What type of beauty products do you skimp on? Where do you try to save? Share!
Body cream/lotion, sunscreen (you need a lot of it!), top/base coats, cleanser.
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Body lotion, makeup sponges.
Toothpaste and mascara are two things I would (almost) never spend a ton of money on
Pretty much all body care/shower stuff. Also hair and nail products. Where makeup is concerned I often go low-end for lip products because I enjoy being able to afford a nice variety.
Cotton for nail polish removal, acetone, and mascara (because I go through so much of it!).
I buy the cheapest spf 50 sunscreen I can get by the gallon. Also my body lotion and face cleanser are cheapish (St. Ives), since I’ve found they work just as well for my skin as more expensive products I’ve tried.
I buy drugstore facial cleanser, Aveeno.I keep two mascaras open at a time, a drugstore brand mascara,and a higher end mascara. I tend to use the drugstore mascara for everyday casual looks.
The majority of my body and hair care products, as well as some of my facial skin care products are definitely considered second tier in terms of price.
Ooh Christine, you should make the next series of questions along the lines of:
What’s the most expensive/inexpensive makeup/skin care items you use on a regular basis? 🙂
I have super sensitive skin and eyes, so I do not skim on makeup or skin care products. I skim on body products like body lotion and body wash. My allergies to fragrance prevent me from having most scented lotions. I also skim on nail products. Never had a manicure and do not care too. I am just not a nail person. One bottle of cheap polish for each season does me just fine. Often, I wear none. My line of work makes it impossible to stay put.
I meant skimp….
Hair products. I can’t bring myself to splurge on the pricey stuff yet.
The most consistent one for me would be makeup remover. Also, I think pretty much all nail products, body lotion and sunscreen, and mascara would fall into that category, too.
I don’t save on anything. I try to find the right products for me, no matter the price.
Ditto to this for sure.
my makeup collection is pretty varied as far as price goes, I have a lot of drugstore items and a lot of high end items too… regular things like basic black eyeliners (pencil and liquid) I try to buy good drugstore brands because its something I repurchase often and don’t really want to have to splurge on. I haven’t bought any moisturizer in an eternity because I get bulk freebies from Jurlique but my go-to hand moisturizer for the longest time was Palmers Shea butter which is *cheap as beans* and works for literally any dryness – dry hands? rub it in thick. dry face? mix it withe a little water and pat it on. dry hair? rub a little into the tips after towel-drying.
Lip liners, mascara, body products (lotion, cream, sunscreen, shave gel/cream, razors), hair product, brow product (wax, gel, pencil), nail polish, shadow primer, some brushes & tools, etc. If I can find great products that meet my requirements at a better price point, I’d always rather save.
Sunscreen…That’s it. I just avoid the sun. I’ve resigned myself to the paleness.
I don’t necessarily see this as “skimping” because I really do like the products, like the Sally Hansen top coat (I’m yet to find a better one at any price point). And never saw the point in fancy body wash, even when I get it as a gift – Olay is my absolute favorite. Guess the only product I truly skimp on is sunscreen. I always buy whatever is the cheapest with the amount of SPF I’m looking for, regardless of brand.
mascara, lippies, and I’m 50/50 with cleansers and shower products. It depends on how much money I have and how well the product works. I don’t splurge on those premium products so I have more money to spend on high quality skincare, powders, and bases.
Mascara, lipliner, shampoo and conditionner.
Things that I use daily and go through relatively quickly: Face wash, moisturizer, sunscreen, lip balm, shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, etc. Thankfully there are many good budget options for those. The exception to the rule are things like chemical exfoliants and serums, since I use and trust Paula’s Choice, which is mid-end.
Mascara – while I’ve loved some higher-end ones, I get good to excellent results with many drugstore formulas.
Definitely body lotion and sunscreen. Bath and Body Works lotion and Neutrogena sunscreen are all I need!
Body lotion, mascara, eyeliner and eyebrow pencils.
Sunscreen for my body and hands (I spend for facial sunscreen); nail polish remover and cotton pads for polish removal; sometimes body lotion to use in large amounts (but I also splurge on really nice products as well) and, until recently, mascara (but I’ve fallen in love with 2 pricey ones – Bobbi Brown and Clarins – but I still like good ol’ L’Oreal Voluminous).
