Beauty on a Budget
By: Kate Lamont
The beauty industry is incredibly undervalued for how much money it makes. Out of all the world’s industries, beauty is the second-fastest growing within the last decade, and is only continuing to gain momentum. Brands like Kylie Cosmetics and Fenty boast fortunes worth billions of dollars and release wave-after-wave of bestselling lines. With the rise of luxury makeup brands, however, the industry has seen a significant increase in prices across all levels of quality, regardless of the actual material costs- name alone may raise a product’s price by $30. This has caused many people to not be able to afford most makeup products. While beauty may be seen as a trivial thing, everyone should have the right to express themselves; we’ve compiled some of the best options for beauty on a budget.
Convenience store makeup can be great quality.
PROS: While stores like Ulta and Sephora are most people’s go-to for makeup, most convenience stores carry makeup! CVS in particular has a fantastic selection of products that are both cheap and good quality! The Joah Underye Concealer, which goes for about $10, easily rivals concealers from brands like Mac and Lancome, which sell for double or triple the price.
CONS: Of course, there are a few drawbacks from buying cheap. Keep in mind that these products may come in short supply and aren’t guaranteed to be the same at every location. In addition, some products are locked and require an employee to unlock. However, these issues don’t make the products any less worth it!
Order through Amazon to avoid seller-markups.
PROS: Amazon has by-far the most diverse selection of makeup across any retailer, and all online! Especially when you need a quick top up but don’t want to go searching across stores, Amazon can get you what you need. While Amazon may not carry luxury brands like Fenty and Kylie Cosmetics, many of their products are just as great for way lower prices. My personal favorite, the Covergirl Lashblast Mascara, is available for only $8 and tends to work a lot better than most other options.
CONS: Buying through Amazon has the typical drawbacks of ordering online. Because you can’t color-match in person, buyers tend to have to guess-timate their shade. In addition, cheaper makeup tends to go through formula changes- what might be your miracle product one day can be a dud the next. The upside of buying cheap is that a loss here and there won’t set you back $40!
DIY!
PROS: A lot of makeup is actually just simple ingredients in fancy packaging. Most lip balms, for example, are glorified beeswax. While we don’t recommend throwing whatever you have in your kitchen onto your face, there are quite a few products that can easily be substituted. Vaseline, or petroleum jelly, is a fantastic substitute for most lip glosses, and lasts way longer. You can get a 2 oz tub of Vaseline for $2, whereas a 10ml tube of lipgloss can cost 5x as much.
CONS: Like we said, some things don’t need to be DIY’d. In other words, don’t use sharpies for eyeliner, and don’t slather your face in red paint.
And there you have it! For many people, makeup is a form of self-expression and a source of pride. Beauty and expression aren’t things that should be locked behind a significant pay-barrier, and the affordable beauty industry is taking steps towards ensuring that.