I used to be addicted to (well, not really addicted but that sounds more catchy than "really in to") MAC makeup - specifically - MAC lipsticks. Any time I needed a little pick me up I scampered off to the MAC store for a lipstick.
That was when I was young and single. Now I'm not young, married with two children and lacking $16 to spend on one lipgloss.
I bought some ELF lipglosses at Target (5 for $5) for stocking stuffers at Target and kept one for myself. Its my favorite lipgloss and I think every bit as good a quality as the MAC lip glosses. I went today at lunch and bought another one, and I love it too.
I've also started buying the Suave Salon Professionals line of hair products (some seen to be knock offs of Aveda) and they work great - for just a couple of dollars a bottle.
My question is - what is your cheap beauty secret? What products do you think are every bit as good or better than their more expensive counterpart?
I use ELF too! Their website has eyeshadow, blushes, bronzers, mascara, lipstick, lipgloss ~ all for $1 each! LOVE it!!
Me, too!
I bought MAC for 2 reasons: their powder/found compact & no testing on animals.
E.L.F does not test on animals
Neither does NYC
Plus the latter two are all inexpensive. Yay, added bonus.
Walmart's Equate brand of body wash instead of Oil of Olay. Coconut oil is a great moisturizer for all over especially for babies and sensitive skin. You can get it a lot cheaper in the Indian stores than at a health store. I always try to buy store brands for household items; bleach pain killers and children's pain medications, cleaners, etc. Sometimes their not always as good so I a different brand until I find one I like. One big saving is buying hand soap in bulk and keeping the old dispensers and just refilling as and wen needed
Have you discovered Pinterest yet? I have and LOVE it! I have found so many inexpensive tricks and homemade recipes, not just for beauty but for household items too. I love saving money and get so excited when I do!
I LOVE the Biolage Daily Leave-in-Tonic, I think mostly because I love the smell. I found a recipe to make your own leave-in-conditioner for pennies. I bought the Suave version of the regular Biolage conditioner for less than $2. I added about 1/8 cup of conditioner to 1 1/4 water that has been heated to boiling point, stirred and put in a spray bottle. Viola! I have the smell that I love and leave-in-conditioner that works just as well for pennies! I can use it on my girl's hair too. I also made my husband a 40 oz bottle of body wash for 89 cents!! I am making myself body wash today and homemade body butter next week. YEA!!
While I do LOVE my Mary Kay and don't know what I will be veering away from that anytime soon, I am beginning to make everything else that I can as I run out of a product. I LOVE the money I am saving!!
Two great websites with tips and tricks are:
http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/
http://frugallysustainable.com/
Cetaphil! I once read an article not to spend your money on facial cleanser - save it for the wrinkle cream, so I've been using Cetaphil for the last few years. It's great... and now I def need that cream!
Lipgloss is one thing, I love the cheap Cover Girl lipstain. But when it comes to the pigmentation of powders, such as eyeshadow and such... you are not going to find the quality there in cheaper products. For instance, MAC will have a strong concentrated pigment that lasts all day, whereas ELF will have a slight color change that will typically fade. I can't afford MAC, but I find that Cover Girl's Eyeshadow in Champagne is amazing. A lot of Cover Girl's shadows have good pigments that last fairly decently. Also, cheap brushes will not apply the pigments nor blend as well as cheaper brushes.
As a hairstylist and former make-up artist, I know where most of the splurges should lie and where the cheap grocery store brands are just as good, or sometimes even better. For example, Maybelline has amazing mascara for cheap, but if I want a good liquid liner, I splurge. Cheap concealers don't typically last, but Amazing cosmetics concealer for $25 is amazing. I use a great Neutragena face wash that is 10x better for my skin then the expensive ones i have tried.
With hair products, though Pantene has a great wrap and works fine and smells great... over time it actually dries your hair and can cause dullness and breakage, because it has too much protein in it that is bad for your hair. So, while I often just get cheaper brands at the store like John Frieda, which I like... I prefer to use the real thing, especially for people with hair issues, like colored, dry or frizzy hair, because the cheaper brands often have more fillers and alcohol and fragrances in them that can damage your hair. But some are still quality, Redken for example, owns Loreal, so most anything Loreal will be of good quality.
Elf. My granddaughter was sad and crying last month as we got ready for my Dad's funeral, I cheered her up by saying she could wear makeup (she's 10) that day, just nothing on her eyes. She perked up and I used tinted moisturizer, tone correcting powder, matifying powder, blush and lip gloss on her and she was so happy. Made me so glad I'd gone out the day before and bought new items, and spent under $15. i also gave Elf sets as Christmas gifts and the makeup looks good on them and they love it, too ; ) I'm on Elf's site at least once a week...
Love this questions! I like the new BB cream from Garnier..it's the latest thing and much cheaper than the dept. store brands. Also, trying out Tre Semme (sp) new shampoo and conditioner.
Try www.eyeslipsface.com it is their full collection of make up. Do not bother with the mineral face make up or mascara or nail polish but the eye shadows, blushes and brushes are great! Good deals all around :) I buy quality vs quantity in most areas, but with ELF you get both. I do not use knock offs when it comes to most of my hair/face care. I use Wen for my hair - but I do use Tressemee styling products - I use Lush for my facial care/moisturizer/foundation but I will use ELF for my eyeshadows mixed with some other more expensive brands. Basically for me, certain items are not the same in my book and many can be swapped out.
I love witch hazel as an astringent and quick makeup remover. It's easy to find at grocery stores and very cheap!
Almay, Physician's Formula
Noxzema....love the wipes!
Walmart's Equate for most higher-priced shampoos. We also use Suave, White Rain, & whatever else catches my eye. The men go thru shampoo like crazy....:)
I also really like the Suave professionals line!
I discovered Almay from a post on a website forum somewhere. I love it - the foundation is super smooth and light, and blends really well. It's really cheap and available at drug stores everywhere.
Love it! I first found it at Kroger and now it is at Target. It's great :)
soap & water.........facial cleanser $0
wash cloth.............exfoliate $0
ice cold water........toner $0
OLIVE OIL.............moisturizer(face, feet, hands @ night time) $5
Ponds....................facial moisturizer day time $4
Queen Helena.......body lotion $4
Nice & Easy..........hair color $6
You Tube...............learned how to cut/trim my hair & son's crazy hair $0
Scissors................$30
Make-up.................Target, Walgreen's, CVS coupons
I have found my favorite mascara's fraternal twin in the loreal voluminous million lashes! I too like the suave professionals hair care line, and most loreal lip glosses. And I use a blush stick by NYC cosmetics on my cheeks and lips! It's only $3! I have found some really good beauty deals in the clearance bins at the back of grocery stores as well, revlon highlighters and foundations, etc. The revlon highlighters have replaced my favorite stila and benefit ones.
I now dye my own hair and use Naturtint. I buy it online for about 11 dollars... Honestly, I get more compliments on my hair color nowadays than when I went to my old stylist. The Naturtint is pretty good in the sense that it won't dry your hair out like other products that are a bit harsher. For a home dye job, my hair looks really great.. I am pretty picky about it too.... Also, it covers my grey really well..
