Beauty Products on a Budget

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Beauty products are by no means a necessity, but they are items that most women purchase. Cosmetics can help you feel better about yourself and provide some enhancement of your outward beauty. After all, most of us don’t want to be the “frugal frumpy mom” who is such a tightwad that she neglects her outward appearance.

However, I have friends who don’t wear makeup or wear very little, whether due to finances or personal conviction regarding modesty. Of course, I believe inward beauty trumps any attempt at outward beauty, but it doesn’t hurt to take care of yourself and try to look your best.

Since most of us ladies are purchasing some kind of beauty products, and all those different types of products can add up to a big chunk of change, I wanted to share tips for beauty products on a budget. Here are ways that you can get more bang for your buck with beauty products.

Simplify Your Beauty Routine

One simple way to cut costs is to simplify your beauty regimen. Less can be more, and you can often achieve the same look with less products, if you focus on the most important ones. I suggest you eliminate products you don’t need or rarely use and find ways to cut out products that may be serving similar functions.

Find products that are multi-purpose, which will save you money. For example, you can purchase a compact with blush and toner combined, instead of buying separate blush and toner. Consider purchasing a cosmetic that combines foundation and powder; I have personally done this for years. Finding products which can serve more than one function or do the job of two or more products, can help you cut down on the amount of products you buy, which will in turn save you money.

Stick to a set of colors and shades that are tried and true on you, ie. that you have worn in the past and work with your skin tone and pallet, to avoid spending money on something you wear once and then decide you don’t like.

Simplifying your product selection from designer name brands to more affordable solutions is another great way to save. For example, substitute your pricey moisturizer for a tried-and-true inexpensive option recommended by dermatologists, like Cetaphil. Look for practical products that work instead of focusing on a certain brand that you are accustomed to using.

Use Up Every Last Bit

Some bottle, container. and tube designs make it difficult to get all the product out. According to a Consumer Reports study, you can miss out on up to 25% of the product if you discard the bottle before it’s really empty. I like to turn bottles and containers upside down so that most of the contents of the container comes to the dispenser. Once I’ve squeezed out all I can that way, I get out my heavy-duty scissors to cut the container in half, when possible, and retrieve even more product that is stuck on the inner walls and corners of the tube or container.

Reuse What You Can

Another great way to save money on makeup is to reuse your cosmetic applicators and beauty tools. Once you use up your product, you could still make good use of that empty container or applicator by washing and reusing with another cosmetic.

Or perhaps you have a lipstick that breaks or melts in the car on a hot day (been there!) then you can scoop out your product into an empty makeup container or compact and use with a little lip brush; this is a great alternative to tossing the messy, broken tube and wasting that lipstick.

Trade What You Don’t Need

If you find yourself with free samples you don’t need or want, see if you can trade with a friend. If you have extra beauty products laying around that you’ve collected from bonus gift bags or free sample sites, then you can trade those unwanted products for items you’ll actually use. This is a great way to save money by not letting those products go to waste in your closet.

Make Your Own

You can save a lot of money by going the DIY route. Make your own chapstick, lotion bar, moisturizer, face masks, body scrubs, and other homemade body care products. I also really like Alea’s DIY Facial masks and cleansers made from natural ingredients. A benefit of making your own products is that you can control the ingredients and can eliminate unnecessary additives or other controversial items found in makeup mass produced and sold on the market today.

Shop at Discount & Dollar Stores

Discount stores like Ulta and Sally are a great place to find name brand cosmetics on discount. Also, you may not realize that the dollar store can be a great place to score inexpensive personal care products and tools. Stop by your local dollar store to check out their selection and look for inexpensive beauty care items like cotton balls, q-tips, nail files, and nail polish.

Use these tips to save more money on cosmetics so you can save a pretty penny while looking pretty! Please be sure to share your own cost-effective beauty tips below in the comments too!

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By contributing writer Laura

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Hair and beauty product addicts rejoice! Here are my top 5 tips to save money on hair and beauty products.

Makeup, skincare, body lotions, shampoo, conditioner, hand creams you name it, I used to buy it. A recent survey suggests that over 70% of British women over the age of 30 spend more than £50 per year on cosmetics. In that survey an alarming number just didn’t know how much they spend :-).

