The secret diary of a stingy girl

After some amazing years away travelling and living it up in the UK, I returned to Oz with a heart full of memories and a makeup case the size of a small lunchbox!
So with a limited budget but a penchant for all things shiny and beautiful I put my savvy (stingy!) backpacker ways to good use and started bargain hunting!

My hunt started before my feet even left British soil with an email from a friend who had touched down in Oz a few months ahead of me with a request for some much loved items from the UK. So here I was thinking how am I going to smuggle her gorgeous 6’2 boyfriend into my already over laden backpack??
But no! she was after a suitcase full of makeup wipes!? She later explained they were almost AU$10 a packet back home.. running down to the local 99p store and started stuffing them in.
Now I’m home and settled I am proud to say I refuse to pay full price for anything from makeup and beauty to food and clothes.

Here are some of my top stingy tips!

Samples!
I absolutely love samples! such a great way to trial products and also super handy for travelling. Most SA at the big makeup counters are more than happy to shell out a few samples, or if your lucky offer you a complimentary makeover (yippee!) Here are a few of my most visited freebie sites http://australiasamples.com/ http://www.thefreebiesblog.com/ http://www.freestuff.com.au/

CFD ~ Cosmetic Fragrance Direct
One of my absolute favourite stores! as the name suggests they stock a wide and changing range of cosmetics, fragrances and body products. CFD house a lot of my cult brands such as Elizabeth Arden, Stilla, Lancome and Revlon (to name a few) at fabulous prices. I have picked up some heart stopping bargains here. If your ever in the Brisbane city store say a big hello to Linda the lovely store manager!

Training colleges
Google beauty therapy, makeup and hairdressing schools in your local area. You will be pleasantly surprised at just how many students who are just dying to get their hands on your face/body/hair for a tiny fee and even free services. Fear not as students are always heavily supervised.
Happy bargain hunting beauties!