I’ve never claimed to be a makeup artist. There are plenty of people in this world that have made makeup artistry their profession and they are darn good at it too! I, however am not one of them. Take Adrienne Pitkin with Makeup by Adrienne, for example; she’s a local Austin makeup artist that gave us some fall makeup tips last year and offered a pretty amazing giveaway to one lucky winner! And she’s a mom! To sum her up in one sentence, she’s amazing! But today isn’t about Adrienne 🙂 Today is however, about all things makeup. Now you may be thinking to yourself, “What does this have to do with being a mom?” I think makeup is an important part of most of our regimes. Not only does makeup help us look and in some cases, feel better but it’s also a way to express our sense of style and fashion. Besides we are moms, we aren’t dead! You can be dramatic one day, subtle the next. Nude lips on Monday and red lips by Saturday. Makeup is fun and in a way, we all get to be our own little personal artists!

Over the years I’ve spent TONS of money on different makeup products and over the years I’ve also discovered what makeup needs to be more pricey and what makeup you can get away with buying at the grocery store. So chin to hairline, here’s a complete run down on makeup and how you can cut corners and spend that savings on things that matter like diapers…………………. Yea right! Or maybe a new pair of Kendra Scott earrings is more like it.

Concealer, Foundation, & Powder: These 3 items should be in every woman’s makeup bag. Consider it your canvas. You can’t paint the air and you can’t apply makeup without these 3 things on your face first. With that said, I would never ever ever recommend to anyone to go cheap on these 3 items. Trust me, I’ve purchased lesser expensive foundation and I’ve always regretted it. It’s important that you get the right coverage, color, and texture of products for your skin. The great thing about purchasing from a Mac, Estee Lauder, or Bobbi Brown counter is that they will always return your product should it not work out. If you were to purchase Revlon from HEB, once it’s opened it becomes difficult to return. Don’t scrimp, just pay the extra dough and get the perfect concealer, foundation, and powder! A few brands I love are Shiseido, Chanel, and Mac.

Eyeshadow, Blush, & Bronzers: There are thousands of products out on the market. If you go to Nordstrom you can easily pay $100 just for one new color of each in the eyeshadow, blush, and bronzer department. If you go to HEB you can get by spending about $25 for one of each of all 3. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got some expensive shadows and blush; however, this is one of the categories you can totally save some money in! I have found almost no difference in my shadows, blushes, and bronzers. I’ve got cheap and I’ve got expensive and I always choose which color I’m in the mood for and I can never tell a difference other than in the overall look of my makeup, i.e. color! Save your money and buy these items at the grocery store.

Lipstick: This goes in the same category as shadows, blushes, and bronzers. Seriously, you can absolutely buy an inexpensive brand of lipstick for $5 and achieve the same look as that $30 tube you might find at a department store. There are definitely some lipsticks I like more than others {Mac, for example has great lipsticks}, but at the end of the day, I still have to reapply and I really see no MAJOR difference from my Chanel lipstick and my Revlon.

Lip Gloss: So one might think that lip gloss is in the same category as lipstick, but IT’S SO NOT! I’ve tried inexpensive glosses and either they are super sticky, extremely dull in comparison to what it shows in the tube, or they taste really strange. Personally I can’t live without my Chanel lip gloss and I think their product is worth every dollar.

Liners: I have tried just about every lip liner and eyeliner on the market and I have found no difference between the inexpensive and the expensive brands. Yes, some go on a tad more smooth and are easier to work with {thus less time to apply}, but I’ve always achieved the same look with variously priced eye and lip liner products. Save your money and go to HEB.

Mascara: I’m on the fence about this one, because I was genetically blessed with long eyelashes from someone in my family {not my mom or dad though}. I’ve purchased $30 mascaras and $5 mascaras and I never really see any HUGE difference. I always feel like the newer the tube the more amazing it is so my theory is by the lesser expensive tubes of mascara just more frequently. If I’ve spent $30 on mascara I have a HARD time throwing it out after a year let alone a few months, which is recommended. I’ve always had amazing results from Loreal Voluminous Mascara. Honestly, I think it’s equivalent to Christian Dior’s $30 Show Mascara.

Even the highest of incomes have to be on some sort of budget and these are just some quick ideas from one mom to another on how I’m able to save money in my makeup drawer.

Okay so while you’re at it, please go vote for me to be Bobbi Brown Cosmetic’s next Bridal Beauty! A friend encouraged me to enter and I was selected by Bobbi Brown as one of the five finalists. Now the voting is up to the fans and the voting ends on Monday! I’d love all the support I can get from Austin Moms Blog. If I win I’ll be featured in Bobbi Brown’s first ever Bridal Book and I’ll be winning some Bobbi Brown makeup goodies, but more than anything, it will totally make my year!

Click Here from your desktop to show some love!!!

8 COMMENTS

    • Oh see I’m OBSESSED with thick goopy cakey makeup! Bring on the Kim Kardashian look, LOL! Somehow I never have the time for it though 🙁

  1. The girlie girl {or pageant girl} in my will never go away…I LOVE make up!!! After you suggested the Shiseido foundation and powder I bought it and I love it! I get compliments on it all the time 🙂 Thanks!
    I also LOVE Chanel lip gloss!

    • Yea! I’m so glad you love Shiseido as much as I do! I would say it’s on the higher end in terms of foundation, but it’s so amazing! I’ve never had better luck with any other brand.

  2. I totally agree about the lipgloss, it blows my husband’s mind how much I pay for a little tube. But just last week I was forced to try a foundation from CVS ( I ran out the night before we were leaving town), and I actually absolutely love it. I’ve used Makeup Forever HD Foundation, and swore I would never ever switch. However, Revlon Photoready is pretty much the exact same thing and matches my skin tone better. But you’ll have to pry my NARS and Benefit lipgloss from my fingers over my dead body 🙂

    • Someone else over on our Facebook page was asking about Makeup Forever and honestly, I had never heard of it before. My makeup artist told me today that as long as you save the packaging and receipt most places will take back makeup (even HEB) if the color isn’t quite right. I don’t know why but it just seems strange to return something to the grocery store. Somehow Nordstrom I don’t quite mind!

  3. I was going to post the same thing about Makeup Forever and Revlon Photoready. I was HOOKED on the Makeup Forever, not so much on it’s 40$ price tag though! Revlon Photoready’s foundation AND powder are both AWESOME. I’m also obsessed with Sally Hansen’s airbrush foundation (I drive all the way to the Lakeway CVS to get it since San Marcos doesn’t have it… yes, that obsessed).
    And ANY makeup product you get from CVS can be returned, regardless of if you opened it, with a receipt, no problem!

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here