Pretty. Australian Beauty on a Budget.

I have been really enjoying the '$20 makeup Challenge' videos that have been on Youtube lately, they are great for budget friendly tips. Watching them however, makes me a little frustrated. Here in Australia we pay ridiculously high prices for cosmetics and makeup, and I really can't imagine being able to pull off the challenge with any kind of success shopping in Australian pharmacies. I'll try to put it in perspective a little through a couple of price comparisons.

• Revlon Lip Butters: Australian price $20-22AUD which is equivalent to $22 USD and 15 GPB. By comparison, in the UK you can expect to pay around 8 GBP ($12 AUD). That really is an enormous price hike. 
• Real Techniques Brushes: Australian prince at Priceline Pharmacy for the Core Collection is $45 AUD which is equivalent to 30 GBP. You'll pay around 22 pounds for the same product in the UK which is around $33AUD. 

I really don't know why we are forced to pay such expensive prices but it may have something to do with the fact that we really only have a couple of what the Brits would call 'high street' pharmacy chains that stock semi affordable cosmetics. It may also be that our wages are higher in general, but trust me, they aren't that high!

If you want to be well stocked in makeup and skincare here, you have to be pretty savvy about how and where you spend your hard earned dollars. Hopefully I have a few tricks up my sleeve and thought I would share a few!

• Shop online! I know this is fairly obvious, but if things are cheaper overseas, buy them from there! I am an ASOS addict; they always have amazing cosmetics available and great sale prices. I tend to buy foundation on ASOS. Bourjois foundation is around half the price compared to pharmacies so that is a real saving. Plus they have free shipping! iHerb also have fairly reasonable prices, though the makeup brands they stock may not always be what you are after.

• Budget brands to look for: 
• BYS (Kmart) you'll pay around $4 for a nail polish and $5 for an eyeliner/brow pencil. I am in love with their automatic brow pencil in blonde, it is super creamy a great colour and so affordable. 
• Models Prefer (Priceline) This brand has an excellent range of very affordable makeup brushes as well as some great eye shadow palettes. I have tried a few of their mascaras and they are great!
• ELF (online HERE) ELF is well known in the US and the UK but not at all readily available here. However, it is insanely cheap, thought not as cheap as elsewhere. Obviously the quality isn't going to be amazing, but if you are careful about what you buy you can get some great stuff. I have their gel liner and a few eyeshadow brushes. Check out my review here. 

Of course there are other budget brands available, but these are the ones I have tried and been happy with. For more tips on budget beauty in Australia have a look at this video from Goo Roo Beauty. 

xx Samantha Alice