Doing makeup is one of my favorite hobbies because there is so much you can do with it. From a dramatic smokey eye for a night out, or a simple nude look for going to class, the options are endless when you have the right materials. I’ve recently been shopping online for Christmas list items for my mother, and I’ve noticed just how hard it is to get high quality makeup on a college budget.
Brands like Anastasia Beverly Hills, MAC Cosmetics, Tarte, and practically anything else sold at Sephora are all over social media such as YouTube. Beauty gurus get the best products from these brands for free to convince us to get them as well. Us college girls consider ourselves lucky if we find a wrinkled five dollar bill in our pants pocket when doing laundry, let alone dropping fifty dollars on something like an eyeshadow palette.
The worst part for me is that my own sister is one of those YouTubers that gets extremely nice makeup from brands for free, but she never gives any of it to me. I have been left to scrounge up any kind of financial assistance to be able to get the products she’s gotten me to fall in love with. There is always the option of buying more affordable and accessible brands, like NYX Cosmetics, Ulta Beauty and other drug store brand makeup. However, with my skin being as sensitive as it is, it has grown used to the high price brands. So it’s not as simple of a switch for me.
To other college girls that are going through this same struggle, our only hope is to either go through the rough period of switching brands, or to hope that Christmas and birthday gifts can help us with our never-ending struggle of wanting to look extra fabulous.