I feel like sometimes I get FOMO. I see all these skincare, hair care,
bath and body lotions and potions and I want them all. I think that by
having a list of ingredients and containers that I try to avoid really
helps. Otherwise I feel like I would get overwhelmed by choice and just
stick my head in the sand and not get anything.
There are a few things you can do in order to try expensive green beauty products without breaking the bank. Every month I have a sales and deals post where I post about the latest offers. Bookmark the current month's post since I update it often and usually have 60+ brands listed. You can also see a list of the past month's sales and deals at the bottom of this post. Besides waiting around for sales, there are other ways to get expensive products for less. Read on to find out how.
Disclaimer: Per FTC regulations, I am disclosing that I use affiliate links. I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the links. It is a way to support my blog at no additional cost to you. You can read more here.
Many
brands offer people special deals on their birthdays. You can
typically get 15%-25% off if you enter your birthday (the birth year
usually isn’t required, so no biggie). You usually have to sign up a month or so in advance as well.
How long that code is valid for varies. Some have it for a few days, others may have it last a month. Make sure you know the details so you don’t miss out. Boucleme will offer you 20% off. Other places such as Plant Therapy, Rainforest Chica, and Eco Sevi give you points on your birthday.
Check your spam as well since sometimes the email can end up there.
Many places are offering one, two, or even three samples with purchase, which is a great way to try (for free!) before you buy. Briogeo lets you choose 2 free samples with each order.
Whether you get a free sample or deluxe-size sample, it saves you money because you are able to try before you buy. Even if you have to pay for samples or trial sizes, it can be worth it for expensive products. Bella Cuore has 5 samples for $20, then each additional one is $4. Honestly, speaking from experience, it’s not worth it for cheaper items so go for the more expensive ones.
It’s only logical to wait for sales. Most brands have sales around the same times: New Year, Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, 4th of July, Back-to-school, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, and End of the year sales. They probably aren’t going to have every single one of those sales, but if there’s a major holiday coming up, check their social media. If a brand changes packaging, ingredients, moves, or goes out of business, expect major sales as well. Other places may also have anniversary sales, so make sure you know when that is.
Always check a brand's website for sales, clearance items, or outlet items. Many places have on-going sales where they rotate their stock to. Amrita Aromatherapy is one example where you can save up to 50% on select products. Safe & Chic often has seasonal sales.
Of course, there are exceptions to the rule. If you're getting double or triple rewards, a GWP (gift with purchase), or some other type of deal, then it's all good.
Use your rewards wisely! If a company is offering double or triple rewards, now is not the time to spend your rewards. It's the time to make purchases and get rewards.
Do not even try to buy something without searching for a discount code. Search online or even ask in groups. Every little bit that you can save helps.
Any time a brand creates a set, you will save money buying that set
versus buying each product individually. Only do this if you will actually use each
product, know someone who will use the ones you won't use, or plan on selling what you don't use. Don't think that bigger is automatically better. If you're not going to use a lot of the products, then you will end up wasting money.
If there's a set of 5 items and you're only going to use 3, it might not be worth buying it. You'd have to do the math and figure out what to do with the other 2 you don't want. But if you will use 3 and your friend will use the other 2, then that could also work. Sets are usually a chunk of change so make sure buying one is worth your while.
Fig & Flower has a minimum of $65 to get free domestic shipping. Au Naturale cosmetics will offer free domestic shipping and Clean Beauty Mart offer free domestic shipping on orders of $50+. Healthy Traditions has a threshold of $35. Some companies don't even have thresholds and offer free shipping across the board, Edens Garden and Plant Therapy are two examples.
A word of caution as well, be careful, don’t get screwed. I never have been, but make sure that if you use PayPal, you’re getting invoices and not sending via Friends and Family unless you trust that person. I have done it before and not been screwed, but I know people who have.
Ask questions. You want to know when the product was bought and how it was stored and also why they’re getting rid of it. If they bought it months and months ago and are selling it because it smells bad, you should probably pass. I really like buying directly from people. Sometimes you can get more than thought. I was looking for a conditioner and a woman ended up having a lot of a product line that I was looking at and she sold it all to me as a bundle.
Take shipping costs into account. Depending on where you are, shipping can add up. With more places offering free shipping and with sales every few months, it might not be worth buying it off someone else, but rather waiting for that brand to have a sale.
