Budget beauty products seem to be everywhere at the moment and with the credit crunch it couldn't come at a better time.
Mascara for a pound and lip gloss for under a fiver seems perfect but how well does it actually work? Are cheaper products just as good as their more expensive counterparts or is some stuff just worth splashing out on?
Female First hit the make up counters to find out how products up and down the price scale compare.
Today we look at lipstick.
Lacura Lipstick, £1.99 at Aldi, comes in a great bright colour and is long lasting, it didn't come off in at least two hours. It does feel a bit caked on though.
W7 Lipstick, £2.95, comes in a great selection of colours and have a nice shimmer unfortunately the colour doesn't last too long and you can be left with just a line of colour around the edge of your mouth. Not too bad though if you don't mind reapplying it a lot.
Prestige Classic Lipstick, £5.99, is fantastic! It goes on silky smooth and feels so light as if you're not wearing any lipstick. It has a great bright colour and lasted all day. It's great value for money. Top marks Prestige!
Lord & Berry Lipstick, £7.95 also feels lovely and soft. It goes on really smooth, almost like a mousse. The colour is nice and bright. It is let down by the fact it doesn't last too well, but apart from that it is really good.
Max Factor Colour Collections Lipstick £7.99 has a lovely smooth, silky feel to it. The colour is not as bright as it appears on the stick but this may be a good thing depending on your colouring. It is not very long lasting though.
Green People Organic Lipstick £9.99, feels almost bitty on the lips as it is quite hard. The good news though, is that the colour is great, nice and bright with a hint of a shimmer and it's stays on for ages.
L'Oreal Rouge Infallible Lipstick £10.99, comes in two sticks, you apply the colour first then go over it with the shine stick. The formula obviously works because the colour lasts for absolutely ages and didn't need re-applying after eating and drinking or even after showering. The colour is great and the texture is nice and light, another fantastic buy.
Benefit's Lipstick, £12, lasted through a night out, no reapplying despite plenty of drinking! It comes in a great range of head turning colours, our favourite being My Treat which give you Cheryl Cole like pink lips!
Clinique High Impact Lipstick, £12, is a great long lasting lipstick which stayed on through food and drinks. It has a lovely texture which you would expect from Clinique but the colour could have being a bit brighter. Great for the day time though.
Bella Pierre's Mineral Lipstick, £22.99, can be described in one word - amazing! It is really easy to put on and only the tiniest amount is needed. The colour is nice and bright and it stays for absolutely ages. By far the best but at that price you would expect as much.
So, great lipsticks from both the high end and middle of the price spectrum. Bella Pierre's is definitely the best but it is quite on the expensive side, taking that into account we'd have to say that Benefit comes out the winner, with L'Oreal and Prestige putting up strong competition.
FemaleFirst - Jessica Watson