Are higher end make up products worth it?

[MoreRainbowsPlease]

I have always been a pretty budget make up person, No7 being considered posh by me. However the last year or so my skin seems to have aged dramatically and I look rough! I am waiting for an Il Makiage foundation to arrive which people recommended on the last thread I started. But will more expensive brands give me a better result? I want to look more glowy. Whereas currently everything I seem to do just highlights my bags, wrinkles and pores. Also do higher end products have better staying power? Despite having dry skin, make up never seems to last past lunchtime on me.

100% ! Please invest in the benfit primer and their highlighter called watsapp, and concealer id do for a mac one. This is on the lower price side of high end brands. Also to set your concealer use laura mercier translucent powder .
With all these products your wont even need a bronzer as you will just feel ready!

Depends. In my view it's worth spending more on foundation for instance, but for most other items budget options can be just as good.
If it's a choice between spending £££ on skincare or makeup I would go for skincare.

Skincare first. Give your make up the best base. The ordinary are very cheap and effective, hyalauronic acid, buffet serum and a nice moisturiser and then add as you need to the regime. Oh and always sunscreen (although I often don’t bother 😵‍💫)

I find high end products are not an absolute guarantee of a better product, but it's much easier to find a better quality one amongst high end brands.

Is your skin definitely dry? Mine is dehydrated (lacking water) but oily (too much oil!) so foundations will slide off my skin unless I choose a longwearing kind. A good test is to apply some on the wrist and let it dry, then rub it - if it doesn't move much then it has a better chance of staying on. I really like Bobbi Brown Skin Longwear foundation for everyday - it has natural medium coverage.

Other things that might help:

• review your skincare, this will impact how well your foundation looks and wears. If makeup isn't lasting, make sure you're not loading up your skin with way too much product underneath or products that are too heavy.
• use a decent primer

I agree with the PP above, I think skincare is where you should invest the most time and attention, anything sits nicely on a well-prepped base.

I’ve just got some samples from Charlotte Tilbury skincare range and my skin looks amazing and it’s soft as a babies bum absolutely love it

Some of them are! Decent foundation and powder are a must for me, through a lot of trial and error I’ve discovered that I can’t scrimp on them. Id rather not wear makeup than not wear good makeup! As for skin care, the best I have found for my very sensitive skin is la roche posay, which is affordable.

Skincare I find difficult as I have eczema on my face, and my skin is also very dry possibly dehydrated. It is very much trial and error as to what my skin will tolerate me putting on it. There seems to be no rhyme or reason as to why somethings seem ok and others don't, although I am allergic to shea butter so I need to avoid products with that in. At the moment I am using a hyularonic acid from superdrug with cerave moisturising cream over it and me skin is the best it has been in a long time, although that isn't saying much as normally I am so dry and flaky. Currently I am just dry and dull.

So the main consensus then seems to be skincare and base products to focus on. Whatabout pigments in more expensive products? Recently my No 7 blusher, which I had always been happy with just seems to do nothing on my face. It doesn't look like I've put any on. Can you get too used to a product?

Thank you everyone for all the suggestions so far. I will look into everything suggested so far.

I would focus on skincare.

How do you cleanse? Do you wear Spf?

I would say vit c great for glow but I don't want to cause issues with your eczema

@violetbunny , I think you may be right about my moisturiser being too heavy for putting makeup on, but I am finding my skin is so dry that if I don't use a heavy duty moisturiser I end up very flaky once I've put make-up on. Do the same products work for dry skin as for dehydrated? If so have you tried anything that you've found is good under make-up?

Yes, often they are.

I've found Mac products perform well. Very good levels of pigment, it wears well and superb range of colours.

It's not inexpensive though.

@doadeer , I cleanse with m&s formula cleansing balm, I like a greasy cleanser! I do wear spf sometimes, but I have never found one that didn't irritate my skin after a few days. I have just bought a La Roche Posay one for this year as it gets recommended a lot on here. IvorCutler has also recommended la roche posay for skincare so fingers crossed I will get on with it.

I will look at mac then, I don't mind splashing out if stuff is really good and will make me look like a less haggard person! Also I don't go through make-up that quickly, so powder products will probably last me a long time.

Ah i like a greasy one too! I have dry skin that needs a lottttt of moisturise. You might like the Squalene oil from the ordinary after your moisturiser. I use that nightly.

