Building A Makeup Collection on a Budget | Part 1

This post has been in the works for some time now but last week, I was talking to a friend who is getting into makeup and trying to build herself a collection; she mentioned how expensive makeup is. So I decided to gather my thought together and finally complete this post. If you are building yourself a collection or just interested in saving money on makeup, then I hope you find this useful.

Look out for sales

I absolutely love a good sale, Superdrug seem to always be on one sale or the other. They sometimes have a 3 for 2 sale or buy 2 of a brand for a certain price. For instance, I was able to get a Sleek Cream Contour Kit and Sleek Eyeshadow palette on a deal for £10 instead of the full price of £20. Boots is also good for discounts. Debenhams also goes on sale every now and then, I have been able to get 10% off MAC items, which was great. The easiest way to save money, is to shop when there is a sale.

Join the Newsletter

If you are on the mailing list of a company, they can email you about product releases, free delivery offers and new deals. I get emails from MAC advising me of their new product launches, free delivery offers and every now and then, a deal to save money. Most recently, they had a lipstick and lip pencil deal where you get a MAC Lipstick and Lip Pencil for £24 as opposed to £28.50. 

Loyalty and Discount Cards

Debenhams, Boots, House of Fraser and Superdrug have discount cards that you collect points on and either use to purchase or part purchase beauty products. In Debenhams, you get points every time the card is scanned and when you get up to 500 points, you get £5 off any beauty product. My Debenhams Beauty Card now has £5 on it so I can get £5 off my next purchase in MAC, Urban Decay, Makeup Forever etc. Boots gives you points but you can only spend what you have on your card, you can’t use it to get a discount but as a payment card.

Clearance Items

Boots and Superdrug often have items on clearance. My sister pointed out to me that our local Boots had NYX items on clearance, I was able to get a Lip Lingerie for £3.25 as opposed to £6.50, the NYX lip cream I got was £3 and not £5.50. You can also get damaged products at a reduced price. I got an MUA eyeshadow (rrp £4) for 90p because an eyeshadow was broken. So far, I have not missed that eyeshadow.

Check out the High Street

High Street brands are really stepping up their game. You'd be surprised the great items you can find if you only take the time to look. You can build your collection majorly on drug store makeup. You can even get some great dupes for high end makeup. Brands like Makeup Revolution are seriously coming for high end brands. I think Makeup Revolution is going to dupe all the popular high end items, they have dupes for the Urban Decay Naked palettes, MAC Mineralise skin finish and so on.

Shop Around

I always shop around for clothes, food, shoes; why not makeup as well. In my shopping around, I found that Debenhams beauty card has a much better deal than House of Fraser. In Debenhams, I only have to spend £170 on beauty items to get £5on my Beauty Card but I have to spend £500 in House of Fraser to get £5 on the card. Best believe Debenhams has my patronage. In the same vain, I noticed that Superdrug sells the Real Techniques brushes about £1 less than Boots, it’s not a lot but every little helps.

PS Debenhams is giving a £5 off voucher when you spend £30 on beauty products.

What are some of your favourite tips to save money on makeup?