What Beauty Products Do You Splurge & Save On?

When I'm budgeting for makeup, I tend to splurge on certain items and save on others. Until my mid-twenties, I had never really touched higher-end makeup! I didn't even know these brands existed because I grew up in a rural area with no Sephora, Nordstrom, or Saks. For me, it was drugstore all the way.
Then, I ended up working at Sephora when it finally opened nearby and was introduced to a whole new world of makeup and skincare. For a while, I used only mid-range to higher-end makeup, mainly because we got a lot of things for free (or at a discount) while working there but also because I wanted to educate myself on the brands we sold so that I could talk about them with customers. I discovered several brands I loved and still love to this day.

That being said, I've watched drugstore makeup come a long way over the past several years. There are so many products I can honestly say are just as good as the more expensive brands. But there are also times when I prefer to splurge a little.

Splurge Products: 

• Skincare- I look at my skin as a canvas for applying makeup, so I want it to be as healthy and smooth as possible. I've had the most luck with higher-end formulas that have more concentrated ingredients, so for me, this is definitely an area that I splurge on. 
• Primer- There are definitely good primers at the drugstore, but the ones I reach for every day that make my skin the smoothest and help my foundation last the longest are on the more expensive side. 
• Eyeshadow- There have been great strides in the world of drugstore eyeshadow, no doubt about it (brands like CoverGirl, City Color, BH Cosmetics, and NYC's Demi Lovato palette for example) but I will still gladly splurge on a higher-end palette from brands like Tarte, Urban Decay, Lorac and Too Faced. 
• Lip Balm- I have extremely dry lips, so unfortunately, Chapstick, Eos, and Maybelline's Baby Lips don't cut it for me when it comes to moisture. I've found that I need thicker formulas like Bite's Agave Lip Mask and Nuxe Reve de Miel. 

Save Products: 

• Blush- I love higher-end blushes from brands like Tarte and Lorac but I equally love my Wet n Wild, City Color, and Milani blushes. So even though I do purchase higher end blushes to review on the blog (and I do love them), I might not be splurging on blush if I wasn't a blogger (maybe once in a while).
• Mascara- There are so many good drugstore formulas I really don't splurge on mascara that often. I do try to cover as many as I can on the blog, but again, if I wasn't a blogger, I would be perfectly happy buying only drugstore mascara.
• Concealer- I have several higher-end concealers that I really like, but the ones I reach for most often are usually from Maybelline (Fit Me and Age Rewind) or L'oreal (Magic Lumi). 
• Lipstick/Lip Gloss- There are so many great drugstore lipsticks on the market, I feel like the higher-end brands don't really have an edge over them formula-wise. Not to mention, they're way more expensive!
• Foundation- Some of my favorite foundations are on the more expensive side (IT Cosmetics CC Cream for example) but there are also some great formulas at the drugstore, such as Revlon Colorstay, L'oreal True Match, and Maybelline Fit Me.
• Brow Products- There are a lot of great brow pencils at the drugstore such as NYX Micro-Brow and L'oreal's Brow Stylist Definer, as well as tinted gels so I really don't feel the need to spend a lot when it comes to brow products. 

Overall, this list isn't set in stone, because I do buy both drugstore and higher-end products in all of these categories, but I do use it as a guideline when planning out my makeup budget. 

What about you? What do you like to splurge and save on? 

Subscribe to The Budget Beauty Blog by Email