Guest Post- Brands you should save your money for by Beautifully Superfluous

As a student, I rarely splurge on 'high end' brands and want to get the most for my money. I'm interested in which brands are recommended to save up and invest in. Whether you're a student or not, everyone wants good value so I hope you enjoy this guest post from Helen.

Brands you should save your money for

Hello everyone – I’m Helen and I’m from the blog Beautifully Superfluous. It’s lovely to meet you all.

I’m talking today about the brands that you should save up to buy. I know that students have limited resources which makes buying ‘higher end’ brands harder. There are so many fabulous high-street brands now that it’s hard to recommend the more expensive, especially when cheaper dupes are available everywhere.

Still, with that in mind, here are the three brands I would highly recommend saving up for and the reasons why:

Estee Lauder

This is a brand I champion. The common misconception is that it’s a brand aimed at the middle-aged and over. This is not the case. Anyone can enjoy the benefits of Estee Lauder. Not only that, their sales assistants are usually very well educated in the products and the samples are free flowing when it comes to matching your skin to one of their foundations. They also have a lot of ‘Free Gift With Purchase’ offers so when you spend at the right time you get a hell of a lot more for your money.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Buy the Double Wear Concealer SPF 10 - £20.00, or the Lucidity powder which is fabulous and keeps you matte - £26.50.

Dior

Don’t choke now. I’m not trying to bankrupt you. I am being deadly serious. These are products that command respect and therefore you can’t just sling them in your handbag and mess them up (unless of course you want to). They’re long wearing and a little always goes a long way with these products. I highly recommend their lipsticks as there is no need to reapply for quite a few hours. They come in a range of beautiful shades that make the word ‘luxury’ seem available to absolutely anyone. Save up and go buy!

RECOMMENDATIONS: Apart from their lipsticks (£24 each) I would say Skinflash Highlighters because they’re amazing and last forever on your skin - £26.00.

Benefit

This is a more affordable brand for students and a lot of fun too. Benefit has boomed in the last few years and yes, they’re expensive, but not as expensive as Dior or Estee Lauder. They have flirty packaging teamed with feminine products that just work, no questions asked. Their Realness of Concealness Kit is the essential palette for a girl on the go, especially if you’re studying all day and partying hard at night. Not only that, their boxed blushes are amazing (they’ve also just bought out lip products to match). This is a brand that make’s it’s consumers feel pretty and fancy free. Bliss.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Realness of Concealness Kit - £23.50 or a Benetint (there are now several variations available) because they’re great multitasking products - £22.00.

I hope this little post has helped anyone with a budget to decide which brands they should be saving for (or asking for this Christmas). I know they look expensive and scary now but I can assure you that they will be an investment for your make-up stash, and you will get your money’s worth out of every product you pick from their collections – I know that I have and I wouldn’t be without them now that I have them.

August Favourites

Being a new beauty blogger, It's hard for me to determine between monthly favourites that I want to mention and all time favourites! But here is what I came up with...

Accessorize Nail Polish in Aztec- This is an amazing colour that I reviewed here I call it 'mermaid'.

No7 High Shine SPF 15 in Smile- I love this gloss in this lovely pink. These glosses are so long lasting, when the gloss has gone the colour still lasts on my lips. Reviewed here.

No7 High Shine SPF 15 in Whisper- This one is more glittery in a nude tone but still loving it.

Benefit Porefessional- Honestly, visible pores aren't really an issue for me but I've been using this as a primer and it gives a lovely matte base for foundation. This is a sample I got with Glamour a while back.

Benefit Triple Performing Facial Emulsion SPF 15- This is a sample I got from a benefit counter and I'm liking it, It doesn't leave my skin feeling greasy or oily.

Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover- I reviewed this here and I'll say it again, It's a wonder product! It's changed the way I remove polish and made me paint my nails more because it's just so easy.

n-spa Fruit vanilla creme brulee body cream- I bought this as a body butter and it's actually thinner like a body lotion. I just love it and the smell is devine. I'm really disappointed that this has been discontinued from the range at ASDA.

Johnson's face care daily essentials gentle exfoliating wash- I've got really sensitive skin but need something to keep the spots at bay and this is a good product, it's not too harsh on my skin.

n-spa Fruit vanilla creme brulee shower and bath gel- This product has also been discontinued which I'm sad about. I love the smell and the dual purpose works well.