I’d love to know the statistics about which of those products they actually use. The purple makeup box in my house is the most coveted item by my four year old daughters. They love to look at the makeup which has gone in there to have a rest. Given the volume of stuff in there, you would think I was some sort of makeup applying professional but no I’m just an ordinary Mum with a beauty shopping habit.

The purple box recently had a clear out to see what was hiding at the bottom. I’m ashamed to say that a significant amount of my high-end eye shadow collection was carved up for colouring our slime concoctions and the empty pans were used to make some toy makeup for the girls.

1. Kicking the premium beauty habit

I had managed to kick my premium beauty habit a few years ago but I seemed to have replaced it with high volume cheaper items instead.

Through my 20’s I suffered from horrific acne so I was always a sucker for the latest and greatest invention from the premium counter to sort my skin out.  I wouldn’t have dreamt of trying anything from the supermarket or pharmacy.  I didn’t want to risk it getting worse.  Not once did I try a cheap option in that decade.  And to be honest it took me until my mid 30’s to figure things out!

One day I’d had enough. I had baulked at the idea of another £40 on shampoo and conditioner from the hairdresser – promising this and promising that.  The reality was for a busy Mum with a new baby – who had the time to do any of what was needed to make your hair textbook?

So I set about to find a cheaper alternative.  I said to myself “what do I have to lose?” – if this cheaper shampoo is no good I’ve lost £6 on the shampoo and conditioner.  My hair couldn’t have been in a worse state at this point.  I read through all of the reviews on Boots for ‘sulphate free shampoo’ to see what was available.  I gave the best rated and reviewed shampoo a go. There was no salon advice, no shiny packaging, it had an AWFUL name and it cost £6 for both.  After a few days, my hair was changed, it was the best it had been for years. 

This is how I really started to save money

Gradually, using this method I started to swap out my premium beauty products for supermarket/drug store alternatives.  I went from a £30 foundation to a £6 one, a £20 hand cream to a £3 one.  Each time my expensive item ran out I made myself trial a cheaper option.

If you are not sure where to start there are loads of groups on Facebook like Mrs Gloss & The Goss – next time you are looking to replace a hair or beauty item and you want to save money, this is the place to ask.

Occasionally I would treat myself on something expensive but it became the exception rather than the rule.  My favourite drug store brand is most definitely Revolution.  It has been a game-changer for my beauty budget.

2. Ditch the lunch time impulse buys

Mindless shopping on beauty products is another shopping habit that I managed to break in 2020.  Often I would find myself wandering around Boots or SuperDrug in my lunch break and buying bits and pieces.  Trouble is this was a weekly habit.  Last time I checked I was averaging £50 a month in these 2 shops alone!

Part of my desire to do this was boredom at lunchtime as I forced myself out of the office to get some fresh air.  I tried not taking my purse with me but it just lead me to go back another day to buy the new lipstick colour I had seen.  3 for 2 offers were always on.

In December 2019 I treated myself to a GlossyBox subscription.  I thought this will kick it – if I have this I won’t be impulse buying anymore.

I have to say it has worked – so while I spend £120ish across the whole year on my GlossyBox subscription it is far less than the £50 a month of impulse buys I was getting in my lunch break.

Obviously, working from home has helped significantly because I haven’t been in the office but even before then I had stopped completely because my ‘new’ items were arriving in the post each month for £11!

I still need to buy basics like foundation and powder because these aren’t included but I haven’t spent any money this year on any other makeup.

3. Have a no makeup/beauty/toiletries spending embargo

Challenge yourself not to buy anything for 30 days, 60 days, 90 days.  I did this a few years ago and I go to about Easter until I cracked and bought something.

It’s time to use up all of those Christmas hair and beauty products, makeup you have stashed away and those unused makeup sets. Obviously, check if the items are safe to use before you do.

4. Have a spare

If you use a lot of an expensive item, have a cheaper spare you can go to when the expensive one has run out. This could help you make do for a couple of months until you could find a place in your budget to replace the expensive item. Who knows you may ever favour the cheaper product!

5. Use hair and beauty trainees

If you have a nearby hair or beauty college you can often get treatments which are significantly reduced compare to a regular salon.  Things maybe varied with covid but when this is an option, definitely worth looking at to save you some cash on beauty treatments.

Alternatively, you could look for salons which have apprentices.  These normally have heavily discounted offers for sessions with trainees while they build their portfolios up.

I hope you have saved some money by following my 5 ways to save money on hair and beauty products post. You can read my 5 ways to save money on clothes post here.

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