There's nothing that annoys me more than to click on a post that claims to contain affordable clothes, only to read it and realise the writer considers spending 400$ on a pair of shoes "affordable". Now, I don't know about you, but I don't even make that much in my part time job, so my definition of affordable is way off that price point most people deem "reasonable". Frustrated over the fact I couldn't find many posts with cute and affordable pieces for back to school (or uni, in my case), I decided to take matters into my own hands and bring you quite a few truly affordable options, according to my personal style. And when I mean affordable, I mean nothing in this post is above 30€ (which roughly translates into 33$ and 25£)! It includes a little bit of everything to get you through Fall and the school year, even some affordable bags - all from a fairly accessible brand, Bershka! Don't forget to let me know which are your favourites from this list and if you have any more item suggestions, leave them down in the comments and maybe I'll add them onto the masterlist.
I strongly believe everyone out there has a bit of a love/hate relationship with their brows. You can't live with them or without them, and finding that perfect balance between over plucked and unibrow is as fickle as my mood. Not to mention the definition of "good brows" is forever changing -- what a couple of decades ago was considered good is now considered a mortal sin. Personally, I was never blessed with extremely full brows, but I never went through any crazy overplucking moods either, so I'd say I have relatively good eyebrows. Not too full, not too sparse, enough to get by but, according to today's standards, could always use a little bit of extra filling.
Of course, brows (like any other beauty topic) is a very personal choice, so while you might enjoy having your brows au natural, others might prefer the instagram worthy look. With time, I've grown to enjoy filling in my brows a bit, mostly at the more sparse areas, but I do still recall the earlier ages of my makeup journey that had me genuinely terrified at the idea of filling my brows, too worried I'd overdo it or never make them look equal. In all honesty, it's not the three headed monster I made it out to be, and I've finally found myself at a really good place with my brow routine, to the point where I can't leave the house unless my eyebrows are on fleek. But if you're still worried over how to fill them out and shape them to your liking, I suggest reading up on this handy guide from In The Gloss. It's a great way to get down with the basics before you jump right into the handy work.
One of the most important steps of your brow routine, however, is having the right tools to work with, so I decided I was going to share with your some budget friendly options that will make any beginner look like a pro. You can use many different things to fill in your brows, including eyeshadow, but I feel like the easiest way to give yourself that natural but full look is to go with a pencil (eyeshadows can make things look a bit blocky if you're not careful, and let's be real, no beginner is). For those of you with a heavier hand, I suggest going with the NYX Micro Brow Pencil. I have this in the shade Espresso and I honestly can't live without it. Like the name suggests, the tip of this pencil is extremely tiny, making it hard to overfill your brows in one go. Plus, this has a nice spoolie on the other side, so it makes for a great product to simply toss into your makeup bag and take with you whenever you might need to touch something up (though the pencil does stay on all day, so you won't have to unless you're sweating a lot).
In case you don't have a NYX store near you or you just don't want to spend that much on a pencil, Essence offers a lovely one as well. The spoolie is nothing special, but it will do the job. My biggest problem with this is the fact you have to sharpen the pencil, so it gets a bit trickier to get small hair like strokes, so it won't be the ideal tool for beginners. Despite everything, I did swear by this pencil before NYX finally opened a store in Portugal a month or so ago, so this will do the trick if you're on a tight budget, just make sure to sharpen it often!
Setting your brows might not be a must for everyone, but people with unruly brows will know the struggle of filling them in perfectly then having the whole thing busted because of your brow hairs going everywhere. The easiest solution to making your brows last is to use an eyebrow gel. Essence offers two choices, the first one being a clear gel that will only set them into place and the second one will also add a bit more colour and body into yours brows. They're both good choices, though I'm more of a fan of the Make Me Brow, since it's a bit more on the dry side. The clear gel always seems a bit more wet until it finally sets, but they both make yours brows last all day. If you have truly unruly brows, I'd say to go for the clear one, because it will lock them into place like no other (just make sure to wipe off the excess first, to avoid looking like you applied hair gel to your brows and you're good to go). They're both at a similar price point, the Born This Way being around 50 cents more expensive, so it's really up to what you're in need of.
All in all, you can find amazing brow products at a budget friendly price and I'm sure if you give it a little bit of time for trial and error, you can find your perfect combo that will make you feel a little bit more put together and secure when you walk out the door.
Don't forget to comment down below, let me know if you've tried any of this products or what your favourites are, since I'm always on the lookout for new products to try out!
Never fear, for weekly outfit inspiration is here! Long overdue, I know, but just in time for a three day weekend here in Portugal, so I should have plenty of time to get my one post per week schedule up and going now that vacation time is over. If you're not familiar with Weekly Outfit Inspiration, I'm basically sharing with you seven looks from bloggers and celebrities I adore, that will hopefully serve as some much needed outfit inspo for the upcoming week! Weather wise, Portugal has been struck with a massive heat wave (the type that forces you to walk around the house in a bikini even though you live in the city, for the fear you'll melt if you dare to put on shorts and a t-shirt), so all of this week's outfits prioritize keeping your body cool while also being appropriate for work. So if you're struggling to find something to wear when all you really wanna put on is a bikini, scroll down for some outfit inspiration!
