Why I Buy High...

No, I'm not talking about going shopping whilst 'blazed' (sorry, couldn't resist this title)... Today, I'm writing about why I choose to buy the majority of my products from the higher end of the price spectrum. It's a little bit of a controversial topic, I feel, and not something that everyone approves of. If I had a By Terry lipstick for every time I've gone on and on to my poor long-suffering friends and family about the improved quality and whatnot, I'd have a full set of MUJI drawers stacked up high full of 'em.

For me, makeup is a hobby. It's what I choose to indulge in, and if I had a way of showing how I spent my money, I can guarantee that the vast majority of it would go on cosmetics. I'm not especially fussy about what I buy, I have no preference between buying bases, cheek products, eyeshadows, skincare or lipsticks, but I think that I choose my products wisely and have stopped making superfluous purchases... Okay, so there's always room for another lipstick.

As an extension of this, I am perfectly happy to buy from the aisles of Boots and Superdrug - the UK 'drugstores' - as I am from SpaceNK or Cult Beauty and the likes. But. Look in my makeup collection and the vast majority comes from such high end retailers. Yes, this means that the products I buy from these shops tend to be a lot more expensive for the same amount of product I would be able to buy from Revlon or Maybelline, say. And yes, sometimes they turn out to be utter duds. I am the first person to say that buying high end by no means guarantees high quality. But. From my experience, 9/10 times, it actually does...

I'm a big believer in the idea that you get what you pay for. As far as I can see, it's a rule that works for food, for furniture, for clothes and for makeup. Yes, 'drugstore' formulations are improving all the time and the technologies are fast catching up, and yes, you can buy fantastic eye products from Rimmel and killer lip products from Revlon... But compared to the likes of Urban Decay, NARS and YSL Beauty? I see no comparison.

I'm well aware of the fact that when you buy from a high end brand, you buy into the branding as much as anything else, especially in the cases of fashion houses that have expanded into the cosmetics industry IMO, but the quality of the products does tend to match my expectations. There are some amazing bases in my makeup collection that I found in Boots, the Garnier Oil Free BB Cream for Oily/Combination Skin springs instantly to mind, but on the flip side of that, my all time favourites are high end (NARS' tinted moisturiser, the Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation, Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser Oil Free... I could go on). And don't even get me started on low end skincare...

The fact that I can still remember the feeling when I got my first ever high end product - a travel sized bottle of Moroccanoil Light Treatment, that I still have FYI - says a lot about buying high end, for me at least. It's an experience as much as anything else. I realise that I may well have just come across as the biggest makeup snob evaaa in writing this post, but I feel that it's actually quite an interesting topic. Ultimately, I buy high end because I feel that the price is more often than not reflected in the quality, or the unique-ness of the product and honestly? I'd take a high end five-product-face over a full on drugstore lineup any day and everyday.

Light 'n' Bright

As much as I wish I could say that I go without makeup most days, the truth is that I don't really feel confident doing so. Most of my skin is actually pretty okay, but the areas that are bad are really, well... Quite bad. This is a bit of a bummer, because I'm not actually a massive fan of a full face of makeup on the daily. It feels too heavy, and seeing as I'm pretty lazy relaxed about how I look if I'm popping into town or something, this has become my go-to route for the last couple of weeks.

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfecter in the shade Pearl and the Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation must be two of the most hyped up products on the blogosphere. In my opinion, this is actually for good reason. They both do a bloomin' good job at what they claim to do, and with each used sparingly where needed, they make a pretty killer combo.

I start by taking the tiniest amount of the Becca product and placing it where I want the light to catch my face, i.e. my cheekbones, cupid's bow, under my brows and on my chin. This stuff is potent and you really do only need a little bit to do your entire face. If you use an entire pump full, the end effect can be a little bit 'tin-man'-ish for my liking. This means that whilst it is a very expensive illuminator, it's also good value for money as the finish is so beautiful and a little goes a long way. At this point, I look a little bit glowy and polished, without really having done very much.

I then take a pump of the Luminous Silk Foundation and use it only where I need it (that part's important). I don't really want anything to be too perfect on my days off, because I don't want to spend 20 minutes in the mirror faffing around covering every little (or not so little) pimple. This has just the right amount of coverage to make everything looking calm, it glides over any dry patches I have and has the right texture to look natural.

The finished effect? Polished... But not neurotically so. That's what I'm talkin' about.

Ode to an Instant Classic

Much has been written about the Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation, but none of it quite prepared me for how much I would instantly love this base. Nothing else I have ever tried has managed to look so much like skin whilst also being so perfecting.

Having quite golden-yellow undertones, I can quite easily look very sallow this time of year, but Luminous Silk instantly adds a bit of light to my complexion. For some reason my skin is also highly inflamed and acne-prone at the moment, hence the lack of photo of me in this post, but this has me covered, pardon the pun. All scarring and redness is concealed with ease, whilst my cystic spots are covered without looking smothered. It's love.

The finish is glow-y where I want it to glow, matte-without-being-too-matte where I don't want any shine. Somehow, this foundation manages to find some sort of balance with my currently combination skin. So far, I've worn it for 10+ hours with a setting powder, no problem.

In comparison to my previous favourite foundation, NARS Sheer Glow, Luminous Silk has slightly more coverage and is marginally less dewy. I always found that Sheer Glow started to look a little to bit too shiny after a few hours and faded a bit too quickly, but the Armani is definitely longer lasting. For reference, I wear Shade 4.

It's pricey, at £34.50, and it's not the easiest of bases to get hold of. However, if you're in the market for a foundation that doesn't have SPF, making it perfect for a night out, that is light enough to wear in the day and just makes you look better, it's certainly worth considering over a MAC or CHANEL base.