5 Beauty Lover Saving Tips

I'm currently in the midst of a mega-life change - I've just left my job and plan on getting a job in my field next year, am getting married in a month and have a busy end of year ahead with overseas family coming out and a big glorious honeymoon to enjoy.

I'm becoming better at pinching the pennies to make my wedding lovely and keep our household running, but the beauty lover in me still needs a hit every now and again! I've been thinking about how I usually save money or shop sensibly when it comes to beauty products and the like, and have rounded up my ideas for you. These 5 tips will help you think smart about how you shop and hopefully stop you from coming home with products that won't get any love in your stash!

1 //  Evaluate your stash
Are you like me and own a million red lipsticks, a shade you wear approximately twice a year? Once you get to know your stash properly it becomes so much easier to evaluate purchases on the go. For example, I know that I own far too many neutral blushes (blushes in general actually, as this evidence shows...) but that they are something I wear all of the time, so if I'm pondering a new nude blush at least I know I will use it, and can think back to my current shades to see if this one is too similar to the others. Now that I've learnt to do this I find myself never buying red lipstick ;)

my true obsession, and my wasted money obsession!

2 // Check out current deals before you click 'checkout'
This is one that I have always done before I checkout when shopping online, and I think the same sort of reasoning works when shopping in store as well. You wouldn't dismiss sale information or a free GWP at a store, so checking current sales for favourite sites like Adore Beauty and BeautyBay just makes sense! Sites that collect coupons for a bunch of places are my favourite as they've done the gathering for me, leaving me more time to check out swatches of the items I'm lemming ;)

3 // Wish List
You have to be realistic when it comes to loving beauty - I am well aware that I could never pull off a project pan, so beginning one would just set me up for disaster in the long run in the form of a huge splurge on products that may not be worth it. Instead, I like to create wish lists to whittle down my lusts and really work out what it is that really gets my heart racing. Lately I've been all about the honeymoon wishlists (see part one and part two) and it's always good to look back to past lemmings to notice trends!


4 // Follow International Trends
Being in a remote country like Australia means that we are made to wait a really long time for products to hit our shores. I keep an eye on my favourite international beauty blogs like Temptalia, Eye Heart It, Beauty Reductionista and Beauty Reflections to make sure I know what will eventually come out. This gives me time to check out more reviews and work out whether or not a product would work for me, and by the time it comes out here I am prepared with a full purse for it!

Products I've bought after reading about them on international blogs!

5 // Sign up to email lists for your favourite stores
This is a double-edged sword - if you are on a shopping ban this can cause too much temptation, but I personally find it wonderful to get the notification about a sale as soon as it has begun. Some of my non-beauty favourites include Lovisa (I love a good costume piece!) and Cotton On (I've used both of these recently for wedding related purchases, and didn't pay full price because I was notified about the promotion early!)

How do you save money when it comes to beauty shopping? Have you ever done a project pan or a similar mission?

Emma x

The Later List

The idea of a later as opposed to a wish list is something I am becoming quite fond of. I first heard of the term from Liz in her 'Not Quite a Wish List', and I decided to jot down the items floating around in my head (and I’llbe honest- some of them came from my Christmas list!) I am still undecided on some of them but find them all quite tempting, and the realisation that I don’t have to buy them this very second is a relief for me. Rather than rushing out and buying something I won’t use very much (which I am often guilty of!) I can contemplate the purchase and make sure it is right for me before I dive in and hand over the dosh. This means that when I get my hands on these things, it is going to feel even better!

 

Hourglass image source, Chanel blush image source

 

 

The Kardashian Beauty range is something I've been very interested in checking out, and a while ago I used some Myer vouchers to pick up one of the dual ended eye crayons and one of the nude lip sets. I am very excited to try these out, and I've popped a few of the other Kardashian Beauty products onto my 'later list' once I see how I fare with these.

Something I am pretty definite about getting is the Chanel Accent JC blush from the holiday 2013 collection- I've told Mister that it best be in my stocking come December 25th ;)

A new perfume is something I'm sort of thinking of (a typical yearly thought for me!) and the new Taylor by Taylor Swift has caught my eye. The bottle is pretty different to everything else on the market at the moment, but I'll have to try the juice itself on before deciding if its meant for me. Does smell very nice in the bottle though...Samples are needed, sales people! I'm scared of getting stuck with a dud!

Dior is still tempting me with the same gloss- the pink creme Dormeuse! I almost bought this a while back but ended up springing for Princess, which I really like but still regret choosing over this one. I need a milky creamy pink, and this fits the bill so perfectly for me.

MAC neutrals are lacking in my collection, and after hearing even more raves about All That Glitters I have decided that it needs to be mine in the near future. I'm going to add one of the clear top palettes into my collection soon too, and this single shadow will be popped into my quad. I'm also tempted by Cranberry, hoping to splurge on it before Christmas as it is such a great festive looking shade!

Last but not least is a practical addition to the wish list, in the form of an Ikea Alex unit. I've seen these in countless YouTube videos and they seem to be the perfect piece of furniture to fit my beauty loot. I can see a beautiful blush drawer, a drawer stacked high with eye shadow colours and the others filled with an assortment of my loves. I think having them organised will make it easier to rotate around, so it will be a win-win!

What is on your 'later list'?
Have you jotted down any nice things for a Christmas list yet?
Emma @ emmabovarybeauty