7 Tips for Beauties on a Budget

1. Some of my favorite things to use are multi-functional products. One of my favorites? Tarte’s cheek stain stick that can be used on both cheek and lip. Or even a highlighter that can be used on the brow bone and cheeks to give you the high (looking) cheek bones you have always wanted.

2. Do some research on a well respected makeup review site and select products from the section where they compare splurges/steals and how comparable each are.

One of my go-tos is Makeup Alley – on it you can also swap makeup that wasn’t quite right for you, with makeup that may turn out to be perfect (though please utilize proper sanitation if the brushes or lipstick have been used by dipping them in germ killing alcohol.)

3. Attend free local beauty events so you may test an assortment of brands from the goodie bag you receive before considering if it is worth the expense or not. Find an event near you at: freebeautyevents.com.

Also whenever I buy products at Nordstrom or have my makeup done at MAC, they always let me know if there is an upcoming event. This will cut down on makeup that never gets used.

4. Apply for a monthly membership to Birchbox or Glossybox. I prefer Glossybox because the sizes they offer are a bit larger, but for a measly $10/month (with no contract) you get about 3-4, possibly even 5, high-end products ranging from hair, face, cosmetics and body.

There is also a monthly nail polish club by Julep. Here’s a discount code to get a box valued at $40 for a mere 5 bones: THEBUDGETBABE (at checkout). Please stop by beautyandthebudget.onsugar.com and thank her for this!

Update: I just signed up for Julep and it is literally 5 dollars (no extra fees for my shipping YES!)

5. Sign up for every free membership that you can. After you obtain a certain number of points, you receive bonus products at retailers like Sephora and Ulta. Definitely worth it!

6. Follow some well-known beauty bloggers. They are constantly doing giveaways for their readers because they are unable to review all of the products they receive.

They also do great “look for less” posts that will find you comparable products. One of my favorites is here: BeautyandTheBudget.

7. Try natural beauty treatments you can make at home, like a sugar body scrub or a coconut hair treatment (I love this one). You’d be surprised at all of the recipes you can find to make great homemade products!