Archived Post
How do you manage your beauty budget?
How do you manage your beauty budget? Share!
I have a general amount I expect to spend each quarter on cosmetics for review, and I try to keep it in line with that – generally I prioritize limited edition products or anything that gets a lot of buzz and is more mid to high-end in price point. If I feel like there’s been a lot of limited edition launches I’ve bought, then I will put the brakes on acquiring more permanent products (that can be deferred to a later point).
Thanks to Amy for today’s questions! Do you have a question idea? Submit yours here.
I don’t have a set budget, but I make sure I have money set aside every paycheck for retirement, savings, bills, groceries, kid’s college fund, etc. Then whatever is left over is for me to spend or not spend. I charge cosmetics on my credit card, and I pay the full amount each month, so there is no revolving balance racking up interest charges. If I can’t afford to pay it off every month, then I can’t afford to buy it. I also watch for sales, discount codes, value kits, cash rebates, free samples, GWP. With that said, my stash is growing at an alarming rate, so I’m trying to reign myself in, but so hard to resist! But if I have enough money to retire comfortably, and leave some for the kid, then I’m good. I mean you can’t take the money with you….
I… don’t? That sounds awful but I blow so much money on makeup. I follow a few rules for myself that I like to think help me budget, but I’ve been bending them lately. Generally I buy expensive palettes only if they’re limited or if I really love it (see UD’s Vice3 – LOVE it, I use it so much, still not hitting pan). I pick up drugstore lipsticks all the time but I have been trying to avoid buying mid-range and high-end lipsticks. I broke that rule when I bought KVD Gothica and Too Faced Melted Melon but I regret buying the Melted lipstick so I think I’m going to go back to sticking with my drugstore lipsticks (Wet N Wild has never let me down!). I allow myself expensive foundations because I got tired of wasting my money on drugstore foundations that I hated or didn’t come in a close enough color match. I save on brow products by using eyeshadow or a dupe for the Brow Wiz. I don’t buy a lot of LE products like lipsticks or blushes or anything of the sort because I hate not being able to repurchase my favorites, so I guess I don’t really have to worry about that part. I’v been trying to cut down my Ulta and Sephora visits to about once a month – I used to go to Ulta once a WEEK to pick up any random thing because I like having new things to try! I spend a lot less now that I’ve been making myself stay away. I spend smarter when I don’t go every week too. (also, I don’t think I answered the question correctly :p)
Probably not as intelligently as I ought to….? Although I always first and foremost take care of all my priorities, ie; rent, bills, food, all the necessary things. And then, once I get that all squared away, I go a bit nuts! Especially for LE stuff.
I give myself a $35 “beauty allowance” each month, and any unused money can be rolled over for bigger purchases. I also have a category in my budget for $100 in random shopping/entertainment, which I could use for makeup if I really wanted to. I like the $35 budget because that will cover many higher end products, and leaves room for rollover money if I bought something less expensive, like a MAC blush, or a drugstore mascara.
$35 budget here in Australia only buys you an eyeshadow in MAC 🙁
I don’t, really… I just try to keep myself in check a bit by not just splurging on anything. But if it’s something I truly want or need I’ll just buy it..
I make a weekly budget for everything in my life including household expenses and stick to it. I am a single parent. So, around change of season and Holiday, I start to put extra aside a head of time. Like Christine, I try to put off permanent and will go for the LE collections that I know are coming and will want. I also put some into a savings/retirement/college fund for my daughter. For things I will need, like skin care – I try to plan ahead and budget that in so I am not out and like oh no, I have no moisturizer or sunscreen or I’m not going to be able to feed my kid if I buy It! lol. I am big on lists. So, I make a weekly budget. A monthly for mortgage and big things. I write down all the products that I see and want and maybe will want to come back and buy later so I don’t feel like I have to urgently buy them.
I actually don’t have a beauty budget right now. I have a small side stash for my own “wants”, whether it be makeup or starbucks… Every paycheck I add about $30 but coffee is expensive so it doesn’t leave much for me so I am going to start a more specific budget where I add a specific amount for makeup only 🙂
For me, my luxury (entertainment) expenditures really only fall into two major categories: make-up and books. I never go out drinking / dancing or whatnot… more of a stay at home and play piano kinda person. I do occasionally go on little adventures to the zoo and travel, but for me there really are so few categories in the “day to day, for fun” area of the monthly budget that it becomes easy to know exactly how much I can spend on beauty products. I don’t indulge in fashion (I recently bought a THIRD handbag for less than twenty dollars and felt weird about it, o! my!) or other “typical” girly expenditures.
