21 High Street Hero Products You Need In Your Life

    Beauty on a budget.

    Ailbhe Malone
    by Ailbhe Malone

    BuzzFeed Staff, UK

    We asked followers of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us their best budget beauty tip. Here are their recommendations.

    Jenny Chang/ BuzzFeed

    1. Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer, £2.99

    Collection
    Collection

    Collection has a huge range (including one by Little Mix), and have some especially nifty products – like their speedy blush.

    "Collection concealer is the best thing I've ever tried. The consistency is amazing and it stays on all day. I think it's about £4 or £5. But it's one of the better concealers I've used!"

    Suggested by Nadia Pulfrey on Facebook

    2. Stargazer Lipstick, £3.50

    Stargazer

    British company Stargazer do a good line in vibrant Limecrime-alike colours, but at pocket-friendly prices. Think high-impact colours, with a punky edge,

    "Instead of taking out a second mortgage for cool lipstick colours, try Stargazer! They have loads of awesome colours you'd normally only find by paying £25+ for a lipstick."

    Suggested by alwlac

    3. Seventeen at Boots Brow Pencil, £2.89

    Boots
    Boots

    Seventeen's really good at fun, fashion make-up but is also indispensable when it comes to functional day-to-day faves – like their contour kit, or their four-part brow kit.

    "One of my favourite brands is SEVENTEEN. I've only ever seen it in Boots, but it's really good quality makeup at low prices. From contour kits, to lipsticks with colours that rival some of the Jeffree Star Cosmetics liquid lipsticks (I've found an exact colour match to one of the nude lips). Their eyebrow pencil is £2.89 and goes on really well tbh, I swear by these guys."

    Suggested by Chrissi Robertson on Facebook

    4. MUA Eyeshadow Palette, £4

    MUA

    If you want to explore with colour, or a new eyeshadow look, and don't want to commit to a Naked palette, then MUA is a great way in.

    "MUA's eyeshadow palettes. 12 colours on each palette. really pigmented, great variety, decent staying power and they go for £4 - £6 each."

    Suggested by Amber Adamson on Facebook

    5. Boots Natural Collection Mascara, £1.99

    Boots

    This mascara is good for a natural look, and is cheap as chips. There's a two for £3.50 deal too, so you could buy the clear version as well – and use it as a brow gel.

    "The Natural Collection from Boots do amazing mascara. I only ever wear eye make up and I've spent a lot if money over the years on really pricey mascara but none of them have ever been as good as The Natural Collection one and it's about £2. I never bother with any other brands now".

    Suggested by Beck Richardson on Facebook

    6. Sleek Shimmer Blush in Rose Gold, £4.49

    Sleek

    Sleek is well known for its dupes, and also for its fashion-forward range. Their highlighters and contour palettes are particularly pleasing though.

    "Sleek's Rose Gold is a dupe for Nars' Orgasm and Mac's Springsheen and is a third of the price for the same amount and pigementation."

    Suggested by katyw4886c18b1

    7. Garnier BB Cream Miracle Skin Perfector, £6.66

    This BB cream is really easy to pick up, from chemists to supermarkets. It provides light, even coverage – but does have quite a floral smell. The UK site only has two shades, but an internet forage reveals more options.

    "Garnier BB Skin perfector. It doesn't dry your skin out, provides even coverage and has SPF thrown in! Great replacement for foundation, especially through summer, and only costs around 6 pounds."

    Suggested by Carys Maia Newton on Facebook

    8. The Body Shop's Hemp Face Protector, £8

    The Body Shop

    The Body Shop's fair trade cosmetics are always good value – their wild rose hand cream is a personal fave – but people rave about this hemp face cream too.

    "Hemp Face Protector from Body Shop. I have really dry skin and this is the only thing that works. It's suddenly no longer a secret after years of me using it and is always sold out, I stock pile it (probably like a lot of people).

    Suggested by louises427ab4845

    9. Kiko Velvet Mat Satin Lipstick, £4.90

    Kiko

    This Italian brand is available online, and they also have a couple of UK shops. Think glossy, but affordable make-up, which is animal-friendly.

    "Kiko cosmetics are a life saver - I only wear matte lipstick and even Mac and Clinique's matte lipsticks give that line of build up that I hate. Kiko do a matte satin lipstick that I think retails for £6.90 and is honestly the best matte lipstick that I've ever used!"

    Suggested by aprilouiseb

    10. Garnier Pure Active Micellar Water, £3.29

    Garnier

    Put down those face wipes, and use this to take your make-up off instead. All you need are some cotton pads, and sprinkle the water on top.

    "Garnier Pure Active Micellar Water is brilliant. My skin has really cleared up since using this. Also, Rimmel 60 nail polish, come in loads of amazing shades, have a foolproof brush and really do dry super fast!" Suggested by katem4630b47ec

    11. No.7 at Boots Stay Perfect Superlight Foundation, £14.50

    Boots
    Boots

    At the pricier end of the high street, No.7 is reliably good for most make-up items (and for skincare too). They offer make-up for a range of skintones, though you might have to mix and match (like our writer did).

