Beauty and Her Wallet / By Cyan Baker

By Cyan Baker If you’re a young woman who wears makeup or is interested in wearing makeup, then this article is for you. As we all know, makeup can be extremely expensive; anywhere from $10 to well over $1,000. According to TODAY (Murray, 2017), “...The average woman wears about $8 worth of makeup and skincare products every day. That adds up to almost $250 a month and well over $200,000 in a lifetime.” This is about the same cost of buying a house. So how do you get invested in makeup without spending so much? Research! Researching different brands and looking at reviews is the best way to start without wasting money. Research is not limited to online reviews. Ask your peers, ask adults that you look up to who have amazing makeup skills, look at tutorials on YouTube, follow makeup artists on social media (Instagram and Snapchat mostly), and the biggest tip of them all, go to the mall! When you go the mall, set a budget and stick to it. According to Kaliah Little, a fellow intern on the magazine and avid makeup lover, “Spend your money where it counts. If you want your foundation to look seamless, spend more money there. If you don’t wear eyeshadow, don’t spend a lot on it.” Also, don’t blindly purchase makeup. Instead, ask for advice from a cosmetologist in a well known makeup store, like Sephora, M.A.C., and Ulta, for example. No matter where you go, they will always be enthusiastic to help. I recommend going to someone who looks like they’ve been doing makeup for years. You can differentiate these cosmetologists from others by looking at how they did their own makeup for the day. Once you find the right makeup for you, buy the smallest version of it offered so that you can try it out to see if it really works. You can also buy the drugstore version instead of designer makeup. Most people cannot differentiate the two. According to TODAY (Rosen & Billington 2016), when asking strangers which looked better, drugstore or designer, they chose drugstore. The drugstore face was valued at $60 and the designer was $250, a whopping $190 in savings. This shows you that you don’t have to invest much to look good. Also, Kaliah said it best when she said, “Do not look down on beauty supply or drugstore makeup. Some of the products may be better than high end makeup.” While shopping for makeup, start with the basics: foundation, eyeliner, brushes, an eyebrow pencil, and maybe lipgloss or lipstick. If you are still within your budget, save your money! I recommend saving your money until you understand more about makeup and can buy an advanced product without hesitation. Keep these tips in mind when starting your makeup journey. They will help you look beautiful without breaking your bank. As my mom always says, you might as well get more bang for your buck.