With the price of high street makeup brands rising in recent years I have been making a conscious effort in that time to save money wherever I can. From saving points, hunting down clearance shelves, couponing and shopping in discount stores, I now feel I'm a fully fledged savvy shopper!
So today I thought I'd share wih you my favourite ways to save money on beauty products on the high street. Plus some of my best ever savings?!
Top tips for grabbing a bargain...
Look out for coupons and keep them in your purse - ...Or even have a separate small purse for them! 'Exteme Couponing' is a phrase generally used for savvy U.S shoppers but there are more than enough coupons to cut out and save for UK high street shops. My best tip would be to look in free magazines such as ones from Boots and Tesco for money off coupons and also women's weekly magazines. Boots also give money off receipts at the till when purchasing items, but having a quick snoop around the self serve checkouts will let you know which.
Hunt down the clearance shelves in shops - This is where you can find some amazing bargains. A lot of shops have them with slashed prices due to discontined lines or updated packaging. Boots and TK Maxx always have a great selection.
Sign up to reward cards - Saving up points to spend can be a great way to treat yourself for free (I'm currently resisting the urge to spend £17.00 in point on my Boots card). But can also give you money off vouchers by post. Beauty Reward Cards include - Boots Advantage Card, Debenhams Beauty Club Reward Card, The Body Shop Rewards Card, Superdrug Beautycard.
Top high street shops to find a bargain (in order of preference)...
Pound World - Best place for nail polish and high street brand (such as Revlon,Rimmel, W7).
TK Maxx/Homesense - Great for higher end bargains (think Color Club, Tigi, Nails Inc) & trying out new brands.
Boots - Best for saving up points, money-off vouchers (in the magazine, through the post, with receipts and at print-off vouchers at the Advantage cars machines) and sometimes amazing clearance sections (always seem to be at the back of the store/not where you'd think!)
Poundland - Ideal for beauty essentials (wipes, shampoo, conditioner) and stock high street makeup brands (Sinful Colors, NYC, Revlon).
99p Stores - Wide selection of good branded toiletries and always stock China Glaze Shatter Nail Polishes.
JTF Warehouse (not really on the high street) - Open to trade & public, great for candles and toiletries (spotted in the past - Lipsmackers, Organic Surge, Aussie)
Sally's - Small clearance section but often highly reduced China Glaze nail polishes.
Savers - Good for toiletries and sometimes have surprisingly good brands (spotted in the past - Urban Decay, Naked, Palmers).
Important things to remember...
- If the packaging isn't sealed check the product inside! A lot of the time people seem to think clearance products can be mauled and tested, so make sure the product hasn't been used or isn't missing anything.
- Check the product isn't out of date - especially important with sunscreens and skincare.
- Don't buy for the sake of it being a bargain! When I first discovered the wonders of the TK Maxx beauty clearance section I'd end up buying products I'd never use just because of the reduced price. Ask yourself if you really do like that shade/product and will you use it.
My favourite bargains in the past year...
Over the last year I've purchase some amazing bargains and literally saved £££'s! I expanded my Color Club nail polish collection with some amazing sets containing 7 nail polishes each for £7.99 from TK Maxx and was amazed when I picked up 3 Deborah Lippmann polishes (worth £18.00 each) for a mere £5 on clearance. From Pound World I have picked up so many Revlon and Sally Hansen Nail Polishes that I adore and recently stocked up on sunscreen for summer (high street sun protection is just too pricey!). However my best bargains came recently with Avene skincare products reduced to £1 each on clearance at Boots (Boots haul post to come soon)!
What has been your favourite beauty bargain on the high street?
Fee xo.
