Guest Post: Beauty on a Budget

My first real guest post here at emmabovarybeauty! The wonderful Kylie from Kylie Ofiu.com has been nice enough to share with us her tips for staying beautiful and on budget. Enjoy, and feel free to take notes (I know I have!)

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For many of us our beauty budget is often a hot topic. There are particular products we like , we like trying new things and buying beauty items often feels like a little treat. I definitely think beauty is something that should be included in a budget when you set one. Just think about how much you probably spend to look the way you do and you will realise that money should be set aside, so it is there when you need it.
Beauty is not just a section for women either. Many of the men I know have preferred hair products, shower gels, after shave, razors and some men get waxing as well. Women usually spend a lot more than men since they often get waxed, hair colours, nails, make up and more.
When trying to work out your budget write down everything you use in the beauty department and how often it needs to be done or bought. Try not to have a heart attack when you total it.
Now looking at that amount and when various things need to be done you can easily see how much you will need to put aside to cover these expenses. You can’t justify spending that much now you actually know how much you are spending? Don’t worry, you are not alone.
Here are some of the ways I save money in the beauty department:

• Know your colours
Certain colours and looks suit different skin tones and hair colour. Finding out what suits you then sticking mainly to that will save you a lot of money. To find out what suits you, there are many sites online you can play around with or you can get free make-up done at most beauty counters. They are trying to sell you their product, but if you don’t buy, the make-over is still usually free in places like Myer and David Jones. You can get some great advice and tips, plus if you take a picture after each make-over you can see what suits you.
• Do what you can yourself
Not everyone can do beauty things for themselves and that is ok. If you can, you can save a lot. For example learning to wax some areas can save you hundreds of dollars a year. Of course you have to be strong enough to willingly rip hot wax off your own body, which mentally is not easy! And there are areas you are probably better off leaving to professionals, but a pot of wax costs under $30 and will last a long time. Other things you can do yourself are manicures, pedicures and facials. Once you have the products you can use them over and over again saving more money. If you like the feeling of someone else doing it ask some of your friends if you could do a regular pamper day where you do each others nails. Know your limits though. If you are not good at it, just leave it to the professionals.

• Make the professional service last longer
There are a few ways you can make your treatments last longer. If you get a colour and foils, you could opt for just regrowth one time and only have the foils every second time. This will halve the cost of your foils each year. If you need to cover grey or you get a colour that is not lighter than your natural colour there are colour crayons you can purchase at Priceline and many chemist that you simply wet and use to colour in your regrowth. These crayons last a long time. You just redo the colour each time you wash your hair. You generally only need to colour your hairline and part for it to be effective. It can extend your colour for a few weeks saving you hundreds a year. When you get your eyebrows waxed, if you watch them carefully you can pluck any strays as they grow through whilst carefully maintaining the shape. Some people only get their brows shaped once every few months and just maintain it themselves in between.
• Get samples or freebies
Many chemists and beauty counters have sample size products you can try for free. Since companies want you to try their products so you will buy them they give samples out to businesses to pass to customers. Even hair salons get product samples you can request to try. If you don’t want to ask, there are different sites you can go to request samples such as Buckscoop which has lists of offers around. All you do is fill out a form or email companies requesting a sample. You can also enter competitions on blogs, Facebook and websites as well as magazines and radio to try and win free products.
• Make the products you can yourself
There are many beauty items which are easy to make yourself and work out much cheaper. Things such as body scrubs can be made by mixing sugar or salt with olive oil. You can add scented oils to give it the aroma you prefer or just use it plain. Face masks can be made from various mashed fruits, whisked egg white or even oats with lemon juice. Lemon juice and tea tree oil are great for drying out pimples. Olive oil makes a great cuticle or hair treatment and a little olive oil can also be used to smooth fly away hairs. There are lots of natural recipes to be found online, just do a search and try them out.
• Buy on sale
There are some products you just prefer to buy. For those things where we have a favourite brand always make sure you buy them on sale. Most make up and beauty items go on sale throughout the year, often quite a few times a year. Find out the retail price then set out to find the best price. Online offers great prices if you know exactly what you want. You can save as much as 50% regularly by purchasing them on sale or online.
• Know when to splurge and when to save
There are some items which are ok to use cheap products instead of expensive ones. Things such as coloured eyeliner, fashion colour nail polish and lip gloss or anything that is just the latest colour can be bought in a cheap version instead of an expensive brand. You probably will not get full use of the items and if you purchase top of the range, it is just a waste of money. You should, however, splurge on the basics such as a good foundation (one that compliments your skin), mascara and lip stick. These 3 items can make you look complete. Spend more on the products you use a lot, provided they are ones that work well for you. That doesn’t mean you need to spend $70 on a foundation if a $30 works well for you. Just find what works and don’t feel guilty spending on it.

Beauty does not have to cost thousands of dollars a year. With a little thought, planning and research you can save hundreds, even thousands of dollars a year.

Kylie Ofiu is the author of 365 Ways To Make Money. She blogs at Kylie Ofiu.com about ways to make and save money as well as what she is doing to reach her goal of becoming a millionaire by April 2015. This guest post is part of a series she is doing called 31 Days of Money. You can find her on twitter and Facebook too.

emmabovary xx