July Budget Beauty Items…From $1 to $20 (And Do They Really Work?)

Being on a budget doesn’t mean you can’t look and feel your best with your beauty regimen. Sure some moisturizers and facial creams can cost in the hundreds but there are plenty out on the market that are affordable and do the job. Here’s 10 budget beauty buys that can be picked up at most stores without breaking the bank. A few were fabulous finds, a few not so much. But since everyone has different beauty needs, skin types, and preferences, my personal likes/dislikes may be different from yours.

CLEAR SCALP & HAIR NOURISHING SHAMPOO AND CONDITIONER –

Winner of Allure’s “Best of Beauty 2013,” I’ve seen this shampoo and conditioner advertised a lot lately so decided to give it a try. I bought the Damage & Color Repair formula since I color my hair and loved it. Clinically proven to help restore the scalp’s natural moisture balance by deeply nourishing the scalp, ten times more resilient to damage, and proven color-safe for vibrant color; it made my hair soft and shiny and healthy feeling. Formulated with Nutrium 10, an advanced moisture complex of vitamins and nutrients including vitamins B5, C and E. It also contains sunflower, almond, soybean and coconut oil. I personally love the scent which is a bit citrusy with hints of apple. I’ve seen it priced from $4.48 (at Wal-Mart) to $5.99. There are several different formulas to choose from including frizz control, intense hydration, volumizing, etc. I picked mine up during a Target sale for $2.50 each.

AVON PERFECT EYEBROW KIT –

When I was younger, I never had to use anything on my eyebrows because they were naturally dark and full. But as I’ve become older, they have become a bit sparse and there are actually hairs that have turned gray/silver. For the past several years I’ve used Benefit Brow Zings Brow Kit ($32 at Ulta,) and absolutely love it. I wouldn’t normally spend that much on a product for my brows but it’s lasted over two years so I’m happy with the purchase. But $32 might be more than you want to spend so, I was curious to see if Avon’s eyebrow kit, at only $6, would work as well. The Avon powder and wax duo did work, the wax gave my brows shape and the color (I used soft brown,) filled them in nicely and naturally. I did find the dual angled brush that comes with the kit worked great with applying the wax but didn’t pick up the color powder as easily. I used my own brush to add the color and that worked much better. With a price difference of $26, I think this is an especially good bargain buy.

e.l.f. FLAWLESS EYESHADOW –

I absolutely love e.l.f. products! The ones I’ve tried have always worked for me and they are super cheap, which makes them even better. These e.l.f. flawless eyeshadow kits come with 4 coordinated shadows that glide on effortlessly and are long-lasting. The packaging includes easy directions for a professional look and the shadows themselves are marked with where the shadow should be applied, not that you have to follow the directions and use all 4 shades at once. There’s a base color, a lid color, crease color and line color. I tried the Tantalizing Taupe kit and the Party Purple kit, and every color was beautiful. You can find e.l.f. products at Target and Walgreens. I paid $2.04 for each kit at Target. A super good deal!

L’OREAL SUBLIME BRONZE LUMINOUS BRONZER SELF-TANNING LOTION-

Want a natural looking tan without baking in the sun? Want it fast? This L’Oreal instant action self-tanning lotion does just that. This formula instantly illuminates your skin with a natural-looking and long-lasting bronze glow for about $10. It’s rich in vitamin E so it also makes your skin feel good. It’s transfer and water-resistant with a fresh summer scent. I love this product! It also contains light-reflecting micro-pearls for a bit of “sparkle.” Depending on where you buy this, the price can vary from $7.99 to $11.99.

*Self-tanning tips…exfoliate before applying self-tanner to ensure better coverage. If you have extra-dry patches like on your knees or elbows, apply a bit of moisturizer first. If you do apply it unevenly and get some streaks, you can lightly exfoliate the streaks with a sugar scrub or mixture of lemon juice and baking soda. If the color is too dark for you, apply baby oil and let it sit for 10 minutes, which will help loosen the top layer of color.

AVON TRUE COLOR EYESHADOW QUAD –

Another fabulous eyeshadow buy, this quad of highly pigmented colors costs $7. It’s long-lasting with the colors staying true all day long. I didn’t have any creasing, it blended nicely and I actually had several people ask me what I was wearing when I tried this out. Each shade is great by itself or you can easily use them all together. I tried “emerald cut” shades. An added bonus is the size of the mirror, which makes this really easy to apply on the go, if need be.