SATURDAY
Look by Julie Sariñana from Sincerely Jules
SUNDAY
Look by Lucy Williams from Fashion On Me Now
MONDAY
Look by Amy Ramirez from Toks
TUESDAY
Look by Lydia Rose from Fashion Influx
WEDNESDAY
Look by Tiffany Jais from Flaunt and Center
THURSDAY
Look by Emily Ratajkowski
FRIDAY
Look by Victoria Törnegren from Victoria Törnegren
Despite my love for affordable beauty products, I've never came around to talk about my nail polishes. They're one of those items I never had much care for back when I was a teenager (who was very guilty of biting her nails, mind you). It always seemed like too much of a hassle for such a short time span of enjoyment, not to mention I was - and still am - terrible at painting my nails.
Nevertheless, as I grew older and somewhat wiser, I discovered painting my nails could be quite terapeutical, in a sense where you have to sit still afterwards, not really capable of doing much with your hands, too afraid you'll mess up all of the hard work you've put into your nails. So that little recovery time between being done painting them and actually having the whole thing behind me gives me a chance to just reflect on everything - or better yet, sit back and watch one of the many shows I've been meaning to start but never find the time to do so.
Either way, being the person I am, it wouldn't be reasonable to simply spend twenty euro on a single nail polish, so it took me a long time to find affordable polishes that won't break the bank whenever I'm in need of a new shade. The first brand I fell in love with was Kiko and their nail lacquers. With a myriad of colours to choose from, a budget friendly price (2.90€) that always seems to be on sale (1.90€) nonetheless, and a staying power like very few other formulas out there, I was instantly blow away. I've had many Kiko polishes over the past couple of years, but as of right now I only have the shades 240, 287, 319 and 507. Of course, there's always some odd ones in the collection, like the very pale peachy nude colour in the shade 507, but it's a rare exception, most likely due to the lightness of the shade. Then again, shade 319, a lovely greige, is quite light and never gave me any issues, so perhaps I simply bought a spoiled one, who knows? They all do wear for a very long time, up to two weeks without chipping if you're being careful (if you're on dish washing duty at home, this won't last you through the task, sadly, but if you won't be doing so much hand soaking, you'll be good). You also get an amazing colour payoff, two thin layers give you a very opaque result. Not to mention you'll never lose that glossy finish that tends to wear off after a day or so in most polishes!
For a very long time, Kiko was my one and only brand when it came to polishes. Why would I need to go look somewhere else when Kiko gave me all I needed? But the eye tends to wander and soon enough I found a way to get my hands on the Tanya Burr Cosmetics nail polishes, and well, I was weak and gave into the urge to buy one, the shade Peaches and Cream. At 4.90€, it's not the most expensive polish in the world, not to mention backed up by the name of one of my favourite youtubers out there.Sadly enough, this did not live up to my expectations. The colour is absolutely beautiful, no question about it, and the finish is quite lovely, but it simply did not last on my nails. It chips in less than 24 hours and I can't seem to make it last even a full week without having to remove it altogether.
It's worth mentioning I don't use a base coat, nor a top coat. Like I said, painting my nails can be quite the lengthy task alone - adding even more steps would only turn me off from getting them done myself altogether. So perhaps this nail polish could have been a favourite of mine if I had a good base and top coat. But on its own, it doesn't even compare to the way the Kiko nail polishes wear, and they're half the price of the Tanya Burr ones.
After that little fiasco, I decided to remain faithful to my Kiko nail polishes once more. I had been foolish enough to go looking somewhere else for something I already had, and I wasn't planning on making the same mistake twice. That is, until Sephora decided to have a sale where the very popular and beloved Formula X nail polishes would cost only 2€ instead of the regular 15€. However, unlike the Tanya Burr polish, I was not disappointed. I only managed to grab the shade Rush, mostly because the offer was short on diversity since most of the nicer colours were long gone and only the glittery top coats and the occasional gem was found. I found that this polish, despite not being as long wearing as my beloved Kiko polishes, still held up very well for almost two weeks, never lost its shine and was quite opaque, giving me all of the colour I needed in two to three thin layers. Strangely enough, despite lasting a little bit less, these definitely turned out to be my favourite nail polish formula out there, because they look the most professionally applied out of them all. I'd even go as far as to say I'd pay the full 15€ for a couple of shades I'm dying to try and doubt they'll ever be included in the Sephora sales anytime soon.
Last, but certainly not least, came the most recent purchase of them all, the Sensinity nail polish in the colour 41. An impulsive purchase, without any real reason besides the fact it only cost 75 cents. As expected, it wasn't mind blowing, but it wasn't terrible either. I'd actually still rate it above the Tanya Burr polish, considering it lasts longer, even if you need three thin layers to get a nice colour payoff. Are they anywhere near the Kiko or the Formula X polishes? Absolutely not. But if you're in a pinch or if there's a colour you're dying to try out, Sensinity polishes probably got you covered. Or you can do like my mom, who frequently gets her nails done at a salon by her friend, and whenever a nail chips, she covers it up with these polishes so she doesn't have to rush to the salon and pay for another manicure that frequently.
Overall, if you're like me and enjoy a fuss free mani, Kiko is probably the way to go. It will last, it won't take forever to dry and it'll look good until you take it off. If you won't mind spending a little bit extra or if you're not one to change up the colour of your polish very often, then I suggest investing in a Formula X polish, simply because it will look like you knew what you were doing even if you're as hopeless as I am when it comes to applying nail polish. It doesn't dry as quickly as Kiko's, but it will look good for a long time and you won't have to worry about reapplying very frequently throughout the month.
Those are all the nail polishes I currently own, though I'm waiting for Fall to roll in so I can invest in some more Formula X polishes, as well as the more out there shades of the Kiko ones. If there's any brands you really love that won't break the bank, please leave them down in the comments and I'll be sure to check them out and hopefully feature them in a future polish collection update!