Being a student, you have to become accustomed to a certain budget which is usually on the lower end of the spectrum. This means, being the beauty hoarder that I am, to satisfy my make-up cravings, I had to take to the drugstore and make the most out of the offering there. Which, in the last few years, has not been a hard thing to do as there are some amazing low end products on offer at the moment, including foundations from a number of different brands.

 

This leads me to a few of my favourite low end foundations. Here, I have only listed 5 but I could easily have listed another 5 that I love.

My first pick is:

Max Factor 3 in 1 Foundation which, if you’re an American reader, is the same formula as Cover Girl’s Outlast Stay Fabulous 3 in 1 foundation, which is raved about in the US. I bought this when it first launched and it soon became one of my go to foundations when I needed something that I knew would last me all day. I’m not sure how true the 3 in 1 claim is for others but I still wore a primer, and concealed where I needed to and that suited me just fine. I can get a nice medium coverage out of this but it is buildable so you can add more if you need it.

I bought this from Boots for £11.99 but there is often a 3 for 2 deal on so grab yourself a couple other things whilst you’re at it.

Maybelline Better Skin is a recent find for me and one that I am verrrrry pleased with. I have done a more in depth review of this foundation here. I read some reviews on this before I bought it and I read that it wasn’t good for oily skin but my skin usually gets pretty oily in the T-Zone and I have had no issues with this whatsoever. I actually feel like the lasting power of this foundation is brilliant. I often wear this for work and get a good 12 hours out of it with no need to touch up. I’d say this is a good medium coverage but it feels very light on the skin and the finish is demi matte.

I bought this from Boots for £8.99. Bargain!

L’Oreal True Match is an old favourite. I remember first trying this when I was in school, about 6 years ago now and I stopped using it because I didn’t get the coverage out of it that I needed at the time. However, now my skin has cleared up a little, I can now say that I am really enjoying this foundation again. It has a lovely satin finish which looks very natural and fresh. The longevity isn’t quite as good as some of the others in the line up but I do like that there is a great colour range in this foundation.

I bought this from Boots for £9.99.

Rimmel Wake Me Up, in my opinion, was made popular by Tanya Burr and since then, it has been flying off the shelves. I like to use this foundation when I’ve used fake tan as I think it just makes you look so healthy and fresh. I would say that this foundation is more suited to dryer skin types as I do have to set this and touch up throughout the day but it looks so lovely that I can forgive that particular aspect. Another medium coverage for this one and from my experience, it isn’t easily buildable as I find it hard not to make it look cakey when adding more.

I bought this from Boots for £8.99.

And last but most certainly not least is Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum. I absolutely adore this foundation. This provides the lightest coverage of the bunch and it smells gorgeous. It doesn’t have that strong alcohol scent that many foundations have, it smells a bit floral and really feminine. When I wear this, I feel like it perfects my skin better than any other foundation I have. I believe it has been likened to Chanel’s Vitalumiere Aqua so if you’re looking for a much cheaper alternative, definitely head down to your local drugstore and try this out. As for longevity, I might not be able to get quite 16 hours out of it but after a long day at work, I don’t notice much wear and tear and that is without powdering throughout the day.

I bought this from Superdrug for £10.99.

 

What are your favourite low end foundations?

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Thanks for reading!

Bea x