Drugstore Beauty Bargains: July

Hello! I thought I’d do a July round up of the drugstore beauty bargains that are floating my boat lately! :-)

Maybelline Dream Flawless Nude Foundation: It’s foundation, Jim, but not as we know it! So I had tried samples of more expensive type versions of this new breed of watery textured foundation and not been entirely sold. I think it’s just an odd sort of formula to want to splash out on? At any rate I really like this one. It’s great in particular for combination/oily skin like mine. You are meant to use the dropper to dispense a drop for your whole face (not enough for me, I found). I just put daubs of it where I want coverage and blend as quickly as possible (I use my hands with this one). It is crucial that you use moisturiser under this foundation I think for even coverage, it’s just so watery and dries so fast that you need as smooth a base as possible. I love how light it feels and looks, so I tend not to use any primer or anything else under it. It’s matte in finish bit not dull, and has a light but decent coverage - slightly stronger than a tinted moisturiser I would say. For summer I just think it’s lovely and cool and non-claggy, one of those foundations that you can’t feel on your skin, so I for one am sold. It has an almost airbrush effect on the skin without being remotely heavy. I will be curious to see if I reach for it as often in the winter months, but the ease and natural finish of this make it pretty hard to beat for me right now. I have it in the shade "Cameo" which is a nice summer shade on my pale skin that doesn't wash me out too much/can handle a tiny bit of fake tan!

 Collection Illuminating Touch Concealer: I’ve lost count how many of these I’ve purchased. It’s maybe not as highlighting/illuminating as some more expensive brands, but it’s decent and actually conceals under eye circles as well as lightening up the under eye area. It also comes in a couple of shades that are pale enough for me, which many drugstore concealers do not. It has similar pigmentation to the Clinique Airbrush concealer in my opinion, it falls into that sort of not quite a full coverage concealer/not quite just a highlighter realm (if you are a concealer addict like me you might know what I mean! ;-0). For the money, it's a very handy little tool to have in your makeup bag, and I prefer it to most other drugstore highlighters I have tried.

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer: I’m not a huge fan of high density concealers under my eyes, but am in the catch 22 of having dark under eye circles so I generally mix a long lasting type concealer with a more lightweight one. This one blends nicely with just about anything and doesn’t go too claggy if I use a light hand while also covering up my raccoon sockets. Honestly I’ve tried way more expensive brands and this one is actually less ageing than many of them, esp. when blended/used with another highlighter type concealer Again, the shades are very good for pale skin types, I don't even need the palest shade in this which is unheard of for me!

Umberto Giannini Create A Curl Scrunching Jelly (not pictured sorry!): This was formerly known as "Curl Friends Scrunching Jelly", which I personally preferred! They changed the packaging slightly and it was off the shelves for a bit and I had a little panic - thankfully it re-appeared and seems to be the same formula as far as I can tell. This pink hair gel is an old faithful in my hair product arsenal. Now, curly hair is not built on one product alone so I actually use this slippery/watery, frizz reducing gel in conjunction with a stronger hold gel. It lightens up the other gel in my arsenal from making my curls too crunchy (A little crunch is good but I won’t go into all that now!). This gel plays well with most curl creams in my experience, for looser curly types this may well offer enough hold, but as a 3a/b mix I rely on this for frizz reduction and aiding curl formation.

Garnier Micellar Water: I’ve tried quite a few micellar waters and not had much of an opinion either way on them. I mean, they are a good step I find now for makeup removal, but I still want to wash my face afterwards no matter what. This Garnier one is cheap and cheerful and doesn’t make my skin feel dry or tight, and removes the makeup ever so slightly better than a few others I’ve tried. It's pretty decent with eye makeup and doesn't sting so long as you don't get too much of it in your eyes (even then it's way less stingy than some eye makeup removers I've tried!). It's not great with waterproof mascara but other than that it's pretty much a great all rounder. It comes in a big bottle too so lasts a good while  - I just don’t get why anyone would spend a fortune on a micellar water; I get through them quite fast, and having tried a few French pharmacy brands they really don’t leave my skin in any better shape than this more bargain-ous one. I have this micellar water in the Combination & Sensitive skin version (which is rare to see as a drugstore option!), so I cannot attest to the other types, but this one certainly didn't dry out my skin as many combination type products do.

Rimmel Sunshimmer Instant Tan Mousse: Well this is a GAME CHANGER! Sorry to shout! I was just pretty stunned by this little Rimmel dazzler. It actually leaves you "tan" after an hour. Apply - you will look a bit muddy, I for one wouldn’t leave the house with this on. But then, a mere hour later you can shower! It leaves you a nice, lightly toasty shade too, not a scary orange one. I found the packaging confusing because the label says one hour but the instructions don’t mention how long to leave it on – I have read other people leave it on for longer, so maybe you will get a darker shade if you leave it longer, I'm not too sure. I would recommend using a tanning mitt and making sure your skin is well exfoliated and moisturised, because I did get a few streaks the first time I tried this. It dries almost instantly so you do need to work fast. I have it in the "Light" shade and it is definitely suitable for my pale skin, but might be too subtle for anyone not as ghostly pale as me! It also comes in medium and dark shades. It supposedly lasts for seven days, it’s definitely on the paler side of instant tans, for a more noticeable effect you would probably want to apply two times a week. This one is a serious bargain though. In a market of more expensive brands coming out with ever faster tans (who among us will shed tears for the smelly sheets and fake tan awkward drying off period? Not I!), this Rimmel mousse is pretty impressive value.

Well that's enough for today I think! How about you? Are there any drugstore beauty bargains you are loving of late? Please share in the comments! :-)