Uuummm Nothing! I’m worth it!
LOVE THIS!
Mascara – I’ve tried so many high end and drugstore brands and there really isn’t much of a difference in quality and since they have to be changed so often, I don’t see any reason to buy high end anymore!
This would have NEVER come out of my mouth but, mascara….
I used to use GA Eyes To Kill Excess and wouldn’t think of using anything else but after a Sephora SA sold me the Dior primer (?), i put the white stuff on and then some drugstore brand (right now, L’Oreal Butterfly something…) and my lashes have never looked better! This way, i can pitch the mascara every 2 months and not feel guilty.
Yes, the Dior primer is expensive but this way but at least i’m saving on the mascara.
I highly recommend the Dior eyelash primer!
But don’t you have to toss the primer as often as mascara? I don’t know what the primer costs, but being Dior, I imagine it’s fairly pricy.
Definitely body lotion and toiletries. I did get a little fancy with the higher end shower gels and body scrubs but once I finish them up I’m hitting the drugstore. I feel like they all work the same. No need to splurge
Moisturizer – I get plain Cetaphil by the vat.
Shampoo/Conditioner – My hair is actually very dry and very picky about conditioner. But it loves Dove brand, which is always available at Costco. W00t!
Mascara and Cleanser – I have always been lucky enough to acquire generously sized free samples of these! I’ll be sad when my Estee Lauder face wash runs out because I would *never* buy face wash that expensive, but the deluxe sample size I got has lasted three months! Although I may be changing my stance on mascara, the new MAC release sounds right up my alley.
Isn’t it great when the thing that works best is also the least expensive?
If the product’s quality is very good, I’ll save on mascara, cleansers and moisturizers, sometimes hair products. Current list of inexpensive favorites: Sephora Outrageous mascara, Mario Badescu face products. And that new L’Oreal Advanced Haircare line is surprisingly terrific, inching toward its corporate sibling Kerastase.
I skimp on mascara–I’ve been living off free samples for the last year or so. I also skimp on bath/body products.
Any body product, cleansing oil (since they’re all the same, and I second cleanse with a gel cleanser), and body sunscreens (I don’t skimp on facial sunscreens).
Body/shower products, makeup remover, cleanser and mascara
Definitely sunscreen, bronzer and eyeliner
Lipstick! I just don’t use it enough to really spend any money on it (like $20-30/tube)
Usually brushes. I’m a big fan of the ecoTools and Essence of Beauty brushes and they work really well for me, so I don’t feel the need to go out and purchase really expensive brushes.
Also, shampoo and body wash. I have a drugstore shampoo that I love, and am not fussy about my body wash and soap. I’d rather buy cheaper shampoo and be able to spend more money on high end eyeshadows. 🙂
Makeup brushes skincare products (my skin is nowhere near sensitive i get one pimple like once every 6 months and the products work great) hair products since i have ethnic hair
I skimp on mascara. I find that many drugstore mascaras work just as well as HE ones. I don’t use a lot of body lotion so I skimp there – I like my Vaseline Aloe Fresh body lotion just as much as any HE one I’ve tried.
Scatching my head. I don’t actually think about it in terms of scrimping and buy what I think is going to work best for me. I recently cut all my hair off into this short textured thing and to work it, I need hair paste. I’ve purchased 4 different brands/versions at differing price points looking for just the right fit in terms of strength of hold and texture as I have fine straight hair, but lots of it. I don’t think of my purchases as extravagent since I eventually found exactly what I was looking for. The cost was immaterial.
One exception, and probably because I rarely wear it, lipgloss. I refuse to spend on lipgloss just on the principle because it just does not last on me..even the ‘good’ stuff.
I don’t usually spend much on nail varnish, lipstick, or blush. The only time I ever spent over $8 for nail varnish was Chanel’s “Taboo,” which was a one-time-only luxury. I also haven’t spent a great deal on brushes or makeup tools, mainly because I don’t *need* to after purchasing my Real Techniques brushes (spoilers: they’re amazing). Though I’d be lying if I said I haven’t been eyeing that itty bitty Shu Uemura eyelash curler.
