Splurge or Save?-Richmond VA Wedding Makeup Artist Aaron Ellerbrock/BRIDEface Richmond

I was downtown conducting some business with the City of Richmond and got to talking with a government employee. Once she found out what I did for a living, what was supposed to be a 2 to 3 minute transaction turned into a 15 minute mini makeup lesson. She asked the age old question, "What do I spend money on in terms of cosmetics and what can I save on?"

I hear that question so often that I think I should get the answer printed on the back of my business cards...hey, I think I am on to something here!! Well you can imagine my lack of surprise when Yahoo had a news story about this in their daily scroll bar.

I have to say that for the most part, I think Yahoo got it right! People, don't only listen but please HEAR me when I say you shouldn't scrimp on things like foundations and concealers. These are the staples to your cosmetic wardrobe and you very rarely need to vary them. A shade for spring/summer and a shade for fall/winter is about as much variation as you will need (except if you want to include a second form of coverage like light weight and medium coverage). Would you "go cheap" if you were building a foundation for your home? Of course not! You would never want to be sitting there, enjoying your Ben and Jerry's and a glass of wine, watching you favorite guilty pleasure TV show (mine is Bad Girls Club...any season) and have your home collapse around you!! The same holds true for makeup. Spend the bucks on good foundations and concealers like Laura Mercier's Tinted Moisturizers and Secret Camouflage, MAKE UP FOR EVER's lifting concealer, or Chanel's new foundation, Perfection Lumiere.

You can then "dress" the rest of your face with less expensive items for your eyes and lips.  Technology has come such a long way that many of the "drug store" items are just as comparable to the higher ticket department store brands. And beside, as people we get bored easily. We see a new shade or feel a pretty texture and we want to buy it. That is not hard to do when you are only paying $5 to $10 for a fun eye color at Walgreens versus $45 (yes girls I did say as expensive as $45) for some of the department store colors.

Don't get me wrong, luxury brand cosmetics are fabulous and often have wonderful pigmentation, but they are often just that, a luxury. When you can't go luxe, just be smart and pay for the items that you will get the most out of. Hope that answers this question!!