Beauty Buys

I am not a make-up fundi. I shop rather impulsively and do not have an elusive list of must haves (besides my face creams and serums, which I simply MUST HAVE!!). As consumers, we are bombarded with (digitally enhanced) pictures and adverts, empty promises and clever marketing captions that lure and entice us into purchasing. My make-up bag alone (yes, I do have one) consists of products I don't quite use because they were poor choices and bad quality.

Recently, I have been paying more attention to the quality of my purchases. Partially thanks to the various beauty blogs I read...but also because I am keen to detox my make-up bag and start fresh with products that are more in tune with my needs. My daughter is a good indicator of how the youth are swayed by the media (she loves the vlog Miss Glamorazzi) and pretty pictures and packaging (courtesy of Clicks pamphlets) , which is how she makes her choices and draws up her wish list... (GIRLS!!!)

With so many broken promises and varying prices from brands, it is difficult to make informed choices. I feel that the only true reflection of product success comes from the consumer themselves and therefore decided to compile a list of my beauty purchases from time to time, so that I can be cured from my impulsive tendencies and  make more informed choices in the future...and also pass my findings on to everyone out there.

Here's a few of my recent beauty buys...

Maybelline Baby Lips

 

Picture courtesy of huffingtonpost.com

 



This was a choice made by my daughter. She has had it on her wish list for months now, so when I spotted the range at Clicks, I decided it was a must buy! Baby Lips is a repairing lip balm is formulated with an SPF2O, vitamin C&E, Shea butter, aloe, camphor and Centella,  and lives up to it's name sake and does, in fact, provide baby soft lips. I feel that it was the perfect (and age appropriate) product for my daughter, who is slowly becoming enthralled in the world of make up! Extreme moisture, with a hint of colour, cute and colourful packaging and subtle fruity fragrance is perfect for my almost 12 year old...plus it comes in 5 different shades. I think I may be liking this product more than she does ;-)

Rimmel Stay Blushed Liquid Cheek Tint

This, I admit, was an impulsive purchase! My previous blusher was on the brink of extinction and I needed a new one. I was going to repurchase the Clinique brand which I was using and really love, but snatched up one of these from Clicks to use in the meantime and I'm so glad I did. I LOVE this cream blusher!!! It is extremely easy to use with a smooth, soft texture that settles into a natural looking stain. The longevity of the product comes with a promise of lasting 24hrs. I do find that the lasting power of the product is better if I wear my tinted moisturiser than when I go without it.

 

Clinique Chubby VS Revlon Stain

I have always been intrigued by these chubby sticks! I bought the Clinique Chubby Lip Balm first...on a rather dismal attempt at clothes shopping. I live by the motto "If nothing fits...buy make-up!!" which is how I landed up making this purchase! INLOVE! Again, this product has all the essential moisture rich ingredients making it extremely moisturising with a not too overpowering colour, which makes this a winner for me. I wear mine almost everyday and will definitely invest in more shades.

My complete obsession with the Clinique chubby led me to the Revlon counter. Revlon Kissable Lip Stain has a noticeable R100 price difference!!! I didn't think twice and made the purchase and admittedly expected more or less the same features from this product....which turned out to be kind of true. You got a whole lot more colour pigment...and a little less moisturising. It's not a bad product, just don't expect it to be the same. The colour does well in staining the lip and lasts much longer than the Clinique one...but I personally prefer the Clinique brand. Revlon does have a bigger variety of colours and I do think I will invest in another purchase... perhaps colours that don't feature in the Clinique range.

Yardley Volume Lash Maximus Mascara

This was not a purchase. In fact,  it comes from my still not used up, bottomless goodie bag from the Blogger Meet up and I finally got to this mascara! I must admit, I expected a lot more volume from this product just from it's name. I didn't get the volume and definition unfortunately, but I did get zero clumping! I found the mascara easy to apply and it separates the lashes brilliantly. I don't wear lots of make up on a daily basis, so when I wear mascara it's usually for a function or something and then I like to go full out and dramatic. I find this mascara to be more suited for everyday wear and so I have started adding it as part of my very minimalistic make up routine...which I wouldn't consider to be a very bad thing :-)    

 

If you have any suggestions of products you can't do without and think I should try, then please do let me know. You can leave a comment at the end of this post and will try it out as I start filling up my new and improved make-up kit :-)

 

Thanks for reading today!

 

Peace,

 

NAMU :)

 

Always opting for a natural look!