BST groups are often unique to that niche. For example, I wrote about essential BST groups. Other groups have dedicated posts to buying, selling, and trading. Here's one for green beauty and one for natural hair products. Ask around. If you can’t find one, create one.
17. Loyalty Pays Off
There are so, so many websites out there. I've found that companies can be broken up into 3 main categories.
Ok, so while this isn't a luxury product that you would buy, you can save money on this and that means you have more money to spend on something else. Honestly, I hesitate to write this because I’ve seen so many dangerous recipes out there by mommy bloggers that I just cringe. Somehow none of my comments about how dangerous they are with no emulsifiers or preservatives never get published.
Case in point: adding a few drops of essential oil to water and using it as a room spray is just plain bad. There is no emulsifier (which is used to mix oil and water), no preservative (the essential oil isn’t a preservative and with that much water, you need a preservative unless you’re making a super small amount and using it all ASAP), and you probably poured it into an unsanitized regular plastic bottle (essential oils can eat through many plastics and always sanitize your stuff).
However, some things can be made safely. I’m shocked at how expensive body butters and sugar scrubs can be. Granted, many of them have a handful of ingredients, however, you can use a few ingredients and still get good results. If you have tons of oils and butters, just remember that the rule of thumb is that if something is less than 10%, it usually isn’t going to have much of an affect. Of course, there are exceptions, such as with Prickly Pear Oil and Sea Buckthorn Oil, for example.
Got some carrier oils and butters? Make body butter. Be sure to sanitize your container and research about the butters and oils you use. It could be super simple like grape seed oil and shea butter. If you’re going to add essential oils, first make sure they are safe for you to use as some existing medicinal conditions and medicine are contraindications. Second, look up dilutions rates. Using it on kids? Do your research. Contrary to what your average pushy MLM essential oil person will tell you, not all oils are safe for all people, kids especially.
Want to make a salt scrub? That’s pretty easy. I know sugar scrubs are popular, but I find that they can attract bugs. As for coffee scrubs, no, just no. You will probably end up clogging your drain if you use coffee grounds. Salt and a carrier oil, one and done. Essential oils are optional. But hold up, before you take that bad boy into the shower, just think that if water is going to get into a scrub, you’re going to need a preservative. The best bet? Add a preservative. Or if you don't want to either keep it out of the shower and scoop a bit (with clean hands and no water!)into a plastic container before you get into the shower or you can even freeze it in ice cube trays. Make sure you remember to defrost them well in advance.
There are a few things you can do in order to try expensive green beauty products without breaking the bank. Every month I have a sales and deals post where I post about the latest offers. Bookmark the current month's post since I update it often and usually have 60+ brands listed. You can also see a list of the past month's sales and deals at the bottom of this post. Besides waiting around for sales, there are other ways to get expensive products for less. Read on to find out how.
Disclaimer: Per FTC regulations, I am disclosing that I use affiliate links. I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking through the links. It is a way to support my blog at no additional cost to you. You can read more here.
1. Gift Cards
I’m not big on gifts but I know that some friends and family want to give me something. Whenever occasions like this arrive, I ask for gift cards. I don’t ask for much. I’ll usually only ask for $10 or $20, often times people will buy a more expensive gift card as well. This is a win-win situation. They don’t have to worry about getting you something that you might not like, it’s easy, environmental-friendly (most places will email you the gift card), and you can buy what you want when you want. Sometimes they even have gift cards for sale. Healthy Traditions offered them for sale on their site and every once in a while Plant Therapy uses Groupon for theirs.
2. Get Them As Gifts
Some people don’t like giving gift cards. They think it’s tacky or they’re traditional and would just rather get you a gift. In that case, I tell them exactly what I want. Again, I don’t ask for expensive things. However, luxury beauty products being what they are, small things cost a lot of money. It’s not unheard of for a 10ml container of something to cost $30. I’ve even seen things cost in the hundreds of dollars. I don’t want people spending tons of money on me. Many brands have samples, trial sizes, and travel sized. Ounce per ounce, they’re more expensive than their full-sized counterpart. When people want to get me gifts, I usually ask for a few of these items and again, try to keep it under $30.
