I am obsessed with playing with my makeup and having fun with it. The thing I am not obsessed with: the cost. So often, you’ll find brand name products at Sephora or Nordstrom that will end up costing you anywhere from $20-80. That ain’t cute.
Although many people have talked about purchasing makeup at the dollar store, one place I kept hearing about on makeup social media was MINISO. If you’re not familiar with the brand, the best way to describe it is the Japanese version of the dollar store, but with Uniqlo’s store aesthetic and MUJI’s product catalogue. Kind of the best, right?
In downtown Toronto, there are two big stores: one on Queen Street West and one at the CF Toronto Eaton Centre, so I decided to schedule a trip to check out their skin and makeup section immediately. As soon as I got through the doors, I was captivated by the huge selection of brushes, tweezers, and other makeup/skin accessories.
The makeup selection itself was half-way decent and is front and centre upon entering the store.
You’ll find foundation, powders, lipsticks, highlighters, blushes, eyeshadows, nail polish – and well pretty much everything, really! While there wasn’t as much selection as places like Sephora, the prices were on point (nothing over $10) and everything had cute packaging. As I went through the aisles, I wanted to see if it was possible to in possible to create a whole face from start to finish for under $50, and sure enough — it was.
I grabbed a basket and decided to pick-up a few essential items that would help me to create my finished look for my Miniso makeup review.
- Tone Correcting Pressed Powder, $2.95
- Hydro Light Foundation, $2.95
- Flawless Baked Blusher in Sweet Peach, $2.95
- Flawless Ombre Highlighter in Topaz, $5.95
- The Pink Panther Eyeshadow Palette in Bronze Chic, $7.95
- Moist Lip & Eye Colour in Golden, $2.95
- Colour Stay Lipstick in Coral, $2.95
- Deep-cleansing make-up facial removal cream, $7.95
- Micellar facial wipes, $2.95
Once I got home, I decided to try everything out for my MINISO beauty review.
What I noticed with the hydro light foundation was that it was more of a light to medium coverage which felt very lightweight on the face. It did blend out very nicely on my face, but I did find I had to use a bit more than I liked to build up.
Once I applied the tone correcting pressed powder, it set my face perfectly. One thing I did notice, is there are not a lot of options for skin tones. I was lucky since I’m quite pale with a yellow undertone, so I was able to find a quick and easy match. But others might not be so lucky.
Next up, I decided to give their highlighters and blushes a try to see just how pigmented they were.
I found that the topaz colour I chose (similar to gold) was beautiful but needed to build upon before it could be seen. The blush, I was the most disappointed in. Since the packaging is sealed before you buy it and there is nothing to protect the package, when I opened it, the blush was completely broken. I tried to get as much as I could onto my brush, and the colour seemed like a beautiful shimmery orange. What I got on my face, I really loved. It ended up being super subtle.
So far, my face was turning out pretty well. I enjoyed the look of everything so I was excited to see how my new eyeshadow palette would work.
This Pink Panther eyeshadow set came in Bronze Chic, with three eyeshadows and blush. The pigmentation on the eyeshadows was good and the colours were nice to create a natural look with. Since I wanted to add a bit of pop to them, I added the golden sparkle brush on for a bit more shine. This was a bit wetter than I liked, and the eyeshadows had a bit more fall out. But nothing that couldn’t be course-corrected with tissues and Q-Tips.
For the final touches, I used the Colour-Stay lipstick in Coral which comes in pencil format. It was bright, and super pigmented, which I loved. But the best part? I have only had to re-apply it once since 10 a.m. and that’s after having two full meals. Not too shabby for a $2.95 lipstick. I have spent much more on lipsticks of this quality.
Final thoughts?
Going into my MINISO beauty review, I didn’t know what to expect. I’m actually pretty impressed with the quality but, to be honest, I wish they had more selection. However, if you’re on a budget and want to swap out some of your items, I’d recommend checking MINISO out. You might be surprised at what you’ll find.
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