Glam Slam: Makeup Mondays — Splurge Or Save?

When do you spend a little or a lot on beauty products? I got an e-mail from someone who liked a recent Glam Slam on ‘Glee’ star Lea Michele where the makeup artist used COVERGIRL products.

“Nice to know that it doesn’t always require the expensive stuff and that anyone can buy it and do the same,” she wrote.

On the other hand, I know that sometimes we all need a pick-me-up and if a designer pair of shoes or a purse are out of the question, a Dior, YSL or Armani lipstick can give a much more affordable dose of luxury.

So, the big question is… when to spurge and when to save? Celebrity Makeup Artist Tommy Cyr, who has worked with Pamela Anderson and Kim Delaney, gives us his two cents!

SKIN
“You should definitely splurge on creams and treatments,” Tommy advises. “A good line of skin care is Clarins. This mid-priced product line delivers great results. It is also important to get into the salon to get a good facial at least once a month. It’s very important to include a separate eye cream or serum. The skin around the eyes has less oil glands and is dryer and more fragile than the rest of the face. Clarins makes Eye Contour Balm, which is a great eye moisturizer.”

FACE
“There are hundreds of different types of foundations; drug store and department store. When choosing a foundation, your high priced brand might have the same manufacturer as a drugstore brand, like Lancome and L’Oreal, which share a manufacturer. The key to the perfect foundation is to try one and see what works for you. As for blush: you can probably keep it on the cheap side. With powder blush, the pigment will be a little less intense with a cheaper brand, which might be better if you have a tendency to overuse your blush. Unless there is that one color that you can’t do without; like Orgasm by NARS, you can probably use drugstore brands.”

EYES
“When it comes to eyeshadow, a good drugstore brand can do almost the same as the high priced department store brand. You should splurge on an eyeshadow base to keep your eyeshadow in place and stay on longer. Dune and Chinois by Stila are good shadow bases. A good product to spend a little extra on is eyeliner. It needs to stay on and have good pigment. The creamy smudge pots that MAC, Stila and Bobbi Brown, to name a few, work really well. When it comes to mascara, keep in mind that you should replace them about every 3 months therefore, you can keep it on the cheap side with Maybelline.”

LIPS
“Lips can be tricky because the color trends come and go so fast. Splurge on a couple of your favorite high end designer lip colors and glosses and add cheaper seasonal and trendy colors from the drug store. You can even layer two colors and make a custom color. Lip liners are very comparable to one another. Find your favorite and go with it.”

For more info on Tommy, head to www.tommycyr.com.