There are some obvious ways of getting cheaper make up and I will cover those in this entry but I will also offer alternative ways to get big brands at a good price in places I think most people would not normally think to go to.
Option One: Buy Online
Ebay
Ebay is your best bet for finding cheaper make up online. All brands can be found on this website too. There are a number of things to look out for though.
1) Watch Those Sellers!
DON'T ever buy from any seller who has less than about 95% positive feedback. When a seller's rating is this high it means buyers very very very rarely have problems with them. The small percentage that's left usually means when they do have problems they're usually settled fairly and this makes them safer to buy from and more reliable sellers. Of course there are always exceptions, I wouldn't be wise if I didn't point this out but I have been buying from Ebay for years now and I've followed this rule and had no problems this far. It might sound obvious but be sure to give sellers who offer products at a lower price with lower p+p your attention! Screw the ones who charge you more! Let them miss out on your cash :) You'll be surprised how some people will simply buy an item because it's there and who don't thoroughly check seller prices.
2) Tick all the right boxes!
Ebay have boxes you can check to set your preferences on the left hand side of the site. I recommend ticking 'My Country Only' (in my case this would be 'UK only'), 'P+P Lowest First' and then if you are like me and want to purchase the item quickly, go with 'Buy It Now' too. Personally I have NO patience for bidding. I NEVER go to ebay to bid. If I see an item, I want it right away. I do not want to have to wait it out. Checking 'P+P Lowest First' obviously promises you won't be paying a ridiculous amount of money for shipping. Checking 'My Country Only' means your postage is reduced because it's in your state and not abroad and 'Buy it Now' means you'll get the item bought and delivered faster.
3) Sift Through!
Once you have found the product you want make sure you check out the competition. Checking 'Lowest First' will help you see the prices but delivery options vary from seller to seller so two sellers may have the same price on an item's delivery but one of those seller's delivery options may be faster despite being the same price as the other. This is why it's important to look around!
Option 2 - High Street - Drugstores
Okay so sometimes we don't always have the time to wait for items to be delivered. Also for some people it also gives peace of mind knowing that there's next to no risk that an item has been tampered with and buying from the high street is your best bet to find items in perfect condition. Plus you can see the item right away and feel it/test it out, etc. You can't do this with online shopping. Although what I usually do when buying makeup is look for the product in the shops to swatch it and then look online for it later so I know what the product is like before I buy online. Obviously you can't always do this but it works for the most part.
The trick is to shop around. Again, it seems obvious but you'll be surprised how many people fail to do this! Seriously. Don't just buy from a shop because it saves you having to walk to another to find it. You may seriously be missing out!
My favourite high street shops to buy make up from are Boots and Superdrug. They sell the same brands of make up but Superdrug offer a 10% student discount when you spend £10 and they regularly have buy one get one frees/3 for 2 offers. Boots do 3 for 2 most of the time and give you a No7/Ruby Millie voucher per £5 that you spend. They also give you points on your advantage card which you can later save up and use to buy other things.
So you see both shops have their advantages but it's important to go to more than one place that sells the same items just to be sure. You never know if the other store is holding an offer on the same item and surely it's worth walking five minutes to save yourself the extra money!
Also - HAVE PATIENCE! IF you aren't desperate for the item, WAIT IT OUT. I promise you from experience that the item you're after will come down in price at some point when they make room for new stock or when they need to shift stock between seasons. Keep a sharp eye out in between seasons for cheaper make up because it DOES happen.
Option 3 - Clothing Stores
Believe it or not, clothing stores are catching on. They're beginning to realise when women go to buy an outfit they often then go on to look for cosmetics.
It is VERY useful to keep your eyes open when you're shopping for clothes. Especially on the individual mini stands that they dart around the store. This is where you'll find some great deals.
I recently bought a highly pigmented Wet And Wild eye shadow trio at New Look for £1.50. Where were they? Right next to the cash points where everyone usually just passes by. Normally it costs £3.50. They are also selling Eyebrow grooming shadows/kits, false nails, nail polish and false eye lashes. None of these items exceed £5 so you can grab a complete bargain.
Keep your eyes open! These shadows I bought are on the same level as MAC in my opinion and they cost me £9 less! All because I kept an eye out.
Option 4 - Markets
I wanted an individual section for markets because not many people realise that
you can find some really awesome deals.
Every single city has a market. Usually these are the places where they sell fruit/veg, meat, clothing, make up and candy at different stalls all under one roof.
Mine has a small makeup section where you can buy loads of cheap make up. Some of it is a bit cheap and crappy in all honesty but recently they were selling older revlon, maybelline and collection 2000 mono, trio and quad shadows for between 35p and £1.45 each. It was crazy cheap and I got an excellent highlighting shadow and some coloured mono shadows and I paid barely £1 for three. Also they stock beautyUK quad eye shadows (very well pigmented and very soft) for 10p cheaper than in Superdrug. £2.89 at my local market, £2.99 in Superdrug. It might only be 10p but if it's the same product, why bother paying more? It's so worth going to these places and just taking a look.
Option 5 - Drugstore Brands
Okay so finally I'm going to go over drugstore brands. Brands like Collection 2000, Miss Sporty, BeautyUK, Maybelline, Rimmel, Revlon and thousands more.
Do your shopping. Compare products from each brand. Take swatches to compare quality! Don't be afraid of doing this. They put testers out so you can see what the product looks like, smells like and feels like. So do it. It's no use complaining the colour pay-off of a shadow is crappy if you didn't swatch the tester in the store to find that out before you bought it. If there isn't a tester out you have every single right to ask for one. It's a store's job to provide them!
Don't hold prejudices against cheaper brands by believing their stuff must be crappy. Collection 2000 is the second cheapest drugstore brand (next to Miss Sporty) and their liquid eye liner has won an award for being the best long lasting liquid liner compared to other drugstore brands. Through personal use of this liner I can tell you it's damn true. It lasted longer than my No7. No7 liquid liner costs £8.50. Collection 2000 liner costs £1.99. It should be more expensive in my opinion but don't tell them that ;)
Option 6 - Friends and Family
It's worth asking around your own circle of friends and family if they have any make up items they don't use. Let's face it, we all have a lipstick or eye shadow we bought on a whim even though it doesn't suit us. So why not trade ununsed items? You'll most likely get it free from your nearest and dearest too. A good time to ask is after Christmas because this is when most people receive unwanted items or buy items they later regret buying.
