How to Create a Makeup Routine on a Budget
You may think that you need to use a variety of expensive products to create a makeup routine. You can create one on a budget. Using the right techniques is just as important as the products you use. Sticking to a budget doesn’t necessarily mean you have to compromise on quality when buying products. There are plenty of chemist or supermarket products that do as good a job as more expensive products. Quality is not necessarily defined by price or brand name.
Opt for multi-purpose products
There are so many products available it makes choices confusing but you should look for products that can do more than one job. For example, you can choose a foundation with skincare benefits. A foundation with hyaluronic acid makes the skin feel hydrated and one that includes an SPF offers protection from the sun.
From left: Milani 2 in 1 foundation, Maybeline Perfector 4 in 1, Covergirl and Olay Simply Ageless foundation, Revlon Skin Caring Foundation and Max Factor Facefinity.
Some products, such as lipsticks, can be used on the cheeks as a blush or even as an eye shadow.
Use products in the right order
If you don’t regularly clean, tone, and moisturise your skin with good products, you won’t have the right base on which to apply your makeup. Your makeup has to work much harder when you don’t have a regular skincare routine. My ethos has always been you should get the best skincare you can afford. With cleansers, you can get away with using products like CereVe and Cetaphil, as they cleanse the skin without stripping it of essential oils and drying out your skin. However, I highly recommend using a good toner, serum and moisturiser. I’m a huge fan of Clinique, Skinstitut, Dermalogica and Lancome skincare products. Even though it may be a lot to pay initially, usually you don’t need to use a lot of the product. The Clinique Rinse Off Foaming Cleanser removes long-wearing makeup and sunscreens quickly and efficiently by only using a pea size amount of product. Cost per use ends up being quit low.
A trick to using toner, is to pour a small amount ie a 5 cent piece amount into the palm of your non dominant hand, and use the fingers on your other hand to put it on your face. Using a cotton pad absorbs a lot of the toner and you end up wasting half the product.
Before you use foundation, apply a primer so that when you use foundation, you need very little. A primer is essential because it minimises pores and prepares your face for makeup. Another tip is to also use your fingers to apply foundation. It gives the chance for the foundation to warm up on your fingers before applying it to your face. A lot of makeup artists use this method. Fingers use body warmth to melt liquid or cream foundation into the skin for a sheer, dewy, natural, skin-like finish (which is trending right now) while wasting zero product.
Before using a concealer, applying foundation will minimise any redness or discoloration so you need to use less concealer to cover dark circles or blemishes. The same applies to your lips. Exfoliating them first with a gentle lip scrub to buff away any dry skin and applying a lip primer leaves you with a smooth surface so the lipstick doesn’t flake off and you don’t need to keep applying it.
You don’t need to define your brows too much
On some days when you don’t have time to do your brows, combing them with a spoolie brush may be enough. Even when you do have time for powders, pencils, and gels, prepping your brows with a spoolie brush makes sure the hairs aren’t going wild. You can buy spoolie brushes cheaply, which is a good thing because they have so many uses when applying makeup. With a brow pencil, you can draw fine hairs for a soft look that feels fresher than when your brows are too solid. An eyebrow gel offers more precision to your look and helps it to last. I get my eyebrows waxed and tinted at Benefit Brow Bar in Myer every four to six weeks. My brows maintain a neat and tidy appearance and I don’t have to worry about using product, as they usually look good from the tint. If I do, however, want some extra definition, I use a quick slick of Benefit’s Gimme Brow.
Don’t skip the blush
Blush is a product that you need in your budget makeup kit. You need to find a shade that suits your skin tone and a blush palette with two or three shades is a worthwhile purchase. You will use blush differently depending on your makeup look, the weather, and your mood. Smile and apply your blush to the apples of your cheeks.
Have a kit of brushes for different uses
It is very useful to have a kit of brushes for different uses. Buy a kit with small brushes to blend, thin brushes for details, and thicker, fluffy brushes to apply powders. Using the wrong brushes to apply products can give a poor result and you may use more products. For example, applying blush requires a fluffy yet dense brush.
