Happy Sunday (and Superbowl weekend????)! I didn’t think I would get a post up this weekend because I just had no ideas, but yet again – my best friends came through with some inspiration for me!

Today I will be sharing with you guys some tips on how to build up a collection of “high-end” makeup as well as tips to save money in the process! Maybe you are in a makeup rut, and are sick of everything in your collection, but don’t know how exactly to branch out? This post is for you!

I only briefly mentioned one tip to start building your collection in my Drugstore vs High-End blog post, so I am going to expand on that and even throw some math at you (gasp)! Buckle up, this is going to be a long one!

Why Buy High-End At All?

While you may be thinking “everything I need is at the drugstore, why even bother spending so much much?” – I am just going to offer some advantages to higher-end products:

• quality of product and ingredients
• longevity of wear
• more shade and color options
• more cruelty free, vegan and gluten free options
• more options in general!

(again, this is not always true, the same way buying designer clothes isn’t always in any way actually better than department store, and sometimes you really are just paying for the name on the tag)

With drugstore products, you are buying HIGHLY massed produced goods at an affordable price, which means companies may not be able to offer the same quality at the drugstore as they could at select “prestigious” retailers, because they are saving cost and appealing to the masses. I don’t know if I am explaining this well, but this is often why (let’s use foundation as an example) there are only like 5 shade options, because brands are thinking of who makes up the highest percentage of their customer base and investing to cater to them as opposed to risking having product sit on shelves longer than they would like them to, and ultimately losing money.

Going to emphasize one more time though, that this doesn’t mean if you can only afford drugstore that you are missing out, or that great drugstore options do not exist in the world because they definitely do! I honestly do not see the point in having a collection that is entirely made up of expensive products just for the sake of buying expensive products, I am just throwing out there why it might be worth it to someone to try purchasing something more expensive for their makeup bag. Makeup is a personal thing, and if you’re happiest doing it all at the drugstore then keep killing it! ❤︎ I only personally started to shop out of the drugstore when I got super interested in makeup and it became a love and a hobby for me, and even then I was extremely hesitant to spend the money.

How to Decide What to Buy

In the above mentioned blog post, I wrote that a good place to start when figuring out what high-end items would be worth it to you to try buying was to go for your own, personal beauty staples. Using myself as an example, eyeshadow palettes are my favorite makeup item and I love creating big, colorful flashy eye looks, so my first high-end purchase was an Anastasia Beverly Hills palette. If for you, maybe your makeup look evolves around a really great lipstick color or a full coverage foundation – then these are the types of items I would suggest spending a little bit more money on if you are looking for a drugstore alternative.

Expanding on that, how do you know what to buy? If you’ve never bought anything high-end before and brand names mean nothing to you, it can be a confusing place to start.I recommend making your first high-end purchase at an actual store rather than online. Not only can you touch a product in store and play with it and really decide if it is right for you, but you can ask the store associates for advice. They are there to help you and are a great resource! They can give advice on the products themselves (very often, they have used those products and are familiar with them and will be able to tell you how they perform), they can match colors for you, and they can offer recommendations if you have an idea of what you want but not specifically what you want.

(side note: I know I am treating this subject with ULTRA SERIOUSNESS when it’s kind of a silly topic, but hey – saving money is important!)

It’s much easier to go into a store and talked to a trained associate about what mascara would be best for someone who wears glasses than to try to google that sort of thing, because sometimes what you’ll find on the internet is misleading (more later).

If you really are struggling to justify the price of something, then honestly – don’t get it. Only buy something if you love it, you know you love it, you think it is going to work for you and you know you are going to get good use out of it. Also, really consider if there are any drugstore alternatives to this product that will be just as good or not. Think of it as an investment. It is so easy to fall into the hype of products you constantly see on social media, so when you are purchasing something pricey really make sure you are going to use it often and you can see it being a staple in your makeup collection – do not just buy high-end for the sake of buying high-end.

Also – BEWARE OF THE “LIMITED-EDITION” PANIC! Very often, a product is released as limited edition or in limited quantities. This is actually a very specific marketing strategy. By making the consumer believe that they have to rush to get this item before it is gone, in our heads we are assigning it more value. While there definitely have been products that have sold out overnight due to hype (Too Faced Sweet Peach Palette, for example) often those same products end up making their way back in stock due to “high demand” (again, Sweet Peach). This is not to say that every limited product is going to come back, but just to warn against the hype for products that might not even be worth it to you. Again, follow the above rules: do you love it and are you going to use it often? Proceed with purchase.

Something else to consider is that samples are out there! Obviously there might not be a sample for an eyeshadow palette, but foundation, mascara, lipstick, and blush samples all exist in the world and might be available for you to try if you just ask for them. Travel size options are always a great way to get a feel for a product before deciding to buy full-sized or not. Also, when checking out of stores like Ulta or Sephora – ask if there are any samples being given out today, very often there are but they can not be given out unless asked for.