Wilko Fruity Berry shower smoothie- This is a nice exfoliating shower cream because it's gentle,again, on my sensitive skin. I've had many exfoliating products which leave my skin too dry and are too harsh but this has less 'beads' and moisturises at the same time.

Aussie 3 minute miracle reconstructor- This product actually is a miracle for my hair! I use a lighter conditioner everyday and only use this every 2/3 weeks but after one use my hair smells amazing and is so much softer and healthier.

August Wish List

Some products I'd love right now, I would make this a weekly wants but with my bank balance I think I'll be wanting them for a while! From left to right:

Lush Soft Coeur massage bar- I've smelt this in the shop and it smells delicious, I would just use it to moisturise after a shower, yummy.

Revlon Colourburst Lip Butter- I'm looking for a lovely moisturising lipstick with nice colours, this one has had excellent reviews.

Benefit Boo Boo Zap!- I've had terribly red and inflamed spotty skin recently and I want to see if this does the trick.

Essie 'Bikini So Teeny' Nail Polish- I've been eyeing up essie for a while now and this colour is lovely.

Benefit 'How to look the best at everything' flawless complection make up set- I love the benefit sets to experiment with the different products, this new one tempts me.

Benefit they're real! mascara- I love dramatic looking lashes.

Soup and Glory hand food- I love the smell and my hands are thirsty at the moment!

Essie 'Set in Stones' Nail Polish- I love this effect!

What products are tempting you at the moment?

Recent Purchases

Hello, Welcome again to my new blog!
This post is a review of some products that I have recently bought.

So the first thing is a concealer. I had been using Benefit's Confessions of a concealaholic set since April and was loving both shade 1 and 2 of Boiing concealer on different areas of my face. But it was running out so I headed to the Benefit counter, however, I wanted to carry on using two shades and didn't really want to spend £33 since Boiing is £16.50. So, I looked around and found this-

Soap&Glory's Kick Ass Concealer

 which incluses 'under eye brightening concealer with 'Puffease', Superwear face concealer and sealing powder.

The sides label steps 1, 2 and 3. So after I've put my foundation on I use the under eye concealer on the right, the face concealer on the left then use the puff and translucent setting powder.

(sorry the photo was taken after I used it!)

I actually really love this product, It's hard to tell whether the setting powder does make the concealer and foundation stay on longer but it makes my skin feel soft and smooth. I'm sold on this alternative as it is much cheaper.

Boots Price: £7 

Ecotools Bamboo foundation brush

So I bought this recently and love how soft and easy to use it is, the texture is brilliant for foundation and I can't see myself using any other brushes. I would say go and feel one in the shop, I don't think you'll be disappointed!

Boots Price: £7.99

Ecotools Bamboo 6 piece brush set

At the time I bought the foundation brush I also bought a cheaper brand blusher brush and found it really harsh on my face. So I returned and bought this set which contains- Blusher brush, concealer brush, eyeshadow brush, angled eyeliner brush and lash and brow groomer.

I was not disappointed! These brushes feel so nice and work really well for their purpose. The concealer brush is a different texture like the foundation brush but all are really soft and lovely to use. I think it's definitely worth spending more money on these, and the set is a good deal.

Boots Price: £15.99

Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Reconstructor Deep Conditioner 

I've had this before and it does wonders for my hair. However, using it too often makes it greasy so I only use it every 2/3 weeks, hence I got the travel size. This makes my hair smell yummy and just makes it feel all soft and nourished.

Travel size price: £1.69 (I think)

St Moriz Instant self tanning mousse

So I recently broke my fake tanning virginity. Well, kind of. I've used moisturising gradual tanners before but ended up with horrible orange patches and streaks so I was scared to try the real deal. Anyway, a friend told me she uses this and thinks it's as good as the more expensive brands (St Tropez.etc.) so at £4 I thought i'd give it a go.

Verdict- Pretty good! I used it with a mitt on my legs and it applied relatively easy and smoothly, I followed the instructions on the bottle about moisturing.etc. So I'm quite impressed, it dried pretty quickly and actually doesn't look that faded after a shower, since it is only temporary. I think I may get into the habit of using this. I bought it from a factory shop and my friend says you can get it from Home Bargains.etc. There is also a lotion and spray available.

Price: £4

There we go, I hope you liked this post and look forward to more!