3. Celebrate Your Birthday With a Sale
Many
brands offer people special deals on their birthdays. You can
typically get 15%-25% off if you enter your birthday (the birth year
usually isn’t required, so no biggie). You usually have to sign up a month or so in advance as well. How long that code is valid for varies. Some have it for a few days, others may have it last a month. Make sure you know the details so you don’t miss out. Boucleme will offer you 20% off. Other places such as Plant Therapy, Rainforest Chica, and Eco Sevi give you points on your birthday.
Check your spam as well since sometimes the email can end up there.
4. Freebies from Family and Friends
I love free stuff. I've gotten
new products that have never been opened from family and friends. I
also get used products, but make sure not to take items that can be
contaminated. Things in bottles, like shampoo and condition should be
fine. Things in tubs, such as body scrubs, I wouldn't take. And don't
even think about sharing eyeshadows and mascaras.
5. Samples and Trial Sizes
Many brands offer free samples. I love freebies. They’re fantastic! For example, Max Green lets you choose $4 in free samples with code SAMPLES. You don't even have to purchase anything, just pay for shipping.Many places are offering one, two, or even three samples with purchase, which is a great way to try (for free!) before you buy. Briogeo lets you choose 2 free samples with each order.
Whether you get a free sample or deluxe-size sample, it saves you money because you are able to try before you buy. Even if you have to pay for samples or trial sizes, it can be worth it for expensive products. Bella Cuore has 5 samples for $20, then each additional one is $4. Honestly, speaking from experience, it’s not worth it for cheaper items so go for the more expensive ones.
6. GWP (Gift With Purchase) i.e. Freebies
You have to go to follow companies on social media. They usually advertise on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. I’ve seen pop-up sales that last anywhere from an hour to a few days. The best way to take advantage of these sales is to plan ahead for what you want and budget so that if a sale pops-up unexpectedly, you can buy what you want. These are usually not samples, but larger sizes of trial or even full-sized items to orders over a certain amount or if you buy a certain product. Citrine Natural Beauty and DeRu Extracts are examples of brands that have offered GWPs.
7. Only Buy When There Are Sales
If you are desperate for something or if money is not an issue, then by all means, just order whenever you want. But that's probably not the case since you're reading this article. I know that there are people who say that you should pay full price, because you’re worth it and the product is worth it. However, since most brands have sales (meaning that they are jacking the price up so much that they usually still make money even if it’s on sale) and while you are definitely worth paying full-price, why bother with all these sales? More money in the bank means you can save it or buy more products.It’s only logical to wait for sales. Most brands have sales around the same times: New Year, Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, 4th of July, Back-to-school, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, and End of the year sales. They probably aren’t going to have every single one of those sales, but if there’s a major holiday coming up, check their social media. If a brand changes packaging, ingredients, moves, or goes out of business, expect major sales as well. Other places may also have anniversary sales, so make sure you know when that is.
Always check a brand's website for sales, clearance items, or outlet items. Many places have on-going sales where they rotate their stock to. Amrita Aromatherapy is one example where you can save up to 50% on select products. Safe & Chic often has seasonal sales.
Of course, there are exceptions to the rule. If you're getting double or triple rewards, a GWP (gift with purchase), or some other type of deal, then it's all good.
8. Online Flash Retailers
Zulily has flash deals for a variety of items. Check and see if they have what you are looking for.
9. Off-Price Retailers
TJ
Maxx is a great place to find clean beauty products at affordable
prices. You can save big here. Make sure you check expiration dates and
that they haven't been tampered with.
10. Referral Points
Not to be confused with commission such as an MLM, referral points are different. Usually what happens if both you and them get a discount. First off, I don’t advocate spamming friends and family with your referral links. IF someone expresses an interest, then send them your referral code. Some places also allow you to share on social media but again, don’t spam. If you have a social media business account or blog or website, you could use your referral code link there as well. Plant Therapy is one brand that offers referral points and you will see many people tweeting about them on Twitter. I think the best thing to do is not just tweet out into a black hole, but actually send (not spam!) people the link who you know will use it.
11. Max Out the Rewards Program
The majority of the brands out there have a rewards program. I recommend you pick and choose. There are many websites that sell products from a variety of brands. Pick one or two and stick with those websites. You don’t want to have a handful of points across a dozen different websites and never be able to reach a reward. Of course, there are many boutique websites such as Rainforest Chica and Eco Sevi where you can only buy their products online on their website or in-person at their store. There are other places like Plant Therapy, Boucleme, and Eden’s Garden and you can buy these on Amazon or from their website or even from a third party.
