A College Girl's Guide To Buying Makeup On A Budget

By Kylie Fife on October 19, 2015

If you’re a makeup-lover like me, or even if you’re just someone who wears it occasionally, you know that it’s no secret that makeup is expensive, and buying makeup on a budget can be a challenge.

Makeup feels especially pricey when you’re a college student on a budget. Next to student loans, monthly rent, and trips to the grocery, makeup should be one of the least important things to consider when you’re budgeting your money. But for those of you–like me–who can’t live without your favorite makeup products, here are a few tips on how to buy makeup on a budget.

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1) Sign up for rewards programs.

Stores like Ulta and Sephora, which both sell makeup on the high-end and the low-end spectrum, usually have rewards programs–and the best part is, most of the time they’re free to join.

Sephora’s Beauty Insider, a client loyalty club, sends out birthday coupons and promotions, and gives you points for every product you buy. These points go towards free rewards and sometimes even entire beauty sets. Ulta’s “Ultamate” rewards program also gives you birthday gifts and points, and the more points you earn, the more money you can get off of your future purchases.

Tarte, Bare Minerals, Smashbox, and many other more expensive brands also have great loyalty programs.

2) Find cheaper alternatives.

I know, I know, we all want Urban Decay’s Naked palettes, but $54 is a lot of money. Makeup brands like e.l.f., NYX, Physician’s Formula, and ColourPop are all brands committed to giving you high-quality products at low prices. And the best part? All of these brands are cruelty-free–so you can save money and animals.

Most other drugstore brands, like Maybelline, Revlon, Covergirl and L’Oreal Paris can get a little more pricey, but a lot of their products are totally worth the extra dollars.

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One of the most expensive makeup products is brushes. Real Techniques, Sonia Kashuk, and Morphe make brushes that are fairly cheap while maintaining the high quality of more expensive brushes.

3) Look for dupes.

A makeup dupe is a cheaper version of a high-end item. One of the best ways to find dupes is to just look it up. Typing “makeup dupes” into the Google search bar brings up over 1 million results, so you’re bound to find something. YouTube is another great source for finding dupes–there are hundreds of videos made by beauty vloggers about the best dupes.

4) Sales will be your best friend.

If they aren’t already, sales will soon become your best friend. Sign up to receive emails from your favorite beauty stores and brands and watch for their sales and any coupons they send you. At many beauty stores, coupons won’t go towards the higher-end stuff, which makes their coupons a perfect time to stock up on your favorite drugstore brands.

Beauty Brands is one of the stores whose coupons sometimes do go towards the more expensive makeup brands, but these sales don’t happen very often so you have to keep yours eyes open.

Beauty bloggers also often have sales of their own, so check in with your favorite beauty blogs from time to time for buyer’s remorse sales and sometimes even specialty coupon codes.

Also, discount stores like TJMaxx and Nordstrom Rack often have high-end products for a lot less than their original prices.

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5) Free samples.

A lot of makeup stores and high-end brands give out free samples whenever you order makeup from their websites. If you get a choice, make sure to pick something that you know you’ll use or you’ve never tried before but have always wanted to.

Buying makeup on a budget can be hard, but it doesn’t have to be! Just watch for sales, use loyalty programs, and find dupes and other cheaper alternatives. And above all, just buy whatever makes you happiest and the most comfortable. Whether it’s top-quality or something simple you found at the drugstore, the only thing that matters is if it makes you happy.

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