Four Top Quality & Affordable Makeup Brands in South Africa

Recently, I seem to be drawn more and more to store brand beauty and makeup products and I'm beginning to realize with each day how misguided we are in terms of the make of products that we keep in our private collections. Most makeup artists and even prospective clients turn their noses down at anything other than Mac and Kryolan....myself included. Truthfully speaking, in the past few years, I would not have even considered swatching ANY other brand except Mac. After spending thousands of rands on brand named items, I became a lot more disillusioned in my beliefs as I encountered items that did not meet my expectations and which left me totally disappointed and regretful that I had spent so much on them only for it to be tossed at the back of my drawer never to be used again:(

Now I get an unusual high when I get 2, 3 or even 4 products for the price of what I would normally pay for just 1.

Here is a list of store brand makeup or beauty products that you should seriously consider experiencing. It's definitely worth the try... Being a once upon a time self confessed, die hard Mac fan, I can safely state that the products that I have tried and liked are comparable in every way...quality, duration of wear, pigmentation, texture and application.

My 4 top favorite affordable, quality makeup brands in SA.

The first brand that makes my list is:

Essence Cosmetics

I love the fact that the Essence range is extensive and well thought of it includes everything that you
would ever need- from eyebrow stencil kits to trios and quad eyeshadow palettes. Whatever I have
tried thus far has exceeded my expectations and I honestly cannot figure out how this awesome brand had escaped my makeup radar. They can be purchased at Clicks and The Hub stores.

WOW Cosmetics

Super, super cheap range of quality products catering for all ages and skin types. Here again, the range extends from makeup brushes to eyeliner stickers and ANYTHING else in-between. Am LOVING the range of lipsticks(have 19 colors out of the 30 some odd shades in the moisture range). The gel liners are TO DIE for. I have just placed an order for 12 of their single eyeshadows. Oh, and did I mention their range of eyelashes??? Need I say more??? I didn't think so....! WOW cosmetics is available in Durban only through private agents at the moment. There possibly are a few pharmacies that stock them but I am not really aware of which ones.

NYX

A brand boasting an extensive range of makeup goodies as well. The color range of their eyeshadows and lipsticks are endless and what I especially like about this brand is that they are often introducing combo editions that keeps their fans waiting and guessing. They are a little higher priced than Essence and WOW cosmetics....with good reason I suppose. There are a lot of NYX eyeshadows whose colors very closely resemble Mac eyeshadow shades so if you are finding that Mac is not within your budget range, check out our Mac/NYX dupes. Their quality also is something worth raving about. The only place that I have seen NYX products is at Clicks.

Catrice Cosmetics

I have very recently discovered Catrice whilst browsing through a local Hub store. I am simply taken by their eyeshadows and they are priced from R39 for 2gr of product. I was very attracted to the
texture and pigmentation of their products and will be posting reviews of my purchases in a few days. Their prices are so reasonable that you can have the luxury of experimenting with many of their products without feeling guilty. Catrice is a 'sister brand' to Essence cosmetics and are available at Clicks and selected Hub and Dischem Pharmacies.

So far, these are my 4 favorites that top my list and I'm hoping to add more along the way. If you know of other worthy products, give me a shout out so we can share them with the rest....

Review: Essence Stay All Day

Less money, more makeup...!

We often judge makeup by their brand popularity and their price tags. In sure that we've all had some experience where we've broken the bank to invest in a single piece of makeup only to come home and realize that the product turns out to be a complete and total dud. Top rated eyeshadows range anything from and above R190.00. If you are like me, then you've definitely splurged well over R300.00 for a single eyeshade which turned out to be an absolute beauty buy bust. Lesson learnt, I now know never to judge products by its price tag. Apart from that, we all now-a-days cannot afford to be lavish with our hard earned money. There are many quality products that is being introduced into the South African market making it accessible to everyone as it can fit even into the tightest of budgets.

I accidentally came across one such product yesterday whilst browsing at my local Clicks store. I found myself swatching one product after another from this brand and left there with my hand looking like I was in a pre-scholar who was just introduced to painting.

The brand I am raving about is called ESSENCE. Most of us will be unfamiliar with this products but after much research last night, I  learnt that it is a European brand that has hit over 50 countries including U.S.A and Switzerland. Its manufactured in Germany. They pride themselves in keeping up with the latest makeup trends and their products include eyeshadows, mascara, nail polish and liners to name a few. And, and, and...what's even greater is that their prices start as low as R30.00.

I couldn't help but grab a few items that impressed me and with what I have swatched, I have no regrets and feel that some of their products could give some high end makeup brands a run for their money.

I will be reviewing more of their products, so keep watching this blog if you want to learn of other quality makeup at affordable prices.

Today, I review ESSENCE'S creme eyeshadow from the STAY ALL DAY range in No 08.

Thicker swatch is product applied alone as eyeshadow & Thinner swatch is used as a base with a  lilac pigment.

PROS....

*What initially attracted me to this eyeshadow was its pearly, dazzley effect that it has as I twisted and moved it around. I found that true to the range name, it certainly was long lasting and stayed put for over 5 hours. It  could be used alone as a creme eyeshadow and still have super color pay off or  as a base which serves a dual purpose of allowing your dry shadow to last all day AND also intensifying its color as can be seen in in picture above. After leaving it on for over 5 hours, I literally had to use a sponge and soap to scrub it off.

*It has a soft, silky feel and texture.

*It only costs R31.00 and you will certainly get many, many uses out of it- so it's definitely worth the buy.

CONS....

*The packaging is not that great and looks like its meant to target teens but their products ARE suitable for all age groups.

*Can get a bit lumpy if not applied evenly.

All in all I feel that this is certainly a must try and would rate it an absolute 8 out of 10.