Guest Post – £20 Make Up Challenge – Miss Pond

Hi I’m Emma from MissPond, I usually blog about anything and everything from gin tasting events, what I got up to at the weekend and fashion releases. But this month when I was asked to Guest Blog for Anoushka she came up with the £20 challenge- to purchase make up for full face for £20! Now, I’m a stickler for designer/high end products, my annoyances with the lack of samples and ivory toned foundations in drug stores has led me to places where I know I can get a sample to try or someone who can colour match me! So the other weekend I embarked on my challenge in the Arndale in Manchester and this is what I bought.

I’m not going to lie I struggled to find foundation in a price range that wouldn’t eat up the rest of my budget that would match my skin… I also chose a lot of Essence goodies, as I wanted to see what the hype was about.

Make Up Revolution Foundation in Cool Ivory £2

The price of this amazed me, £2 for foundation! The coverage wasn’t as thick as I was expecting it to be and it took a heavier application to cover my blemishes, but I liked the feel on my skin and it didn’t look orange either!

Essence All About Autumn Eye Shadow Palette in 02 Keep Calm and Go for a Walk £3.79.

I was drawn to this palette by the colours; they’re indeed unbelievably autumnal. Although when I swatched them it did take a bit a few brush strokes to bring out the colours, especially the lighter ones. When I wore them I had similar issues, it took a lot to bring the colours out, which is a shame, I was expecting a bit more! But the colours were long lasting on my eyelids and blended really well.

Essence All About Autumn Colour Change Blush in 02 Keep Calm and Go for a Walk £2.49

I really liked the shade of this; it’s quite pale when swatched. It’s supposed to colour change by pH of the skin and it definitely did that. I made the mistake initially of thinking it was pale and put on a bit more, but I ended up looking like a clown! It does have the most beautiful shimmer when you get it right.

Essence Lipstick in On The Catwalk! £2.29

I picked a darker shade to go with the season, but it wasn’t as dark as I thought it would be when I put it on. Although, it’s definitely got a great matte finish, I definitely much prefer a matte lipstick.

Essence Compact Powder in Light Beige £2.79

This is a great powder, I’m really impressed with how it set the foundation and it matches my skin tones perfectly. It also lasts, which surprised me, even more expensive powders have a tendency to disappear on my skin!

Essence Maximum Definition Volume Mascara £2.79

I really like the wand on this mascara, as a lady with shorter lashes it really does help me cover each and every one. I was impressed with this; I actually prefer it to my Dior mascara, which has a similar wand, as it clumps a lot less in my lashes.

Maybelline Nail Varnish in White Splatter £3.99

Now I know wasn’t exactly in the shopping brief, but I adore painting my nails and HAD to pick this up when I saw it. I love the effect and it came out really well. Maybelline have some great colours out at the moment and I have many more
on my future purchases list! It’s a topcoat, so I put it over my favourite black nail varnish. I tried it without a coloured basecoat and it didn’t show up very well.

Shopping total = £20.14

I think I found some definite re-purchases, some surprises and a couple of letdowns in this trip. But I definitely will be sure to check out drug stores more often to find those key beauty items instead of jumping to high end straight away.

Thanks Anoushka for a great challenge!

MissPond x

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