Student Survival Guide Part 1: Makeup on a Budget

When you’re a student you’re either broke or on the verge of being broke. Even if you’re getting financial support from your ‘rents or a bit of extra cash from a casual job, it can still be tricky because you don’t want to blow all your funds on non-essential items such as makeup. You’d rather spend your hard-earned dosh on food and booze, amirite?! (Don’t lie to Aunty Jane).

In my first year of studying (and my first year of living away from home) I made some, shall we say, “interesting” financial choices. One particular standout moment was when I had $60 left in my account that needed to last until my next payday a week later. However there was a beautiful blue dress I absolutely HAD to buy. And it was one of those dresses, too. You know the kind; hugging in all the right places, complementing my skin tone, being all-round fabulous. So I had a tough choice to make: Would I buy a week’s worth of groceries with my money and wait until the next payday to buy the dress, risking the possibility of it not being there in a week? Or buy the dress and live off rice for seven days? Naturally, I bought the dress. And needless to say, after my carb-filled, flavourless week of being both bloated and starving hungry at the same time, I learnt to be pretty thrifty from then on.

This is why over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing my tips on how to survive being a student, while living cheaply and feeling/looking great. By the way, you can save even when you’re spending money, how? If you want to do hw, then you need to choose the right places to help you  save time and nerves, and yes – even money.

To kick the series off, let’s take a look at my top five tips for makeup on a budget.

1. Stop Being So Precious

You’re going to have to start using less expensive products if you want your dollar to go further. But that doesn’t mean you’ll be compromising the quality of the makeup you use. There are handfuls of affordable, amazing brands, such as Australis, Face of Australia, and Covergirl. Try them. I dare you.

2. Shop Online

There are some fantastic discount beauty websites with free shipping out there on this new thing called The Internet. Strawberry.net and Asos.com are just two examples. Because websites don’t have to pay for many expensive overheads, such as shopfront employees and overpriced rent in shopping centres, they can afford to slash prices further (or have more frequent sales) than somewhere such as Myer or David Jones. If you’re not sure whether you trust the website, Googling the name of the site along with the word “complaints” should bring up all the information you need.

3. Join the Club

Although it is super annoying when you’ve finally picked what you’re going to buy and now all you want to do is get out of there but the checkout chick is saying something about a club card and uuggghh why won’t she let me go, keep in mind that they’re actually offering you some bangin’ discounts. Every dollar counts so suck it up, fill out the form, and reap the rewards later on.

4. Invest in Primer or a BB Cream

Primer will stop your makeup from sliding off; therefore you won’t be wasting your foundation, concealer and powders by having to constantly reapply them. A BB Cream is a great all-in-one product, and although it gives a lighter coverage than foundation, it does other useful things like evening out skin tone, giving your face a healthy glow, and most even have SPF protection.

5. Stock Up!

Cosmetics actually have a pretty lengthy shelf life. It’s not until you break the seal, and therefore let in air which allows bacteria to grow, that the product begins to deteriorate. So if you see a bargain, stock up! Buy several of the same product! Go crazy! Just store the products in a cool place away from sunlight, and don’t open them all at once!

That’s all for this week. Do you have any tips for making your beauty dollar go further?