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Beauty buys for only $5!

11 January, 2015 - 10:11pm by - First Lady | 43 Comments

Article posted by BR Natalie

Remember when $5 would get you a lot?  Lollies. Lots of them.  Glitter hairspray.  2 or even 3 magazines.  What does $5 get you now?  A (small) bottle of Diet Coke.  A couple of chocolate bars.Half a glossy mag?  More of a pop than a bang for your buck.

So when Merilyn, Queen of BR, asked me to put my well honed shopping skills to use, I was excited.  And then came the 'uh' moment.  I had to find great beauty buys for under $5.  And that's $5 retail price, if it's on special, great, but the usual full price must also be under $5.

Never one to shy away from a challenge I set out to find great beauty buys by heading out to my local shops, pharmacies and even supermarkets. And surprisingly, I came back with quite a haul.  And I even left some bargains on the shelves for next time!

Here's my top finds!

Lip Care

Maybelline Baby Lips.  RRP: $4.29.

With 650 reviews and a 4/5 average rating this lip balm is a winner for under $5.  Cute packaging, a ridiculous number of flavours, scents and colours and the promise of baby soft lips for up to 8 hours.  And you can sneak it in your grocery shop.  Nothing better than a write-off beauty buy right?! 

Readily available in your local supermarket and pharmacy.

Skinfood Lip Balm.  RRP: $4.99

100% natural, NZ made, Vegetarian Society approved, free from animal testing, free from parabens, genetically modified ingredients, artificial colours and harsh detergents.  And you thought natural meant expensive!   

Readily available in your local supermarket.

Bath and Shower Care

Ecostore Lemongrass Soap.  RRP $2.50

You might be thinking a soap is a soap - but when it's consistently rating at 4.6/5, there's got to be something great about this particular bar of bubbles!    

Readily available in your local supermarket.

Orginal Source Shower Gel.  RRP $4.49

 Whatever flavour your buy will smell good enough to eat - if you resist licking your arm after you're a stronger woman than me!  I have a few on the go, for different needs.  Lime for a refreshing morning shower, Shea and Honey for a relaxing, comforting shower and Vanilla Milk and Raspberry to smell irresistable. But I just couldn't resist picking up a Mint and Tea Tree! 

Readily available in your local supermarket.

Hair Care

Pantene Pro V Hair Treatment 3 Minute Miracle.  RRP: $2.99

We found these on offer 2 for $5 - even more of a bargain!  3 Minute Miracle is an intensive treatment for severely damaged hair to help reduce split ends.  Find a salon that can beat that price for a treatment!  

Readily available in your local supermarket.

Hask Keratin Protein Hair Treatment.  RRP: $4.99

For just under 5 bux you can grab a treatment from your local pharmacy.  I picked up the Keratin Protein treatment, but you can also find Macadamia Oil and Argan Oil.  A great way to experiment and find your perfect oil. 

 Readily available in pharmacies.

Sunsilk Shampoo or Conditioner.  RRP: $4.00

Hair care.  We're constantly told we need to buy salon brands to acheive great hair.  Well at your local supermarket you can pick up a brand with consistently good reviews across it's range.  I like the look of the Longer and Stronger Shampoo and Conditioner - for under $5 each!   

Readily available in your local supermarket.

Clip-in Hair Extensions.  RRP: $2.00

Ok, these are probably not going to last a lifetime, or even a couple of months, but for $2 a pop you can experiment with bright colours for a bargain price.  Great for fancy dress! 

Scour your local 'two dollar' shops.

Skin Care

Montagne Jeunesse Face Mask.  RRP: $3.97

A facial and pamper session for not even $4?  You can't really go wrong can you?  And the range of masks is almost overwhelming - addressing almost any skin concern you can think of! 

Readily available in pharmacies.

Palmers Hand Cream Fast Absorbing Hand Cream.  RRP: $4.99

Hand cream is essential for smooth, hydrated and youthful hands.  After all they do for us surely we can treat them to a little bit of TLC, especially when it'll only cost us $5.  For a pretty good size tube!   

Readily available in your local supermarket.

Vaseline Dry Skin Cream.  RRP: $3.99

Ok this isn't exacty a huge bottle of moisturiser, but it's a brand we all know and love, and there's plenty in there for a few weeks, which makes it perfect for travelling! 

Available in your local supermarket.

  

Personal Care

Mitchum Roll On Deodorant.  RRP: $4.49

Lets be honest, we'd pay as much as we had to to avoid the embarassment of pit stains, which is why every girl needs to find a great deodorant.  And with 4.5/5 as an average rating, Mitchum Roll On is a great buy!   