How you get rewards is often the same. You’ll usually get points for things such as- Signing up
- Purchases
- Spending a certain amount
- Following on social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube are the norms)
- Sharing on social media and you can usually only do this one time
- Writing a review (you’ll be limited per month or by purchases)
- Commenting on blog posts (you’ll be limited on how many)
- Referring a friend
- Your birthday
Use your rewards wisely! If a company is offering double or triple rewards, now is not the time to spend your rewards. It's the time to make purchases and get rewards.
12. Use Your Account for Other People
If
you have a friend or family member that wants to buy something, have
them give you the money and buy it through your account. They get the product, you get the points, and if you need to meet a minimum to get free shipping this will help. This usually only works if they don't care about getting reward points. Some people only buy one or two items, so it's not worth them opening an account. I’ve also had
my husband buy me stuff for my birthday and holidays through my account.
Free stuff plus I get the points.
13. Coupons and Discount Codes
Plant Therapy is an example of a company that every once in a while has Groupon sales. Not only will you save money, but when you purchase something from their website you will get points.Do not even try to buy something without searching for a discount code. Search online or even ask in groups. Every little bit that you can save helps.
14. Cashback Sites
Always check sites such as Ebates, Lemoney, Mighty Nest, and TopCashback. If you're going to buy from Amazon, be sure to check Wikibuy. You may not save loads, but every little bit helps.
15. Buy Sets
 |
| buy it here |
Any time a brand creates a set, you will save money buying that set
versus buying each product individually. Only do this if you will actually use each
product, know someone who will use the ones you won't use, or plan on selling what you don't use. Don't think that bigger is automatically better. If you're not going to use a lot of the products, then you will end up wasting money. If there's a set of 5 items and you're only going to use 3, it might not be worth buying it. You'd have to do the math and figure out what to do with the other 2 you don't want. But if you will use 3 and your friend will use the other 2, then that could also work. Sets are usually a chunk of change so make sure buying one is worth your while.
16. Buy in Bulk
I'm going to preface this by saying only do this if you like the product and you can use it up before it will expire. Larger products are usually less money ounce per ounce than smaller products. If you have a holy grail product and can use it up on time, bigger definitely is better.
17. Sign Up for the Newsletter
The majority of brands will offer you a discount on your first order and chances are that you might have to sign up for their newsletter in order to get the code. You can try searching online for it, but if not, the easiest thing to do is sign up, get the code, then unsubscribe.
18. Save on Your First Order
Most places offer a discount on your first order. My advice is to get samples and trial sizes of the products you want to buy from other people or websites. Then when you're ready to make a purchase, place your first order with them. You'll save and if they have a rewards program, you will also get points. Some deals are better than others. For example, Mūn Skin offers 20% off your first order. However, Naturally Curly only offers $5 off your first order.
19. Get Free Shipping
If it comes down to buying one more thing and getting free shipping or paying outright for shipping, it's often a better deal to add another product to the cart to get free shipping. Thresholds for free shipping vary greatly. Fig & Flower has a minimum of $65 to get free domestic shipping. Au Naturale cosmetics will offer free domestic shipping and Clean Beauty Mart offer free domestic shipping on orders of $50+. Healthy Traditions has a threshold of $35. Some companies don't even have thresholds and offer free shipping across the board, Edens Garden and Plant Therapy are two examples.
20. BST (Buy / Sell / Trade) Groups
Buying
items from other people or charity shops has been the norm for me.
Growing up with not a lot of money, we’d get our clothes from Easter
Seals Sales, Goodwill, and Salvation Army. We were thrift shopping way,
way before it became cool. We did it out of necessity. Nowadays,
although I have more disposable income than my parents, I still prefer
to get things (clothes, furniture, skincare items, you name it) second
hand or new from someone who hasn’t used it for a variety of reasons.- It’s cheaper.
- It’s less wasteful (instead of that thing being thrown out or recycled, it gets used).
- You’re helping out someone recuperate some of their costs.
- You connect with other people.
- You can often get bundles and sometimes little freebies thrown in. I also find that people often write thank you notes. It’s just much more personalized.
- I’m not going to lie, there’s the thrill of the hunt as well.
