My Philosophy

I love makeup, but I have to work within a tight budget. I wanted to put a voice on the Internet for women who have felt out of place amidst discussions about expensive lines and products. For women who either don't want to spend a lot of money, or can't.

I am not a militant tightwad, and you don't have to be either to enjoy and use the advice on this web site. I am not against anyone buying expensive or department store make-up if they have found a product they love and they can truly afford it. I prefer to buy foundation and concealer where I can test them first (Fortunately, there are more foundation testers showing up at the drugstores, and by custom mixing my own colors I have not had to buy department store foundation). However, it is just completely unnecessary to pay department store prices for most products. Price is no indicator or guarantee of quality. All the companies that sell in department stores and drugstores use the same manufacturing companies. Pick up an eyeshadow or blush shade at the drugstore, walk around and compare it to the colors in other lines. You can often find the exact same shade in many lines. They use the same dyes. There are just so many excellent and very inexpensive products at the drugstore, there is no reason to shop the department store counters or spend a lot of money unless you need to test the color or formula first (as with foundation and concealer) or you have an allergy and must keep all your options open. I try to go as cheap as I can for as many products as I can, without compromising quality or my satisfaction with a product.

I enjoy  my make-up so much more when I paid very little for it. It has become like a game to me to find the best and cheapest products possible for most of my make-up. Especially for the products that I buy many colors of, or go through quickly. I love lipstick and like to wear a different shade just about every day. I don't match my lipstick to my clothes, I match my clothes to my lipstick! I always have at least 10-20 lipsticks (that I mix and layer to make more!). I get bored with lipstick shades easily so I don't like to buy expensive lipstick. I leaned to custom mix and adjust my own lipstick and blush shades from very low-cost products, because I got tired of all the time and expense involved in searching for that elusive "perfect shade" of  red, or plum or whatever. When I find a lipstick formula I really like, I tend to stick with that brand and that can also limit my color options.

I prefer to avoid the more expensive drugstore products. I'd rather spend $12 on a lipstick I can test and be sure I'll like at the department store than spend $8 on one I can't test at the drugstore. Yes, I know most drugstores will now take back anything you don't like. This is great, but I find this an impractical process when I'm looking for a specific shade and formula of lipstick or foundation, even though I do it sometimes. If I can't test it, I want to spend as little as possible! Even with these new policies, it still pays to make educated and thoughtful  purchases at the drugstore, and to shop the less expensive brands and products. We can still loose our receipts, be too busy to return an item, or become dissatisfied with a product months after we bought it, particularly with a change in the seasons. We still end up with products that we don't use or toss.

I have also discovered that I have this weird  "quirk" about using expensive make-up. I bought a few department store items with some birthday money I received some months ago and I found myself feeling awkward using them because they cost so much. I was practically afraid to use them (I know I'm not the only one, I have seen other women treat expensive make-up differently, practically worshipping the fancy container and rarely using it). Should I save it for only special occasions? But then it will probably get old before I use it up and I won't get my money's worth. Should I put on the expensive lipstick today since I'm not sure if I will leave the house and no one may see me in it? It was hard for me to just relax and enjoy it. I realized the only thing to do was just treat it like any other make-up I own. Once I could, I felt stupid for having spent so much on such ordinary items. It took a while before I felt comfortable carrying my $16 lipstick in my purse. What if I lose it? I decided this is just not worth it. I am too neurotic to buy the expensive stuff! With my $1 Wet 'n' Wild lipsticks I don't have to worry about losing them. Just get another and my husband will never harass me about spending too much on make-up. Also, I can mix up different colors with these lipsticks and play all I want and make mistakes without feeling guilty if I have to trash a failed experimental concoction.

When I figured out how to duplicate the shades I had bought at the department store, I felt like I had wasted my money. After all, these products did not perform any differently than the cheap ones, and I looked just as gorgeous with either. Its not like driving a nice car. No one can tell from looking at me that I am wearing the cool "status" make-up. I just feel like an idiot because it was the equivalent of flushing $26 down the toilet. I got absolutely nothing for the extra $26 I spent by purchasing department store color products.

You should know that I am a big Paula fan. Paula Begoun's book Don't Go To The Cosmetics Counter Without Me is indispensable for any bargain hunter or cosmetics connoisseur. She tests and rates practically everything out there for you. It makes price comparison shopping impossibly easy, and you can do it at home! She will save you a lot of shopping time.The only problem is that I have found my preferences in make-up formulas are often different than hers. It also seems that many products perform differently on her oily skin than they do on my dry skin. Still, it is an excellent guide to help you narrow down the choices and to tell you what is out there. After you figure out how your preferences differ, you can truly use it as a shopping guide. For example, I discovered we have the opposite taste in mascara formulas. She likes the Tammy Faye stuff. So if she says one "builds little thickness or length", I know I'll probably love it. I find it especially helpful when shopping for foundation formulas. However, her color recommendations don't work for my skin tone. I still think it is a very well-spent $16, especially for someone who is just starting to break the department store habit and needs a little direction.

Her skin care information is especially excellent, and very scientific. You will find nothing to compare with the multitude of little gems she will give you about how to best take care of your skin. She goes into more detail about skin care in her book The Beauty Bible. I think all women should own this very important book. It is unlike any other beauty book I have ever read. She will teach you how to take better care of your skin and save you thousands of dollars over the course of your lifetime. She explains how sometimes the products we use can be the cause of our skin problems, and how to correct this. She also has excellent advice for the acne prone. I learned how to best care for my skin while using fewer and less expensive products. I had fairly good skin to start with, but now it is nearly perfect. She has another excellent book Don't Go Shopping For Hair Care Products Without Me.  See the bookstore to order..