It’s all about prioritization for me.
I have had to become more frugal recently (by quite a margin) since I’m changing careers. I knew I’d be taking about a five year drastic pay cut, which is tough, but I’m trying to stay focused on longer term satisfaction. 🙂
Since I’m studying and live at home, so I don’t have any real expenses or incomes (only student grant and an 1 hour/week job wage), I usually allow myself to spend about half of my money on beauty.
I… spend all of my spare money on makeup. That’s it, there’s nothing else I’m interested in buying at the moment. I do a lot of research before buying something though, and I wait a few days or weeks before making a purchase to make sure I really want it. My collection is carefully “curated” and brings me a lot of joy, so I don’t mind spending so much on it.
I don’t have a set budget for cosmetics. In our household budget my husband and I each have a ‘blow fund’ which is basically an allowance for discretionary spending. Anything beauty related comes out of my blow fund. I have SO MUCH that I rarely purchase beauty products now. In fact, I’m getting ready to do a large destash.
I put a budget around $60. Before I do a splurge, I really ask myself if I need it and/or if I have anything like this. As for limited edition items, I am really picky on the things I like. But then I have full control on things I want because I’m trying to save money to live in with my boyfriend. If there’s a good deal going around, then I splurge on it.
I am very intentional about purchases and try to avoid temptations at places like grocery stores, target, drug stores, etc. It’s surprising how quickly a few $8-$10 goodies per trip add up. I keep a wishlist and try to choose items that I am most likely to use and love. I also look for sales on gilt and hautelook where you can get higher-end products for drugstore prices.
I have a $1200 budget for skincare, cosmetics and hair care.
That $1200 also includes mani/pedis and hair cuts. I also have
A $1200 budget for clothes for the whole year. I only use my
Credit card for the above purchases, that way I can easily track
My spending on a monthly billing rather than sift through bank statements
For the whole month.
I’ve just recently realized HOW EFFING MUCH I SPEND! I’m starting a wish list sheet, prioritizing by high, medium and low end products, and allowing myself a set number from each per month (except for big sale months, then I go crazy…). And, if I don’t buy up to that number each month I decide to “rollover” or upgrade the amount for next month. Which is what I’ll like do for my high end until the Hourglass Holiday 2015 palette comes out.
I confess, I’m a Makeup Addict and thusly have no regard for budgeting!!! It’s awful, I know. . . admitting is the first step. Seriously, I’m addicted and have no intention of taking the next step anytime soon. 🙂
I consider the term beauty to refer to skincare and makeup, so my beauty budget generally revolves around those two things. I’ve always been a firm believer in splurging for effective skincare products, because the benefits skincare can offer are more long-term, where I just wash off my makeup at the end of the day. So yeah, I regularly spend quite a bit on skincare (Sunday Riley and Peter Thomas Roth currently!), but I’m quite satisfied with doing so since I see results 🙂 For makeup, I try to save up money to blow during the holidays where brands come out with a lot of value sets, or just whenever Sephora has their VIB sales. I know I don’t NEED any more makeup (especially since my skin is getting better), but if I’m getting a really good deal on it then, hey, why not?
At this time I have a very tight beauty budget I have to stick to, and I do most of the time. If I go over budget, it’s generally just by a few dollars.
I do everything I can to make a little go a long way: I wait for sales, I use Ebates or other sources of cashback, I buy discounted gift cards when possible, I use loyalty programs, I compare prices, etc… I’m also very selective with what I buy, because obviously I can’t have all the products that are on my wishlist. I can’t jump on the LE collections as soon as they’re out!
One thing I can do if presented with a very good opportunity when my budget is already used up (like I did today with the Tarte 30% off sale) is use a credit card that will be billed next month. I avoid this trick though because it means I’m already using next month’s budget and I’ll be even more limited that month! (My budget doesn’t follow calendar months by the way, it’s aligned with our main credit card billing cycle).
I try to make rules for myself every now and then, but I always end up breaking them 🙂 I just go with my instinct, I guess. Whenever I felt like I spent to much, I just do a no-buy for a month or so. I still live with my parents so I don’t have any other costs so in fact I can spend whatever I want but I’m trying to save up as much as I can for when I live on my own.
