If you’ve been in the market for cosmetics lately, chances are that you have heard what’s supposed to be “high-end”, and experienced “sticker shock” when looking at the steep prices. In case you haven’t, here’s an idea of the prices – single eye shadows close to or upwards of $20, lipsticks about the same, and face products that can reach past a hundred dollars. For those of us who don’t have much money to spend on makeup, here’s a guide to finding good makeup that won’t empty your bank account.
Try the Drugstore
Contrary to what some people may tell you, the drugstore is a good place to look for good makeup. The Maybelline Define-A-Lash mascara retails for around $7.00, and some people say that it outperforms more expensive mascaras. Makeup artist and YouTube makeup guru Kandee Johnson has said good things about the L’Oreal True Match foundation, which is about $12.00. My personal favorite facial moisturizer is Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream. It comes in a tube or jar (the tube contains 6oz, the jar 16oz of product) and costs around $8.00 for the tube and $14.00 for the jar.
Some of the best deals on makeup can be found online. A popular, well-liked makeup company is NYX Cosmetics, which sells almost everything. Though the prices on the NYX Cosmetics website are good, the prices for NYX products at Cherry Culture are even better.
If it’s makeup brushes that you’re looking for, try Sigma Makeup. Sigma Makeup’s brushes are comparable to their more expensive counterpart, makeup brushes by MAC Cosmetics.
Another alternative for makeup brushes is Crown Brush.
The Eco-Tools makeup brush set, available at stores like Walmart and Walgreens is a good deal, also. The Eco-Tools brush set that I have came with five brushes (for blush, eye shadow, concealer, eye liner and a combination eyebrow/eyelash comb), for around $12.00.
Other Ways to Save on Makeup
Something to try if you don’t want to purchase a foundation brush is to pick up a bag of cosmetic sponges. Available at most stores that sell makeup and online, these sponges are usually sold in fairly large quantities (a pack of 32 makeup sponges can be bought on Amazon for $2.39), and can be used to apply things like liquid foundation or concealer. To keep from getting bacteria that can grow on used sponges onto your face, use each sponge only once and throw it away.
If MAC Cosmetics makeup brushes are what you want, wait until the holiday collection comes out. For their holiday collection, MAC packages brushes into sets and sells them for around the price of a single MAC brush (around $35.00). The only difference between the MAC holiday brushes and regular brushes is that the holiday brushes have shorter handles which may be a different color than the usual black.
Purchasing products in sample sizes is also a way to save money – and to find out if you would actually like to have a full-size version.
Finally, purchasing eye shadows or face powders in palettes is a great idea. You get a lot of colors for a good price, and while they may be slightly smaller than a single eye shadow or blush, the product will last quite some time. Coastal Scents sells a few different eye shadow palettes and a palette of blush, highlight and contour colors, which have gotten good reviews.
I hope this article helped some of you out! Good deals on pretty much everything can be found with a little research. Have fun with your makeup!
