I used to be a total beauty county makeup girl, but that has changed lately. I’m detailing when you can save and when you should splurge when it comes to makeup, and giving you some product recommendations. This is the Part 2 of my When to Save and When to Splurge post on makeup, and you can find Part 1, covering face and eye makeup, here!
Cheeks
- Blush- splurge, but on the cheaper side (maximum price point of $16). I found this Sephora cream blush and almost didn’t buy it because of the price, but I fell in love when I tried it on. It’s the perfect color year-round. It goes on sheer but the color is buildable. I had never tried a cream blush before, and found this much easier to work with than a powder. I purchased the Bare Minerals blush/highlighter duo on sale via the Bare Minerals website for $7.50, but it’s no longer available.
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| 1. Sephora Double Contouring Blush Cream $16 2. Bare Minerals Blush/Illuminator from Cheek to Chic set. Dillard’s has the set with makeup brush for $15 (original retail price). |
Lips
- Lip color- splurge (maximum price point of $20). A close friend of mine always wears bright pink shades, so I finally took a page out of her book and tried some brighter colors. I think a brighter shade does wonders for my complexion, especially in the winter. Actual lip color is a splurge because a good quality lipstick is important to me. I want something that will last for a while and that won’t bleed all around my mouth, making me look like the Joker. (Please note that the POP Beauty and MAC shades are VERY similar when applied, but the POP Beauty shade is $6 cheaper.)
If you’re looking to save, however, one cheaper lipstick I have tried and liked is the Sonia Kashuk Satin Luxe Lip Color SPF 16, which retails for $9.99 at Target (not pictured below).
- Lip balm- save (maximum price point of $7). I think there are LOTS of great lip balm products out there at low prices, so there’s no need to spend a lot of money in this category. My favorite for taste and no color is EOS and my favorite for effortless color is Maybelline Baby Lips.
- Lip liner- save (maximum price point of $7). I love that lip liner keeps your color inside the lines, but I hate trying to color match lipliner to my gloss/lipstick color. I finally found the solution–clear lipliner! The lipliner below is no longer available, but Maybelline has a very similar one–> Maybelline Color Sensational Lipliner in Clear for $6.99. Right now at Ulta, all Maybelline products are BOGO 50% off, and this deal can be combined with Ulta’s current store coupon for an extra $3.50 off any $10 purchase!
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| 1. MAC Creamsheen Glass in Loud & Lovely $20 2. POP Beauty Aqua Lacquer in Flowering Fuchsia $14 3. Revlon Colorburst Lip Butter in Strawberry Shortcake $5.99 4. Maybelline Baby Lips Dr. Rescue Medicated Lip Balm in Soothing Sorbet $5.99* 5. EOS Blueberry Acai Lip Balm $2.99 6. Avon Glimmersticks Lip Liner in Clear. No longer available. |
HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON MAKEUP
Drugstore/Discount Store Cosmetics:
Look for the BOGO (Buy One, Get One) deals at Rite Aid or other drugstores, and combine with any manufacturers coupons that are out there. Coupons.com is a great place to print these coupons if you don’t get the Sunday paper.
At Target, search their store coupons and Cartwheel app for beauty deals. These can be combined with manufacturer’s coupons for some pretty sweet savings!
Beauty Counter/Specialty Store Cosmetics:
Ulta is the place to save on these cosmetics.
- For brands like Maybelline and Revlon, look for their BOGO 50% sales, which occur quite frequently, and combine with any manufacturers coupons.
- For prestige cosmetics, like Bare Minerals or Too Faced, Ulta sends out 20% off your entire purchase coupons to their Ulta Rewards members (join here) that can be used on most prestige brands. They also have their 21 Days of Beauty sale that’s going on now, where they feature amazing one-day deals on prestige cosmetics.
- Ulta Rewards members always accumulate points that can be used for discounts!
Bare Minerals has 12-hour flash sales called Beauty Rushes during which they have fabulous savings, so it’s important to sign up for their email notifications (sign up here) to find out when they’re having these sales. They also periodically send out coupons for freebies.
Sephora usually doesn’t have coupons the way that Ulta does, but once a year right before Christmas, they send out a $15 off $50 purchase coupon to their Rewards members (sign-up here). That’s how I got the Clinique Foundation and Sephora blush.
If you like brands like Clinique or Estee Lauder, make sure you’re maximizing your money by purchasing when they have free gifts with purchase (until March 27, Dillard’s had Clinique Bonus Time, and Macy’s has a free gift with any $35 Estee Lauder purchase).
MAC and Bobbi Brown never have discounts, but you can usually aways find their products at the outlets in the Cosmetics Company store. I’ve found several really great deals there on some of my favorite palettes!
Please note that all Rewards programs listed above are FREE, so take advantage of them!
Don’t forget to check out Part 1, covering face and eye makeup, here!
While currently unavailable for purchase seperately, the Avon Glinnersticks Lipliner in Clear is available as a free gift with purchase during Campaign 8. The Clear Lipliner will be included with the purchase of an Ultra Color Lipstick or a Shine Attract Lipstick (which is on sale for $4.99). To order you can visit me at: youravon.com/a_smith