High-end makeup – 3 products you should invest in

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I prefer high end makeup, because I find it performing better. I notice the price difference in consistency and quality. When the product is done right, it’s super easy to blend and it lasts well.

But I don’t think you need to buy everything high end. In this post I’m telling you which three products I would invest in – and what products you can totally get on a budget!

when you should buy high end makeup

Why you should invest in high end products

High end brands usually have more skincare benefits and better ingredients. I’m quite strict on my skincare and I think of my makeup as the extension to that.

This is why I think you should invest especially in your base products. I would pay a bit extra for these three products: foundation, concealer and lipstick. Those are the things that basically go onto your skin first.

Packaging is also important. Beautiful packaging is part of the experience. I love makeup in general and think of it as self-expression and self-care, so I don’t mind spending money on that.

high end makeup nars radiant creamy concealer

High end makeup you should invest in – Foundation

I have combination skin, which can be tricky to take care of. I can’t use just anything on my skin – it needs be suit both the oily and dry areas of my face. Having had bad acne and very oily skin at times, I know this from experience. With problematic skin the more expensive foundations usually just work better than the cheap ones.

So your skintype also has a say in this. If you have normal skin, maybe you can get away with a more affordable foundation. But the other thing I notice about high end foundations is that you need less product. They are usually very pigmented and a little goes a long way. So who knows – I might actually be saving money buying high end foundations.

high end makeup you should buy

Clarins Everlasting Foundation+
Review with before & after photos
*Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-In-Place Makeup $43
Review with before & after photos

Clarins’ foundation is one of the best for oily or combination skin, because it has great coverage and lasts super well. Yet still, it reflects light and doesn’t look heavy on the skin. Estee Lauder’s Double Wear is another good option if you want lots of coverage and good lasting power.

*YSL Touche Eclat Le Teint Foundation
Review with before & after photos

Nowadays I love a good glow and my skin is not quite as oily as it once was. So I really like foundations that are very lightweight, glowy – yet offer good coverage. This foundation does not last quite as well as the ones mentioned above, but it still lasts well, especially with a quick touch up. I’m wearing this one in the photos.

 

*Madara City CC
Review with before & after photos

My current favorite “foundation” is Madara’s City CC Cream, because nowadays I prefer a very natural looking skin. The CC-cream is  eco-certified and cruelty free. It also contains great natural ingredients like aloe vera, hyaluronic acid and sea buckthorn extract. It has a creamy consistency, which really sticks to my skin and lasts really good as well.

high end makeup

High end makeup you should invest in – Concealer

Concealer is almost like a compressed foundation that you need in specific areas on the face. I’m pretty sure most of us want to hide our dark circles and that’s probably the most common “problem” we seek help for.

I’ve tried many concealers, both drugstore and high end. I truly feel like the high end products work better. They are creamier in texture, they are easier to blend and they don’t enhance the little wrinkles around the eyes. I’ve also noticed a lot of the drugstore concealers have a weird cheap scent, whereas high end products are scentless or have a pleasant scent. (Though I totally agree that some luxury brands add too much scent – these things are not written in stone.)

My absolute favorite concealers come from NARS. I love their Radiant Creamy Concealer, which has a lot of pigment (great coverage), but still very blendable creamy texture. I also like the Soft Matte Concealer, which is great for spot concealing.

*NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer $30
*NARS Soft Matte Concealer $30

Another concealer favorite of mine is Madara’s Luminous Perfecting Concealer. It’s not as pigmented as the NARS one, but I actually like the thin consistency. It doesn’t get into the fine lines under the eyes. If you have dry skin and like a thin consistency, this might be the one for you. Madara is also cruelty-free.

*Madara Luminous Perfecting Concealer $24

best high end makeup concealer

High end makeup you should invest in – Lipstick

The most important thing in lipstick to me is that it feels comfortable on the lips. I also like it to have a luxury feel when I apply it and have it in my bag on the go.

High end lipsticks (especially ones that are made with mostly natural ingredients) usually have great moisturizing ingredients. They also have a lot of pigment and last well.

 

*Zuii Organic Lux Lipsticks ~ 30€
*Jane Iredale Triple Luxe Lipsticks $35

My favorite lipstick formula is Jane Iredale’s Triple Luxe lipstick formula. It’s so thin, yet very pigmented and comfortable on the lips. In the photos I’m wearing Jane Iredale’s Triple Luxe Lipstick in the shade Ellen. I also love Zuii’s organic lipsticks – their colors are very bright.

high end makeup beauty

So foundations, concealers and lipsticks are what I would buy from high end brands. You’ll find great blushes, bronzers, eyeshadows, brow products and mascaras on the drugstore side (AKA on a budget).

That said, I do love high end makeup in general. In the photos I’m wearing my favorite cream blush from a high end brand – and next I’ll tell you why I think it’s worth splurging.

