Budget Makeup vs Premium

[ArtDecoGirly]

I've always bought high end makeup, Dior foundation, Chanel eyebrow pencil, NARS blusher, YSL Touche Eclat, YSL loose powder, YSL Lipstick, YSL mascara... but this weekend, due to being skint after spending a fortune on b/fs birthday last weekend, I went to Boots and bought more budget friendly products and did my full face with each item costing less than £8!! (Apart from my NARS blush...not ready to part with that just yet! So...is there really any point paying for premium beauty? I can look pretty much the same for a fraction of the price, am I deluding myself I look ok?

I would always buy high end foundation and lip gloss - Clarins usually but to be honest as far as mascara, eyeliner, shadow etc go I do not see a difference in quality. The best blusher I ever had was from Top Shop and I pinched it off my sister . I stocked up on Maybelline when I was in the states because its a fraction of the price there so that's what I am using at the moment.

I generally find that the more expensive products work better for me - some have less perfume in (or just smell better), work better with my skin type or tone, last longer, are more pigmented or are easier to apply.

But there are a lot of good cheaper products - I really like the Sleek blushers, Sleek eye shadows, Essence and Catrice nail polishes (although I find that cheaper nail polishes smell worse/stronger than more expensive ones), brushes from Marionnaud (a local perfume shop).
I like the Maybelline gel liner, but I haven't really tried more expensive ones as I'm not a big fan of eyeliners.
Bourjois make good products too, but I find some of them too perfumed.
Inglot is great too.

I usually buy the more expensive mascaras as I've had some bad experiences with cheap ones.
I find that higher end foundations look better and last longer on me. Bourjois healthy mix foundation is good though.

I would never contemplate buying expensive make-up after reading an article years ago which said lipsticks cost just pennies to make; the rest is marketing. I've always been happy with No7 and the like. Call me cynical but I reckon the expensive brands are priced so highly to give shoppers the illusion of better quality (not to say it's not good) and exclusivity. In other words, "marketing bullshit" as I affectionately call it Exactly the same with clothes too.

Thanks for all the many suggestions! I'm going to have so much fun hunting these down and trying them!