By Cheong Wen Xuan
While all of us want to look our best, not all of us can afford $50 Fenty foundations or $83 Urban Decay Naked palettes, and not everyone is willing to pay $600 just for the Dyson Airwrap, or to get their nails and lashes done at exorbitant salon prices. As a broke student, I’ve gathered over the years, through trial and error, a couple of hacks to sustain my vain ways without breaking the bank. So to all my broke and beautiful sisters (or brothers – you do you!) out there… don’t worry, I got you.
Makeup
There are so many alternatives to spending hundreds of dollars at Sephora, from drugstore makeup to online options.
Drugstores are one of my favourite places to shop for makeup – there are so many cheap, underrated brands that are genuinely good but overlooked just because of their dubiously low price tags! Lots of drugstore brands actually function as great dupes for high-end makeup, but many people aren’t compelled to buy them, mainly because they have the impression that drugstore makeup are of inferior quality, but all it takes is a quick sample swatch to let you know that some brands are LEGIT.
I personally love Maybelline’s extensive and ever-growing range of mascaras, which retail between $17.90 and $21.90. I feel that they are on par with brands like Benefit, which go for $44.
Obscure brands can be really impressive as well! My all-time favourite mascara is Cyber Colors’ Feather Tutu Magic Mascara (I know right, who uses that??), which isn’t dirt cheap at $37.90, but compared to high-end ones like Dior or Lancome (both $54), it’s much better – it gives you better lift, hold, separation, volume, and is way more waterproof.
Online options like Colourpop are truly my lifesaver. They have literally everything, from eyeshadow palettes, to lipsticks, and even makeup brushes. Their bestselling pressed powder palette ‘Yes, Please!’ retails at $16, and features versatile colours. You can tell they didn’t skimp on the formulas, which are rich and super pigmented! Why spend $83 on Urban Decay palettes when you can get equally good quality for a fraction of the price? Lipsticks start from $6.50, and highlighters are $8.
Hair
Can’t afford the $600 Dyson Airwrap or a curling iron? Don’t fret, because there are a ton of ways to create long-lasting, beautiful, no heat damage, and most importantly, FREE curls without tools.
Braiding or twisting your damp hair up into a bun to sleep and letting it dry overnight is an amazing hack, as you get to save both money and time! Experimenting with different braiding styles gives you different looks – normal French braids and plaits create more of a crimped look, fishtail braids give you beachy waves, while twisting your hair into little buns lets you wake up with more of a defined curl and gives you lots of volume (personal fav!).
There are hundreds of YouTube tutorials out there to help you achieve the look you want, and here’s one for beachy waves to get you started!
Another hack that I ALWAYS go for is to sign up to be a hair model with different hairdressing studios! Hairdressers sometimes have training courses or new seasonal looks they want to practise, and you can volunteer to let them use you as a guinea pig! Depending on what styles they want to practise, you can get anything from a simple haircut, to a bleach and dye job, or even a perm! Sometimes you might have to take some publicity photos and advertise for them on social media, but with a professional dye job normally going for $200+, it sounds like a win to me!
FAVE
Not everyone thinks of turning to apps for cheap beauty options, but there are a few out there, like FAVE. A quick tap on the ‘Beauty’ option gives you deals and discounts for eyelash extensions, manicures, facials, and even massages! You can change the settings and adjust your filters to search for salons or deals near you, and there’s even a promo code for first-time users. I always get my lashes and nails done for under $20, and even though the discounts are huge, the quality remains as good as if you were paying the full price!
See, beauty doesn’t have to come at (too high) a price, after all!
