Make up can be VERY expensive, so Features Writer Rachael went on the hunt for a more affordable look

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When I was a teenager, I'd often take my pocket money into my small town's Superdrug to try and get my makeup for as cheap as possible. Those were the days of Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse, bold eyeliner and spider mascara lashes, so admittedly I wasn't trying to pull off a very sophisticated look.

As I've got older, my tastes have got more refined and I spend a fair bit more on my makeup than I did when I was 15. But I was intrigued: is it still possible to go shopping at Superdrug and get a full face of makeup for less than £15?

I knew that many of Superdrug's brands, while still affordable compared to high end alternatives, would be well out of my price range. Instead, I headed straight to the brands I knew were cheaper, such as MUA and Collection, to see what I could get my hands on.

It quickly became apparent that if I wanted to get a full look for under £15, I'd have to get products that would work for two purposes. I couldn't afford a brow pencil and an eyeliner, for example, and an eyeshadow palette was out of the question if I wanted to get all of the other things I needed.

READ MORE: 'I went to Harrods with £10 to see if I could afford anything even remotely worth buying and was pleasantly surprised'

However, I was able to buy a foundation, bronzer, kohl pencil, mascara and lipliner all for £15, which I thought was pretty good going. The kohl would work as an eyebrow and eyeliner pencil in a pinch, and the bronzer could double as an eyeshadow.

While it was certainly possible to get everything I needed, would it actually look any good?

The foundation was the most expensive part of the look, as I'd expected. The MUA Pro/Base Long Wear Matte Finish Foundation was the cheapest I could find at £5, which was a lot cheaper than I thought I'd be able to get it.

But, as you might expect, that low price tag comes with a catch. First of all, the applicator was bizarre - it's like one of those glue sticks you'd use in primary school, and it was impossible to control how much foundation I was putting on my face. This, combined with how hard it was to blend, resulted in a cakey look, while the matte finish (the only kind available) made my normal/combination skin look very dry.

That said, the colour match is perfect and they had a decent range of shades on offer, so maybe for oily skinned wearers it might be a better match.

I had no money for a concealer, so it was straight onto eyeshadow and bronzer. I used a gentle brown bronzing powder for both, and it worked surprisingly well.

It was difficult to apply the bronzer onto my eyelids as the thick foundation had made them so sticky, but the colour was decent for a nude eye look and it applied easily onto my cheekbones.

The bronzer is quite subtle, so it didn't require much blending, and for £3 I'm pretty impressed with the finish. It gives my usual Benefit Hoola a run for its money.

Barry M's kohl pencils are just £2.99, and I chose a brown shade to double as a brow pencil and eyeliner. The shade was a little darker than I thought it would be, so it was a bit too dark for my eyebrows, but worked just as well as any other brow pencil.

I usually use a brown liquid eyeliner for my winged liner, but the kohl pencil was decent for a less dramatic look, and I could blend it into my brown eyeshadow to make it more subtle.

I won't be switching away from my usual brow gel and liquid eyeliner for this product, but it did the job. The shade would be better for someone with darker hair, but you live and learn.

This mascara was just £2, which is an absolute steal by anyone's standards. It's a relatively small tube, but has a standard mascara brush and applied well considering its price. I needed to apply a few swipes to fully coat my lashes, but I have very pale lashes which usually require a lot of product, so this wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

It didn't give much in the way of volume or length, but defined my blonde lashes which was good enough for a day-to-day look. However, within 30 minutes of application, the mascara had rubbed off under my eyes with an unsightly dark shadow, so I wouldn't put any faith in this lasting all day without running down your face.

I'm not usually one for a bold lip, so to complete the look I opted for a nude lipliner topped with my favourite clear lip balm. Looking at this MUA lipliner in the shop, it appeared to be a dusty rose colour that seemed perfect for a barely-there look.

However, it turned out to be quite a bright pink which really wasn't what I was going for. Even blended out with a clear lip balm it looked too pink, and I wished I hadn't bothered. Unlike more expensive lipliners, it was also quite hard to blend, but for £2 I'm not too surprised. If the colour was more accurate then it might have worked, but I doubt I'll reach for this lipliner again.

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While it was surprisingly possible to get a full makeup look for under £15, you certainly get what you pay for. Some products I'd definitely reach for again, such as the bronzer and kohl pencil, but the foundation, mascara and lipliner just weren't for me.

What's your favourite bargain makeup product? Tell us in the comments here.

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