Beauty on a Budget // Skin Care

Skin care is something that tends to be rather expensive, like crazy expensive. So I'm sharing my favorite budget friendly skin care items. I have acne prone skin (since I was about 10 years old) so I try to stick with gentle products and these are a few that have been working really well for my skin recently.

I wash my face every morning with neutrogena pink grapefruit oil-free acne wash. I love that this has little scrubby things (if you know the actual name, let me know) and the smell is refreshing and helps me fell more awake.

I have been using cetaphil daily facial moisturizer for years and don't see myself changing that anytime soon. It is unscented, light weight, non-greasy, and perfect for my acne prone skin

Finally, freemans face masks, I wouldn't say that these are really anything special but they are great if you want to stick to a budget! I think they cost around $5. My favorite is the charcoal polishing mask. It leaves my skin feeling clean and it is a very strong exfoliate. I really want to try the tea and lemon clay mask.

What are your favorite budget friendly skin care items? I am always looking for new things to try!

Beauty on a Budget // Ulta Haul

You know when you go into a store and think "I only need a few things, it won't take long" and you leave an hour later with way more than you went in for? Well this is what happens every time I go into ulta. When I was home for the weekend a couple weeks ago and I had to make a stop at ulta (there isn't one where I'm currently living) and ended up with way more than I intended...but on the bright side, everything I got was budget friendly!

When I got to the store I discovered that they had a special on ulta brand makeup, which by the way is wonderfully priced, so I got quite a few new things to try. I also picked up Revlon Nearly Naked foundation and a Real Techniques powder brush (the only two items I actually went to buy).  ps: stay tuned for a review of the foundation in the near future. 

The ulta amped lashes mascara is something I was really excited to try and it has not disappointed! Also, the double ended eyeliner is a great product and would be nice for traveling because you have a black and brown liner in one pencil.

I got two ulta lip products: a lip crayon in the shade OH! (orangish) and a butter balm lip gloss in the shade thumbelina (bright pink). They are both brighter than I normally wear but I think they will be great for spring and summer.

I got three ulta eyeshadow quads for free (because I spent too much money) and a single eyeshadow in the shade flutter. These eyeshadows are all beautiful colors and I am having a lot of fun trying new looks with them. 

 

I love this yellow diamond illuminating powder. It adds just enough brightness without too much sparkle. I also got the ulta bronzer blush duo for spending too much money ;). 

This is the first time I have ever purchased or used ulta brand products but so far I am really enjoying them and the best part is, every one was under $10!

Do you have any recommendations for budget beauty products? If so, comment below and let me know what they are.

Beauty on a Budget // Everyday Makeup

I'm always admiring luxurious makeup but almost always talk myself out of buying it (unless it is something really special). Sometimes I feel like it is really hard to justify spending a lot of money on makeup and I figured that a lot of you feel the same way so I thought I would share my everyday makeup routine using only drugstore products. 

The Base: I use this Covergirl BB cream before I put on any other makeup. It is a tinted moisturizer and works as a great primer. For concealer I use this Almay concealer and brightener under my eyes and on any blemishes, I then use Elf tone correcting concealer around my nose and anywhere else I'm looking extra red. These concealers work great for me, they have nice coverage and I don't have problems with them creasing as the day goes on. For foundation I'm currently using Neurtogena shine control, when I use this my makeup seems to last through out the day better. As a powder I use Neutrogena skin clearing mineral powder. It gives more of a sheer coverage which I really like. 

Picking a drugstore blush was really difficult for me because blush is something I tend to splurge on, so most of what I use is high end. I did find this Mayballine Dream Bouncy blush in the shade rose petal and so far I like it. It doesn't give a whole lot of color so it's nice for a simple everyday look.

Eyes and Lips: I love this Maybelline cream eyeshadow in the shade Barely Branded (sorry I couldn't find it online). I put this all over my eye lid and then use this Maybelline eyeshadow in the shade Indian Summer. The cream eyeshadow is a great base for the powder and helps keep my eye makeup looking good all day.  My favorite eyeliner is this Almay one. It is easy to apply and I really like the color. For mascara, I'm not too picky but I have recently been loving Covergirl Full Lash Bloom in Black Brown. It seems to give my lashes more volume and length without looking fake.  Revlon colorburst balm stain in the shade Honey is an amazing lip product! I wear it almost everyday because it is a really nice color and it feels great on my lips.

p.s. I tried taking a picture of myself after I did this makeup routine but it just wasn't working for me-sorry bout that :(

I hope this gives you some new drugstore products to try and I would love to know what you drugstore favorites are! 

(linking with Fab Favorites)