Hey everyone!

Today I thought I would do a "save or splurge" post, where I go through every category in makeup and discuss wether I prefer to invest in it or think you can get real good products for cheap.

I did one just like this 3 years ago (what?) and I thought it would be interesting to see if my opinion was still the same after all these years. Click here if you want to go and read that blog post.

this category wasn't even in there yet, as the "priming trend" only took off a while after I posted that article. I didn't really prime at the time. I think if you find the right type of primer for you, you can just as well find a good one at the drugstore (The Ordinary one is one of my favourites!) but obviously there's a lot more different ones in high-end brands like Make Up For Ever, Smashbox... I guess if you see this as the last step of your skin care, it's important to choose one with good ingredients as it's going directly on your bare skin. Making sure it does what you want it to do is really important. I can't really say if I prefer drugstore or high-end as I know a few drugstore brands do some amazing primers, but the luxury or professional market sometimes have a few more options to choose from.

Foundation

My opinion on foundation hasn't really changed over the years, and since then the drugstore has been really upping the game of their shade ranges. I don't wear a lot of foundation anymore but most of the ones I own are drugstore anyways. From time to time I will try out a high-end one, but usually I'll only splurge on one if I have tried a sample first. I'm just saying that splurging on foundation doesn't always mean it's necassarily going to work for you.

Concealer

For concealer on the other hand, I've been using some more expensive ones. I bet there's still heaps of good ones at the drugstore, but recently I've been trying out a lot of pot concealer like the Benefit ones and the Nars Soft Matte concealer, and most of them are just high-end (if any of you know about a good pot concealer at the drugstore, please do let me know!). I've also been loving a lot of different concealers from Bare Minerals, and I feel like their products are really good for my skin. The liquid concealers as well as the creamy ones all have different purposes, but surprisingly all seem to work for my skin. I've definitely changed my mind about them since I last did this post.

Powder

As much as I've loved a few high-end powders, I'm still 100% hooked on the Rimmel Stay Matte powder and really think a good drugstore setting powder is so easy to find. They've even been doing more loose powders as well and they are starting to catch up with the luxury market.

Bronzer

For bronzers on the other hand I'm totally converted to high-end ones. Not necessarily because the quality or staying power is better, but mainly because I'm such a sucker for packaging, and not a lot of drugstore bronzers look as good as the high-end ones do. I have so many to go through and with decluttering my makeup, I've got rid of most of my drugstore bronzers. There's just something so satisfying about a luxury bronzer and I am totally converted.

Blush

I'm convinced there are a few brands at the drugstore that do really good blushes (Sleek used to be one of those brands, and Rimmel as well) but just like with bronzers, I'm so very hooked on beautiful packaging. The only actual drugstore blush I still own is a Maxfactor Creme Puff blush. I find that there are so many more beautiful shades to choose from in the luxury market, whereas drugstore blushes usually have a more flat-looking shade. That's totally okay though and I know that some affordable brands have a great shade range to pick from, I'm personally more drawn to high-end blushes. They tend to have a bit more staying power than cheaper ones.

Highlighter

Another thing I didn't really talk about in my post from 3 years ago, as I wasn't really using it yet back then! For this category, again there are some drugstore brands that really nail the highlighter section like Makeup Revolution or Kiko, but in all honestly I will always choose high-end over drugstore with highlighters. They can look a bit chalky really fast and drugstore ones typically have less quality. I prefer to go for smoothness and blendability with my highlighter and that's something you really only find in a high-end highlighter.

Brows

I have really found my jam with the Benefit brow products, and I alter between them and the Anastasia brow pencils. I think it's so worth investing in a good brow pencil that is creamy enough and quick&easy to work with.  

Eyeshadow

I'm a sucker for high-end eyeshadows! There are a few high street brands that I trust for eyeshadow, like Zoeva for example, but mainly I'll always opt for high-end in this category. Probably because I'm such an eyeshadow obsessive and I really value good quality in a palette. I do own a few single shadows from H&m which I think are super bomb as well. 

Eyeliner

I think this is a tie between drugstore and high-end. I love a good drugstore pencil for shades that I won't use all the time, but I find a few high-end ones I own are just that bit easier to work with. A lot of liquid eyeliners are great at the drugstore but again, I've found my love somewhere in the mid-range with the Stila Stay All Day liquid liner. Both markets offer a lot of good ones so I guess the question is just if you're going to use it a lot or if you're only going to wear it a couple of times.

Mascara

I've tried a few really good high-end mascaras in the last few years, but I must say I still think drugstore mascaras are just as good as any. You have to throw this product out every few months anyways so unless you've found your number one, does-it-all mascara in the luxury market, I'd say keep trying out the million others in the collections of Maybelline and l'Oréal, who both really kill it in this category.

Lippies

Last but not least, I've definitely changed my opinion on lipsticks over the years. I still think a lip liner is just as good from the drugstore, but I've been so drawn to higher end lipsticks. I used to only wear a few drugstore lipsticks as I really wasn't a great lipstick wearer back in the day, but over the years I've grown used to wearing it and I definitely like to go for quality. I don't own a lot of really expensive lipsticks though and will usually go for mid-range pricings but that I know are good quality, like the Mac or the Smashbox ones which are both priced at £17.50 and are such great value for money. I'll raarely go for anything more expensive than them but I must say I stay away from drugstore lipsticks lately. Probably because I discovered I had an allergic reaction to the Rimmel ones a few years ago, as they are heavily scented and made my lips really sore. It has put me off buying any other drugstore lipstick completely... If you do want to check out some good drugstore lipsticks, Rimmel ones are great quality and Maybelline and l'Oréal have amazing shade ranges as well. Kiko and Nyx are also two really good brands for lippies, and I especially love their lip liners.

I had so much fun revisiting an old blog post of mine and comparing my opinion from back then to where I am today. 

Is there anything "save or splurge" that you have changed your mind on over the years? Let me know what the one most important makeup item is you will always splurge on, I'm curious to know!