Beauty Without Breaking the Bank

I recently went away on vacation and while I was gone, I indulged myself in some new cosmetics that I can't readily get at home. Normally I would hesitate to buy one eyeshadow pot that cost $13, but hey...I was on vacation. Now that it's back to reality for me, I thought I'd post something about how to look great without spending a fortune. I've found that mixing high-end department store brands like Chanel with drug store brands like Revlon and Wet'n'Wild is a great way to feel like a million bucks without spending your entire summer earnings. Some people scoff at Wet'n'Wild, but I will go down on the records and say that I wore W'n'W cosmetics at my wedding. Oh yes I did. They have a shadow pallete called Sand Castle that I would recommend to anyone. The colors are beautiful and they go on smoothly, don't crease on my lids, and they stay put all day. AND I don't have to put half the container on my face to get the colors to show up. I recently discovered another great line that is perfect on a tight budget - it's called Eyes Lips Face (E.L.F.) and it's all A DOLLAR! Just one dollar will buy you brushes, shadows, liners, glitter pencils, mineral lip glosses...amazing. For the most part, I wouldn't skimp on things like foundation and a good eyeshadow brush. Things like that you want to pony up a few more dollars for and get yourself a really good, blendable foundation or some nicer brushes. That said, I've never used E.L.F. brushes OR foundations, so maybe I should try them out and put my money where my mouth is. Anyway, you can sometimes find it in stores, but it's also available online at http://www.eyeslipsface.com/. The Sugar Kiss line is really nice for young skin, and the colors are fun and bright without being overbearing. And they even sell shimmer eyeshadow cell phone charms. And who doesn't need one of those??? Don't think you have to spend a fortune to look good. True, some of the high-end products are more enviable, but if you can buy TWENTY eyeshadow colors or brushes for less than the cost of ONE shadow from one of those lines, it kind of seems like a no-brainer to me.