Saving Money on Your Makeup - Tips to Get More Bang for Your Buck

Saving Money on Your Makeup - Tips to Get More Bang for Your Buck

Make your money work smarter, not harder! If income is not rushing in for whatever reason – but you still want to stay in the makeup game – here are a few tips to make your money do more for you.

  1. Follow the first rule of affordability

If you’re finding it hard to keep up with all the rules of thumb that keep cropping up – you’re not alone. Do we keep our hundreds and make our twenties stretch? Open a savings account and transfer 50% of your pay into each time? Keep a monthly budget of $50 for anything that isn’t essential?

Well, the short answer is that you can do whatever works best for you.

But our golden rule that we have found works universally is this one:

If you can’t buy it twice, then don’t buy it.

Note: this does not include living expenses, paying bills or buying essentials.

This is for the non-essential… *cough makeup cough*

Let’s say you have a gorgeous eyeshadow palette that you’ve had your eyes set on. It’s a good $80. If your budget is anywhere under $160, so you can’t buy two of them… then hold off for a bit longer.

Never spend what you don’t have, and avoid things like AfterPay if your income is fluctuant from freelancing and the like.

  1. Dupes, dupes, dupes!

High-end brands can have the dreamiest of formulas and the coolest of packaging – but they’re called high-end for a reason – they get expensive.

Dupes are the slang term for cheaper products that perform similarly, if not better, than their name-brand counterparts. Prices at a $5-$15 range can sometimes out-do those at over $100. Crazy, right?

Highlighters, mascaras and lipsticks are usually the ones being sought after, and almost every time, a cheaper version will suffice. Nine times out of ten, we bet that nobody will even notice that it’s not high end! That’s a win.

To find a dupe, simply search [high-end brand product] and type ‘dupe’ next to it – then keep your fingers crossed you’ll find a steal!

  1. Reduce, reuse, recycle

It’s the slogan we’ve all internalised for other aspects of life, so why not broaden it to our makeup collection?

Reduce: Lower your use of makeup, especially when it's not needed. (Note: this doesn’t count sunscreen, you always wear sunscreen!). If you aren’t wearing eyeliner every day for work, or dislike using matte eyeshadow, buy less of them. If it’s already in your home, then minimise its use to when you really want to, or if it's necessary. Try not to buy new versions until you’re at least 95% done with the old ones, since you might be surprised at home much you can still get out of a tube/palette/canister.

Reuse: Nothing works in your financial favour more than reusing cosmetics. It saves you time, money and effort in finding a new style – because you already know and love it! The best investment you could make for makeup is in lashes. Reusable lashes like the ones we create here at Nicola Cosmetics are amazing when it comes to saving some bucks, since false lashes that are both overly expensive and disposable, just don’t make sense anymore. If you can’t reuse, try swapping. If a blush isn’t looking great on your cheeks, have a look at how it fares as an eyeshadow. If a specific eyeliner isn’t your jam, save it for occasions like Halloween to do face designs. The possibilities are endless to save you from throwing things out!

Recycle: Minimise waste that ends up in landfill and take on some nifty DIY instead! This applies mostly to your skincare and makeup products. Empty eyeshadow palettes can easily transform into paint palettes for your inner artist, or testing boards to mix foundations to find that perfect shade. Once you’re done with mascara, give the spoolie a thorough rinse and re-use to groom brows or lashes along with some hair-loving oils (see our growing lashes and brows blog). Use finished creams or masks that come in glass jars/canisters for other things. Our top pick is creating some awesome, homemade body exfoliant or lip scrubs, which are stored perfectly in recycled glass containers!

  1. Take advantage of sales and memberships

There is nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to saving money. This includes using discounts, coupons and being savvy with your money. After all, the more money you save, the more you can spend when the time comes!

If you’re shopping online, there will usually be a user discount when you make your first purchase, whether it be a 10% discount at the checkout or a few dollars off. Use the internet to search for codes that might provide free shipping or a greater discount. Lots of YouTubers and influencers often offer codes that give you discounts from skincare and makeup brands.

Bigger brands might also offer memberships. (Hint: if they’re free to sign up to and use, take it!). Usually, a points and rewards system will be put in place to give you something special like discounts or even freebies in thanks for your loyalty and spending.

Take advantage of memberships and its benefits, since earning points while you shop is ten times better than if you were to shop the exact same things for nothing in return.

Although there's no one golden ticket to saving money that will work for everyone, hopefully at least one of these tips helps you secure the bag and keep more of it!


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