Also going to throw out there to research brands you have no idea about, who owns them, their history, where there products are made, what their customer service is like, whether they are cruelty free or vegan (if those things are important to you) etc. This can also help pinpoint which brands to start shopping from.

How to Save Some Money

Okay, you have your item, you’ve decided you want/need it, and you are going to proceed with purchase – is there any way we can save some money here? Just going to share some of the things I do to try and get the best deals, and maybe you’ll want to try them too.

• Sign Up for Emails

A lot of websites, especially individual makeup brand websites, will try to pull you into their newsletter by offering you a percent off your first purchase when signing up for email alerts. I pretty much do this constantly, not only for the coupon, but because they will often end up just sending you more coupons as time goes on, especially as you make more purchases with them. I’ve put things in a shopping cart, decided not to buy anything and clicked out of the window, only to get emails along the lines of “hey, we want your business, here’s a 10% off coupon” (not saying all the time, but it has happened a few times). Also, if it’s a brand you really like anyway, you can keep up with sale notifications and new products this way. If you don’t want to clutter your inbox with this stuff, though, I know gmail has special inboxes you can forward these emails to, or you can create a separate account just for email updates, or really you can just unsubscribe from an email list after you get the initial discount.

• Join Rewards Programs

If a store or website offers a free rewards or loyalty program to sign up for, then you have nothing to lose by signing up! Program members often receive unique coupons or first looks at new products and sales, and very often you end up receiving something back from what you would already be buying. At Sephora, you can earn points for every dollar you spend that you can then spend on deluxe-sized samples, or even full-sized products if you save them up enough. One of my favorite reward programs is at Ulta, where similar to Sephora, you earn points for every dollar, but those points can instead be turned into money off of your next purchase. Also at Ulta, if you spend enough to become a platinum member, you get special deals and sale dates throughout the year, as well as coupons for deluxe samples randomly, birthday gifts, extra points per purchase etc. Some department stores have store-wide programs, but often the best time to shop is during cash back or coupon back events. Kohl’s for example, doesn’t offer the kind of loyalty programs mentioned above, but you can buy cosmetics during a Kohl’s Cash promotions to earn coupons back.

A lot of brands offer these types of loyalty programs, too. Urban Decay has a point program that gives you free shipping, special sales, and points towards money off future orders. Tarte also has a very similar program, and even offers special gifts with purchase when you accumulate a certain amount of points.The thing with all of these programs, though, is that you have to spend money before you start getting something back (or how else would these companies make money?). So really, they turn out the most deal-worthy for you if these are items or brands you would be shopping for anyway. I know I tend to grab almost every Urban Decay eyeshadow palette that gets released, so for me, this kind of loyalty program is worth it for something I know I would be buying anyway, and directs me to purchase straight from the brand rather than another retailer like Sephora or Ulta.

(side note, some drugstore companies also offer these kinds of reward programs, and I am a huge fan of Elf’s ^_^)

• Look For Coupons

This may be a “duh” kind of thing to say, but before making a purchase just throw in a quick google search for available coupons. A lot of stores will even let you use coupons on your phone in store. Also, if you know a product isn’t going anyway and is not limited edition or in limited quantities, it might be worth it just to wait for a coupon. Every once in a while Ulta will have 20% off store wide coupons (including “prestige” brands), and that is often when I will buy the things that I had been wanting for a while but not enough to spend full-price on.

• Holidays Are Your Friend!

Not only are there always new products being released around the holidays, but it is the best time for sales! Another thing I really love about holidays, is holiday collections or sets. Especially around Christmas time, many brands will bundle products together at a discounted price, and this is a great time to stock up on deals. Also, look for gifts with purchase not just around the holidays, but all the time. It might be worth it to pay full price for something if you are getting a free secondary product with it, for example.

• Consider What Is Actually A “Deal”

Here comes the math I promised earlier – sometimes things may seem like a deal, but they are really designed to just get you to spend more money.

Beware the Bogo – the biggest culprit of this is the bogo sale (buy one get one, or sometimes buy 5 get 1….?). While BOGO is not very common with high-end brands (but it happens!), a quick look at the overall savings might convince you if it is worth it or not.

(this math only works if all the products are the same price, if not than almost always will it be the less expensive product that you are saving money on).

Let’s say an item is a classic BOGO, Buy One Get One Half-Off: If both items in this scenario are the same price, then to apply it to both items, you are saving a total of 25% off the two items (50/2 = 25). Buy One Get One Free is a litter bit better, because then the savings is 50% off each item (100/2=50). Now let’s try something with more items, Buy Four Get One Free – 5 items at all the same cost: 5x – x = 4x right? (100/5 = 20): You are roughly saving 20% off your entire purchase. Anyway, you get it right? Enough with math – but the idea here is to still get you to purchase more: so if you were going to the store to grab one item but now there is a BOGO and for just three more items you can get one free – well that’s considerably more money than you would have spent anyway, and the percentage saved is most likely not enough to make up for that spending difference. I say, only go for the BOGO if you were planning on getting multiple items anyway, if not – stay away!