Altruist Spf might be good for you. Unscented it's very non irritating.

My skin is pretty dry and I hated IL makiage, it just didn't sit nicely. Best foundation I've ever used is Nars sheer glow, I've tried various Mac foundations, they're my second favourite, tried Estee Lauder double wear-hated it, Dior I can't remember which one, didn't like it. Benefit make up is iffy.
However without a good base no make up will sit great, so skincare first. B&M do a great glow primer for around £4! I think it's by W7, it's in a purple bottle cakes Princess something or other.

I spend a lot on foundation and everything else is budget.

I've just looked up the squalene oil and as it's only £3.90 I will definately give that a go.

@Matildahoney the il makiage has a deal on at the moment where you can send it back if you don't like it, that is why I am giving it a go first. I have heard mixed reviews about the Nars sheer glow, some love it, but other say the coverage isn't that great. How do you find the coverage?

I have used all lancome products for the last 40 yrs.
I have amazing skin and a you full glow. Not cheap but my skin is in great condition. Recommended to me by my ds who also has great skin at 83. So worth it .

I think it's just hugely variable. I've worn makeup pretty much every day since the 1980s and have tried makeup and skincare at pretty much every price point over the years.

Price is no guarantee of effectiveness unfortunately. I'd happily pay £150+ for a foundation that stayed put all day and actually did what it said on the tin. But sadly none of them do, not really, even with primer etc. You just have to find one that more or less works for you, which can be a frustrating and expensive process.

I'm currently using a very expensive Augustinus Bader moisturiser that I really don't love. The worst mascara I've ever had was Chanel (flaked off after an hour) and the best powder foundation was a recent £2 impulse buy from Primark. On the other hand I think the original Eve Lom balm cleanser is one of the best things I've ever used and have repurchased many times since I first tried it about 17 years ago.

I'm fascinated by American cosmetics review sites, as people often say they're returning a product as the results were poor. Not permitted in this country unfortunately, but about 75% of the high-end products I've tried would have gone straight back if it had been allowed!

There's a Youtuber I sometimes watch called Pampered Wolf - she does some interesting reviews of products at all price points and is very honest about the results, so worth a look if you're thinking of investing.

Don’t do make up or foundation but my face cream I treated myself back in February to ester Lauder face cream still got loads left and exfoliating face thing as well I’m happy my one luxury Christmas I’ll replenish the face cream I’ll save for that starting next week.

I really like Estée Lauder futurist. Then I powder just where I get oily, and use a highlighter on my cheekbones
It ends up looking like this which I like, I have drier skin as I use tretinoin

I think high end Eyeshadow is good value as it lasts a long time and the colour is more intense, blends better etc. Charlotte Tilbury, Mac and Chanel are all good.
Mascaras I rate Estee Lauder Sumptuous. Still searching for Holy grail foundation but currently using Fenty Pro filtr which I like.
Lipsticks I like Mac and Estee Lauder but I use NYX pencils which are just as good as more expensive ones.
Good brushes are a must, look out for Real Techniques. You get a much better result. Try a setting spray too to see if that helps.

Rather than using a moisturiser before foundation use a primer. No 7 actually do a really good one. Its called airbrush away or something like that. I use that religiously now after trying multiple primers. Then I use a no 7 foundation in day time or a sculpted by Aimee one for better coverage for night time. The primer is the key! Good luck.

I use baby wipes & one moisturiser for day & night, not separate ones, I used to use Clinique but can't afford to any more, the same for cosmetics, I buy ones I can buy in the supermarket, brands like Rimmel, Max Factor & Revlon with the occasional No7 product & dupes from Aldi. I am looking at the cheap skincare range The Ordinary but don't want to buy it if it is no good for my skin type.

@MoreRainbowsPlease yeah I had the same deal with them, it just didn't sit well & the colour match service was awful, I went through 3 and they weren't right!

I love sheer glow, it's medium coverage, but is buildable. It's the first foundation I've ever tried (in about 25 years) that stays put all day but doesn't look caked on. Tiktok/Instagram are worth looking at for tutorials/product lists. But what works for one doesn't work for everyone & it's no good looking at girls with a flawless base pre make up & expecting it to look like that if your skin isn't. Plus the lighting and filters and what it looks like on camera always look different in real life.

Never ever ever skip moisturiser, twice daily, apply about 10 mins before make up to let it soak in, then primer. Good luck.