How do you budget for your beauty purchases? Do you work it out in advance? Stick to a limit?
I look ahead and see what’s coming out, and then I try to limit my other purchases (entertainment, clothes, shoes, etc.) so I can put more towards the collections/products that interest me most.
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I think for the past 6 months I haven’t spent more then 200 dollars on clothes, all the money went to beauty products. I pretty much work out in advance what I need to save up for. I’ll probably be skipping out on a lot of the upcoming MAC collections because I want stuff from Sephora during the Friends and Family sale way more!
do you know when the sephora friends and family sale is?
Omg when is the friends and family sale ?!
When is the Friends and Family sale?
When is the friends and family sale??
when is the friends and family???
Whens the friends and famil sale?
when is the friends and family sale?
I usually save in advance, I look at every thing I might want from the collection, and figure out how long I have to save and how much money I have to put aside.
Thank goodness for you! I get to look ahead and plan out what I want to buy. Most times I over plan and when the actual stuff come out, I buy less than I thought I would! But the reverse happens too. I cut back on Starbucks the most to save up!
I need to come up with a better system for this!! For expensive or important purchases (like, foundation, for example), I definitely budget, plan in advance and do a LOT of research and spend time testing before I buy and I try to stay on top of new releases so I can project where my spending is going to go. That works pretty well for me, but unfortunately, I get sucked into sales and little things such as a few bottles of nail polish every week that aren’t necessarily figured into my budget way too easily! I’m working on cutting down there.
The price for beauty is not cheap or painless — there’s most certainly a high price to pay either way. And with the way the economy is, not every Fashionista can afford to just carelessly splurge as if money isn’t an object because in my eyes it is a big one! Before I make my trips to Sephora or Ulta, I usually have already scoped the site for the products I want and the prices so I know how much I’ll need. And then I’ll stop at that. I’ll even figure in tax and take of the percentage or amount if I have a trusty coupon on hand. Once you begin loading your little black basket with beauty products, you’re grand total can amount to over $100! It’s crazy. Now if I’m willing to splurge a little (from the clearance baskets I might add) it will be completely unplanned for the most part.
Jae
LISTS!
i make a list of EVERYTHING i want and then take another look back (usually after i recover from the fainting spell caused by seeing the grand total) and shave off everything i a) want the least, b) don’t need, or c) can get at another time. 99.9% of the time, i can get it down to a manageable amount.
also, what i plan to do is set up a separate savings account specifically for WANT purchases (as opposed to NEED purchases). every paycheque, i’ll be setting aside some money and that will be the ONLY account i will ever use for clothing, makeup, etc. this way, i’ll know EXACTLY what i’m allowed to spend. i’m the kind of person who needs boundaries; but once i’ve set them up for myself, i’m pretty good about not crossing the line.
that sounds like a good idea….I have the same problem. I make lists but then I go to MAC or sephora or Ulta and just buy everything I want, and then at the end of the month I’m surprised how high my credit card bill is! I try to budget but I’m horrid at it, but this sounds like a good idea!
Well i work harder so that I can spend on what I want since most of our money goes to bills, right? I haven’t bought clothes in a while either so I rather spend on clothes/shoes and making my overall appearance look good than to have old clothes but nice makeup on. Makeup (especially pigments) can go a long way, last a long time.
Unfortunately, i tend to like the expensive brands better (Makeup Forever).
He LNU, when will sephora have their Friends and Family sale???? And is it online or at Stores?
i make a personal beauty shopping list of what i plan to buy, along with its prices, so i have an idea how much i need to put aside for my beauty purchases!
I don’t think I really budget for it too much. Since really getting cosmetics and especially skin care, I kind of lost interest in clothes shopping. I still buy new clothes of course but not as often – same w/shoes. And purses…I just have a work bag and stopped carrying around a regular purse. I could never see myself spending $200+ on designer jeans…I would automatically think how it could be spent buying all different kinds make-up which for me is more practical.
