Primark is one of those places where people either love or hate to shop at, and if you are a fan then you'll know you can get just about everything in there, including make-up.
The high street store has a pretty impressive make-up selection and their products frequently go viral online as they're cheap and cheerful. They also have a number of 'dupes' for high-end items that often sell out.
With the cost of everything rising, I decided to try and swap the contents of my make-up bag for Primark products to see if I could save a little money during these tricky times.
I purchased eight items to create a full face look and the total came in at £23.50, which was pretty good going considering many people may spend more than this amount on foundation alone.
Professional make-up artist Deirbhile Kearney helped me test the products to see which are actually worth buying and which were a waste of money and there were several ones that absolutely blew us away.
Off the bat, there were limited primer options available in Oxford Street's Primark when we went shopping, so Deirbhile had to use some of her own primer to prep my face, so not off to a good start.
But things improved as we moved on to the foundation. For this, we used the £5 Double Coverage Matte Foundation which went viral a few years ago as make-up fans raved about the coverage it gave and claimed it was a dupe for Estee Lauder's £32 Double Wear.
Deirbhile was quick to point out the packaging looked like an Estee Lauder dupe as well, so we had quite high hopes for the product.
And it did live up to the hype, the colour wasn't a perfect match for my pale skin as there were no testers in store, so it ended up being a bit 'peachy', but it blended out quite well.
The foundation went on nicely and did give a full coverage matte look which was ideal for me as my face can get quite shiny throughout the day.
"It's covered all your freckles and everything and we've only done a light layer, so that is pretty full coverage," Deirbhile said as she admired her handiwork.
The only real downside is that it does have a very strong smell to it, which doesn't go away very quickly. It was an odd experience to be able to smell my own face for most of the day. But if you can put up with that, then this product is a real steal!
Deirbhile used the foundation in place of concealer under the eyes, as we couldn't get any in the right shade from Primark though she warned others not to do this as foundations are usually "too heavy".
She also used it as an eyeshadow base, before moving on to use the PS... Glam On The Glow face and eye palette, which contained eyeshadow, blusher, bronzer and highlighter all for £5.
We opted for this as it was a cheap way of obtaining all those items in one, as sold separately they cost around £2 to £3 each.
The colours in the palette might not work for all skin tones as they're limited on options, but for me, they were pretty good shades and we were fairly impressed by them.
"The bronzer is quite nice on you as it warms up the skin, but if you had a more medium complexion then I think it would be too light on the skin," Deirbhile explained as she brushed it around my face.
The blusher was then applied to the apples of my cheeks and we were both surprised by how pigmented it was, with it coming out in a very bright pink hue that needed quite a bit of blending. The colour reminded Deirbhile of the Orgasm shade of blush by Nars, which can cost as much as £27.50.
The highlighter, which was in the shade Aura, was a big hit with both of us and provided an impressive pop of sparkle to my cheekbones and the inner corner of my eye, a trick which helps create a "Charlotte Tilbury-style look".
To finish off the face Deirbhile took some pressed powder foundation (£2.50), in the shade Porcelain, and used a small brush to just 'set it' around the eyes and the pores either side of the nose to help 'minimise' them.
As well as the Rustic and Star Glow eyeshadows from the £5 palette, we used a bronze metallic Kohl liner smoked out around the eye.
Costing just £1 this product was a show-stopping bargain that we adored and Deirbile proclaimed she'd be rushing out to buy one for herself.
"I love this eyeliner, the colour is so gorgeous," the make-up artist raved as she applied it underneath my waterline. "It looks like the Teddy pencil from Mac, but a little bit more copper.
"I want to go buy one for myself now."
For mascara, we opted for the £3 Wonder Lash as the packaging looked like it was meant to be a Benefit dupe.
However, this was one dupe that failed to impress us.
The formula was very clumpy and heavy and it didn't prove the "dramatic length and volume" the packet promised it would. I think I'll be sticking with the £10 Rare Beauty Perfect Strokes Universal Volumising Mascara Mini that I've been using of late.
The penultimate step was to sort out my brows with a £3 three-in-one product we found intriguing, as it contained a pencil, coloured gel and powder.
It was fun to experiment with, but ultimately we decided it was a pretty unnecessary purchase and a regular pencil might have been a better option as it "didn't add too much" to the look.
Finally, we finished off the whole face with lipstick. For this, I'd picked a £1.50 Matte lipstick in the shade Gossip.
The colour was quite pink and despite being matte it seemed to have a creamy consistency. It applied nicely and I'd definitely wear it again, although it does dry the lips out quite quickly, as is the case with most matte lipsticks.
If you're looking for something with a little more sheen to it, Primark also has a pricier Lustre range that is sold in duos with lip gloss for £4.50.
We tried the Lust duo (purchased separately from the total £23.50 shop) and loved the products.
"We love this lipstick, it's really nice and the colour works well with the eyeshadow we've used," Deirbhile commented.
The gloss was also a winner, as it applied very smoothly and didn't leave a sticky residue.
The eighth product we purchased wasn't actually used during this look, but it was a £2.50 peachy-coloured Creme Blush stick that we thought could be like the £22.50 Clinique Chubby Blush Sticks.
I tested this one separately and the colour was very nice, but I had some trouble working out how much to use and getting it to blend evenly. I looked a bit like a clown, but I'm sure those more skilled at make-up would enjoy using it.
After previously striking out with Poundland make-up, we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the Primark products we tried and the number of cheap dupes they had for luxury favourites.
The kohl pencil, highlighter and lipsticks were our top picks from the range, but the foundation and face and eye palette were also great bargains that are worth giving a go.
After taking in the finished look, Deirbile added: "We've used all of the products and have created a glam going-out look that's probably better for nighttime.
"Overall the skin is looking really nice, but one thing I would say is I would definitely prefer to have had a concealer around the eyes as they are still a little bit dark-looking even though we've used a full-coverage foundation.
"But I do like the palette we used, it would be great to take away for a weekend trip as you can easily use it to create a full look and the highlighter was my favourite thing we used.
"I also love the eyeliner and lipstick, but I'm afraid the mascara was a no for me.
"However, in all honesty, it all looks quite good for budget make-up."
Would you give Primark make-up a go? Let us know in the comments below.
