leclerc.

Micellar waters are a part of my everyday routine when I'm removing makeup, so I use a lot of them. This one is incredibly affordable and just as good as the rest drugstore versions. As most micellar waters it feels super light - like water and it removes makeup effectively, leaving the skin clean and refreshed. 

INELL Mousse Nettoyante Hydratante

1.51 €, only in E.Leclerc.

This is such a wonderful, gentle cleanser that is also really fun to use. It looks like those whipped creams in a can and the mousse actually resembles whipped cream a bit due to the super dense texture. It also smells so lovely and it really makes the morning cleanse an enjoyable experience.

DOVE Nourishing Shower Gel

2-3 €.

I wouldn't be surprised if there was another version of this lying somewhere in the house - I think our house might be the fan central of Dove Nourishing shower gels. These are seriously so good - incredibly creamy and luxurious feeling due to a thicker formula, they are especially loved in my household because they are nourishing and don't leave the skin feeling dry or itchy. I love the scent of these, all three actually: the classic original Dove scent, the sensuous coconut milk with jasmine one and the sweet almond with hibiscus one. If your skin is dry, give them a go.

BATISTE Dry Shampoo

£2.99 (3.7 €), online on Boots International and Asos.

Though my hair is far from greasy, I don't shy away from dry shampoo on days between the washing. I've tried a few so far and Batiste is my favourite. It properly refreshes the hair, giving it more life and body as well as makes it smell nice, it's like an additional fragrance. When it comes to dry shampoo, for me the most important features are that it doesn't leave the hair white and that it smells nice. My hair is dark brown and Batiste can leave a white cast if I spray too close, but it's easy to blend it in. However, what I really appreciate is the large selection of scents and Wild is my current favourite. It has a lovely oriental scent, I smell notes of chocolate, vanilla, musk and wood that combine into a nice perfume version of a scent rather than gourmand one, like the Tropical version has.

TONI & GUY Sectioning Clips

3.08 €, eBay this seller.

These are so awesome. I could never find decent sectioning clips for a reasonable price here, so I ordered these from eBay and they are so good. They feel so professional and well made with the matte rubberised texture, you'd never think they were so cheap. I use them all the time when I blow-dry my hair to clip the hair out of the way or to create volume or curls - just brilliant stuff. 

Do you have any recommendation for great affordable products? Have a great day!

E.l.f. Haul

I ordered from E.l.f. UK website again after ages. They had an offer with free shipping to Europe so I bought a few bits and pieces.

I got one of their Studio cream blushes in the shade Heart Breaker, Studio pigment eyeshadow in Golden Goddess, a liquid eyeliner in the colour Copper and a Flawless Concealer brush.

Heart Breaker is a matte bright bubble gum pink shade. I actually expected it looking a bit more coral pink rather than just pink. The texture is so odd, it's like play-doh. Not creamy like Maybelline's Dream blushes, but more dry and doesn't have that slippery feeling, it's so difficult to describe. Because of the texture I find it a bit difficult to apply nicely. There are always pieces of blush that stick to my fingers. So I'm not too keen on the formula, but the colour is pretty. I don't have a colour like that in my collection. The packaging is huge and I mean massive. Way too big to fit in my plastic drawers where I keep my make up. Overall I'd give it a 3 out of 5. It's not a bad blush, but there are better from the drugstore range. I paid 7.5 € which is expensive for an E.l.f. product (it's 6$ in the US, which currently about 4.6€).

Liquid eyeliner in the shade Copper is actually a glitter eyeliner that is gold with a touch of copper. Granted the name is not the best, but the liner is really nice, especially for the price (1.7€). With one brush stroke the glitter is sparse, but just do some more coats and it looks fine. It's a nice addition to spice up the make up.