I only have a very limited budget per quarter and most of that is designated to be skincare and hair related. I find a lot of good products for nicer drugstore to mid end brands like Derma E, Acure, and OGX.
I don’t splurge on makeup for lips or lashes, I go drugstore 95% of the time.
When I do splash out, it’s on a mix of staples and LE. I try to only get LE stuff if I know I will love and use it. I should have gotten a few things from holiday/spring from Chanel and Guerlain but my budget doesn’t allow for it.
I also try to look at holes in my collection before I buy. If I have the urge to splurge, I look at what I have and use. I have like 3 nude lippies, but I rarely wear them. I have 10 fuscihas, but I wear them all the time and actually go through them! So if I’m feeling like a need another high-end lippie, I get what I know I will use.
Budget? What is this budget you speak of?
Seriously though, I try to be sensible, but I also remind myself that I make good money and this is my hobby and it’s what makes me happy.
And it’s just a little $15 lipstick so who does it hurt? Ha. Obviously it adds up and that kind of thinking is insidious.
Honestly, my biggest decider is often space. I live in a small NYC apartment and even with my unusually generous bathroom storage, there are limits. I also try to be practical. I wear eyeshadow rarely, but I have TONS. So I try to limit that one. At least with respect to palettes, which I almost never use. But I spend a lot on, say, different foundations, which I wear a lot.
Then there are the days I have a little angel/devil-on-my-shoulder conversation about the completely ridiculous purchases, like yellow eyeliner I will probably only wear once.
For the record, I bought the eyeliner. Whether that was the angel or devil that won I’ll let you decide. (It was only $22!)
ps. all of my purchases go on my points credit card and then get paid off in full every month. So I actually make a little bit of money on them. I use the card for everything, rack up points, and always pay it off with no interest due. This is how I justify shopping 🙂
LOL. Totally laughed when you said, “Budget? What is this budget you speak of?”
I actually don’t have a budget. Budget sounds totally pre-planned and I’m really bad about keeping track of what I spend. So like you Samira, I try to be sensible–like, if I see something I really love, I’ll check and see if I already have a dupe or if I can make do with what I have (by blending together things I have to create a color or something) .
I try to make sure everything I buy rates from “very good” to “excellent” by checking reviews first. If bought and it turns out it doesn’t work, then return. I also hate the return process, so that also stays my hand when I just want to “try” things–I try to make sure it’s something I’ll use often or something I’ll absolutely love if it works out the way I wanted it to.
I first usually never charge beauty purchases, I won’t put my self into debt for makeup. Secondly after everything is paid for as far as bills are concerned I then see if there is anything that I like or want. For certain collections I’ll save a bit if I know I’ll be spending more!
i got really bad for a while because I was still living with my parents, so no rent + no bills = spend as much as I want. Since I started setting money aside for the final move out of 2015, I have a lot less to spend a month. Luckily, my extensive collection can easily carry me through a couple of years (I’ve currently got 13 foundations and once I get the YSL vault point perk I’ll have five mascaras)
I like the confidence that you’ll be one of the quick clickers to pick up that YSL point perk! I have a feeling a few of us will be trying for that one… 😉
When I first got into makeup with nothing in my stash but the foundation, lipstick and mini palette I bought at the drugstore for my prom 10 years earlier, I NEEDED a lot of things. And I went a bit further than buying one of each category of products and now have a decent stash size with a nice variety of products.
Since reaching that “level”, I’ve allowed myself a spending amount every few months which has averaged about 20$/month and I’m pretty satisfied with that.
I don’t understand the question.
Budgeting is something I need to learn. I’ve been very bad in the past, buying what I wanted without regard to price. I always pay cash though. I’ve begun to realize how many products I own and have reduced spending quite a bit.
With great difficulty. I start from zero, then everything feels like a splurge.
Still working on this. I plan to be more pick about what I buy. I plan to wait and see what palette get a good review. Last year, I got a palette that wasn’t that good and if I waited for the review here it would have saved me money.
That should have been more picky about my choices. Sorry for the bad grammar.
I don’t have a specific “makeup” category in my budget, but I count it in my “Entertainment” budget which sounds weird but that is basically the chuck of my excess (after the fixed, semi-fixed, savings, and other more vital variable expenses categories) that I use for things that are in the “make me feel good” category. It also falls in the sub-category of “Entertainment: Items” as opposed to “Entertainment: Events” (concerts, lectures, etc) and a few other sub-categories. I’m kind of hyper-organized with my finances because of my medical bills and student loans. It tends to vary depending on what’s going on (if I have an MRI, if my cat has his annual vet appointment, etc). When I was younger I had my fixed allowance and I was less structured about it and more focused on things like going to the movies with friends so I generally only got makeup as gifts (via an Amazon wishlist).
