How Not To Debt For Beauty

Ever since I started Instagramming my monthly beauty hauls, 

I get questions like these all the time:

Did you buy all this?

Where did you get your money from?

How do you manage to not burn a hole in your pocket?

 

Photo credits: sheniko.blogspot.sg

Let's face it. Women spend tons of their hard-earned money on beauty & fashion. For at least once in our lives, we resorted to eating plain bread at the end of the month, because we don't have money left after shopping! Of course we need to have that latest shade of Chanel lipstick and that tenth bottle of brightening serum, even when have not opened the previous tube of lipstick we bought last week. Exactly. We need it.

On the other hand, there are a handful of oblivious people(these folks usually have no idea where their money went to) who have a misconception that beauty products don't cost much, but have you REALLY sit down to total up your monthly spending on beauty, hair, body products & services? I am sure these set you back at least a few hundreds to a few grands (God forbid!) per month.

Allow me to share some ideas to you beauty junkies out there, how to stay sane and not to get into debt coz of shopping!

1. Make a reasonable monthly budget for beauty products/services and STICK to it!

Everybody knows this, but nobody follows through! The key is to set a REASONABLE budget you know you can keep to. Depending on how much money is spent elsewhere, different ladies have different budget allocation. For me, I set aside about 10% of my monthly pay. I think that is good enough to feed my beauty addiction, yet have money left to eat and to save. (If you can makedo with a lower budget, better still! )

2. Don't carry credit cards when you only mean to window-shop.

Not able to sign your beauty purchases reduces the chance of binge-shopping. It gives you more time to mull over whether you should purchase the product or not.

3. Think twice, no, THRICE about plastic surgery/cosmetics procedures

While this PS trend is only getting increasingly popular, the old- school in me still hope that the young & impressionable ones out there examine the real reason behind this life-changing decision. (WHY do you want to cut your face up? You don't agree that YOU are beautiful? God thinks you're beautiful, you know.) If there is no functional need to, skip it altogether. Sometimes, the unlucky ones need many follow-up surgeries to get the look that they want. This becomes an expensive lifestyle that one didn't actually sign up for. Consider thoroughly before any invasive cosmetic surgery!

4. Shop during sales/your birthday month/ your bestie's birthday month/when you've got special discounts or coupons or at supply chain stores.

Stock up your beauty necessities when there is a sale OR at supply chain stores such as our local Sasa, Venus, Pink Lady stores - I guess you'd already knew that.  Next, sign up for free memberships with your favourite beauty brands and check if there are birthday month discounts/specials/free makeovers, etc. Sephora offers free gifts, Benefit eyebrow service and 10% discount with double points for their birthday members. Many Korean brands in Singapore also has similar points system or birthday benefits. Just ask!

Photo Credits: thelolovivinetwork

MONEY-SAVING TIP: 

• Subscribe to your favourite beauty blogger/vlogger and get latest updates of beauty sales. Many bloggers also offer coupon codes for the brands they endorse! That can save you about 5-20% of the rack price. Enter giveaways; some of these giveaways are really awesome stuff. Beauty bloggers usually have too many stuff that they have to clear through giveaways or blog sales. Look out for those and buy from bloggers you trust.

5. Mix it up - old & new!

Last but not least, dig out all your old, unexpired makeup products and DIY your own concoctions! Just google "beauty DIY recipes". 

Photo Credits: TheBeautyDepartment.com

For example, the easiest way to refresh your look is to mix old and new lipsticks to form a NEW lip colour! Do you know you can recycle your expired eyeshadow by mixing it with your clear nail polish to turn it into a coloured nail polish? Do you also know that your eye cream can double up as your lip moisturiser?

I have more tips to share, but there is just so much I can type out here. If you have other money-saving beauty tips to share, join in the discussion below! Looking forward to hear some of YOUR money-saving tips!!

Let's stay beautiful and financially-savvy at the same time!! 

HUAT ah!