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    Boots Have Brought Back An Iconic Noughties Cosmetics Brand With Products For As Little As £2 So Obviously I Tried On The Entire Collection

    BRB, just freaking out that 17 Cosmetics is officially back on the shelves!

    Valeza Bakolli
    by Valeza Bakolli

    BuzzFeed Staff

    Hi, I'm Valeza. I love beauty products AND saving money, so you can imagine my excitement when I heard Boots were bringing back the most iconic affordable makeup brand of my youth: 17 Cosmetics.

    Valeza Bakolli / Via BuzzFeed

    Now, the majority of my experience with 17 Cosmetics was during my pre-teen years when I was just starting to figure out the world of makeup via the hair glitter and DIY mask-adorned pages of magazines like Bliss and Sugar.

    Valeza Bakolli / Via BuzzFeed

    Undeniably, I was way ahead of the saturated blush trend.

    Let’s be honest, my modest-at-best pocket money was more likely to be spent on the pick n’ mix at Woolworths than any foundation that cost over a fiver (yes, Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse, I’m looking at you!). So ultra-affordable brands like 17, with their wearable yet on-trend makeup, were perfect for testing my ~artistic~ skills.

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    I’m sure you’ll excuse me for thinking that their super-affordable price points might give 17’s rebooted makeup selection a somewhat ~childlike~ quality to match, but I was pleasantly surprised by the chic packaging and impressive colour pay-off, blendability, and shade range available in the collection.

    Boots

    I tried out a few bits from their collection, and I have to say I was most excited about trying this trending gel blush formula!

    Valeza Bakolli / Via BuzzFeed

    It comes in a range of colours, but I went for this suitably spring-y bright pink. Though it looks like it’s almost verging on neon, the colour was surprisingly wearable and really brightened up my face! I applied it to the high points of my cheek bones and patted any leftover product onto the bridge of my nose for a ~naturally flushed~ look.

    Price: £4.00 – it comes in five shades, I'm wearing Deep Pink.

    I have to say, I was super impressed by the colour payoff on this lil’ eyeshadow palette.

    Valeza Bakolli / Via BuzzFeed

    I used the purple-toned palette (I do love my lilacs in spring) but they have loads of other wearable colourways to choose from. The intense pigmentation didn’t falter, whether I was using matte or shimmery shades, and the pinky-brown matte colour that I used in my crease was unbelievably blendable!

    Price: £5.00

    Like everything in the collection, this fab mascara is vegan!

    Valeza Bakolli / Via BuzzFeed

    I don’t usually go for brown mascara, but this one seemed perfect for the spring-themed look I was going for, the softer tone gave my overall look a much more daytime-appropriate (but still glam) angle. I will say that the fibre-packed formula is actually more volumising than lengthening (which I personally prefer), and I loved how it didn’t feel watery like some affordable mascaras do!

    Price: £4.00 – it also comes in black and navy.

    Also see: their volumising mascara that's only £2.00!

    I was surprised with how much I loved this mauve lipstick. It’s matte (but feels super comfortable on the lips) and is only three quid!

    Valeza Bakolli / Via BuzzFeed

    I tend to veer away from purple-toned lippies – they just don’t suit my skin tone! But this one had a brownish undertone which gave it more of a ‘raisin’ as opposed to ‘blackberry’ colour. It looks great layered on as a full colour (like above), but my favourite way to apply it is sort of smudged in with the fingertips for a just-bitten look.

    Price: £3.00 – it comes in eight shades, I'm wearing Grape.

    I loved this lip gloss both on its own (like below) and layered over the matching lipstick.

    Valeza Bakolli / Via BuzzFeed

    The applicator has a sort of hourglass shape which allows you to apply a broad wash of colour to the entire lips. I will say you have to dip the applicator into the gloss a fair few times to get a decent amount of coverage, but at only £4 I’m not complaining!

    Price: £4.00 – it comes in eight shades, I'm wearing Violet.

    I didn’t use this eyeshadow on my eyes this time, but I love the metallic glimmer that’ll give an almost duo-chrome appearance to any eye look. Did I mention it's only £2?

    Valeza Bakolli / Via BuzzFeed

    In true pre-teen style, I accidentally dropped this single eyeshadow on the floor and, understandably, it shattered. This isn’t an issue for me as I’ve shattered about 90% of the eyeshadows I’ve owned in my day, and am partial to a loose pigment anyway! It can be used either as a glimmer of highlight in the middle of a halo eye, or blended all over the lid for an effortlessly glam look. 

    Price: £2.00 – it comes in seven shades, here I'm using Copper.

    Other stand-out products from the range that I have my eye on include this unbelievably affordable concealer!

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    Price: £2.00 – it comes in ten shades.

    This eye pencil comes in six on-trend colours that you'll have so much fun experimenting with

    Boots

    Price: £2.00 – it comes in six shades.

    You can never have too many lip liners – especially when they're only two quid a pop.

    Boots

    Price: £2.00 – it comes in eight shades.

    And this Second Skin Enhancing foundation is only a fiver. As you can see, you can actually create whole makeup looks for around £10!

    Boots

    Price: £5.00 – it comes in 20 shades.

    If you want to have as much fun as I did trying out this affordable and nostalgic brand, you can check out the entire 17 range right here!

    Valeza Bakolli / Via BuzzFeed