One Look, Two Different Price Ranges

As a makeup artist, I have my own personal tried-and-tested brands that I use in my kit for myself or for gigs and shoots.  Most of the time, makeup, especially for professional use doesn't come in cheap. Professional makeup artists really invest on imported, high quality luxury brands to give their clients the best service and quality.

However, this doesn't mean that makeup in a lower price range is already considered bad. There are some brands that are quite affordable that make it to the kits of celebrity makeup artists and top celebrities. It's amazing that over the years, there is a lot of improvement in drugstore makeup as they go about with the trends. For ladies who would like to spend bigger money on groceries or rent or diapers for their babies but would still like their makeup fix, there are affordable brands that are almost up to par with high end makeup.

When I started out with makeup, I didn't have enough makeup or funds to begin with.When my classmates had all their big kits and lights, I worked with the basic kit provided by the school and the makeup that I already have. This was a time that bringing all my makeup to a shoot is actually possible. My former officemates already thought that I owned so much makeup then but they should see how much makeup my teachers and classmates had. Since I was starting out and not earning makeup artist TFs (I also quit work then to be able to focus more on school), I used affordable makeup that I could use for practice and slowly invested until I was able to build the pro MUA kit I have now.

Working with makeup school student budget actually got me looking for makeup that performs really well but will not really cost much. For everyday, I mix and match like I have a drugstore makeup foundation and lipstick, but my eyebrows are my go-to luxury brand. For special occasions like if I'm going to a press event or a wedding, I wear the expensive makeup. For travel, I don't bring a lot of expensive makeup or limited edition makeup that can get lost during transit and break my heart. Learning about very good drugstore brands helps me in blogging as I reach out to ladies who would want to build their own makeup kit but don't want to be spending so much. 

I thought of doing this type of post, that I do one look, but I do it twice. One will have the look done using all drugstore brands (local and imported), and one, all luxury brands. It's fun to see that we can still get a nice look that lasts, even with drugstore brands. I may be doing another one of this challenge, either with a different look or a different challenge (local versus imported, just the eyes, etc). As of the moment, I don't have a catchy name yet for this series so let me know in the comments if you have a fun, catchy title for me. 

So, the look I went for first is the basic makeup look with a graphic cat eye. I had a graphic cat eye phase for a few weeks and just to carry over that phase, I thought I'd start this challenge with cat eye.

First comes the look done using drugstore brands

Products used:

Primer: Revlon Photoready Prime + Anti-Shine

Foundation: Revlon Colorstay Liquid Foundation in Medium Beige

Concealer: Revlon Colorstay in Medium (also used as an eyeshadow primer)

Powder: Maybelline White Superfresh Long Lasting UV Cake Powder (Nude Beige)

Contour: Pink Sugar Sweet Cheeks HD Cheek Color in South Beach

Brows: Maybelline Fashion Brow Sharp Pencil

Eyeshadow: Pink Sugar Eye Candy Eyeshadow Palette (#01)

Eye pencil: Covergirl Liquiline Blast in Blackfire

Eyeliner: L'Oreal Superliner Superstar in Black

Blush: Revlon Blush in Oh, Baby! Pink

Highlight: Revlon Highlighting Palette in Peach Glow

Mascara: L'Oreal Faux Cils Papillon Mascara 

Lip liner: Ever Bilena Nude Lipliner

Lipstick: Fashion 21 Lipstick in Custard

Here are photos of the look:

Okay, luxury brands up: 

Products Used: 

Primer: Shiseido Glow Enhancing Primer

Foundation: Shu Uemura Face Architect Liquid Foundation #764

Powder: MAC Studiofix Powder Foundation in NC35

Concealer: MAC Studiosculpt Concealer in NC30

Contour: Kat Von D Shade + Light Contour Palette

Brows: Shu Uemura Brow:Ink in Palm Beige and Hard Formula in Seal Brown

Eye Primer; Urban Decay Primer Potion

Eyeshadow: Urban Decay Naked Palette and Make Up Store Eyeshadow in Pollution 

Pencil: NARS Eye Kohl in Tragic

Liner: MAC Fluidline in Blacktrack

Mascara: Benefit They're Real mascara

Blush: MAC Ombre Blush in Kindergarten Red (from the Toledo Collection)

Highlight: MAC Iridescent Powder in Coupe D'Chic (from the Cinderella Collection)

Lipliner: Make Up Store in Nude Beauty

Lipstick: MAC Cosmo

The look:

Comfort level both are basically the same. I was quite suprised honestly at the pigmentation and smoothness of the Fashion 21 lipstick. The orange color makes it not get lost in my bag  so it's pretty easy to spot. More or less I was able to come up with the same dewy finish instead of super full-on plakado matte. I used the more neutral end of the Revlon highlighting palette though to achieve the similar effect of Cinderella. 

Regarding the liquid liners, I'm more the gel liner type of girl for pro use better since it's creamier and more controllable but for fast looks and easy control pen liners are great for personal use. I find the L'Oreal pen easy to control and it's thick enough so I can quickly create a thicker, more graphic line at the same time it gives me better control so it's easier to make both eyes even. Maybe I should have another pen liner in my to-go makeup bag so I can go from mascara and brows to a graphic eye in case I want to switch things up. 

I currently don't have a drugstore brand eye primer so I used my liquid concealer. I just have to work fast with the base color as this  concealer sets pretty fast. Pink Sugar's eyeshadow palette was less warm than my Urban Decay Naked Palette. They were quite pigmented and blendable to achieve this nice, smooth effect. I still needed the black to "smoke up" the look a bit whereas with the Naked Palette, the warmer brown, Buck, warmed up my crease well and the separate black eyeshadow (Make Up Store Pollution) I used really just set the pencil eyeliner at the bottom lashline.

Both lipsticks are pretty creamy in their formulations, which are great for ladies with dry, chapped lips. I was pretty much surprised at the formulation of the Fashion 21 lipstick (the bright orange packaging also works for me). I was told though by a friend that this melts easily so maybe I can depot them into lipstick palettes in case I want to take this with me for travel to avoid getting broken lipsticks in transit. The lipliner of Ever Bilena I have been using it for years. I was introduced to it by my makeup teacher and it didn't drag my lips. It can actually stand on its own as a super matte lipstick.

This post shows that good makeup does not necessarily need to come with a hefty price tag. Makeup artists of course need to invest on high end products that deliver well. However, if you're saving money or would want backups for travel or like you want an office makeup kit that's not super expensive, there are possibilities. Reviews,  blog posts, and my own personal experience tells you that there are makeup that's great for personal use that doesn't need to be super expensive. Also, if you are a starting makeup artist, you can slowly build your stash first. Start first with the inexpensive makeup for practice and test shoots and then maybe build your kit as you start earning money or gaining experience.

I really had an awesome fun experience gathering my makeup and coming up with this post. I think I should do another one soon. Let me know in the comments below what look I should do next. It helps me improve my makeup skills too! Do you have a product you might want to make me try? Let me know as well.