I budget a set amount for “me,” and if there is something in cosmetics that I really want, then the dollars go there. I’m a sporadic spender, so months can go by without much of a purchase. This past month or two has been a lot of “me” dollars, though, and I love the paletts which I bought but now I’m bypassing clothes that I might have wanted. I think there is some internal cash register limit that goes off for me.
I limit myself with collections, I don’t think I ever bought everything from a collection, I only choose what I really want. Just like you Christine, I limit my expenses to other stuffs when a collection is comin out. And uuh, I guess I’m lucky to have a generous husband lol.
uhhh, how lucky you are!! Mine just can’t understand why buying other stuff than foundation, black liner and mascara…..and doesn’t ever think of Sephora gift cards !!!
I don’t budget myself at all! I am bad at controlling myself. I completely indulge in what I want. No kids=fun time for me.
I work as a waitress, so I save $5 in cash every shift for “fun money” but that lately has been going entirely towards makeup. I also try to be really realistic about what I “need” and what I don’t. I’m not a collector yet!
Also, with the exception of new MAC collections, I try really hard not to buy makeup that is not on sale. I wait for the UD F&F and Sephora’s.
I usually earmark about $200-300 a month to go towards cosmetics and clothing. Whatever doesn’t get spent is stowed away for the next month.
“okay how much did i get paid this week? everything else taken care of? yes ok lets go shopping”
2 hours later i’m down to like $5 but hey i have new stuff!
terrible i know.
oh you sound like me!! 🙂
Sadly, I am mostly an impulse buyer. If I plan to buy something, I don’t budget. Since I do have a small spending limit nowadays, I have switched it up to mostly store brands.
Well, I make some products at home So tht helps me to save money on my beauty care.
kind of like how i merge onto the freeway… i just close my eyes and hope for the best! 🙂
I definitely plan ahead and make wishlists for upcoming collections. I don’t shop too often for clothing, shoes or accessories. Generally most of my shopping budget is spent on Makeup and I try to only purchase items I really really love. I also avoid choosing products that are too similar to something I already own.
i have to limit myself to two to three items of makeup coz over here in Pakistan Mac is double the price… like an item of 26 dollars will cost 40 to 43 dollars here!! yikes!! so i buy like one pigment or two pigment/eyeshadow or whatever a month!
🙁 and i am just starting my collection!
budget??? what budget?…i say you only live once so if i like something i buy it.
Skincare: I dont really stick to a limit. whatever that works for me I get it.
Makeup: I buy a “huge collection” from a season to season, so when I see a lipstick I know when did I buy and when it is supposed to be thrown out.
I don´t… budget, what´s that?!?;-)
I do the EXACT same thing you do Christine… yes I love my handbags, shoes, jewelry, & clothes, but my makeup collection is more of a serious matter for me.. it’s hard to balance it all.. I’m a law student so I’m not balling right now but when I become a Corporate Lawyer… I’ll be able to splurge on everything. Lol
Well I do and I don’t LOL. I actually budget everything else: bills, food, health, savings etc… That leaves me with my “fun money”. If I need clothes or shoes, that’s taken out of the fun money. What’s left is for whatever I want, and that’s usually makeup. I might save in advance for a particular collection I’m looking forward to if I know I want to get a lot from it, but other than that I don’t really plan nor budget my makeup purchases.
let’s just say i’m really bad at it haha…
You still need to look ahead and budget accordingly? But there is always new things coming out. Tons of them.
I typically will see something in the store , and then leave it there, to go back and pick it up at a later date. For instance , I wanted the naked pallette ( it was on the list of things I wanted makeup wise for this fall) and I waited until it got to my sephora , then I kind of shuffled some money around to get it . Usually, I plan my beauty purchases around payday …
I already know in advance what I need/ want fom the upcoming collections; (i.e. I need at least one Guerlain Fall 2010 Palette); however, as I like shoes, bags and clothing as well, I cannot spend all on makeup! I plan to buy some m/u at the beginning of the season (say around 100-150 Euros), esp. the items that are likely to sell out soon. In adition, my B-day in early Septemper and I always ask my friends to present me w/ makeup of the new collections – yes I instruct them even if the present will not be a surprise! in that way I get almost half of the stuff I want! for the other stuff like staples I need to replenish I wait for some discount (like in Sephora).
