How To Source Affordable Beauty Products

Picture it:  You're getting ready for the day, fresh from the shower and at your vanity.  You lean forward and squint into the mirror. What do you see?  Another rough wrinkle?  More crows feet?  Deeper laugh lines?

This will not stand. You tell yourself you're going to go out and treat yo'self to the best firming anti-wrinkle anti-aging bb, cc gel cream serum (I'm making this up) money can buy and show your skin who’s boss, dammit.  But wait, what’s this on the doormat, your credit card bill? Girl, what are you doing charging another pair of shoes?  Have you not seen your face?​

How To Source Affordable Beauty Products

I get it, I really do. Every time a wrinkle or a gray hair presents itself we’re faced with yet another reminder that, try as we might, we ain't getting any younger. We all aspire to be the kind of ageless beauty celebs try and display well in their forties, fifties and beyond, but who knows what kinds of obnoxiously expensive treatments they’re privy to? You might not have the income of a Sandra Bullock or a Halle Berry, but that doesn’t mean you should have to compromise on looking gorgeous. Very often, we overspend on our beauty regimen without even realizing it. By replacing expensive products with cheaper or home made equivalents, saving money on products that simply don’t work and addressing the lifestyle factors that diminish the natural beauty we were born with, we can scythe down the cost of looking good.

Look For Sales, Discounts and Coupons

Find Less Expensive Alternatives

With so many coupons, vouchers, promotions and limited time, BOGO offers there’s really no excuse for paying full price for your favorite products. Big brands have big profit margins and they’ll often take a small hit on profit if it means they can increase their sales volume. That’s why you’ll always find vouchers and coupons for the big beauty brands that will enable you to make huge savings. Head on over to Mojo Savings to discover more. Subscribing to coupon and voucher code sites will get savings sent direct to your inbox. ​ And apps like Honey and Ebates will help you save on your purchases, too!

Brand loyalty is all well and good, but in a lot of cases, it’s a luxury. Very often we’ll head to a name brand simply out of name recognition. While we might be paying a hefty price tag, this doesn’t necessarily mean we’re getting the best product. Take a look at the active ingredients in your favorite big brand beauty products and you’ll likely see the exact same ingredients used in cheaper brands. In fact, just check out these natural beauty products which are all under $20.

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Keep Coconut Oil On Hand

Know What Works and What Doesn't

There’s very little coconut oil can’t do. It’s a healthy fat for cooking with, it’s a naturally potent moisturizer, it’s a great skin friendly way to remove makeup, it’s a natural energy booster that’s great with smoothies, mix it in with some bicarbonate of soda and some peppermint oil and you’ve got yourself an environmentally friendly toothpaste, and it can even kill off a yeast infection. That’s why every home should have a jar of it.  

Ageless Hollywood beauty Gwyneth Paltrow credits coconut oil and drinking lots of water for her ageless and flawless skin, and while we may not follow her in steaming our lady parts, going on a goat’s milk cleanse, getting stung by bees on purpose or taking any of her other strange advice… But coconut oil? Yeah, sure!

The sad fact is that the beauty industry is a hotbed of myths and pseudoscience. There are shelves full of products that are cleverly marketed to make you believe that they will solve all of your beauty needs. They will be loaded with ingredients that sound impressive but won’t do anything other than slim down your bank balance. Avoid these impressive sounding but utterly fallacious ingredients at all costs…

• Collagen- For sure, this is important for plump, youthful skin but it can’t be absorbed into the skin, your body needs to create its own. Fortunately, the right diet can help with this (we’ll get to that later).
• Elastin- Same as collagen, it gives skin its elasticity, preventing fine lines and wrinkles, but it can’t be absorbed into the skin.
• Stem cells- Often touted as a USP but also utterly useless. Stem cells need to be alive to be of use to your body and they most certainly won’t be alive if they’ve been made into a beauty cream. ​

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Make Your Own

It's All About Diet

Most of the products stocked in our bedrooms and bathrooms can be replicated effectively from home at a fraction of the cost. Plus, since you won’t be using all of that plastic that’s often used to contain beauty products so the environment will thank you. With just a tiny initial investment you can make your own beauty products that will last you for months made from cheap and ubiquitous items that you may well have sitting around in your home right now, including:

• Coconut oil
• Shea butter
• Beeswax
• Cocoa butter
• Arrowroot powder
• Brown sugar
• Apricot kernel oil
• Table salt
• Zinc oxide
• Essential oils for scents

With these humble ingredients you can make everything from facial moisturizers, to lip scrubs, to sunblock to dry shampoo. If you’re looking for recipes Wellness Mama is a great source for homemade beauty product recipes.

All the beauty products in the world won’t save your skin, hair, nails, eyes and teeth if you drink and smoke heavily, or live on processed convenience foods. Your body needs the essential nutrients for natural, healthy looking skin. Beauty products can enhance what’s already there but they’re no substitute for a healthy diet and drinking lots of water. Make sure that your plate contains lots of the following for every meal and you’ll be well on your way to gorgeous skin for life;

• Nuts and seeds- Rich in omega 3 to keep skin smooth and youthful.
• Leafy greens- Nutritional powerhouses and their chlorophyll helps your skin retain its moisture and nutrients.
• Tomatoes- Full of the antioxidant lycopene which protects skin from sun damage.

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Who says looking flawless has to come with a heavy price tag?  What do you do to save money on your favorite beauty products? Let me know in the comments below!
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