Ways to Save Money on Beauty Products
Be Strategic About Samples
Pro-tip: The department store counter is your friend. Companies usually have a generous policy about giving out samples to try at home—and speaking from personal experience, this is especially helpful if you have an obsession with a certain, fairly pricey foundation that starts “Armani” and ends with “Luminous Silk Foundation.” Also, Target has a Beauty Concierge in many of its stores now—a.k.a. someone dedicated to helping you out with your beauty questions. This Beauty Concierge is loaded up with samples, so you can try whatever you want at home and come back for the full-size version (...or more samples) if you love it. If you’re shopping online, SpaceNK encourages its customers to try samples. You can call the store’s customer service line, where, after a quick convo about your needs and what you’re looking for, the customer service team will mail out samples tailored to you.
Go for Good GWPs
This is going to hurt, but you need to know: Some gifts with purchase are really just a rip-off. If you have to pay extra to get it, it’s probably not worth it. But if you only need to buy a reasonable amount in actual products (say, $40 worth) to get a freebie, it’s totally worth it—especially if you need to restock on bronzer anyway. Some sites like Dermstore, Sephora, and Beauty.com all have pages dedicated to GWPs. There's no pain (but all gain) in skimming them for good offers before you hit "check out."