Budget? What budget? 🙂
I’ll admit I buy nothing but makeup. Once the bills are paid even if I see a movie I wanted I think “huh, could get 4 eyeshadows for that movie instead” and the makeup wins.
hahaha I do that with everything…meals, stuff everything…I’m like I could buy one of these and this and this! I’ll feel bad about spending then ill go to lunch and put all my purchases in how much makeup I COULD buy
lmao exactly! It’s like do I want that $9 subway or do I buy the $1 frozen dinner and pick up the eyeshadow instead hahahah
I try to stay within $100/week…
I basically save up as much as I can and then base how much I am going to buy on that
I whip out the credit card but only put what I know I can pay. I used to have a big allowance but not anymore. LOL And I am a bit in trouble but have a plan for that too. LOL
oh do share, i dont have that much of an allowance and my credit card is almost full! what’s ur plan?
I don’t think I would consider this as a budget but I check your website and calculate the total of all the products I want from a collection. Then I come back to the website and narrow it down again. So the final total I have that’s my “budget” but it usually decrease when I see the actual product.
Believe it or not, I actually only buy things that I REALLY need (or that I think I need :).
For the most efficient spending, I always check swatches of the things I’m interested in on Temptalia (Thanks Christine!) and I read reviews on MakeupAlley.
I’ve been pretty good about doing this too!
Budget? What’s that? Actually, I guess “budgeting” for me is not spending money on super $$$$$ brands like Chantecaille, Chanel or Dior. I buy drugstore brands with the exception of MAC.
When is the Sephora Friends and Family sale gonna be?
Right now I’m limited to buying one new perfume a month, and it must be one that is heavily discounted at that. Other than that, I think I just spend less on clothes than I do on beauty products.
There’s things I need more than makeup, like new clothes, sneakers, stuff like that. In my mind, makeup is more important (because I’m a certified addict, yay!)… so that’s how I budget, by depriving myself of things I could actually use more haha
Since I just started getting in to makeup maybe 6 months ago, I’ve been kind of going wild on buying products that are LE/MAC collections. Now that I have quite a bit of stuff, I need to think more about what I will actually use and try to avoid the hype about certain products being LE.
I set up a budget of $50 a month, to overflow if I don’t spend that much. That was before I spent that much! Now I’m over that and need to re-evaluate my avg spending. I use Mint.com, which is great because it allows you to set a budget based on avg spending and then alerts you if you are under/over.
Same here, I work with my budget and see what I like that’s coming out so I can put my money towards that purchase.
I’m starting to realize that amount of money I could legimately fork out for things.
So I write a “Beauty Wish List” when I see something I want, but maybe can’t fork out the cash right now, or feel an impulse buy coming on.
In a couple of weeks, when I have been completely distracted by something else, I go back, and look through the beauty wish list. If the products look promising, and I’ve heard good things, I’ll put them on the “Beauty Need List”. HAHA.
Then I save up!
I don’t budget as much as I buy something, then budget everything else around it haha. I’ve been good about not buying any makeup lately 🙂
I am such a homebody anyways, I have minimal other entertainment expenses. For larger purchases, I try to plan then when I have a coupon, or the Sephora FF sale,or when there’s a holiday and the boyfriend is paying for some…. just to stretch the money a bit further. For smaller purchases, I do my best to just remember my larger purchases and put more thought into what dupes my collection, what I need, etc. Unfortunately, this month I’m WAY overbudget. Had one depressive HAUL that was unplanned, but the rest of my purchases have been geared towards my ongoing quest for a foundation I like. That was not helped by randomly finding Eve Pearls Black Pearl sale, and getting that foundation, like i’ve been wanting to try! But i found it AFTER getting samples of others, and purchasing a powder foundation to wear while I got over adverse reactions to some of the samples!
At any rate, whenever possible, I clearance stuff, and try to keep a clear hierarchy of what is NEEDED so that I don’t buy a shade on impulse. If there’s a collection I KNOW i will want a lot of stuff, I try to save up before, and I try to not look for a bit after.
