Having a lot of makeup does not mean that you have to spend a lot of money to get it. Part of the makeup experience should be being proud of the money you saved by planning and researching before you made a purchase, whether that be with email promotions, newsletters, or old fashion coupons. Below are the strategies I’ve been using to save money on makeup (and yes, sometimes I used that money to buy more makeup…)

1. Sign Up For Store Emails

This is the easiest way to save money! Around the holidays in 2014, Ulta and Sephora each sent emails offering discounts. But you wouldn’t be able to recieve or even know about these discounts unless you were on the email list. Sephora offered $15 off of every $50 spent and Ulta had 20 percent off of everything, including the high end makeup that is usually excluded. Ulta also sends a coupon for $3.50 off of a purchase of $10 or more in every single email they send on the daily.

2. The Sunday Paper

This old trick is pretty new to me: inside the Sunday edition of the Denver Post, there are so many coupons that offer $1-$4 off of drugstore makeup. If your parents receive the paper ask them to save the Sunday edition so when you come home, you can go scissor crazy on all the manufacturer’s coupons.  I will never buy drugstore makeup unless I have a coupon from now on!

3. Hunt Through Magazines

When I used to get Seventeen Magazine, I noticed that there were coupons that could be applied to the products being advertised in the magazine. Other magazines, like Marie Claire and Glamour have them too sometimes. So if you are at the dentist or a friend’s house, flip through the magazines (or your own) and start hunting. Have no shame, ladies, no shame.

4. Sign Up for Retailer’s Email List

On Yves Saint Laurent, if you sign up for their newsletters, you receive 10% off your first purchase. Too Faced and Stila offer 20% off your first purchase as well. The best way to take advantage of these discounts is by researching and figuring out what you want from that brand, then buying them all at once with the discount, instead of full price at Sephora over the course of a few months. Here is the link to L’Oréal Paris’ website where if you register, you can have access to all types of coupons that can be used towards their products.

5. Compare Drugstore Prices Before Hand

This is where research is key in order to find the lowest price on a drugstore item. I noticed that Revlon lipstick is about $9.50 at Walgreens, but $4.79 at Walmart. But Walgreens offers BOGO for most drugstore makeup depending on the week. Here is the link to their Weekly Ad that will advertise what is on sale.

What I’ve learned about saving money on makeup is that it requires restraining yourself from impulse shopping. As much as I want to run into Sephora and buy everything I see, I know I’ll suffer from buyer’s remorse as soon as I get home. So if I know that I’ve researched enough and gotten the best possible price for a product that I could, then I won’t feel guilty and instead accomplished.

Celine Wolff can be reached at blogs@collegian.com.