I got shocked lately, in trying to stick within my monthly Beauty Budget. When I added up the cost of the products I used daily…I came to a conclusion…it’s expensive to be me. The other day, before purchasing yet another $30.00 tube of designer lipstick, I decided to challenge myself and see if I could buy an entire arsenal for the same price. Not only that, how would it look?
Back in the day, I was a District Manager for a retail clothing chain, and the chain also decided at one point to carry a small line of cosmetics, known as NYX. Now NYX has added a longer list to their friendly priced products, so I decided to start with them for a lip liner and lip stick. The matte color shown here is Summer Breeze. It has tons of pigment and is not so matte that it dries up your lips. I also chose the illuminator from NYX and was pleasantly surprised. It was more of a gold tone as opposed to a white so it looked more naturally dewy to me.
The ELF Cosmetics bronzer duo was fantastic, and was under $4.00 and I was not expecting much but it was fabulous! Look Ma, No lashes! Being on a budget, I refrained from using false lashes and decided to try out New York Color Mascara. Loved it! I believe it was less than $5.00 as well, and that’s quite a savings compared to the designer $30 a tube mascaras out there! I will buy this again.
My personal theory is that by saving money on certain things, then there is a bigger budget allowance for bigger things, such as top of the line serums and moisturizers. To me, this is where the money matters because you are paying for tons of research and better ingredients. Moisture and repair is where it makes more cents to me to spend. Additionally, your technique of application has everything to do with how you turn out, as long as the product meets a certain standard. The price friendly products above, all had decent features and benefits.
This was a helpful post to me, because it made me more mindful of the money spent on cosmetics in the past as well as what I will spend in the future! Not only that, I pretty much look exactly the same as if I’d had on a $400 collection of products!
-SDS
-July 7, 2014