It also helps making myself pace things with my blogging. Right now, i’m aiming two posts a day-one look, one review. This has been helping with the massive hauling because I’m not reviewing several products in a few days, and then craving the next new purchase, and not reviewing anything for a few weeks. In the absence of new products(or to supplement them) i’m also trying to pick random products from my stash to review, to remind myself what I have, and what I could work with MORE. Or at least analyze WHY i don’t use the product, so I know not to buy something similar again!
My next makeup hauls, when I feel I have saved enough to get them, will probably the Cargo Los Angeles palette, Urban Decay BoS 3(when released), another bottle of REN Boswellia serrata night cream, full sizes of my fyrinnae shadows(I got samples to see which colors I enjoyed working with the most), and maybe a few nice liquid liners for doing artistic detailing.
My other entertainment expenses, for comparison? I’ve bought two dresses in six months, one pair of shoes, NOT been to the theatre, spent a little bit on gardening supplies(for edible harvests, so I sort of subsidize it with my grocery tally), and several months back I had to buy a new MP3 player because of the apple update RUINING my perfectly serviceable ipod classic(STILL pissed about that. That was NOT a planned expense! The darn thing was BARELY out of warranty, working FINE before the update, and now its a paperweight. I’m not the only one it’s done this too, and to my knowledge apple STILL has no solution, and has not accepted responsibility. YUCK!)
At any rate, that’s my scatterbrained financing technique. Ouch.
I give my self less than one hundred dollars a pay check. Sometimes it does go over, but only on big mac collections like in the groove. Msf’s are expensive that’s why. I also look up what’s in the upcoming collections and try only get what I know I would use or what temptalia strongly recommends. 😉 thanks christine.
Prior to having a child, I bought whatever I wanted – whenever I wanted it. My 8 month old has changed that lifestyle a bit 😉
My latest strategy is: for everyday I pack my lunch to work, I will save what I would have otherwise spent on lunch out. That comes out to about $15-20 in savings per week. Last week’s money was spent on Going Bananas!
I don’t budget at all. I just buy what I want to buy. I don’t spend much money on other things (clothes, shoes, accesories, entertainment, etc.) because I don’t want to anyway, so I don’t end up spending loads each month. I have started writing up how much I spend on beauty products each month though, just to see, but luckily I don’t have to worry about budgeting.
Yeah, I do pretty much have to plan it out. I keep a giant list of everything I need on my laptop (not just beauty stuff, but anything that I need to remember to buy) and cross things off as I get them. You’d be right to assume it’s a long list, haha, and I categorize sections for beauty like MAC, Clinique, NARS, etc. I’m a student so i’m on a tight budget, certain things on my list have been there since I started it like a year ago, ha. Priorities.
But I do cut back on outside purchases (like eating out too much) when I’m really looking forward to buying from a collection.
The only way to do it is to not spend that money on things like clothes, shoes, or eating out. I guess you just have to decide what you want more.
I usually check out what will be new and try to plan what is pratically and what I really want. Sales are the only time I allow myself to splurge. Its hard because sometimes I really want a batch from mac but then sephora would have a huge sale. My mac would have to wait since I can’t pass the sale items
For MAC specifically, I have a checklist of all the times I would ever want from the perm collection. I brainstormed it out, then ordered it by type (e/s, l/g, blush, etc.). I then organized it further by colors (blue e/s, neutral e/s, etc.), then prioritized each list according to what i wanted the most. Using a highlighter I highlight the top 2 items from each list. That’s the long-term plan.
I’ll then go to my counter and put all of the highlighted items on hold, come in and swatch and compare with current items I own. I’ll spend the time between that day and payday reaalllly thinking through each item and how much I really want or need it, and if there’s a look I want to do that I absolutely can’t do with what I already have. Throughout that period, I’ll go back and trim down as I start crossing things off. I might start out literally with about 20 items at the counter, and by the time payday hits I’ve slimmed it down to 5-10 items, and what’s left over gets permanently removed from the aforementioned checklist, which then gets reorganized.
