The Do’s and Don’ts of shopping for Make-Up…How to stay in budget

Just like any other make-up lover, I spent endless hours watching you tube videos of my favorite Beauty Gurus and reading blogs, looking at swatches, comparing the brands, learning about new products. All this, of course, lead to the inevitable temptation to try them out myself. The ‘need’ quickly turned to ‘want’…and the ‘want’ became ‘I have to get that for myself NOW’. Before I realized it, I spent way too much, and the feeling is similar to the guilt after eating 20 hot wings when on a diet.

It is so hard to resist the colors, textures, cute packaging, the excitement when you see the new display, the fun in going through the shades, opening the product, swatching the product, trying it on the face. It’s the feeling you get when opening presents on your birthday or Christmas morning. The flip side of this is that very often we end up spending way more than we budgeted for. Also, we end up getting products that are highly discussed & very popular without considering if it will work for us and our routine. Does it suit our skin type, our skin tone, our comfort-level with techniques, how practical is it in our daily life…these are just some of the factors to consider before we splurge.

Beauty Gurus have a substantial make-up collection as they need to try them and review them for the rest of us. A lot of them are make-up artistes. They use these products as a part of their job. For most of us, make-up is a fun and artistic activity that makes us feel good about ourselves. It is awesome that we can get all that advice and guidance from the videos and blogs so that we are not wasting money on a ton of bad make-up. These reviews steer us towards the products that will be beneficial towards improving our make-up experience. The objective is to create a make-up collection that is perfect and tailor made for you.

I just wanted to share a few pointers that help me stay on track, besides the deals and sales:

• Looking for Dupes: Dupes are drugstore or less expensive alternatives to premium products. There are plenty of dupe videos and blogs that are extremely informative and spot on. Some of the gurus are so detailed in matching every aspect of the product that it’s mind-blowing how similar the dupe is to the high end product. You can get the same look for a fraction of the cost.
• Returns: Most drugstores, ULTA, Sephora are very good when it comes to taking back opened products. Keep the receipt till you know you are sure about the product. Once you swatch and try a product, if it doesn’t look, feel or perform like you expected and you know you are not going to end up liking it, return it. There is no point in keeping products that you know for sure are going to be forgotten and stashed away.
• Skin tone: Each skin tone is different and a product that looks amazing on a lighter or darker skin tone might not necessarily be flattering on you. It has happened to me on numerous occasions that I love the way a blush or lip color looks on a beauty guru and when I try it on myself it doesn't show up at all or looks like it doesn't belong. It’s very disappointing because you love it but it’s better to make sure you invest in a collection that is meant for you.
• Beauty Gurus with matching attributes: A helpful source is to make sure you follow beauty gurus that have a skin tone, eye shape, face shape similar to yours along with the ones you love to watch for entertainment & education. This way there is a higher likelihood of a product/look working for you.
• Get palettes/sets instead of singles: Palettes and sets give you a wider variety of shades and products at a value price. Also this gets you to try other shades and create your own looks. Make sure that the singles you get are the ones that are your holy grail or not available in sets/palettes or are so unique that they cannot be duped.
• Find matching products in your stash: When you see a look you love concentrate on the colors & technique not the actual products used in the tutorial. It is of course easier to follow exactly what the guru is showing but sometimes that ends up being expensive. Look into your collection for matching shades. Learn the technique and how to mix colors while using your collection.
• Be creative-experiment: Use blushes and bronzers as eyeshadows. Use lipsticks as a cream blush. Use the same brush for powder, blush and bronzer. Use concealer as an eyeshadow base. Your black eye pencil can be your black shadow. The jumbo eyeshadow can be your liner. Use sponge-tips and Q-tips. Let your imagination take over and let your make-up multitask.
• While Shopping, be alert: When you see a product that makes you drool, take a step back, 'pause' your heart and 'play' your mind. Is it similar to something you already have? Is it worth the price? Is it going to be a part of your daily routine? Sometimes it helps when I walk away, sleep on it, go through my collection at home and then decide if I still want it. Browsing your entire collection on a regular basis will make sure you are not missing or forgetting what you already have.
• Make a list: I find it useful to make a list of drugstore and high end products that I would like to try based on the videos/blogs. That way when I get tempted towards an impulse buy I can check my list to see if it will replace something there or do I need something on that list before I get this one. I also maintain a list of dupes of the high end, so if I am unsure of the product and how it works for me; I first try the dupe before I invest in the high end product.

These tips have helped me create a collection that I love and use to the fullest and are customized just for me. And of course stay in budget. Hope this helps :)