I'm on a search for the perfect gold eyeshadow. Since I'm very fair, most golds look a bit orange on me, especially when blended out. Urban Decay's Half Baked for example looks, for my taste, too orange on me to be described as a gold (I do love it, though). Basically what I want is the same shade as is Revlon's luxurious pencil in Antiqued Gold. That is the perfect gold shade that is a mix between proper gold and old gold, if that makes sense. E.l.f. Studio pigment eyeshadow in Golden Goddess is close, but still looks a touch orange when blended out. I prefer to apply it wet to get maximum intensity, the look of liquid metal. Applied wet it last the entire day and is still very intense. It's the best gold eyeshadow I have so far, but I'll keep looking. There is also a mini brush included, which is actually quite good quality. It's too small for applying eyeshadow all-over the lid, but I love it for applying highlighter in the inner conner (I finally have a good brush for that). There is a comparison with the MAC's 239 on the second picture.

And the last thing is the Flawless Concealer brush. Here is a comparison with MAC's 217.

It's actually quite a lot bigger than I expected. I'd like a smaller brush for applying concealer under the eyes, but nonetheless it's a very nice brush. In fact I've been using it loads since I got it. It blends concealer under the eyes, around the nose, on the chin and I use to dot concealer on blemishes. It's a very dense brush and super soft, so quality-wise it's brilliant. I just wish it were smaller. I'm planing to get some Real Techniques brushes in the future, but until that time it's become my every day brush.

Thanks for reading!

Drugstore Make up Disappoitments

Essence Make up to Match Foundation 

I bought it the moment it hit our shelves in Müller. The colour match looked fine, which is rare for us pale girls, so I took it. It has zero pigmentation. I mean zilch, nil, nada. It's not even worthy of a name tinted moisturiser let alone a foundation. It's like applying a moisturiser and not a good one at that. Four euros out of the window.

S-he Stylezone Khol Kajal Eyeliners 

In short: poor pigmentation, impossible even application, lasts about 2 seconds and smudges like crazy. No thank you.

S-he Stylezone Quad Eyeshadows

The chalkiest eyeshadows ever. Pigmentation is poor and they last about a second on the lids. Get their mono eyeshadows instead. Those are pretty good.

E.l.f. Bronzer/Blush Duo 

A lot of people actually really like this duo. It's a supposed dupe for the Nars Orgasm/Laguna duo. Well, I just can't get it to work on me. I own Orgasm and the blushes are not even remotely dupes. Orgasm looks great on me, while this is an odd peachy pink colour with shimmer. The bronzer is the weirdest colour ever. It's way to orange and a really bad colour for pale skins. Also both feel very powdery and just odd.  

Wet'n'wild Mega Glo Illuminating Powder

This was hyped up on one of the sites that has reviews of cosmetic products. I bought it years ago when Wet'n'Wild was still sold in Slovenia. It is rock hard. There was just no colour pay-off whatsoever. The lousiest highlighter I ever had. Went straight to the bin.

Essence Sun Club Mat Bronzing Powder Blondes

I bought it when I was on a search for a better bronzer. It is way too light even for someone as pale as me. It's swatched here. Smells nice though, like sunscreen.

Bourjois Blush

These blushes are really popular and most people like them. I hate them with passion. They are rock hard, I can't get any colour on the brush, let alone on my cheeks. It comes with the most useless brush ever.

Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder

 My arch nemesis. Oh, how excited I was when I got it. I mean, the thing looks like a chocolate bar. However, first there is almost no pigmentation and second, the colour is too orange for my skin tone. I barely got any colour on my face. I thought that perhaps it's just the top layer that is hard, so I scrapped it off. It didn't help at all. A complete no go product for me.

Manhattan Eyelash Curlers

 Also known as the torturing device from hell. It pinches and rips eyelashes every time you get it near your eyes. Even some no-name curlers from a supermarket were better (though not by much). Just pay a few € more and get Tana instead.

Essence Lip Liner 

These are not the worst pencils in the world. The shades are actually quite cute, they are soft and apply nicely. However, they last about 5 minutes on the lips. I do still wear them sometimes, though.

