Skincare, makeup, haircare, and other beauty and self-care products can be very expensive. Even if you stick to cheaper brands, avoiding luxury names, you can easily spend far more than you’d ever imagined on items to make yourself look and feel great. It’s a growing market, there’s lots of competition, and our eagerness to look and feel good means that most of us are easily influenced by marketing campaigns and attractive packaging.
Unfortunately, most of us live on a budget. You might not be able to spend what you’d like on your beauty kit. The good news is, that doesn’t mean that you have to miss out on caring for your body, or on looking fantastic. You certainly don’t need to spend a million dollars to look or feel a million dollars. Here are some great tips to help you upgrade your beauty kit on a budget.
Clean Your Brushes and Sponges
Before you rush out and start replacing items or buying new products, make sure you are looking after what you’ve got. Buying expensive makeup is no good if you are using old, dirty, and bacteria-ridden sponges and brushes to apply it. You’ll probably find that your makeup lasts a lot longer, and that cheaper makeup looks better if you apply it with clean sponges and brushes. In most cases, you can wash these in warm water and simple anti-bacterial hand soap to give your other products a new lease of life without spending a penny.
Wash Out Your Makeup Bag
Washing out your makeup bag or box is another free way to improve your collection, remove bacteria, and help your products to last for longer.
Complete an Inventory
Once everything is clean, it’s time to complete an inventory. Sort out your makeup bags and boxes, go through your drawers and boxes of moisturizers, shampoos, serums, and other products, checking dates and levels. You’ll probably find plenty of products you haven’t used for ages, or that you’d completely forgotten about. Use these to refresh your day-to-day routine, before you think about buying anything new.
Shop for Deals
If you do need or want anything new, make sure you save on skincare products by shopping around, looking for deals, and using online discount codes as much as possible. Try to make it a rule to never buy anything at full price.
Ask for Gifts
If you do sometimes want a more luxury product, or to try something new, instead of buying it yourself, ask for it for Christmas or your birthday. Another option is asking for gift cards and using these towards the things that you want.
Try Some Dupes
Nowadays there are dupes for everything. So many stores sell their own version of high-end skincare, perfume, and makeup. Not all of it is great. Sometimes it’s not even worth the reduced price tag. But in some cases, you’d never know the difference. Read reviews, ask friends for advice, and give some of the better-rated dupes a try.
Buy Multi-Taskers
Skincare and makeup are much smarter than they used to be. There are so many products on the market, there really is something for everything. Brands are also more aware that many women now work and have other responsibilities. They don’t have the time, money, or headspace to spend on beauty routines anymore.
To make life easier for the modern woman many brands offer products that multitask. You can buy lip and cheek tint, lip and eye liners, hair and body masks, and hair, face, and body oil. These multitaskers can save you money as well as time.
Invest in Worthy Luxury
Sometimes it is worth investing in luxury. Some high-end products are better for your skin, and some cheap products don’t last for as long, and so need replacing more often, creating a false economy. If you can get a great deal, consider a more luxurious product.
It’s always nice to add a few new options to your beauty kit. To save money, do this carefully and mindfully, and only ever buy what you need.
Iskra Banović is our seasoned Editor-in-Chief at BlueFashion. She has been steering the website’s content and editorial direction since 2013. With a rich background in fashion design, Iskra’s expertise spans across fashion, interior design, beauty, lifestyle, travel, and culture.
