The holiday rush is upon us and that means bracing for an influx of holiday sales, including beauty products! Beauty products aren’t exactly cheap and if you are heavily invested on cosmetics like yours truly, it’s easy to spend thousands of pesos on beauty products on any given day.

But let’s face it, it is hard to indulge in your beauty addiction when money’s tight. If you live for flash sales and discount deals, then you know the struggle to hold on to your hard-earned cash is real on sale season.

With the Christmas season just a few weeks away, you’re probably saving up for gift-giving. Saving up doesn’t mean passing up a great deal. Here are ways to satisfy your beauty cravings without going broke:

Snag App Exclusive Deals

I’ve recently wrote about my experience participating in Sephora PH’s app exclusive sale. As the name implies, the sale is only available for app users. App exclusive sales are nothing new, most beauty brands offer discounts on popular products. If you’ve been eyeing a specific beauty item, you can get it at a discount by taking advantage of these sales. I scored a couple of great deals from my favorite brands and I couldn’t be happier because I saved a lot of money.

Online Shopping

I prefer scouring the beauty aisle to get a feel of a product but I won’t say no to online shopping either. Shopping online comes with a lot of perks. You can score great deals in the comfort and privacy of your own home. You can check out reviews before making a purchase. You can even compare rates to get the best deals. Most e-beauty stores offer great discounts for customers who love shopping online. Some may not offer outright discounts but you could save money on free shipping.

Ask For Samples

Who doesn’t love free samples? I hoard free samples whenever I could, especially during the holiday season. Mid to high-end beauty brands, such as Clinique, Origins, Laura Mercier, and Bobby Brown, are quite generous when it comes to handing out free samples.

I highly recommend doing your shopping at Rustan’s during the holiday rush to rake up all the free samples you can handle. You don’t even have to buy anything to get a sample! Just butter up the SAs, ask about a specific product and let all that excitement brighten your face. Your SA will hand you free samples before you leave 99% of the time.

But if this doesn’t work, asking for free samples (politely) won’t hurt. Chances are, the SA will give you a couple to take home.

Join Loyalty Programs

Some beauty stores offer rewards program, which allows customers to earn points every time they shop. Signing up for these loyalty programs is a great way to score free beauty products. Just redeem the points you earned for a free gift. Usually, you get a free gift during the initial sign up too. Sure, some of these reward programs require a small fee for membership but beauty sites like Sephora PH and The Body Shop won’t charge you for a membership!

Sign-Up Gift

… And speaking of sign up gifts, you can score cool beauty treats, coupons, and discounts if you sign up for updates and newsletters via your favorite beauty stores online. Of course, the gift will be sent together with the other items you ordered but that’s a fair deal!

Drugstore and Dollar Store Finds

If you love affordable beauty products, forget about the beauty department. Head to dollar stores like Daiso, Mumuso, and Miniso for quality skin care and cosmetics that won’t hurt the pocket! These dollar stores have everything from serums to nail polishes in every color of the rainbow. Visiting these stores is quite overwhelming so I highly suggest listing down all the items you need to narrow down your search.

I have a soft spot for Watson’s because the store has everything you could possibly need. From bath essentials to hair gel, masks to pedicure sets, Watson’s offers the best deals on your favorite beauty products. Drugstore brands like Maybelline, L’Oreal, CoverGirl as well as Japanese and Korean beauty brands are also available at Watsons!

As you can see, there are so many ways to shop for beauty products on the cheap without elbowing your way through a mall sale!