For collections, I go through all my beauty blog resources and pick out all the things I instantly want, consider those items apart from the collection as a whole (the fact that it’s a “set” doesn’t matter to me), compare those items to perm items (for example: DtW is largely perm items I can get cheaper in pan form), consider their uniqueness and versatility (even if it’s a one-of-a-kind shade, if I can’t use it for more than one or two looks, it’s a bad investment). If I get collection items on that paycheck, perm items on my checklist get a backseat until the next payday.
For everything else, such as NARS, UD, MUFE, etc., I’ve got a collective list of must-have items in order from all brands (just one list for all), and on sale days, or weeks where I have more expendable cash then usual, I’ll get those.
Sounds more complicated than it is I promise, but it gives me a strategic plan, a timeline, and a systematic approach to getting the most out of what I need “now”.
Lately I’ve started buying online as it is cheaper than buying from the store (MAC here in my country for example costs twice what it costs in the US, one eyeshadow is almost 30 dollars), I haven’t bought any MAC online yet though because the maccosmetics website only ships to the US and Canada 🙁 What I want to start doing now is try to buy only one time per month, like for example I found a makeup store that ships international and has MAC products that people on youtube say that are legit, so I will try to make only one big order with a few brushes, an eyeshadow, a lipgloss, etc. Next month I want to buy a pallete, a single eyeshadow and some pigments from Sugarpill. So yeah, that’s my idea xD Oh! And I want to recommend something to people who live outside of the USA (like in Southamerica like myself) I bought a palette from Sugarpill and it arrived perfectly in 2 weeks so I can recommend that store 😀
I have a side job and use that money to buy what I want (and I cant buy much cuz Im back in college for a second time, and I use my side job money to pay bills). So theres hardly anything left over to spend.
Soooo… I make a wishlist of what I want (whether makeup or clothes), Do research on the makeup (your site is a great place to stop!), and go to the store and see how it looks on me, and buy. Sometimes I have to price compare, or compare brands. Some brands have a similar/better eyeshadow color for a better price.
Im excited about that Friends and Family sale because I like to buy Makeup Forever’s products. So I probably wont be buying anything until then. And for those that love MAC, if there is a CCO store in your area they sell discounted MAC makeup. I live 30 minutes away from one and haven’t gone there yet. (CCO = Cosmetic Company Store.. they sell all Lancome products and MAC is one company thats owned by Lancome).
Also, I used to make $19/hr.. and would shop (clothes, shoes, and makeup) travel, go clubbing, dine out, go to the movies. Since the recession? – Not anymore.
So I am now back in school (have bachelors already), and my side job is now my primary job, so I have to work harder to keep up with my old lifestyle. Can’t keep up with it with 1 job though.
So even though the USA’s recession is over, My recession isn’t over. So If want to shop I just cut back in other areas: Cook at home instead of dining out and take the leftovers to work/school. Gas is still expensive for me so I only go to school and work and to the gym, and go to the pool instead of driving to the beach. I try to spend less on grocery shopping. I don’t go to the movies I just wait until it comes out on DVD/Blu-ray. I don’t travel far for vacation anymore. Im using cheap walmart hair products *sigh* it can be depressing. If i buy clothes i have to buy like 1 or 2 things. And make a wishlist of makeup and clothes that I want, do research on the makeup, compare prices/brands then buy!
I’ve bought nice makeup already so far this year (little by little).
2 Makeup Forever Aqua Creams (turquoise and lavendar)
Makeup Forever Face and Body (I did research on these before buying)
3 Makeup Forever Eyeshadows (#26 and #9 the light purple one)
1 Makeup Forever Glitter shadow
Sephpra has a primer for $8 u can use it for eyeshadow and glitters!!!