A word of caution as well, be careful, don’t get screwed. I never have been, but make sure that if you use PayPal, you’re getting invoices and not sending via Friends and Family unless you trust that person. I have done it before and not been screwed, but I know people who have.
Ask questions. You want to know when the product was bought and how it was stored and also why they’re getting rid of it. If they bought it months and months ago and are selling it because it smells bad, you should probably pass. I really like buying directly from people. Sometimes you can get more than thought. I was looking for a conditioner and a woman ended up having a lot of a product line that I was looking at and she sold it all to me as a bundle.
Take shipping costs into account. Depending on where you are, shipping can add up. With more places offering free shipping and with sales every few months, it might not be worth buying it off someone else, but rather waiting for that brand to have a sale.
BST groups are often unique to that niche. For example, I wrote about essential BST groups. Other groups have dedicated posts to buying, selling, and trading. Here's one for green beauty and one for natural hair products. Ask around. If you can’t find one, create one.
21. Plan and Figure Out What You Need
I
love planning and organizing. I know not everyone is like me but I also
know there are those of you out there whose idea of a fantastic weekend
is organizing their closets. You don’t need an entire bathroom cabinet
filled to the brim with lotions, potions, pots, jars, and dropper
bottles. Chances are many products will go bad or become less potent
before you can use them all. Some products have shelf lives as short as
three months. Don’t waste money by buying more than you can use.
Decide
what you really need. Some people can’t live without toner and others
don’t see the point. The one thing you shouldn’t skip? Sunscreen.
Slather that on daily, rain or shine. Simplify your routine and don't
buy it all simply because it's there.
22. Splurge on Some Things, Save on Others
If
you can afford to buy luxury products for everything, that's awesome.
But many of us have to pick and choose. What I choose to save money on,
you may decide to splurge on, so figure out what works best for you.
What works for someone, isn’t necessarily going
to work for you.
17. Loyalty Pays Off
 |
| image source: sign up for Aroma Notes |
- Those that only sell on their websites or brick-and-mortar store like Rainforest Chica and Eco Sevi.
- Those that sell online and through Amazon, such as with Edens Garden or Plant Therapy.
- Those that sell online and through websites that sell a variety of brands such as Bella Cuore or Safe & Chic.
BONUS: Try DIY
Ok, so while this isn't a luxury product that you would buy, you can save money on this and that means you have more money to spend on something else. Honestly, I hesitate to write this because I’ve seen so many dangerous recipes out there by mommy bloggers that I just cringe. Somehow none of my comments about how dangerous they are with no emulsifiers or preservatives never get published.Case in point: adding a few drops of essential oil to water and using it as a room spray is just plain bad. There is no emulsifier (which is used to mix oil and water), no preservative (the essential oil isn’t a preservative and with that much water, you need a preservative unless you’re making a super small amount and using it all ASAP), and you probably poured it into an unsanitized regular plastic bottle (essential oils can eat through many plastics and always sanitize your stuff).
However, some things can be made safely. I’m shocked at how expensive body butters and sugar scrubs can be. Granted, many of them have a handful of ingredients, however, you can use a few ingredients and still get good results. If you have tons of oils and butters, just remember that the rule of thumb is that if something is less than 10%, it usually isn’t going to have much of an affect. Of course, there are exceptions, such as with Prickly Pear Oil and Sea Buckthorn Oil, for example.
Got some carrier oils and butters? Make body butter. Be sure to sanitize your container and research about the butters and oils you use. It could be super simple like grape seed oil and shea butter. If you’re going to add essential oils, first make sure they are safe for you to use as some existing medicinal conditions and medicine are contraindications. Second, look up dilutions rates. Using it on kids? Do your research. Contrary to what your average pushy MLM essential oil person will tell you, not all oils are safe for all people, kids especially.
Want to make a salt scrub? That’s pretty easy. I know sugar scrubs are popular, but I find that they can attract bugs. As for coffee scrubs, no, just no. You will probably end up clogging your drain if you use coffee grounds. Salt and a carrier oil, one and done. Essential oils are optional. But hold up, before you take that bad boy into the shower, just think that if water is going to get into a scrub, you’re going to need a preservative. The best bet? Add a preservative. Or if you don't want to either keep it out of the shower and scoop a bit (with clean hands and no water!)into a plastic container before you get into the shower or you can even freeze it in ice cube trays. Make sure you remember to defrost them well in advance.
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