Beauty has always been seen as a luxury. But it doesn’t have to cost a fortune.
Amid all the pricey lotions and potions are terrific bargains: lipsticks for less than $2 a tube, a facial for only $4, a professional makeup application for free.
Here are some smart and sneaky ways to get gorgeous without paying the price.
– Pay less for haircuts and more. The price you pay at your salon may not be written in stone.
When 10 salons were called and asked, “Can I pay a little less?” seven of them offered a new price on a haircut, manicure or facial that was on average 20 percent lower.
Better deals are also possible by combining treatments such as a haircut and facial. If the regular price for these services is $75, saying “I can only spend $50 for both” may result in a discount.
– Get a great massage for less. A relaxing rubdown isn’t so pricey if you get one at a local Y, many of which use licensed professionals.
– Have your makeup done for nothing. For big nights out, hit department-store beauty counters for free makeup applications (savings: $30 to $100). Don’t feel pressured to buy anything. Simply tell the consultant you want to think about it overnight.
– Visit a local beauty school. You can save on haircuts, coloring and much more by going to a student (who’s being supervised) at a school such as Hair Professionals Academy of Cosmetology, Hanover Park, 708-830-8110 (facials, $4; hair coloring, $1.50 and up).
– Get your health insurance to pay. Certain “cosmetic” procedures may be covered by your insurance policy. Facials may be covered if prescribed by your dermatologist and performed in his or her office. Sunscreen is also sometimes paid for under insurance plans if it’s prescribed by your doctor.
– Shop at beauty-supply stores. Save big on salon beauty products, some of which aren’t available at regular stores (such as gallon-size shampoos and curling irons with extra-long cords).
Two of the best supply stores around: The Sally Beauty Supply Store (to find the one nearest you, call 800-284-SALLY) and F&M Distributors.
Joining a price club is another way to get beauty bargains. These clubs buy merchandise directly from the manufacturer and resell to members at much lower prices than department stores. Annual membership fees are about $25. One to try: Sam’s Club, 2801 S. Cicero Ave., Cicero (some membership requirements; 708-863-2593).
– Buy by catalog. Wholesale cosmetics catalogs are a smart way to buy cosmetics and fragrances at low prices. Some favorites: Beautiful Visions, 800-645-1030, which offers 50 percent savings on cosmetics (best buy: lipsticks by Forcelli, $1.98); and New York Cosmetics and Fragrances, 415-543-3880, with discounts of up to 70 percent.
– Create your own colored mascara. Why spend money on a colored mascara when you can make your own? Brush your black mascara wand over a cake of blue or purple eye shadow, then apply to lashes.
– Get makeup brushes at the art-supply store. Brushes are one of the most expensive beauty items around. For example, a squirrel-bristle powder brush can cost you about $60 at a makeup counter. But you can find a similar one at a local art-supply store for about $14.
– Highlight your hair at home. A good highlighting job can get pretty expensive-as high as $200. But it’s possible to get the same color at home, for less. Two hair enhancers: Clairol’s Brush-On Lights (about $9.25) and L’Oreal’s La Petite Frost (about $7.59).
To squeeze in extra weeks between colorings, use a touchup stick to cover roots, such as Roux Fanci-Full Tween Time Temporary Touch-Up Crayon (about $7.49), available at most beauty-supply stores.
– Grow your own moisturizer. Instead of buying an expensive bottle of after-sun skin moisturizer every few weeks, buy an aloe plant and keep it growing on your windowsill. To reap the soothing, moisturizing natural gel, just break off a stem, squeeze and apply it to your skin.
– Use lipstick as a blusher. Instead of investing in a blusher, use lipstick to add color to cheeks. Put a dot of lipstick on cheekbone, add a dab of petroleum jelly and blend.
– Moisturize with natural oils. Take avocado oil and olive oil out of the kitchen and into the bathroom. Use either one as an inexpensive moisturizer for your body. (A bottle of olive oil is about $5, compared to bath oil, which can sell for $10 and up.)
– Line your eyes with eye shadow. As a substitute for eye liner, dampen a thin brush, run it through dark powder eye shadows and apply it along your upper lash line.
– Double the life of your facial soap. Keep soap on a small facial sponge in a soap dish between washings. The wet bar will leave just enough soap on the sponge to wash your face the next time around.
– Buy refillable products. It’s the latest trend: beauty products packaged in bottles that can be brought back to the store and refilled-at a lower price. For example, almost all products at The Body Shop can be refilled at a savings of 25 cents off the original price.
– Extend the life of your razor blades. After each shave, dip the razor into cold cream or petroleum jelly to coat it lightly. This will prevent the blade from rusting.
– Don’t use so much shampoo. One of the biggest money wasters is squeezing out too much shampoo for each washing. Tie a measuring spoon to your shower caddy or soap holder and measure out one teaspoon for each sudsing.
– Use your old toothbrush as a nail brush. Don’t toss your old toothbrush. Use it as a nail brush to scrub your nails clean.
– Make lipstick and foundation last longer. To make lipstick last a few more weeks, pry the remains out of the tube and put it into a pillbox. To thin out liquid foundation that’s gotten gloppy, mix with an equal amount of salt-free mineral water.
– Buy products in clear packages. Remember the last time you bought a beauty product, only to discover after opening it that the bottle was just two-thirds full? Stick with clear bottles of shampoo or moisturizer to know for sure how much you’re getting.
– Take advantage of product returns. So you spent $15 on a lipstick and discovered when you got it home that it looked rotten? Don’t worry. Many cosmetics companies will take back “almost” unused color products (eye shadows, lipsticks). Moisturizers and toners are often returnable if you suffer an allergic reaction or don’t like the way they feel.
– Throw a beauty swap party. What do you do with those unused beauty products you never liked and never bothered to return? To unload unwanted makeup, and to pick up free stuff you do like, invite friends to a beauty swap party. Each woman puts her unused makeup onto a table and then takes from the pile what she wants.