Another way to consider what is actually a deal or not is to look at value sets and palettes. Very often in value sets you will see something advertised like $360 dollar value – now $150! This is where some detective work might be needed – look up those same individual products on the website, and see their individual costs. Is it really the savings they say it is? Often these value sets include travel or sample sizes, which can make it appear like you are getting a great deal, but actually you aren’t getting the full product. Also, are you going to use everything in the set or are you being sucked in by the promised savings? Just some things to consider.

I bring up palettes because I think this is actually where you can get the most bang for your buck. Going to use Anastasia Beverly Hills eyeshadows in this example, because like I said, they were my first high-end purchase ❤︎! A single eyeshadow from ABH is $12 dollars for 0.05 oz of product, and the much loved Modern Renaissance Palette is $42 dollars for 14 shadows with 0.35 oz of product total. This translates into o.o25 oz per pan in the palette (0.35/14=0.025), however you are only paying $3 dollars per pan at this price (42/14=3) which is a quarter of the price of a single shadow (sorry – really no more math this time!).

Also, looking at something like the ABH Glow Kits, you are getting 4 pans of product at $40 dollars, so roughly $10 dollars a highlighter as opposed to $28 dollars for a single highlighter. Unless you really only want one shade and don’t need anything else, it might be worth it to spend a little more to get more product options.

Also, many companies are coming out with refillable palettes, which I think is amazing. Using Kat Von D’s Shade + Light contour palette as an example, you can spend a little bit more to get the refillable palette, and if you find yourself using up one more shade quicker than the others, you can spend less on just one replacement pan rather than replacing the entire palette for full price.

So, bottom line is to always look at the actual amount of product you are receiving for the price you are paying, and really consider what is worth it to you when making these expensive purchases.

• Referral Links and Promo Codes

This is where we branch into some sometimes sketchy territory. To many people, referral links and promo codes are dirty word. Elaborating – a lot of beauty influencers will often team up with brands to provide you with special links or code that will save you money when you go to purchase from their recommended websites. While this is true, you will save money, what very often goes unsaid is that in return these influencers are earning a commission from each unit sold for the advertising they are giving to the brands. So, if they are offering you a 10% percent off coupon to a brand, it is very likely that same 10% percent is going straight into their pocket. While this isn’t always a bad thing, what can make it sketchy is when it is not disclosed that these codes and links are going to result in a profit being made off your purchase, and many think it can sway influencers to be dishonest and praise a product or brand that they may not love in order to make the sale. Obviously, this is not always the case, though, and maybe you do not even care about any of that, you just want the savings. My advice is to pick your favorite influencer who you want to support, and use their codes to not only save some money, but to help support them and their careers.

I would like to make a future post on what to look for in a beauty review, because this topic can really, REALLY be talked about in great length.

• Ebates

The final thing I am going to mention is Ebates, a website that literally feels waaaaay too good to be true. Ebates teams up with other stores to offer you a percentage of cash back at every purchase. For example, Ulta offers 3% cashback – so if you spend $100 dollars, you would get $3 bucks back. This doesn’t seem like a lot, but the more you shop the more it all adds up, especially if you would be shopping at these sites anyway. Also, Ebates does double cash back weeks a lot, and these are my favorite times to shop!

I know what you’re thinking – where is the catch? This is literally what stopped me from using Ebates for a LOOOONG time when I first heard about it, because everyone needs to make a profit. After a little detective work, I found out how Ebates makes theirs: basically, similarly to the referral links mentioned above, Ebates makes a commission from stores when you chose to shop at those retailers through Ebates. Like I said, if you were going to shop at these stores anyway, I don’t see the harm in using a program like this. The cool thing abut Ebates, also, is that they have an app for your phone as well as an add-on for your internet browser, so when you’re shopping somewhere the little Ebates icon in the corner will pop up when they can offer you cash back or a coupon code – they literally will find coupon codes for you to save you the trouble of trying to google one. At the end of the month, Ebates will either send you a check or a deposit in your PayPal for the amount of cash back you’ve received.

I am going to share MY referral link, if you are interested, which gives you extra money back after you make your first $25 dollar purchase but will also give me money as well for referring you. Again, you do not have to use it, you can use the link to Ebates I provided above instead to sign-up if you are uncomfortable using a referral link. I really am not trying to make money off anyone, I just truly use ebates every time I shop online now and have earned a lot back and wanted to share it since I really was convinced for a long time it had to be some kind of scam.

Ebates, to me, works best in conjunction with loyalty programs or things like credit cards that also give you cash back, so you are literally saving as much as possible per transaction! Stack those savings up as high as you can!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PHEW! That was a much longer post than intended! I really hope somewhere in here you found some tips on how to save money if you are trying to branch out into the world of high-end makeup. If not, then at the very least thank you for reading and supporting my blog! I hope you all have a great week, and I’ll see you in my next post! Remember to check out my instagram if you want to see more from me throughout the week!

-Lacie ❤︎❤︎❤︎