E.l.f Lipstick

The weirdest texture of a lipstick ever. It feels like you're applying crayon on your lips. It's hard and waxy, it's really difficult to apply nicely. It has a strong, very sweet berry scent. The packaging is horrendous in terms of quality. Essence has better lipsticks for the same price (but those are more like tinted lip balms, though)

Essence I <3 Runway Highlighter

 With huge chunks of glitter it looks miles away from a pretty wearable dewy glow. Personally, I have no desire wearing massive sparkles on my cheeks. Get the their MyBase one instead. You get more product and that one looks actually wearable.

Thanks for reading!

Drugstore Make up Favourites

FACE PRODUCTS

Foundation 

Bourjois has some of the best foundations among drugstore brands and their Healthy Mix Range is my favourite. We, pale ''Snow Whites'' in Slovenia, are terribly overlooked in the drugstore foundation market. There is a handful of foundations available in shades that are appropriate for (in Mac terms) NC15 or lighter. Bourjois Healthy Mix range is one of those. Shade 51 in both original and serum version is light enough, though perhaps a bit too yellow, but thankfully Bourjois realises that not all pale people have pink undertones. I love both versions. Serum has light to medium coverage, while the original foundation has medium coverage. Both look extremely natural, feel very light on the skin and leave a lovely dewy finish. (I did a review of the serum version here.)

Concealer 

I've already done a post on drugstore concealers (here), but the one that stands out is Maybelline Instant Anti-Age The Eraser. It has a light formula, but offers a lot of coverage. It manages to look very natural on the skin and basically undetectable.

Highlighter/Primer

L'Oreal Lumi Magique is definitely my favourite everyday highlighter. It gives a really nice glow without looking too shimmery. I much prefer liquid/cream highlighters and this one comes in a nice sleek packaging with a very precise pump, so you are not wasting any product. Review here.

Blush 

I favour cream formulas over powder ones. They are just easier and faster to apply plus they look more natural to me. Maybelline Dream Touch are really creamy, pigmented and apply like a dream. The shade range is very limited though, there are only four shades in total. I have two, Peach and Berry. There is another, previous version, called Dream Mousse blush, which I think is discontinued, but I love the shade Peach Satin. Review and swatches here and here. 

EYE MAKE UP

Gel eyeliner

 Essence has a great quality gel eyeliner for the price. It's really pigmented, applies nicely and lasts all day without fading or smudging. Honestly, I don't notice any difference between the much more expensive Mac one and this one. Review here. 

Cream eyeshadows 

Essence Stay All day eyeshadows win this category. They are very pigmented, apply nicely without looking patchy and last brilliantly on the lids. Another honourable mention with a similar formula, but just a touch more expensive are the Catrice one's. Reviews of both here and here. 

Eyeshadows 

A definite winner for me is the L'Oreal Color Infaillible range. I already own 6 shades and I want more. They are extremely pigmented and last so long on the lids. At about 9€ a pop they are quite expensive for drugstore eyeshadows, but the pots are big and you get a lot of product. My favourite shades are 21 and 24, which are probably my most worn shades. My preferred method of application is with fingers, then I blend the edges with Mac 217. I only wish there were more shades, preferably some matte. Review and swatches here, here, here and here.

I also can't get pass Catrice mono eyeshadows. They are really cheap (only about 2€), pigmented, lovely quality and have the best colour range in drugstore. There are shades similar to Mac's Copperplate, Satin Taupe, Patina and Retrospeck. I highly recommend you check them out.

Eyeliner 

Max Factor has some of the best eyeliners in drugstores, both in terms of quality and shades. It's the only drugstore brand available here in Slovenia that, to my knowledge, carries a flesh toned shade called Glaze. I wear it almost every day. I also own a white and a brown shade from their khol line. Their newest range called Liquid Effect is just amazing. The pencils are so soft and long lasting. I have the shade Brown Blaze, a dark coffee shade, which is the perfect everyday replacement for black. I wear it everyday on the top lash line. Reviews and swatches here and here. 

