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If we had a dollar for every time someone asked us what we’d do with a million dollars, we’re pretty sure we’d have that million already. If we did have a milli lying around, we’d probably spend a lot of our disposable income at Sephora, to be honest. But, unfortunately, we’re somewhat-responsible adults with things like rent and cable bills to pay, which leaves little to set aside toward our makeup obsession, because (spoiler alert) fairy godmothers who grant us our every makeup wish don’t exist. Sigh.
Not all fairy tales are dead, though, because magic lives on in the form of a Reddit community called MakeupRehab, where real-life wizards grace us with money-saving beauty hacks that won’t leave you feeling left out from the latest palette craze. And, yes, their tips are worlds better than the ones you’ve already heard, like signing up for every newsletter or insider rewards program—we’ll assume you did that years ago. Ahead, we rounded up our favorite tips and tricks from Reddit to help you save money.
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Go through your entire makeup collection.
No, seriously. Do it. We know it’ll likely put a major dent in your weekend, but block it off; it needs to be done. Once you have your entire collection laid out on whatever surface was big enough to hold it all—try doing it on an old topsheet to keep any glitter residue from staining your carpet—we recommend organizing according to the type of product. And if you’re really feeling the new, organized you, it might even help to separate what you use regularly from what you don’t, which will come in handy for some of the tips to follow.
Put together a grab bag.
You know all that makeup that you just determined could use a little more attention? Throw it all in a grab bag, hide it out of sight, and absolutely do not open it until Christmas. Just kidding. But whenever you’re feeling bored with your usual routine, instead of heading to the store, pull out your grab bag and shop what you have. (Just make sure you don’t hold onto anything that’ll expire—trust us on this one.) We recommend only taking out one product at a time, but that really depends on your willpower.
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De-pot your eyeshadows
and make new palettes.
Instead of splurging on that new palette you’ve been eyeing, recreate it with what you already have. If you’re anything like us, you have a ridiculous amount of barely touched eyeshadow lying around, and the likelihood of having the exact colors you need to recreate the palette of your dreams is pretty high.
Repurpose your makeup.
Honestly, makeup is so magical for the sole fact that one product can be used in more ways than one. So, instead of throwing away products you don’t like, give them a new purpose. The experts on MakeupRehab shared all their favorite repurposing secrets, such as melting down lipsticks and mixing them with vaseline to create a tinted lip balm, or mixing a highlighter you weren’t feeling with body lotion to make a body shimmer.
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Research before you buy.
We all know what happens when we walk down the makeup aisle without a game plan. It’s like walking into Target and expecting to come out with the one thing you went in there for—yeah, that’s not going to happen. Before heading to the store, research what products are best for your skin type and tone, and you’ll avoid wasting money on products that aren’t a good fit. Know which questions you need to ask, and then let any aggressive salespeople know that you’re there for a single reason—and you’ll ask for help when you need it. That way, you can’t be talked into buying $150 of lipstick and nail polish that’ll never see the light of day again.
This story was originally published by Emma Casagrande on StyleCaster.
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