Shopping for beauty products on a budget? Keep these 5 tips in mind

If you love to shop for beauty products, keep these simple but cost-effective tips in mind.

Want that charcoal mask or the smokey-eye look, but don’t want to spend a lot? “It’s very crowded. There are a lot of products, lots of options,” says Ron Robinson, founder and CEO of BeautyStat.com, a product review site, noting that shoppers need to do their research. So here are five tips:

* Know your budget

Figure out which type of products you want to splurge on. If you want to buy expensive skin cream, great. But if you can’t afford to keep replenishing, perhaps buy something that’s within your budget, says Robinson. Lindsay Sakraida, director of content marketing with price comparison website DealNews, says shoppers should look at weekly circulars for coupons. In 2016, almost one-third of the health and beauty deals were from Amazon, and they largely consisted of drugstore brands like Revlon. However, JC Penney, which has more than 600 Sephora locations, says select Sephora products are half off every Thursday.

Many retailers like Sephora have reward programs. So, the more you buy, the more points you earn.

* Shop online

* Follow bloggers

Robinson encourages shoppers to follow bloggers to get information on new products. Each has his or her own expertise. He recommended Andrea Matillano for information about beauty deals and Sam Schuerman and CoffeeBreakWithDani for department store beauty reviews.

* Try before you buy

Stores are offering more opportunities for testing, taking their cues from Sephora and Ulta. Then, of course, you can check out such subscription sites, which allows you to test samples tailored to your skin, hair and style.

* Sign up for loyalty programs

Many retailers like Sephora and Ulta have reward programs, so the more you buy, the more points you earn. At Ulta, the points you accrue expire a year from when you earn them. The points can be combined with other discounts and special offers. At Sephora, unredeemed points expire if a member’s account hasn’t been active through a purchase or redemption for 18 months or more.

Follow @htlifeandstyle for more