I generally save well and use discounts and GWP to buy most of my products. If there is anything that is over my budget to buy – then I either save up for it or request it as a birthday or Christmas present. All of my skincare, lipsticks, mascaras, foundations are drugstore products. The only thing I splurge on is eye shadow palettes and now I am looking at blushes.
I get paid on a week to week basis, so I’ll set aside a fixed amount each week for savings, medication, transportation, and other necessities, and then what’s left over I can use for whatever I want as a fun-fund. It can be for beauty (it usually is), clothes, going out to eat, gifts, etc. All that kind of non-essential stuff I don’t really budget out beside separating the fixed amount I take out every week.
Also, I think I’ve finally built up a solid makeup “wardrobe,” for lack of a better word (hoard, perhaps? 🙂 ), so I think I’ll definitely be spending less. For the last year and a half or so I’ve been buying a lot of things off of an imaginary checklist in my head, nothing specific, but like “oh you should have a good matte foundation,” or “oh it’s always good to have a great berry lipstick in your collection,” but now I’ve got my collection all fleshed out. Unfortunately at first when I didn’t know what I was doing, I bought a lot of stuff I barely ever used and wasted a TON of money that way. I’m pretty sure I spent over $100 on drugstore foundations in hopes that one would work that are now collecting dust, when I could have just spent $30 on one that did.
I don’t have a set budget for cosmetics, but I have a set budget for everything else. Within my budget I have an amount of spending money each month, I use what I want from this spending money on cosmetics.
I don’t really have a strict budget set out for any of my expenses (college student life!), but for makeup, I try to limit purchases to a) things I really “need” (like clear brow gel or eyeshadow primer), b) slightly larger splurges around the holidays or back-to-school time, and c) other stuff that I want when I have a little extra money. I usually keep a running list in my head/on my phone of products I want to try, and then when the timing, sales, promotions etc. line up favorably, I’ll purchase those items. (Example: I’ve wanted to try the Milani Power Lip stains ever since they came out like 3 years ago, and I finally bought some a couple months ago when Milani was on sale at CVS, and I had some extra spending money.) I rarely buy anything right when it comes out. Only exception that I can think of right now is the original Too Faced Sweethearts blush; I bought that at full price from Ulta when it was released and I don’t regret it. Otherwise, I often buy products online, sometimes from eBay/blog sales (:0) to get a lower price.
I’ve just started to limit thee amount of makeup and skincare I’ll allow myslef to buy within a calendar year. It makes me consider quality over quantity. (And limited edition things get preference because I can’t avoid the hype.)
What’s a beauty budget. Lol, just kidding. I don’t really have a budget exactly. I have an “allowance” of $250 every month that I can use to buy things my husband finds ridiculous or an over the top luxury. He pays for all of my clothes, hair things, and makeup for the most part. But if I want something designer, like a $50 lipstick, that’s from my allowance. A MAC lipstick, or one from tarte is a “regular expense” and wouldn’t come from my allowance unless I had done something odd like bought five already that month.
For the most part my cosmetic purchases are mid to high end. I stopped buying drugstore a long time ago, I returned more than I kept and it was too frustrating. My husband understands and was happy to let me start spending more. But I go from spending nothing from one month to the next, only to suddenly splash out and spend a few hundred (Ilike to wait for sales and GWP before I buy). So if you had to average it out, I’d say I spend about $100 a month, but for me that included skin care, hair care, and sun protection (face and body).
I keep a spreadsheet, yes, a spreadsheet. And everything I buy, whether it’s drugstore, Sephora, beauty subscriptions, etc. goes on that spreadsheet. Date purchased, $ spent, and a short review – was it worth it would I buy again, shipping, etc. broken down by month. My personal preference is to spend more on high end skincare rather than makeup. If your skin is in good shape, you can make virtually any makeup work miracles. If skin needs help, that’s where my $$ goes.
I know this is anal, but it really will show you where your beauty money is going and to repurchase only those items that are really stellar.
But when you see it all in one spreadsheet, you’ll throw up in your a mouth a little bit. Just warning.