The Best Things In Life Aren't Always Free

When it comes to spending money, when I want to be, I can be really quite restrained. However, if you mention the latest luxury makeup release to me, my heart goes all into a flutter and that self-restraint goes straight out the window and into the pockets of a major department store. Now of course, this may seem like a bit of a shallow premise for a blog post. But hear me out. Of course, I don't think that the best things in life have to cost the earth. In fact, I'm a firm believer that one of the best things in life is waking up before your alarm and realising you still have hours left to sleep, but that's something for another day. What I'm talking about are some of my absolute favourite makeup products, and despite them costing the earth, they really do have a special place in my makeup loving heart.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve stopped needlessly spending money on drugstore makeup (except a few items – this girl ain’t spendin £20+ on a brow gel, nu uhh) and invested my money into more high end products. Putting my face on in the mornings is my favourite part of the day, and ultimately, my day is improved and I feel much better if I’m using nice products. Here are some of my favourite high end picks, for a day when you just want to indulge.

NARS RADIANT CREAMY CONCEALER (£22):

I was really hoping that this would be a one-time purchase. £5 more for a lot less product than my previous love, MAC Prolongwear Concealer, I was just curious to give it a go and see what all the hype was about. If only I’d known just how much I’d fall in love with it. It matches my foundation shade perfectly, which is something I really struggle with being even paler than NW10 in MAC (I know. Bronzer is my best friend) and the consistency is something NARS described perfectly in the name. It’s radiant, so never looks cakey but is just so creamy and a dream to blend. I prefer it under the eyes but it’s fine over blemishes too.

NARS SHEER GLOW FOUNDATION (£31):

The reason I fell in love with this initially was because it was the only foundation I’ve ever found to match my skin tone. Despite being really pale, I actually have quite a yellow undertone, which not a lot of brands cater for. This, however, is perfect. It has just the right amount of yellow in it without making me look like I’m coming down with a stomach bug. Not only that, the formula and coverage of it is lovely. It was actually the formula that converted me from a strictly matte gal, to a full on glowy fiend. I even mix it most days with NARS’ Copacabana Illuminator for a fresher, healthier look. The only downside is that it does have a tendency to cling to dry patches, but this is rarely a problem for me. Just bear it in mind though if you do get dry skin.

ESTÉE LAUDER ADVANCED NIGHT REPAIR (£69):

Although my skin still isn’t perfect (who doesn’t get breakouts?), going from having full-blown acne to the occasional spot, I attribute a lot of that to this product. I changed my skincare routine up quite a bit this year. No more overloading my skin with really hyped up, stripping products and focusing more on gentle skincare that wouldn’t make my sensitive skin flare up. This was the serum I chose to put into my routine, and I really do think it’s made the world of difference. It contains hyaluronic acid that makes any moisturiser you put on over it work 100 times better, and because of that it’s like having 12 hours sleep and 2 litres of water in a bottle. And above all of that good stuff, it has the most fun pipette dispenser, which makes it the best skincare product to apply ever. Enough said.

NUXE REVE DE MIEL LIP BALM (£9.50):

Now this certainly isn’t bank breaking, but it’s not your standard tin of Vaseline either. Coming in at just under £10 a pot, it’s worth each and every penny. The only part of my skin that really gets dry and sore are my lips, and this completely sorts out every problem with one application. I’m not too sure of the ingredients except honey, but I think they’ve been sent from the heavens above or something like that. If you’re in the market for a new lip balm, don’t go wasting your money on a tin of those amazing smelling Nivea lip butters that sit on your lips and give you no benefit whatsoever, get a tub of this.

CHANEL CREAM BLUSH (£28):

I wrote a post on mine quite a while ago, but these are just one of the nicest formulas of any cream product I’ve tried. My skin tends to play up with cream products and I struggle to find any that work on me, but this is a blusher I’ve recommended to people time and time again, whether they are a cream product lover or not. It feels like velvet to the touch and is blended out so easily but lasts all day. In terms of cream blushers, I would definitely say it’s one of the best. But, as with all Chanel products, they don’t come cheap.

TOM FORD LIPSTICK (£37):
As I said, having dry lips means that wearing lipstick can often be a faff, as after a few hours my lips are even drier than when the lipstick was applied. This is one of the only exceptions I’ve found where the colour lasts a long time and continually moisturises my lips throughout the day. It’s not one of those lipsticks I’d apply on a ‘wasted makeup day’ (you know what I’m talking about) because of the hefty price tag, but I’m already eyeing up a few more shades despite this, so I think that’s a sign of a good product to me.

What are some of your favourite high end products? As if I need any more persuading to spend my money!