Great Cosmetics Cost Cutting Hunt 29 June 2005 at 11:38AM edited 30 November -1 at 12:00AM in Shop but don't drop 221 replies 125.9K views

MSE_Martin

One for the ladies this week. Make-up, hair-care and the rest can cost staggering amounts (apparently). So this hunt's for MoneySavers to swap ideas on cost cutting - using different products, cheap places to buy, the best 'non-brands' its up to you.

Nile

Look after your after shave or perfumes by storing them in a cupboard or drawer. The perfume will last longer if you don't store them near heat or sunlight.

mhoc

OK someone has to start this so it may as well be me.

I've just stocked up on Botanics facial wipes via the Mirror coupons offers. They come in a flat pack with a reseal, Boots NO 7 do similar, 4 in one wipes.

They are very useful for make up removal especailly at bedtimes when you are too tired (or drunk) to fiddle about with cotton wool, cleasing lotion, trips to the bathroom etc. Also useful when you are away, only one thing to pack.

These wipes are huge so I cut mine in two, use one half at night, reasel the other half and use that in the morning, amazing how much you can miss or get dirty again in the night..

Not sure wether this is the sort of thing you want but there it is now anyway...
Mary

mhoc

Nile wrote:

Look after your after shave or perfumes by storing them in a cupboard or drawer. The perfume will last longer if you don't store them near heat or sunlight.

Preferably locked so your teenager doesnt try and borrow them LOL

Mary

loopy_lass

i get a lot of my cosmetics from either the discount sites or ebay... also get my local chemist to make up rosewater for me (dont just buy it off the shelf) get them to actually make up the stuff... great for toning your face, also put some in a little spray as its great for cooling down on hot days & safe for the kids (well mine anyways)

i pay around £2.95 for 500ml.

hth loops x

Ticklemouse

Places like TJ Hughes often buy up (presumably) old or end of line stock of named cosmetics and toiletries which you can get for a fraction of the cost. They also tend to have a lot of coffrets (that's "gift sets" for you men out there who don't know what one is ) which can be bought for a few pounds and stored away for those Xmas and birthday pressies.

If you look on your local markets, there are often stalls selling cosmetics cheaply. Often these tend to be the 'cheaper' end of the market (pardon the pun) but great if you want to try out new colours or just want that nail colour to match an outfit and don't want to spend a fortune. Also, there is a stall in my local shopping centre that sources more upmarket products - Gail Hayman, Estee Lauder etc and they are often quite a lot cheaper.

I also found that Lidl sell assorted face creams - all those CoQ10 type moisturisers in similar packaging to say, L'Oreal, but they were charging about £1.99 a pot. I bought one but haven't tried it yet.

A word of warning though. Cosmetics and toiletries do have a limited shelf life and you will see dates on the end of the box eg 24 months from opening. These products also have a shelf life when unopened, as there can be chemical reactions within the products themselves, which mean seemingly harmless products can produce more noxious ones when left for any length of time. I am assuming that a lot of these products are snapped up cheaply by these types of stores, because they are fairly old and the main outlets don't want them. Certainly sun screen has a limited shelf life - 2 years and it is recommended that you bin unused suncream after 2 summers as it's protective abilities will have seriously diminished. I believe in the USA, it has a use by date on?

Edit: just looked at my Lidl's receipt - it was £1.79, where as Nivea Q10 day cream is £5.48 at Tesco

loopy_lass

ive bought from the market stalls in the big shopping centres, some are good value, some are very watery & not very good! ... trial & error me thinks

loops

lynseyf

90% of the skin aging you see is caused by the sun. Use a cheaper moisturiser with at least spf15 in it every day. Drink lots of water.

xxbutterflygirlxx

I've used the Lidl 'posh' face creams (and Aldi's) and very good they are too.

xxbutterflygirlxx

Sorry, meant to say the 'Natural Collection' make up from Boots used to be rubbish but they must have done something to it cos it is really good now. Amazingly cheap too, all the lippies, lip glosses etc are 99p at the moment.

Fenella

For buying cut price makeup and perfumes on line try:


www.powderpuff.net
www.saveonmakeup.co.uk
www.fragrancedirect.co.uk
www.eauzonebeauty.com
www.beautyspotcosmetics.co.uk
www.strawberrynet.com

I have successfully used most of these;)