If you’re a beauty addict restricted by a student budget, 2018 is here for you. We’re just over half the way through the year and it has already bought us these inexpensive beauty gems.
Make-Up Revolution Fast Base Foundation Stick (£5)
Make Up Revolution are pretty big heroes in the budget dupes game. However, this foundation stick had the internet paying attention after Kadeeja Khan used it in one of her blogs. Firstly, its £5 - cheaper than most drugstore foundations. Secondly, it offers 18 shades - which is both super important and fab. Thirdly, the stick is easy to use, gives impressive coverage and has been reviewed and rated pretty damn well. For £5 this could be a staple piece which keeps the student overdraft looking healthy- unlike it’s £30 competitors.
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The Ordinary Serum Foundation (£5.70)
With 21 shades, a natural / medium coverage and rumoured long-wear it seems you can’t really go wrong with this budget bargain. In fact, it doesn’t stop there. This foundation targets pigmentation with it’s Pink, Red, Neutral and Yellow undertone options and makes it easier for us to better match a shade to our skin as closely as possible. Brownie points are definitely in order here since colour-matching technology and an extensive shade range is something that makes high-end products so appealing. If we can get this for the teeny tiny price tag of £5.70 - there's really no excuse!
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Doll Beauty Highlighters (£15 or cheaper!!)
Considering there is no such thing as ‘too much highlighter’ and the glazed doughnut life is the good life - this can be expensive. Fortunately for us students - doll beauty have made it a little less expensive. For only £15 each or a duo palette for £25 - these highlight powders are so glowy and intense that you can use a little and glow for longer. Whilst there are cheaper alternatives - the quality and consistency of these highlighters are paired with the most regarded and expensive in the market. So if you’re looking for a high-end glow on a low-end budget - these are definitely worth an investment. The packaging is a little more flimsy and notably different from high-end products - but this would explain the price difference. After all, what did we learn about judging a book by it’s cover?
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However, since these are so popular, they can be pretty difficult to get your hands on. They can be available in some Topshop stores or ordered on Cult Beauty or Doll Beauty. Top tip - using your student discount can make these even cheaper! Also, waiting for free next day delivery promotions is always wise... But I’m sure you know that!
Beauty Pie Pro-Glow Superstrobing Drops £6
We’ve all seen the Iconic London Glow Drops endorsed by pretty much every celebrity...ever. Yes, they’re great. I mean, have you seen the glow? The fact is, a glow like that shouldn’t have to set us back £30, especially not with a dupe like this around.
The deal with beauty pie is simple. There is a £10 monthly membership fee which is NOT a contract. Their products are made in the same factories as other luxury brands and their components are pretty much the same. Essentially, these are luxury end products without the luxury packaging, transportation and endorsements that make the luxury products so expensive. For this reason, everything is super cheap! Take these highlighter drops. They would be £30 - but with a membership, they become £6. I know what I’d prefer to pay.
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Top Tip : You’ll find a dupe for pretty much every luxury makeup product you own on beauty pie - once you begin using it, you’ll never turn back. After all, why would you? Luxury make up at factory prices? The only reason you didn’t already know about it was because they don’t pay for the endorsements. So it’s our job to spread the love.
Free Samples
Okay, you got us - free samples are not a thing of 2018. But they are still a thing and if you aren’t taking full advantage of that - why not? The Student Hut mailing list frequently sends vouchers and tokens telling you what free samples to get where - whether it’s 10-day foundation samples or sachets of expensive conditioner. That’s something you learn as a student living alone. Conditioner IS expensive. Either way, you could be getting your hands on these freebies!
Make-Up Revolution Conceal and Define (£4)
Shock. Makeup Revolution’s new concealer is JUST as good as their foundation stick. It has the kind of coverage you’d expect from a high end product but costs £4. A bonus? Just as the name suggests these can be used to both conceal and contour. So not only may you have just found your favourite new budget concealer - but also a contour wand? Step aside big names, step aside.
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NYX Tame and Frame (£6)
Eyebrows use a little but can still cost a lot unless you invest in the right products. This eyebrow pomade is similar in consistency to that of Anastasia Beverly Hills’ best-selling pomade. However, NYX’s equivalent is £10 cheaper and doesn’t mean international shipping either. Fab brows for a fab price.
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Pigments and singles
Again, not strictly 2018 but worth a mention. Whilst a fresh new eyeshadow palette feels godly - can you say you honestly use every shade regularly? Perhaps eyeshadow singles would be a better alternative. Despite the fact they may be more fiddly and cause make up bag clutter - you could be saving yourself a lot of money only investing in your go-to shades. You could be paying for 15 shades but using 5! We’ll let you do the maths.
A great budget alternative could be buying pigment samples on Depop or Ebay. Believe it or not, a lot of people buy full size pigment and sell small pots of it for super cheap on these sites and if you’re the kind of person who gets bored of products - this could be a way to curb those habits. Also, it’s worth mentioning that Peaches and Cream sell pigments similar in quality to MAC pigments for half the price, and you can select shades in a package deal to make these even cheaper. Plus, by ordering via Pretty Little Thing you can make good use of that student discount.
Primark Glitter Eyeshadow Palette (£4)
First you heard it from Huda Kattan aka Huda Beauty, now from us. Huda labelled this primark eyeshadow palette ‘the best thing we’ve discovered this year’. That’s right, an international beauty sensation with her own best-selling palettes and foundation just coined this primarni bargain palette the best thing we’ve discovered this year. Need I say anymore.
Read about it here, but you're gonna have to go in store to get your hands on one.
Benefit Complexionista Palette (£22.50)
So, imagine a palette featuring 6 of benefit’s best selling concealers, bronzers and highlighters crammed into one. Considering each of these best sellers nears around £20 in price alone this palette is at a bargain price. Whilst each product is admittedly not full size - they are each high quality, high coverage and high pigmentation which means they last long enough for that to not be a big deal. This is a real snatch. However, it’s also a limited edition snatch. So maybe snatch it quickly!
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Beauty Pie Skincare Range
Of course, we have our cheap skincare go-tos. But we’d be lying if we said there hasn’t been a time where we’ve looked at a £50+ skincare product and thought - I want to see what’s so special. There has to be something in them that these £3 face washes just don’t have if people pay £70 for them. Again, beauty pie is the solution. Not only do they sell luxury make-up at student-friendly prices - but they have introduced some of the most revolutionary skincare products which would without membership, cost these high-end prices.
Take a look here
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