Don't Pay Retail Prices

Despite the title of my blog, I realize that cosmetics are a luxury. They are lovely, but they don't exactly fall under the categories of food, clothing, or shelter. I feel the need to be even more bargain-conscious with beauty items than other products. In my experience, the key to getting the most out of your money is patience. Below are some recent examples.

Color Club Glitter Vixen 7-bottle set

The above type of set, containing seven bottles of Color Club polish, is available on the Color Club website for $48.00: http://www.shopcolorclub.com/nail-polish-collections.html . As nail polish prices go, not too bad: under $7.00 a bottle. But I refuse to drop $48 in one shot on nail polish, even as addicted as I am. I purchased the above set at T.J. Maxx for $9.99. It is not rare for T.J. Maxx to have great nail polish bargains on brands like Essie, OPI, China Glaze, and of course, Color Club.

Butter London Sparkle, Sparkle glitter trio

The Butter London trio above (featuring 'Shambolic', 'Jack the Lad', and 'Scuppered') is valued at $42.00, based on their 2012 price of $14.00 per bottle of nail lacquer (price is $15.00 in 2013). They were selling the trio initially for $36.00 for the holidays. I was not going to spend that much. I was tempted, however, after the holidays when Butter London lowered the price to $25.00. I still resisted. Finally, last week I found the Sparkle, Sparkle collection above at Nordstrom Rack for...

Nordstrom Rack is fabulous for finding cosmetics at more reasonable prices. On my last trip there, I saw brands such as Anastasia, Urban Decay, Stila, NYX, Jane, and Benefit. I was loving the Urban Decay:

Urban Decay Deluxe Shadow Box

Urban Decay actually has this Deluxe Shadow Box on sale on their website for a great price of only $16.00 (original was $38.00). I paid a little bit more than that at Nordstrom Rack, as shown below, but that was totally okay for me, since I didn't have to pay shipping. Free shipping on the Urban Decay site is for orders of $50.00 or more.

 

Urban Decay Deluxe Shadow Box opened

DDF Brightening Cleanser is my favorite facial cleanser. I first tried it through a sample from Birchbox. Then, I received another sample through Sample Society. Since then, I have traded on makeuptalk.com for a few of the sample bottles. But, then, not long ago I found a full-size bottle at Marshalls: 

DDF Brightening Cleanser

On DDF's website, this cleanser retails for $39.00. Dermstore sells it for $35.00. I am not sure where Marshalls got the $24.00 price from for comparison, but I was definitely happier with the price I paid:

 

Most recently, I checked out my local Big Lots for bargains. I ended up with eight Revlon nail polishes. Revlon nail polish typically retails for $4.99, although Ulta and CVS will often have sales, such as 'Buy One, Get One 50% Off'. At Big Lots, however, these were being sold for $2.00 for a pack of two. (Please note that stock varies a lot by branch.) Here are the shades I bought:

Revlon 'Chic' and 'Royal'

Revlon 'Cloud' and 'Sheer Seafoam'

Revlon 'Saucy' and 'Gold Coast'

2 Bottles of Revlon 'Sparkle Aplenty'

Another great source of bargains are online coupon codes. Simply type the name of the brand you are looking for into your search engine, followed by the phrase 'coupon code' and you may find codes good for free shipping, gift with purchase, 20% off, or similar.

It takes more time and patience to hunt for sales and coupons, but it is completely worthwhile to me. 

What do you think? Do you search for the lowest prices, or is it too much work?

*I am not affiliated with any of the brands or stores mentioned in this post. All of these products were purchased with my own money.*