Budget Beauty Products

Sorry for the lack of updates this past week.

Friday, during the first really big freeze in Georgia, I slipped down the stairs to my apartment and severely injured my tailbone. As a result, I haven’t been able to sit down for longer than a few minutes for several days.

Which means the segment I was going to post on Saturday has been postponed until…well, until now. And I’m changing the subject.

Because of my injury, I had to miss a day of work. Which means a tiny paycheck for me. So this little chat is going to be about budget.

Namely, how do you supply a beauty addiction with a small amount of income? Do you get substandard beauty products? Or hold off and splurge on something expensive?

There was a time when I would have said to go with drug store beauty products and just suck it up. But now, my opinion has changed. Because I realized what happens more often than not, is those substandard products don’t get used. If the concealer is cakey, or the moisturizer leaves your skin greasy, it’s going to be unused in a drawer. That’s money down the drain, even if it was super cheap.

Now, if you can find a product that’s affordable and awesome, you’ve hit the jackpot. Bask in that glory, because it doesn’t happen often.

Usually, beauty products are a case of “you get what you pay for.”

That’s why I’m more the type to spend a lot of money on one or two products, and only buy things occasionally. It’s tough saving up for something and doing without for a while, but in the long run, it’s worth it. You’ll end up with a product that is amazing, that you love, and that you’ll use regularly. And honestly, there’s nothing better than that.

For instance, there's a really great hair protecting spray on Birchbox's store right now. I have lots of points, so I can get it pretty cheaply, but I'm waiting until my bank account has recovered from Christmas. It's difficult, but I know that if I don't buy the best, it's going to end up like the hair putty that I bought ages ago: I had to throw it away because it dried up in its little container. That was a $7-8 product that just went to waste. 

And to get things more often? I recommend putting up a wishlist online. Anywhere visible really. That way, when a birthday or anniversary comes up, or your friends want to give you a gift, they can give you something you’ve had your eye on for a while.

Another tip: Like your favorite beauty suppliers on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. A lot of companies have giveaways for their products and that’s a great chance to enter to win goodies. In addition, they’ll post coupons or promotional codes that can cut the price for something you really want.

Basically, you just have to be smart about it. And spend the big bucks on something you know you’ll use rather than something that might fester away in some dark corner of your bathroom.

That’s all for today. Hopefully I’ll be able to put up a longer post once my tailbone isn’t in agony. Thanks for reading!