Awhile ago on Instagram I polled what your preferences would be in certain makeup categories. The overall finding was that people were willing to spend in two areas: eyeshadow palettes and foundations. I don’t know what this attributed to the income bracket and who my following is. I will admit that the majority of people that follow me are white, and they are able to use the same products also the majority of my followers are from Canada which is another added difficulty when you are trying to find something.
I was searching through my collection for bronzers and blushes between the $10-25 category and quite honestly, there are not many that fit into that category that I own. I have been loving more expensive blushes from Sephora versus my drugstore blushes. Burt’s Bees Bare Peach used to be a favourite but it has since been dethroned by the Becca Blush in Tiger Lily.
Let’s start with the foundation prices – people voted that they would spend between $30-60 which I was kind of surprised by but at the same time not. There are very few drugstore ranges that have a wide shade range, the only few I can think of are NYX, Maybelline and the L’Oreal true match range. Even in these ranges, the concealer selection is minimal. For a foundation, if you have dry to normal skin, I think that the Smashbox 24 hour Hydrating foundation is $48 and has 36 shades. Not the best shade range and not the worst. I also want to acknowledge I did buy a few new things for this post, and combined some things that I already have laying around in my collection. If you can find a shade, and shame on you NARS, the NARS Radiant Tinted Moisturizer ringing in at $58 is a good option for a tint only has 11 shades so room for expansion. Again, I’d also like to see a full breakdown of NARS Employees on Pull up for Change.
For concealers, I found that people wanted a lower cost concealer which I totally understand. I chose the ELF Camo Hydrating Satin Concealer is $7 CAD and has 25 shades (which is more than a lot of drugstore concealers) and I find it has a really nice finish under the eyes. The other concealer I would recommend is the Glossier Stretch Concealer ringing in at 12 shades and is $22 CAD. Both of these concealers are similar in finish, however the ELF one has a bit more coverage than the Glossier. \
For blushes and bronzers I found this to be an interesting category. May people chose between $10-$25 which is hard to find in terms of shade ranges. I would say the one in my current collection I would recommend for fair to medium skintones is the Maybelline City Bronzer. I have the medium shade and it is a bit orange but not too orange on me. For a shout out if you want to spend money on an inclusive brand the Vesca Beauty Bronzers are beautiful, they are smooth and easy to use and come in seven shades, this one is $40 CAD. The other ones that I would recommend are the Fenty Bronzers, cream or powder ones, because of the shade diversity and the bomb formula. I love the Fenty powder bronzer for a light bronzer that can easily be built up to bring dimension and warmth to the face.
Blush was the same, I don’t have many “cheaper” blushes but one I would say is worth it are the Glossier Cloud Paints that are $22 CAD and are super user friendly. Even people that don’t know how to use makeup, can use these products and they have a nice shade range. For a few high end options, the Becca Mineral blush is a good option, however only has four shades, but they are quite pigmented and a brand that appeared (correct me if I’m wrong) to participate in pull up for change quite early on in the movement. The NARS blushes are also a good option if you want a wider range of colours.
For a highlighter, I was trying to rack my brain for a highlighter that isn’t from a (super) problematic brand and that I currently have in my collection. The first that came to mind is the Milani baked highlighter in 110 Dolce Perla. This is a nice midrange highlighter, ringing in at $17.49 CAD on the Shoppers Drug Mart Website. This is a nice non glittery highlighter and reminds me a bit of MAC Soft n Gentle (which is another great inclusive shade range ringing in at $40 though i am grappling with the fact that they are owned by Estee Lauder pls leave MAC). Another good option for more shades is the NARS Highlighters. However, the creme de le creme for me is the Cheekbone beauty stardust highlighting palette is STUNNING and comes in at $45CAD for three highlighting shades. This is comparable in quality to the Hourglass limited edition highlighting palette and is more glossy than the Flower Beauty highlighting palette.
Ah yes, the eyeshadow palettes. This is the thing, L’Oreal owns literally everything. They own Urban Decay that happens to be the palettes that I find myself using the most of. People are willing to spend between $40-70 on an eyeshadow palette. I think for variety and ease of use, the Naked series are what I would recommend if you are first starting with eyeshadow. Now, for pull up for change L’Oreal does not have nearly enough diversity at all levels of their large brand. Room for improvement. Not photographed, but if you want a nice palette the Natasha Denona Biba Palette is beautiful.
I also want to acknowledge that under capitalism there is no ethical consumption. This is a whole other blog post that I can do, and more research I will do, but basically ethical consumption is made impossible by corporate conglomerates who own a large proportion of brands that make products for people. For example, L’Oreal owns literally everything, and so does Estee Lauder who own brands that do make cosmetics for BlPOC and as a blogger I am still trying to do better as a recommender. For now, if you are starting with makeup it is scary to stray from those brands that are “known” and unfortunately owned by these capitalist conglomerates. Anyway, that’s it for now for that rant.
What is your favourite product?
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