Readily available in your local supermarket.


Schick Exacta 2 Colours 5 + 1 Free.  RRP: $4.29

So these might be the ultimate bargain buy.  They were on special for around $3.20 and you get a razor free!

Now these might not tackle a forrest, but are great to have in the bathroom cupboard for those 'I need a razor....now' emergencies, like an impromtu girls night or a random trip to the pool.

Cosmetics

Jordana.  RRP: $5.00 or less.

The range that's rivalling the big guns for a fraction of the price.  Take the lipstick range for example - an average score of 4.4/5.  MAC lipsticks are only a teeny bit ahead at 4.8/5!  Well worth a hunt around your local bargain stores for sure!

Scour the 'two dollar' stores for this range.

Miki.  RRP: $5.00 or 2 for $8.00

A budget range which is cute and fun.  I couldn't resist picking up 2 products and grabbed a super sparkly lip gloss, and in honour of Purple Week, I grabbed a gorgoues liquid eyeliner pen.   

Availble in Unichem Chemist and Postie Plus.

Health Basics Nail Polish Remover.  RRP: $4.59

Available with or without acetone this bathroom cabinet staple is a winner with Beauty Review members.  Almost 400 reviews and a 4.6/5 average, this is clearly a $5 buy that does what it says it will!   

Readily available in your local supermarket.

All in all I loved this challenge - my feet not so much.  You definitely have to hunt out great beauty buys under $5, but they are out there.  Now if my budget was $5.99 a product, let me tell you, this article would be a lot longer!

What's you best budget beauty buy under $5?  Do you find they compare well with more expensive items or is $5 just not enough for a decent buy?  Get chatting below!


Comments

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14th January, 2015

Some of these look like great bargains! Definitely going to try the shower gel and Miki range, never heard of it before

14th January, 2015

Great article once again BR Nat! No one should be too proud to find a good bargain. High prices certainly don't always equal good quality. The pharmacy near my work sells six goats milk soaps for $6.00 and its beautiful. You just have to keep an eye out for good bargains. Postie Plus is great for cheapies including good value cotton buds and makeup remover pads.

14th January, 2015

Great article! Definitely will be heading out there today to find some if these cheap goodies

13th January, 2015

Can't go past the maybelline baby lips i have about five currently :).. I do wonder if blistex lip balm would be under $5 that is also a must have in my bag and next to my bed :)

13th January, 2015

Great read!! Good ideas for little baskets too :D

13th January, 2015

I'm off to look for some clip in hair extensions. Vibrant pink for summer me thinks.

13th January, 2015

wow...you did an awesome job. I have used heaps of these products before and they are all good quality. Great examples of bang for your buck.

13th January, 2015

Love this post! Maybelline Baby Lips, Original Source Shower Gel, Palmers Hand Cream Fast Absorbing Hand Cream, and Health Basics Nail Polish Remover are all in my bathroom cupboards. The baby lips and palmers hand cream are my favourites!

13th January, 2015

I love jordana lippys! Been waiting to get some more but my nearest stockist is always out of stock :( I'd love to try that Pantene Pro V hair treatment, I'll have to see if its at the supermarket when I'm next there.

13th January, 2015

I have the aromatherapy outlet store right near my work and they always have nice eye serums and moisturisers for $5 that are really nice!

13th January, 2015

Wow, loads of products for $5 and under, you did extremely well. Its amazing how many products you can get for such a small amount, may have to look into this as an experiment myself. Thanks BRNat x

13th January, 2015

Those face masks really are worth it - so good!

13th January, 2015

Great idea for an article. My fave on the list is the Hask hair oil. It's under five dollars, works beautifully and despite the size of the bottle/tube it lasts you a long time. I've gifted these to family and friends and turned them on to this product. I've also use Baby Lips, Sunsilk shampoo and conditioner and the Health Basics nailpolish remover. Montagne Jeunesse Face Mask is on my wishlist to get since I really want to try them and they have so many options and I bet I could get more than one use out of the sachet.

12th January, 2015

There's a few on here that I haven't tried yet. I really want to try the Jordana lipstick and the miki lip glosses.

12th January, 2015

Great list! I love baby lips, & the original source shower gel. Hubby loves the smell of the lime shower gel so that is the one we get the most, it's so delicious & refreshing. & I have a few Jordana lipsticks which are great, & the acetone free version of the nail polish removers is my fave. I need to try out those face masks!

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