    "I'm going with the No7 Instant Radiance Foundation. I think I got it for £15 in the colour "Cool Vanilla". It has such good coverage that I only need one coat and no concealer at all to cover up all my acne. Works better than any other foundation I've ever used, and you get more in the bottle as well."

    Suggested by slightlycrazy06

    "Also a huge fan of No. 7's Stay Perfect Superlight foundation. It lasts me all day with no touchups and has an excellent even coverage that needs minimal blending."

    Suggested by Little Miss Katy on Facebook

    12. Topshop BB Cream, £5

    Topshop
    Topshop

    Topshop's BB cream is pocket-friendly and has a SPF of 20. Though it might be hard to find online, you can find it easily enough in-store, or at other outlets. The downside is that they don't really cater to darker skin tones.

    "Topshop's BB cream, it's (currently on sale for) £5 and I think it's better than any Dior or Estée Lauder (£30-40) that I have used!"

    Suggested by beccaheppolette

    13. Bourgeois Twist Up the Volume Mascara, £10.99

    Bourgeois
    Bourgeois

    Bourgeois' mascaras are brilliant if you want pumped up lashes (my personal favourite is the Volume Clubbing one).

    "Bourgeois Twist Up the Volume Mascara is seriously the most handy and versatile mascara out there. It has a long brush with spaced-out plastic bristles for length, and you can turn the cap to compress the brush for volume. Sounds pretty gimmicky – but works brilliantly."

    Suggested by alyaammari

    14. Collection Liquid Eyeliner, £2.99

    Makeup Alley

    Another Collection bargain is its liquid eyeliner. Budget-friendly and with an absurd staying power – just stay away from the waterproof version.

    "Collection liquid eyeliner. It's only about £3, stays on really well and has a great applicator. One bottle lasts ages too. It's the only one I've used for years. DONT get the waterproof one though, it's rubbish and cracks off quickly." Suggested by heathero4f6752352

    15. Essence Lipstick and Lipgloss, £2.30

    Make Up Alley

    Essence is a German brand, sold in (some) Primark stores, and on Wilko's website. Think super-cheap and fashion-forward, with the added bonus that none of their products are tested on animals.

    "Essence lipsticks! The ones in the black packaging, they are super cheap and quality is amazing for the price, I reach for them more often than some of my high end ones." Suggested by nap

    "Essence XXL glosses, all the colours!! They are amazing AND under 2€! Plus they smell great!! I bought one, and went the next day to get all the shades!!" Suggested by Mir Pelletier on Facebook

    16. 2True Mascara, £1.99

    2True

    2True offer a wide range of mascaras. And as they're all about £1.99, you could pick and combine a couple to find the one you like the best.

    "2True mascara! Great coverage, looks super natural but makes lashes look incredibly long! Even the non-waterproof doesn't smudge at all, I've only ever had compliments on my eyelashes when I wear their lengthening one, It's only £1.99 from Superdrug, and they quite often do three for a fiver!"

    Suggested by Ellie Welsh on Facebook

    17. Makeup Revolution Iconic Palette, £4

    "Makeup Revolution do incredible naked dupes. They're called Iconic Palette and there's a couple. Also they're not animal tested which is a win.

    Suggested by folieadeux

    "Makeup Revolution for SURE. Their ultimate colour chaos palette is like Urban Decay's Electric palette but for like a 1/10 of the price. Plus their cream concealer palette is great for highlight/contouring."

    Suggested by eisleyfan27

    18. Revlon Colorstay Foundation, £12.99

    Boots
    Boots

    Revlon's foundations have a cult following and they cater to a range of skin tones too.

    "The Revlon Colorstay and Photoready foundations are LIFE. AMAZING coverage and easily rival Mac foundations."

    Suggested by michellej10

    19. No 7 at BootsThe Exceptional Definition Mascara, £11.50

    Boots

    If you want voluminous clump-free lashes, this is the mascara for you. There are three sides to the brush, which you're supposed to use in sequence to achieve a super-fluttery look.

    "I've only ever owned high street makeup but this is one of my all-time faves: The Exceptional Definition mascara by Boots No. 7 is the original Benefit Roller Lash. I've used it for years and it has exact same shaped brush, an even better formula AND it's about half the price of Benefit."

    Suggested by Little Miss Katy on Facebook

    20. Essence Nail Varnish, £1.60

    chicprofile.com

    Buckets of colours and budget-friendly, what more could you want? Pick up a couple at a time and paint your nails to your heart's delight.

    "I love doing nail art but I'm skint and Essence at Wilko's is the best for all things nails! And their nail varnish is the best I've ever tried."

    Suggested by donkeyrabbit

    21. Barry M Dazzle Dust, £4.59

    Barry M
    Barry M

    Barry M's Dazzle Dust is a cult product that punches above its weight. Sparkly, hyper-pigmented and available in ever colour the sun.

    "Barry M tiny pots of pigments are an excellent cheap alternative to Mac pigments. Someone once told me that Bourjois is made by Chanel and I do love their eye shadows and blushers. And nothing beats Batiste. Nothing!"

    Suggested by charlottei455dd1085