HOW TO BE A BEAUTY BLOGGER & NOT GO BANKRUPT

So, a little bit of a different post from me today; it's not really like me to go dishing out advice, since I'm definitely no expert on beauty blogging and it's not like it's my full time job or anything.  However, I've been blogging casually for a couple of years now, and have recently really started loving it again which naturally means bad times for my bank balance!  I've learnt a few things in my blogging time though that has ensured that I get to indulge my beauty addiction and still have a few pennies left before the next payday comes around!  

1: Sample sizes are your best friend.  I cannot deny that I will often buy a product based on a handful of positive reviews from my favourite bloggers, but more than once I have done this and it turned out that the perfect product for them was a bit of a let down for me.  After learning the hard way that not all high end make up will be my holy grail, I have relied on sample sizes to test out products and see if they are right for me.  Most magazines include sachet samples of new foundations and creams, and often if you order make up online from somewhere such as Space NK, you will be offered free samples at the checkout.  You can also ask for samples of make up products at most beauty counters, they are the perfect size to test out and see if they are right for you!

2: Don't buy for the sake of buying.  This sounds like a no brainer, but the amount of times I have gone out on payday looking for bits to buy just because I know I have the money is ridiculous!  All that happens is I end up with a few unnecessary products that often end up forgotten in the back of my make up drawer.  Plan what you would like to buy before you get paid, and when the day comes look back at the list and see how many of them you actually still think you want/need.

3: Swap your stuff!  Blogswaps and blogsales are a good way to sell or trade products with others, so you can either make some money back on unwanted products or swap them for something you've never tried before!  Twitter is a great way to find other bloggers who are selling or holding product swaps.  

4:  You don't need every new release.  I chant this to myself fairly often at around 3p - no not really; but quite often we see full time bloggers raving about new releases in the beauty world: this is their job and they are lucky in that they get sent these new things to try out - but like I said before, it doesn't mean that these products are perfect for you!  Remember that bloggers are sometimes gifted these things to give honest reviews, so it is worth doing you're own research into cost, product size etc etc to see if it is right for you. 

5:  Ebay!  I wouldn't particularly recommend it for selling make up, but it is the perfect way to sell on your unwanted clothes all kinds of other things.  If you have a wardrobe clear out and list it all on Ebay, the money soon adds up, and then you have some extra cash to splurge on something that you do want! 

So there are 5 'tips' for saving a few pennies  It may be that I just stated the obvious to you, but do let me know what you think or if you have any advice of your own to share! xx