I think I save my money by just sticking to what works.. I don’t go out and buy every mascara, foundation, sunscreen known to man lol. I save tons by just keeping it simple and sticking to what works. So if a certain mascara works that’s that. If a powder or lotion works that’s that..
Body/facial moisturizer, facial cleanser, hair products, makeup remover, makeup brushes, nail polish
Bath & Bodyworks or Victoria’s Secret washes, sprays & lotions, Neutrogena sunscreen, all the full & sample size products from Glossybox & Ipsy, Maybelline Falsies & most lip products.
I know it sounds crazy, but nothing! I like to treat myself using luxury skin/body/hair care products and makeup.
Mascara
I don’t really ‘skimp’ intentionally on anything I buy (bit hard to do in this country’s pricing scheme for cosmetics), so for me it’s what I don’t bother buying at all, I guess! This would be: brow gel, primer, lipliner, tanning stuff, toner, cuticle cream/oil.
It’s not so much “skimping”, but being fortunate that certain types of products that work *best* for me, especially with skincare, happen to cost very little. When I foumd out alot of what is included in HE skincare, I stopped using it… The “benefits” of many products were temporary, and not spectacular. When I would switch to something else, any improvements went with it. Now that I’m using alot of natural oils & derma-E moisturizers, my skin is better than its ever been. Since my skin is now in great condition, I get by with a TM most days, and DS foundations work fine.
I would say I skimp on most things, except eyeshadow & more recently, blush/contour/highlight products (although I do buy across pricepoints, but I’m pickier). I don’t find HE lip products worth the costs, and unless I absolutely love the shade & can’t find a dupe, it’s DS for me. In my 25+ years of wearing makeup, I’ve only found one mascara I like more than L’Oréal Voluminous, and since Ultima II is long DC’d, it’s as close to HG as I can get. As long as nail polish is 3-free, I don’t have a need to go HE.
Seeing it written out, I’m pretty cheap, LOL!
Mascara, eyeliner pencils*, lipliner pencils*, most lipsticks, most nail polish, base and top coats, sunscreen, body wash, body lotion, toiletries.
[* I would spend more on a unique colour from a higher-end brand.]
Mascara
Hair care (and hair ornaments)
Contour
Lipstick
Brushes and makeup sponges
Bright colored eye shadow
Skincare (if it has the right ingredients, cheap is fine), often mascara (fave brand is still Maybelline), and, surprisingly enough, bases…I still love my Skin79 Hot Pink BB cream over most everything else I’ve tried! (UD’s Naked skin has a slightly better match, but I find the texture a bit dry–while I can forego setting powder, I then need primer, so the necessary secondary products are a wash.)
Cleanser, but generally for nails and lipstick I have cheaper ones for everyday use
Mascara (The Rocket is my favorite). Blush (I do love my NYX blushes), lipstick (my favorite brand is Revlon) and lipgloss (ditto), cream shadows (maybelline color tattoo is the best). Makeup sponges, because I can get rid of them after I’ve used them (I use them only once for hygiene). Nail polish.
Body care and hair products…Nail products, makeup removers..
When I’m in a rush, I skimp on blush or bronzer, eyeshadow, and my hair – I just throw it up!!
I wish I could skimp on more but my skin is ridiculously sensitive, and I would rather buy one high quality product than 5 meh ones. My skin is so sensitive many things cause it to feel like it’s on fire and turn super red. I get my body butter and wash from The Body Shop but I pay for the membership so I get everything at least 50% off. I save on shampoo and (sometimes) conditioner so I can get an expensive deep conditioner. I definitely buy drug store mascara because no high end brand is better (I NEED waterproof). My skin care (wash, toner, scrub, masks, etc) are expensive (Spa in Beverly Hills) but 1x or 2x a year they do 20% off so I stock up. I wish I could find drug store stuff that doesn’t make me break out, performs really well, and I am not allergic/sensitive to.
Sorry. Longest response ever :-/
I refuse to buy expensive mascaras lol. No matter how amazing they are. I cannot bring myself to spend $10+ on a tube. I think it’s because its one of the products I go through the most that I want to spend just enough.