Three Make Up Essentials on a Budget

BYS Custom Colours Eyeshadow

BYS have an enormous array of colours in this range, from subtle shades of bronze and pink to electric greens and purples. They come as a compacted powder and each colour has a magnetic base so your favourite 4 colours can be kept in a customisable case which can be switched around whenever you need to! When using the subtle shades for everyday wear, always remember the basics:

• Use toner or oil absorbing facial wipes on your eyelids before applying eyeshadow – your eyelids can get very oily without you noticing and as the day goes by, the make up will crease and look patchy & uneven.
• (I’ll use brown in this example but this principle applies to all colours) Apply a base colour in light/medium matte brown to whole eyelid, fading out just after the socket. Use a darker brown on the outside third of the eyelid and blend inward. Add a light, sparkly faun colour to the inside of the eyelid to add some pop and make the eyes look further apart and draw attention away from the nose.

The best thing about this product is that it generally only costs around $3 per colour so you can buy crazy colours for special occasions, and experiment with different looks, even if they don’t work out ^_^ For a unique look full of attention-grabbing colour, try fading from green to blue to purple horizontally across the eyelid.

NATIO Lip Gloss

This lip gloss can stay on for hours without fading or looking uneven, but is easy to remove and doesn’t leave a sticky residue. I love the shade Mist for subtle but shimmering colour. It is a light baby pink with a hint of glimmer which completes the overall effect but doesn’t detract from the eyes (which for me tend to be the central attraction of my look). Best of all, NATIO lip gloss doesn’t have that strange taste that some glosses these days get. Top quality, comfortable lip colour for between $10-15.

Max Factor Masterpiece Beyond length mascara

Now this one is a bit of a splurge, it generally retails at around $27. But I promise you it is worth every cent. This is a double ended mascara – blue, black or brown at one end, and gold, silver or pink at the other. My favourite is the black/gold combination – the black is rich and dark, and the consistency is just perfect for giving thick, heavy lashes with absolutely zero clumping. The gold is applied on the tips for an exquisitely glamorous look. The gold is subtle in some lights and dazzling in others – people will get a glimpse of it and not be sure they saw it. This suits a brown/bronze eyeshadow perfectly and can be done in under a minute if you’re in a hurry! Some quick tips: if you’re blonde, make sure you start at the very bottom of the lashes, and if you’re not getting the thickness you want, try moving the brush back and forth horizontally while you move down the lash.