Basics on a Budget

When it comes to makeup, everyone has a different idea of what their "must have" items are. For some it is mascara while other people might feel they look like a dead person without some blush. There's isn't a right or wrong when it comes to choosing your basics, it's all a matter of personal preference. But what if you don't wear makeup often? What do you keep around for when you do decide to wear makeup? Well, here's a little rundown of good items to have for a complete look, and where you can get them for cheap.

For The Face:

• Foundation: Coverage varies with each kind but can range from low to very heavy. Good for evening out skin tone and covering mild imperfections. (I personally love L'oreal True Match Foundation $7-8) 
• Powder: Good for setting your makeup in place or as a mattifier. A mattifying powder is a good product to have if you suffer from combination to oily skin. (Rimmel London Stay Matte Pressed Powder $5) 
• Concealer: If you have blemishes, perpetual redness of the skin, or simply under eye circles, a concealer can help adjust the color balance. Redness and blemishes are cancelled out by green based concealers, salmon colored concealers cover up under-eye circles, and a concealer that matches your skin tone can (Hard Candy Nobody's Perfect Concealer Palette $8) 
• Blush/Bronzer: Add a bit of life to your skin by using a blush or a bronzer. You can even use both and contour your face to give it a more sculpted look (e.l.f. Studio Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder $3 or Wet N' Wild MegaGlo Illuminating Powder $4) 

For The Eyes:

• Mascara: You can lengthen, you can add volume. Using mascara can help make your eyes look bigger and brighter. When wearing eyeshadows and eyeliners, it can help give your eyes a "finished" look. (L'Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes Mascara $7) 
• Eyeliner: Two good eyeliner colors to have are a white eyeliner and a dark-colored eyeliner in either brown or black. Apply white to your waterline to make your eyes bigger and brighter and a dark eyeliner to your upper and lower lash-line help define the shape of your eyes. (Wet n Wild Color Icon Eye Liner Pencil $1)
• Eyeshadow: From helping bring out your eye color to making your eyes appear to have a different shape, playing with eyeshadow can be a lot of fun. A cheap way to have a lot of colors to play with is to get a palette. Don't know what colors to go for? Purples and browns work well with all eye colors. (If you want a large selection, go for e.l.f. Studio Endless Eyes Pro Mini Eyeshadow Palette in Everyday Basics $5)

For The Lips:

• Lip color: Having a neutral color that you can build on intensity is the way to go if you don't want to buy a ton of different lipstick shades (Wet n Wild Silk Finish Lipstick $1). You can also build intensity when using lipstains (Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain + Balm $8). For durability, use a lip liner as a base for the lipstick (NYX Slim Lip Pencil $3.50).

What To Buy:

The safest bet is to go for things that enhance what you prefer enhancing. If you want to bring out your eyes, focus more on buying eye makeup. Maybe even play around with different kinds of eyeliner. If you want to look made up without looking like you're wearing makeup, then focus on things to bring color and structure to your face. 

Where To Buy: 

You can go online and order directly from a lot of makeup companies, as you an find great discounts and deals. If you prefer to try in person or the company only sells to distributors, Target is a great place to buy makeup as it sells a large variety of brands for very low prices such as e.l.f. and Wet n Wild. Walmart sells Hard Candy makeup as well as staple brands (Revlon, L'Oreal, Cover Girl, Maybelline). For mid to high end brands, Ulta is a great place to shop for makeup; if you want to try a budget friendly brand that delivers like the high end brands try some makeup from NYX. Last but not least, there's always a local pharmacy such as CVS or Walgreens with beauty section to help meet your makeup needs. 

Tip of the day: You don't have to go for the most expensive makeup to get the best looking results. Extra tip of the day: SPF is your friend, unless it's in the form of titanium dioxide in your foundation and it makes it look like a ghost is coming out of your freakin' face when pictures with flash are taken.