10 Ways to Save Money on Your Beauty Routine

Looking to save money on your beauty routine? It’s easy, peasy.

You can take all the cash you save on your beauty routine and apply it directly to this year’s vacation budget. You can thank me by hitting the little ‘like’ button on the top of this post.

1. Stop buying expensive night creams. Sure, night creams work better than day creams because they’re loaded with more active ingredients, but there’s simply no good reason to spend $100 or more on a night cream. Lots of companies pack their affordable night creams with collagen-boosting ingredients like blackberry, algae, papaya enzymes, and other skin-beautifiers. One to try: Aveeno Absolutely Ageless Restorative Night Cream, under $20 here.
2. Stop buying tons of perfume. If you’re into designer perfume, you know– the good stuff, spending several hundred dollars a year on fresh bottles really starts to add up. Instead of buying several bottles, try a subscription service like Scentbird.com for $14.95 a month, and enjoy 30, 60, or 90 day supplies of just about any perfume you think smells delish. Yes, it’s the real stuff. No, you don’t need to waste your money on huge space-taking bottles anymore.
3. Stop buying Kerastase. Okay, I feel bad saying that because it’s good stuff– but a shampoo and condition set will run you about $80, and probably only last you about 6 weeks. Do the math, that means you’re spending about $800 a year on Kerastase (OMG WHAT). Their technology isn’t exclusive to them, and it basically boils down to ceramides and silicones– all available in some Suave, Clear, and natural brands for WAY less cashola. One to try: Clear Scalp & Hair Damage Control.
4. Brunettes can save big time on their ‘color enhancing’ shampoos, too. Stop buying those! They’re usually $15 and up, and the ‘color enhancement’ can be done almost free with a teaspoon of freeze dried coffee added to your favorite shampoo. That’s right, add it to a handful of your $3 Suave and get a delish-smelling, color-deposited shampoo that leaves results for 2-3 days at a time. You’re welcome, and yes, this is totally my fave way to save money on your beauty routine.
5. Stop buying expensive makeup removers. If you like the wipes, fine, buy those– but if you’re normally a cotton pad and a dab of liquid remover type of gal, stop it right now. All makeup is either water or fat soluble, so if you mix equal parts natural oil (I personally love almond oil)  and clean water, you can spritz your cotton balls and wipe away just as much makeup as the $12 bottles on store shelves. Just make sure you shake the bottle before spritzing. Also, this is a quick aside, but never doing this would be a good start as well.
6. Don’t buy scrubs unless they’re for your face and have very fine particles. If you’re looking for coarser particles, just mix brown sugar, oil, and a few drops of vanilla. Cheap, easy, and smells better than most of the chemical-smelling junk in stores. Store extras in the fridge for up to two weeks at a time.
7. Don’t buy cuticle oils. Honestly, the genius that invented packaged cuticle oil is sitting in his villa in St. Tropez right now laughing endlessly. Use any light oil– grapeseed oil, almond oil, Bio-Oil, whatever you have.
8. Buy your faves in bulk. If you know you’re obsessed with one particular body wash or lotion, just buy the big bottle. You’ll end up saving anywhere from 5-45% on the purchase price, and at the end of the year, that really adds up. I’m obsessed with this AHAVA Limited Edition Mineral Lotion, and the giant bottle works out to $37 vs $52 if I had to keep buying smaller amounts. Considering I’d go through 6 of these a year, that’s a $90 annual savings just on body lotion.
9. Clean your makeup brushes with gentle, tear-free baby shampoo. Usually you can pick this stuff up for $2-3 for a small bottle, and that’s a savings when compared to $20 brush cleaners at Sephora.
10. Buy a high quality eyeliner sharpener. Investing in the right sharpener can extend the life of your eyeliners, and a good sharpener at a store like Sephora or Ulta should only run you $5-10. If your average liner costs about $18, and you’re saving 2-3 additional liners a year, you’re already ahead.