5 Ways to Save Big on Beauty

{photo via the coveteur}

Last fall, I took on the September Spending Freeze, a self-imposed challenge to not spend a single cent on non-essential items (i.e. clothes, nail polish, Starbucks, accessories, lip gloss, dinners out, etc.)  It was a life changing experience that really helped me take a closer look at my spending tendencies.  Even after the freeze, the lessons I learned stayed with me, and I've noticed some pretty big changes in the way that spend.  One of the biggest areas I've seen a change in how I shop, revolves around beauty.  Here are a few of my favorite tips for reeling in your beauty budget.

1. Rethink brand loyalty for nonesstential items. I'm not asking you to give up your favorite foundation, your go to hair product, or your never-fail-me lipgloss.  I think it's awesome to know what you love and stick with it, especially for beauty essentials.  But for the not so staple items, consider going for what's on sale, what's the least expensive, or what you have a coupon for.  My favorite example...makeup remover wipes.  I wear a pretty full face of makeup, so for me, removing my makeup prior to cleansing is important.  But what brand I use really doesn't matter.  I like the Neutrogena wipes, but after once getting the Almay wipes at $3 less, I realized, they were pretty much the same, and I'm willing to compromise on that product.  Ask me to give up my MAC brushes for the Target brand and I'll panic, but ask to me switch around on soap, makeup remover, cotton balls, and salon brand nail polish to save a chunk of change, and I'm all for it.

2. Go every other. This has been the biggest help in reducing my beauty budget (and in some cases I've been able to transition to DIY!)  Think about the services you have done on a regular basis.  Manicure, pedicure, highlights, hair cut, waxing, etc.  Now I'm not ready to give those things up completely, but I did start to wonder if I needed to keep such a tight schedule.  Maybe instead getting a manicure every week, I could go one week, then do my own maintenance and manicure the next week.  That's an extra $40 a month ($480 a year!) for just getting my nails done every other time.  On those weeks where I wasn't getting a professional manicure, I was able to do a DIY manicure, with a light and glossy color, my cuticles still maintained from the previous week.  PS: This method of every other was so successful for me, that I eventually got really good at DIY manicures, and now I prefer them!  So think, if you get your hair cut every six weeks, could you stretch it a few extra weeks?  That stretch will save you money, but also probably help you come up with some creative and cute fixes you may not have thought of!  (Example, I started going every other with my hair cuts, and I've rediscovered wearing my hair curly to hide not-quite-perfect ends and cute bobby pins to tuck back longer front pieces.)  If you can stretch yourself to try one thing on this list, it's this.  Go every other and get creative for the time in between!

3. Keep tabs on your stock and shop with a coupon. How many times have you realized you were out of your favorite perfume only to go to Sephora's website and realize the email you got earlier in the week about free shipping just expired?  I've done that one too many times to do it again.  This tip requires you to be aware of your beauty supply and when it's running low.  When your perfume, shampoo, deep conditioner, moisturizer, etc. hits the two-thirds gone mark, start looking to reorder.  That way, you have time to watch for a coupon code, a Sephora email, a free shipping offer, or an Ulta coupon.  And along those lines, don't ever order something from a beauty website without Googling for a coupon code first.  This step takes about ten seconds, but can save you big time.  So watch your bottles and leave yourself time for a great deal of present itself!

4. Don't pay full price for nail polish. I might sound like a bad blogger on this one, but I'm convinced that the big nail polish brands put out the same colors every season, with slight tweaks and new fabulously catchy names.  But the truth is, no one will be able to tell if the gray tone on your nails is Essie Cocktail Bling, OPI Birthday Babe, or the much anticipated Chanel Le Vernis in Frenzy.  I'm all for following trends, so look for what's hot and then search the sale or clearance shelf for last season's version of that.  My local Beauty Brands has the entire OPI Texas collection for 65% off, which is perfect for this season's focus on bright, punchy hues, for a fraction of the price.   Just think, if you buy 4 nail polishes a month this way, you could save $16 a month ($192 a year!)  Score!

5. Use what you have. Sometimes when I dig around the in dark depths of my bathroom cabinents, I find some pretty impressive things.  Full bottles of dry shampoo, a barely touched MAC eyeshadow, a body butter I scored at an after Christmas sale, and ten million fragrance minis from Sephora (several of which I actually like!)  So sometimes I have to get strict with myself and say "No new anything until I use up what I have."  I'll try to reason with myself, saying I'll alternate with the new product, but that's a lie.  The older product will get pushed to the back of the cabinent, and I will have wasted a small chunk of change.  So go digging in your bathroom cabinents, your travel case, and wherever else you store lost beauty products, find what's there and use it before buying anything new.  And if you're anything like me, once you start using what you already had, the urge for the new thing will fade, and you'll be content using up the rest of your stash!

So, there you have it, my 5 most favorite ways to save big on beauty.  In a culture (and a blog world) that often emphasizes the latest and greatest in beauty, I think it's important to realize that we can dial back that spending with a few creative strategies.  So now I'm dying to hear, what are some of your favorite ways to save big on beauty?