Too Faced shadow insurance
1 smashbox lipgloss
A Victoria Secrets eyeshadow (the black sparkly one)
Mac liquid last liners (point black, blue and turquoise one)
6 Mac Lipsticks (just started wearing MAC lipstick)
1 MAc lipgloss
1 Mac nailpolish
Mac Alice & Olivia: The white pigment, blue nailpolish
Mac In the Groove: Togetherness eyeshadow, fresh and clean eyeshadow
I like it like that lipstick, and back to mac to get “all styled up”
Mac Studio Sculpt foundation (Ugh I hate this one)
MAC prep n Prime
1 sephora eyeshadow
1 MAC eyeshadow in the pan (if u havea palette those pan ones are $11)
I also got the MAC palette and depotted the ones in the container to out in my palette.
1 MAC pigment in tan.
INstead of buying a MAC pencil eyeliner (love these) I got a waterproof shimmer one at sephora for $8….
I saw that MAC has that hot pink pigment (lovely!!) Makeup Forever has a DUP for that color. Its their start powder #675 or soemthing. you’ll know when u see it. I have Makeuo forever’s pigment instead of MAC.
thats all the makeup i bought this year so far. I want the glitter lipsticks by MAC and the a few items from the Dare to Wear collection, but since I have basically every eyeshadow color in the spectrum IM going to put my money aside for clothes.. I want to buy some nice heels…. and nice tops… I have cute pants/capris/shorts already so I want some tops to go with my pants and nice COMFORTABLE heels….
I miss that wage as well 🙁 I used to be able to save so much and buy whatever the hell I wanted. Now, not so much, or the credit card starts crying.
I generally premeditate exactly what sort of beauty product I want and then research it. I take my time deciding, and if I consider it a worthy investment I’ll eventually buy it. I try to practice restraint and only buy things that I really like/feel would really suit me/are good quality. I don’t like to have a lot of clutter or dust collectors, and anything I buy is generally for regular use. I also do my best to stay away from cheap nasty things that I end up using once or twice and then not liking… These end up being more expensive in the long run.
I really just look at the swatches at the store and imagine how I could wear whatever it is I want, and if I believe it looks good, I’ll buy it, 200 dollar limit for makeup (I mostly just spend a lot for LE) for nail polishes – it’s unlimited for me.
For me, there is no set budget for skin care products. I buy them as needed to replenish the used up ones. I’ve been using Clinique’s 3-step system for acne and they have kept my face pretty blemish-free for years now. To me, skincare takes priority over color makeup. I’d rather have a nice canvas than having to cover up with so many makeup.
For color makeup though, I would say I don’t spend more than $100 per month. I don’t buy drugstore makeup though, with the exception of L’Oreal powder foundation and concealer (they have the best shade match for me). So with such budget and buying high end brand cosmetics, you could say that I really don’t have such a big makeup collection. Probably 1/500 of yours Christine 🙂
I have not been budgeting at all. I need too though. :-\
WHile I don’t budget and definitely suffer the consequences for it – I do make the most of other perks. I use my cashbacks from visa cards at bloomingdales and macys as well as discover to buy makeup. All my friends give me gift certificates to places where I can buy makeup. I JUST discovered you can change money at a coinstar machine without being charged the 8.9% if u choose a gift certificate – i can get a Jcpenney cert which will allow me to get Sephora stuff!
All of this, plus the fact that I buy cheap clothes and shoes and yet waaaay too much comes out of my pocket on makeup STILL!!!!
I am always looking for a sale. I also look at coupons.I make a list of things I want or need. I typically try to save money but for the most part I will buy a little everytime I get paid. I don’t normally spend a lot at one time. I also do research before I purchase a product and I try not to get caught up in the hype. Which I have done a good job at.
I do exactly the same as you, Christine !
And I try to stick to a precise budget, but usually I go beyond….
There is too much makeup to buy, hell !
Like some here, I do extensive (and I mean extensive!) research on the products I want to buy before buying it, however my final decision is when I am able to physically go and try it out myself. There’s been times where I was excited for something only to be let down immensely (and vice versa!). I plan ahead and I really try to stay away from similar products (how many pink lipsticks do I really need?). Makeup is not my top priority over bills, housing etc.
Well…for MAC for Rodarte, for example, I’ve been saving up my allowance (20 dollars a week) and not letting myself buy anything. I really need a job, because there’s stuff from Venomous Villains, Dare to Wear, and Fabulous Felines that I want, too :C