Friday 13 August 2010

Bargain Beauty Buys

Aldi Shimmering Day Cream £1.99

This is amazing. It makes my skin glow with a dewy and ethereal luminescence, as if sprinkled with fairy dust, as if lit by candlelight, as if kissed by angels. When I was younger I always wanted to look ultra matt, ultra pale. Now my skin is older and generally duller I just can't wear matt products any more. They look to aging and mask-like. I want something more breezy and glowing. I loved this product so much I Googled it. I wasn't surprised to read it had won many awards and out-performed serums that cost over £25. The only down-side to this product is that it doesn't contain SPF. Oh, and it smells cheap. Expensive perfume and cosmetic houses seem to understand that products should either simply smell clean or be scented with aromatic essential oils. Sadly, this product smells cloyingly synthetic.

New Cosmetics Range Une.

This is a new mineral cosmetics range made by the producers of Bourjois. The ethos behind the range is that everything is produced with 100% natural minerals and that the colours and formulations are subtle and muted. Don't look here if you want really vivid, glittery fashion colours. The products remind me very much of Bobbi Brown's (but at a third of the cost). These are my favourite products so far:


Une Mineral Foundation (£9.99)
I never got the whole mineral foundation thing. I've tried many brands, the most famous (and expensive) Bare Escentuals only succeeded in making me look shiny and orange. I have no desire to look like Bob Monkhouse. I do love Philosophy's Supernatural Airbrushed Canvas Foundation, but it costs £32 a pop.

I'm using Une's mineral foundation in shade M03 (the second fairest). I'm quite tanned (for me) at the moment, I imagine I'll move down to the fairest shade in autumn. The great thing about mineral foundation, which is essentially just a creamy powder, is that it feels almost weightless on the skin. It feels like you're not wearing anything at all.
Une Sfumato Eye pencil in S23 (£4.99)

This is a seductively soft, powdery pencil. Perfect for smokey, smudgey, Bardot-esque eyes. There is a huge range of shades but I love S23, which is a rather lovely muted damson - grey.


Une Lip-toned lip colour (£7.99)
This is the product that most reminds me of Bobbi Brown. This whole lipstick range is based on the natural colour of lips. My favourite lipstick in the world is Bobbi Brown's Brownie shade. I am addicted to nude pink-browns. I can't afford Bobbi Brown at the moment (one lipstick is £15.50), so I checked out this range. That was a mistake. ALL THE SHADES WERE NUDE PINK-BROWNS!!!! I ended up buying 4!

And, a couple of heavenly non-budget buys.

Bobbi Brown sparkle eye shadow in Denim £15
To complement my new chic hairstyle I was craving a new smokey-eye shade. I love Bobbi Brown, as you know. Expensive, but in my mind, just perfect. This shade is a deep, grey-blue. It is shot through with a subtle, silver shimmer. Very sexy.


L'Occitane Summer Secret Fragrance £34.50

When it comes to fragrance I like fresh, clean and light. I am not into sultry. I have no desire to smell like the anal glands of a Marrakesh meerkat who's just spent the night in an opium den. I love this perfume, it smells of verbena, grapefruit and green grass. It is resonant of daisy chains, lemon sherberts and sunshine. I just wish I could afford a bottle. They're getting a bit tired of me in the L'Occitane shop. I marinate myself in the perfume every time I pass, but I never buy anything. "Ooooh. I just can't decide!" I declare, as I waft out of the shop on my lemon sherbert cloud.

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