Mascara 

As far as mascaras go, there are several mascaras I like, but if I'd have to go for one brand, it'd be L'Oreal. I liked most of their mascaras I tried. Volume Million Lashes Carbon Black is fantastic, another great one is Lash Architect 4D False Effect Black Lacquer. Voluminous Carbon Black is also nice. Currently I like Maybelline the Collosal Volumin' Express. I did a drugstore mascaras comparison here, more reviews here and here.

LIP PRODUCTS

Lipgloss 

I don't like wearing lipgloss too much, but the ones I really like are the Essence Stay With Me. I have almost all colours now. They are not too sticky, there is no annoying shimmer, the colour range is beautiful, they smell great and are nicely pigmented. Reviews and swatches here and here.

Liquid lipstick

I know I might be cheating a bit by adding this category, but Manhattan Soft Mat Lipcream and Nyx Soft Matte Lip Cream definitely deserve their place in my favourites. They are full coverage matte liquid lipsticks that last exceptionally well on the lips and don't transfer once they dry. I love matte lip colours, so these at the top of my list. Reviews and swatches here, here, here and here.

Lipsticks 

Catrice have great lipsticks in drugstore range, especially for the price. They are really pigmented with a good staying power, apply nicely and they have one of the best colour ranges. I believe there are no annoying mega shimmery, frosty shades in their Ultimate Colour range and there are also some non-shimmery creamy shades in the Ultimate Shine line (like 210 Kiss Kiss Hibiskuss, also a supposed dupe for the famous Mac Impassioned). Swatches here. 

Another line that deserves praise (even though we can only order it online) is the E.l.f. Mineral lipstick range. The two shades I own, Runway Pink and Natural Nymph, are matte and look great on my skin tone. An ancient review and swatches here. BeautyUK is also a brand we can only get online. I own the shade called Passion and it's so pigmented, long lasting and the colour is just gorgeous. Review and swatch here.

NAIL POLISH

Essence Colour & Go line offers a great selection of shades of great quality for an affordable price. They recently revamped this line, the bottles are different, there are new shades and the brush is a bit wider. Swatch and picture of one shade from the new line here. There are also a lot of Trend Edition shades released throughout the year. 

 Catrice and BarryM have inexpensive and really lovely quality nail polishes too.

TOOLS AND RANDOM

Brushes

I use E.l.f. Powder brush for applying and blending foundation. It's so soft, dense and doesn't shed. A really nice and inexpensive brush.

Ecotools range is widely available here in supermarkets. Bronzer brush is fantastic quality, so dense and soft. I use it for applying powder and bronzer. Eyeliner brush is one of my most used eye brushes and the eyeshadow brush, though quite big, is nice for applying eyeshadow all over the lid and also blending. More on my favourite brushes here.

Eyelash curlers 

I can't imagine my make up routine without Tana eyelash curlers. I actually have two, I had one at home and one in Ljubljana. These are the best curlers I ever had. I never pinched myself or got any eyelash ripped out (this happened to me a lot when I had other curlers). I got mine in Műller (they are in a dark blue/white box). Highly recommended.

Lip balm

This is kind of a random category, but since I apply lip balm under lipstick or use tinted lip balm instead of them, I'll do it anyway. My absolute favourite lip balm (which is not technically a lip balm, but a multi-task product) is Palmer's swivel stick. It's the most moisturising and soft lip balm that doesn't feel waxy like a lot of lip balms do. I love it. I also like Rosal Milk and Honey lip balm. It smells nice and moisturises well. Best tinted lip balms are Labello (or Nivea, depends on where you live), in particular the taste/shade/version with dragonfruit. I've bought several in a row.   

So this completes my favourites ramble. There will also be a post about drugstore disappointments and probably one that is going to be a sort of a guide thought drugstore brands in Slovenia and my experience with their products in general (if anyone is interested in reading about that).

Thanks for reading!