 My favorite eco-friendly luxury blush

My favorite blush is Kjaer Weis’ cream blush in the shade Above and Beyond. It has the perfect consistency that’s easy to blend and it also stays well. When you look at the ingredients, there are actually natural oils that are good for your skin.

Kjaer Weis is a luxury brand that’s eco-certified and cruelty free. Their packaging is refillable, making the packaging more long lasting and more expensive than packaging you throw away.

All in all It’s just a very trustworthy blush that works for every occasion! I also really like the packaging and the fact that I can buy a refill for it.

Kjaer Weis Blush $56 / refill $32

high end makeup beauty

Finally, I want to note that price or brand doesn’t always signify quality. There are exceptions. Ingredients also matter so make sure to do your research.

Now tell me: what is some makeup product you have invested in? What are your favorite high end makeup products?

 

Everyday makeup from Clarins – Natural Lip Perfector & Joli Blush review + swatches

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I love easy natural looks, that don’t take too long to create. More often or not I need products that do the their job quickly and that I can throw in my bag. It’s magical how using just a few simple products I end up feeling more powerful and put together.

Today I’m talking about products just like that. These are things that I use every day. I received these quite a while ago from Clarins, when they came up new Joli Blushes and some new shades on their Natural Lip Perfector glosses. I’ve always loved Clarins makeup products and these are no exception.

Keep on reading to see all the shade swatches on the Clarins Natural Lip Perfectors and 6 shades of the Clarins Joli Blush.

Clarins Natural Lip Perfector review & swatches

Clarins Natural Lip Perfector is a gloss that gives some color, but most of all gloss and volume to your lips. The plumping effect comes from the gloss, by the way, so if you’ve been wearing matte lipsticks in hopes of bigger lips, try a gloss instead. These glosses have a gel-like formula that feels very comfortable on the lips. The applicator is a soft cushion.

There are oils and shea butter in the ingredients, so my lips don’t feel dry after wearing these. Then again, lip glosses tend to be more hydrating anyway – another reason to skip matte lipsticks.

The best feature about these glosses is probably the scent. It’s a vanilla, toffee-like scent, that I can’t seem to get enough of. Especially now since I’m not eating candy for a year (sigh).

Overall I love these glosses, because the shades are so wearable and they go with almost any look. I also use these a lot on top of lipsticks. And yes, I usually have at least one in my bag on the go.

New shades in the collection are shades 16-19 and their packaging is slightly fancier with gold details (as seen in the photo above).

Clarins Natural Lip Perfector Swatches 01 05 06 07 08 16 17 18 19
Clarins Natural Lip Perfector swatches on my arm in a warm light.

Where to buy:

*Clarins Natural Lip Perfector (Clarinsusa.com)
*Clarins Natural Lip Perfector (amazon)
Finnish stores listed here

Wearing Clarins Joli Blush shades cheeky pink & cheeky boum – and Natural Lip Perfector shade 19 on the lips.

Clarins Joli Blush review & swatches

Clarins knows their packaging and their makeup products are beautiful. These are products that I love to keep on display and that also makes me use them even more.

Clarins Joli Blush is one of those blushes, that you can’t go wrong with. The consistency is nice and easily blendable – and most of all – it’s easily buildable too. Blush is one of those products that can be ruined with too much pigment. Here there is just enough pigment.

There’s just something special about these blushes. I’m not sure whether to believe that they’re really ‘pH-reactant’ as advertised, but they do seem to adjust and melt to my skin and cheeks very nicely.

My favorites shades are cheeky pink, cheeky rose, cheeky peach and especially in winter, cheeky purple. So, basically all of them. The only shade I don’t love as a blush is cheeky boum. That is super shimmery and definitely more of a highlight. As a highlight though, it’s beautiful. I sometimes use it as a shimmery topper to any other blush.

One thing I need to mention about these blushes though, if you end up trying them on your hand at a store and feel disappointed. They swatch poorly on the hand applied with a finger, but when you apply them with a blush brush to your cheeks, they work brilliantly. For the swatches I used a sticky base, so you’ll be able to see the shades properly.

Clarins Joli Blush Shades (01 cheeky baby, 02 cheeky pink, 03 cheeky rose, 04 cheeky purple, 05 cheeky boum, 07 cheeky peach) swatches
Clarins Joli Blush Shades 01 cheeky baby, 02 cheeky pink, 03 cheeky rose, 04 cheeky purple, 05 cheeky boum, 07 cheeky peach swatches.

Where to buy:
*
Clarins Joli Blush (Clarinsusa.com)
*Clarins Joli Blush (Escentual)

Wearing Clarins Joli Blush in cheeky pink & cheeky peach and Natural Lip Perfector shade 18.

I was also wearing Clarins Everlasting foundation here (mixed with a CC cream) – check out my review on it here.

Are there any other Clarins makeup lovers out there? 

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