COVERGIRL + OLAY CC EYE REHAB CONCEALER –

I’m very picky when it comes to concealers since I have fine lines that can look gunked up if the formula is too heavy yet I do want coverage for all those sun/age spots. Since this can easily be found at most stores, and doesn’t cost that much (I paid $9.39 at Target,) I was really hoping it would work. Unfortunately, while the product went on smoothly for me, it didn’t really conceal anything. Not the dark circles, spots or even slightly blotchy skin around my eyes. It mostly just looked like I had put another colored foundation under my eyes. I did feel hydration but again, it didn’t cover anything. I bought the light/medium shade and found it had a yellow/orange tone to it. Now in all fairness, everyone has different needs/wants with their beauty products so while I didn’t like it, others might. I looked at about 100 different reviews to see what others thought and found an average of 80% comments saying they wouldn’t buy it again, but there were about 20% who loved it.

COVERGIRL COLORLICIOUS LIP GLOSS –

Dripping with shine and ripe with true-to-tube color is how CoverGirl describes this gloss and while it was dripping with shine, I found the colors to be much sheerer than what they look like in the tube. That said, I still loved how the gloss looked and felt and you can add more color by reapplying several times. This gloss has a bit of a vanilla smell and flavor, which fades after a bit. I personally love how it smells. There is absolutely no tackiness or stickiness and it actually made my lips feel immediately moisturized. I thought it was more moisturizing than my lip balms. This comes in 13 shades and ranges in price from about $5.49 to $7.99. (I paid $5.99 at Target.) I will totally buy this again and wear it well into the fall and winter months, applying it over some of the darker colors I tend to wear then. I tried Juicy Fruit and Whipped Berry.

COLGATE OPTIC WHITE TOOTHPASTE –

I drink tons of coffee and smoke so my teeth get a lot of staining. I don’t have the patience to use whitening strips and usually the minute I put them on, I want to drink something. Plus they have a tendency to make my gums uncomfortable. So I decided to give this a try, especially since it was on sale and I had a coupon for it…which made it less than a dollar for me to try. (I always wait to buy products like this when they are on sale and I have a coupon – you can typically find Colgate coupons in your Sunday paper at least once every six weeks.) The ad says it will give you whiter teeth in 1 week but for me, it took a couple of weeks to really notice a difference but I did. And like I said, I’m pretty rough on my teeth so if you don’t have the bad habits I do, you might notice quicker results. I will say, my teeth felt cleaner with this toothpaste than they ever have with any other. I will totally stock up on this when it goes on sale again and continue using it. Prices can be steep if you don’t look for sales. I found it ranging in price from $2.99 to $4.39 and believe me, I would never pay $4 for a tube of toothpaste.

OLAY TOTAL EFFECTS MOISTURIZER + SERUM DUO –

Absorbs quickly, moisturizes well, not greasy, softens skin, smells great and goes on smoothly. It also has a broad spectrum SPF 15. I personally love this and think it works just as well as the pricier moisturizers on the market. It claims to fight 7 signs of aging; visibly reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, hydrating for firmer skin appearance, instantly minimizing the appearance of pores, instantly balancing skin tone, instantly smoothing and evening out skin texture, providing nourishing moisturization, and instantly giving skin a healthy radiance. It did all that for me. Price ranges from $17.94 (at Wal-Mart,) to $21.99 at Ulta. This is another product I see in the Sunday paper coupons on a regular basis.

e.l.f. BLENDING EYE BRUSH –

As I mentioned earlier, I am a huge fan of e.l.f. products, which are super affordable and usually deliver what they promise. My favorite beauty budget buy this month was this blending eye brush which only cost $1.00 at Target. They also have a great website you can buy from. (K-Mart also sells them.) The brush is ergonomically designed to fit into your hand, expertly blends eyeshadow while softening dramatic edges and lines and best of all, besides the price and the fact it works…it’s recyclable and there’s no animal testing. In fact, if you’re interested, PETA endorses all the makeup brushes e.l.f. makes. Best buck I spent all month!

So as you can see, beauty products don’t have to cost a fortune to work, and being on a budget doesn’t mean you have to look like you’re on one. For the most part, each and every one of these products delivered what they promised and they all cost under $20. And even though a few didn’t work perfectly for me, it doesn’t mean they wouldn’t work for your own beauty needs.

If you’ve used any of the mentioned products and have an opinion on whether they’re a deal or not, we’d love to hear from you.