Sometimes, it feels like makeup and beauty brands come out with their products to entice us, make us want to reach out and grab them! They make us fall in love with them and bring them home, isn’t it? I feel this all the time. Of course, beauty and makeup is a girl’s prerogative and birth right.
But sometimes, this love of beauty can turn into an obsession, making us buy more and more, hoard more products than we may have the space and budget for, and more often than not, becoming a waste-buy instead of adding value! Well, much as we all love shopping for products in beauty and makeup, sometimes, going a little easy and being a little smart can help us save a lot of money and effort. There’s no harm in being a little budget-smart, right?
So, here are 25 money saving beauty tips that are sure to help you look good without spending a fortune!
Have you reached the end of your favourite lipstick? Try scooping out the last bit of your lipstick and add it in your jar of lip balm or even a Vaseline pot. Mix it well and your lip balm or lip care product in a shade that you love instead of just adding shine.
Do you end up spending a lot on bottles of shaving cream? A great way to get those sexy smooth legs without spending anything extra is by using your regular hair conditioner to act as a shaving cream. Take a shower and once you’re done, apply your conditioner over your legs, then shave. This will leave your legs smooth and also a little product will go a long way. This is one of the not a very known money saving beauty tips that does wonders.
We spend a fortune on our makeup and then spend again on products that help us remove makeup! Did it ever occur as a waste to you? If you’ve been feeling the same as me, there is a great trick to get rid of your makeup, even the toughest ones, especially around your eyes, and also get smooth moisturised skin. Use your very own bottle of lacto calamine to become your makeup remover. Take a little of this moisturiser on a damp cotton ball and wipe across your face. Wipe around your eyes and even the toughest areas like mascara, kajal and shadow will come off in a clean sweep. Wash your face with water, pat dry and apply lacto calamine before going to bed, to nourish your skin through the night.
Before going to bed, apply a little bit of petroleum jelly around the eyes. This is a great way to stop the appearance of wrinkles.
Scrubbing your face is an essential way to remove any dead skin and dirt and help open up the pores, giving you fresh, soft and clean skin. A great way to make your own scrub at home is by making a paste of brown sugar and honey and using it to scrub your face and body. This also makes a great lip exfoliating product.
There are a lot of lip products in the market today that claim to give you that natural pout. But did you know that cinnamon is actually the main ingredient in all lip products that help give you that perfect pout? So instead of spending lots on these products, go the natural and cost-effective way by getting a bottle of natural cinnamon oil and rubbing it over your lips.
Each time you use a sponge to apply foundation, dampen the sponge before you use it. Not only will a damp sponge absorb less foundation and help you save on the foundation, it will also give you a natural dewy look.
Instead of getting separate eye-shadows that are eventually a waste of money and space, go for a palette that gives you a hue of colours in one space. Not only will this palette be your eye shadow, it can also act as your highlighter, inner-eye colour, brow filler and eye liner.
Run out of hair serum? Use a bit of baby lotion over your hair, especially around the tips, to get instantly smooth hair that won’t frizz or go out place.
If you’ve run out of your favourite blush, a great way to cheat and get the same look is by using your lipstick over your cheekbones where you would have applied the blush. Dab on a bit of your lipstick on your cheeks with your fingertips and blend in well. No one will be able to tell the difference and you’ll have the perfect blush even without a blush!
Most makeup sponges are round in shape. Before you start using these, cut them in half and use one half at a time, going on to the next half only when the other is completely wasted. The halves are also enough to use for applying makeup, as you only need that much product.
If you have acne-prone skin, make yourself oats porridge like you would for eating and let it cool. Apply over your face and leave on for about 30 minutes. Wash off with regular water. Your skin will feel clean and fresh.
Use your own face/body moisturiser (a gentle one) to act as your under-eye cream. Dab it on under the eye area and massage slightly. Leave on for the night.
As you reach the bottom of your shampoos and conditioners, keep your bottles in an upturned position, with the bottom up. This will help you use up the last drop of product and prevent any wastage.
If you also face the ever-present problem of greasy hair and feel like shampooing every day, give your regular shampoo a miss and instead, go for the gentle baby powder. This is a great way to get rid of greasy hair in minutes. Just pour a bit of talc on your palms and rub this on the roots. Keep it on and then brush it out after about 5 minutes to get instantly grease-free hair.
If you’re looking to add some extra tint on the body, a great way to make your own body tint is by getting a foundation that is a shade or two darker than your own and mixing it with a moisturiser. Also, if you’re not a regular foundation user, a good idea to create your own tinted moisturiser at home is by pouring a few drops of your liquid foundation into your moisturiser bottle and mix well. This way, you have your own tinted moisturiser that you can use every day, and also your regular foundation for special occasions.
It’s difficult to pump out the last bits of your perfume, isn’t it? Once you reach the bottom of your perfume bottle, open it up and pour all the remaining drops in your favourite body lotion or body wash (if it’s not already too scented). This will let you use your favourite scent for a little longer till the very last drop.
Instead of reaching out for your mascara each time you want those perfect lashes, save some time and money by investing in a small bottle of castor oil. Each night before you go to bed, dip a cotton bud into the oil and apply it carefully over your lashes. Leave on for the night and wash off in the morning. This will help you get longer, thicker and shinier lashes in a natural cost-effective way.
To get a spa-like treatment at home that leaves your skin soft, glowing and healthy, use regular olive oil. Take a few drops on your palm and massage nicely over your face, arms and legs. Massage especially well over areas where the skin is hard or flaky, avoiding any areas where you may have breakouts or cuts. Leave on for some time and if possible take a home-steam over a bowl of hot water.
Once your lipstick reach their end, cut out the stubs and take a few such finished-shades. Now, heat them for a few seconds till they melt and pour in a container. Once it’s cooled, you can use this to tint your lips using your finger. Go for various shades of pinks, reds, plums, oranges, corals and browns – mix and match or keep them divided into colour families.
To pamper those rough and dry strands, you can create your very own hair mask at home. Take a fully ripe avocado, one egg yolk and a teaspoon of olive oil and mix in everything. Apply over your hair, with special care to the dry ends, leave on for about 30 minutes and wash off to get healthy, shiny and bouncy hair.
Most of us can feel the arrival of a breakout or pimple. Just when you think this is going to happen, take an aspirin and some water and make a paste. Apply this over the spot where the breakout is about to happen, or if a pimple has already appeared, apply it over it before going to bed. The redness and swelling should be gone the next day.
When you reach the last few days of your mascara life time, let it stand in a glass of warm water or heat it up with a hair dryer to get rid of any clumps and use a bit more till the end.
Want smooth, glowing and young looking skin and don’t want to spend on a facial at the spa? Make your own facial mask at home by mixing a ripe banana with 2 tablespoons of honey. You can also add 2 tablespoons of yoghurt if you have dry skin. Apply the mixture over your face, leave on for about 15 minutes and wash off for a blemish-free, soft and smooth skin.
Grind some fresh coffee beans and mix it in with your body lotion. Mix well and rub this over the areas that show cellulite. This will stimulates circulation, helping trapped fat to break down better. Caffeine is also great to tighten the skin. Keep this on the skin for about 30 minutes and wash off.
I hope this article will help you learn ‘how to save money on beauty products’.