For The Love of Beauty Supply Stores

Hey There!

Next year, I may do a series on the great things that you can find in your local beauty supply store. I think some people forget about beauty supply stores. Or, perhaps they don't trust the makeup that they have. Whatever the reason you shy away from these places, you are seriously missing out. 

I love beauty supply stores for the simple fact that you can test the products. Oh yes, many  beauty supply stores have testers galore. In the big box stores you have to guess what the color might look like. In the high end stores you are paying a pretty penny for the ability to test the product (and for the ability to return products). 

I've been going to my favorite beauty supply store since it opened. They have everything-- hair, hair care products, jewelry, leggings, purses, hats and makeup. And every month they come out with a 10% off circular.  And they have samples too! And in case you were wondering, yes, they have both good and bad cosmetic lines just like the Sephora and Ulta.

To be fair, many people have been going to their local corner beauty supply store all along. I tried my first NYX eyeshadow and lipstick from one (and tested the colors before I bought them). I did stay with NYX for a long time before I branched out to try the J Cat and Nanacoco lines. Once I tried them with great results, I tried everything!

 

And some things have worked very, very well for me. I love almost everything in the L.A. Colors AND L.A. Girl lines of cosmetics. The concealer, face powder and lip products are fantastic. I discovered Nanacoco lip glosses on YouTube and I think I have 75% of the entire line at my house. If your store is out of a tester, come on over to my house. And KleanColor nail polishes are the bomb. They have great colors (a lot of great colors) and the $.99 - $2.99 price point is perfect.

Now, it has been hit and miss. I have tried some blushes that lasted the 15 minutes it took to put them on and make it to the car. I've also tried lipsticks that took a heavy hand to get on and a mound of cleanser to get off. But that's a small percentage of what I've found. The majority of what I've found are good, quality products that I'm proud to wear. I've never had an allergic reaction to a cosmetic product and if something didn't work out, $4.99 is easier to suck up than $24.99. When I tell you that I look at my Lancôme face powder against my L.A. Colors face powder and weep, I am not playing! I love my Sephora lip lusters but my Nanacoco lip glosses go on just as well and last almost as long! And, I was going to display all of my face brushes but they are all dirty because I use them every day! My favorite concealer brushes are all from the beauty supply store!

If you've been avoiding going into that beauty supply store on the corner, just go park the car and see what you've been missing. Try some of the testers on your hand. Invest $3 in a lip gloss that looks so pretty. Those $1.99 nail polishes last just as long as that $8.50 nail polish you just purchased. No, there aren't any point perks or anything like that but you do have friendly folks in there that will help you too. And the money that you save can go towards food for your family!

Cause that $49 eyeshadow palette you just bought means no eggs, bread and milk this week.

Wait...was that me?