Diva On a Budget

I don't know about you, but I love saving money! Especially when it has to do with makeup, because it can get pretty expensive. And being a college student does not help with the cost of make up either. College students have so many other important things they can spend their money on instead of makeup like grocery's,  pay their bills, and even put gas in their car because unfortunately our cars don't run off of beat faces. So I try to save money on higher end cosmetics whenever I can which is very rare with most brands, but with these tips  will have you running to your nearest  M·A·C store to save some money!

click here to sign up for M·A·C Select. 

First and foremost, I would recommend signing up for the M·A·C Select. It is kind of like the rewards programs  at Ulta and Sephora if you are fimilar with them. You can get special deals and discounts just for being apart of the program, like getting free birthday gifts and $10 off coupons. M·A·C Select is M·A·C’s consumer loyalty program, a makeup-lovers’ cult for the seduced, devoted and downright obsessed. It is absolutely AMAZING! All you have to do is sign up online on their website and provide your name, zip code, and email, or you can sign up at the store. In the program their is 3 different  levels Seduced, Devoted, and Obsessed. The program is awesome it 
is like the make-up gods gifts to M·A·C lovers. Just for being signed up for the program they send you emails like 15% off your entire  purchase and buy one lip product get one free. Also all the rewards can only be used online or a free standing store, so a retailer  that is not inside a Dillards, Macy, Nordstrom, etc.. 

After you have signed up for M·A·C Select it is time to start earning points to become obsessed.

M·A·C has recently came out with some  customizable pallets at an affordable price! A regular eyeshadow pallet from M·A·C can run from $32 to $42 dollars, and half the time you do not even get all the colors you want! So here is a way you can save money and make an pallet just the way you want it!

Blush Insert $1                   Eyeshadow Insert $1            Medium Refillable $6

1. First you need to get a refillable which is the black square on the end. The refillable comes in three different sizes small, medium, and large which retail at $6, $8, and $10.

(The picture is an size medium) 

2. Then you need to purchase inserts. Depending on what size refillable you get depends on how many inserts you need. If you get the small pallet then only one insert will fit so you would have to choose between a blush insert or an insert for 6 eye shadows. The inserts are $1 dollar apiece. If you purchase a medium pallet like in the picture above you can fit an blush and eyeshadow insert, but if you purchase a large refillable it can fit 3 inserts, so the options are endless!

$16   vs. $6

These individual  M·A·C eye shadows are $16 for just one eyeshadow, but if you buy the eyeshadow refill its only $6 so you save $10 and with the money you have saved from buying an eyeshadow refill you can buy an medium pallet and start building your own pallet for the same price as an individual eyeshadow. Just the way you like it with no eye shadows or blushes you wont even use. An individual blush from M·A·C is $22 and if you buy the refill it is only $17!

$22 vs. $17

The best thing about making your own pallet is you do not have to buy everything at once! You could go buy  three eyeshadows every payday for a little under $20 until you fill up your pallet or you can buy one blush every two weeks! You can do so much with these pallets. It is completely up to you on what goes into the pallet it is yours. It doesn't matter if you are a big spender and complete your pallet all at once or your like me and have to take your time! As long as it gets complete it does not matter (: 

xoxo

JadeyKnosBest

Where have you been ??????????

I really do not know where to start! It has been forever since I have last
updated my blog and I feel terrible! I literally just got consumed by the college lifestyle. When spring semester started I honestly was not ready. Everything hit me sooooo fast! I started to go out more and become more social and focused a lot more on my grades. I totally forgot about my blog! I had tons of things and ideas that I wanted to share with everyone, but I just kept pushing it aside. I promise I will get better about posting more frequently. My goal is to at least post something on here once every two weeks even if its just to tell you about my day or just give an update about how my life is going. Overall spring semester was a ton of fun I had a great time. I can't wait until fall semester! Here is a few pictures of all the fun.
                  
              xoxo
                            - JadeyKnosBest 

 

Priceless Beauty

Ladies, you don't have to spend a ton of money on makeup to look fabulous. There is a ton of affordable makeup at your local Walmart or drug store that will have your face beat! People think that you have to buy expensive brands like MAC, Urban Decay, and Makeup Forever in order to have great quality makeup, but there are other brands like NYX, L.A. Colors, E.L.F, and Maybelline that will do just the trick. Don't get me wrong higher end cosmetic brands like MAC have fantastic quality and they are extremely pigmented, but they aren't exactly pocket friendly. Prestige makeup brands run from around $16 to $70 and sometimes that is not reasonable for a single mom, a diva on a budget ,or a broke college student. All of the products listed below will all be ten dollars and under! So ladies get out your note pads and start taking notes!!!

                                             Foundation 

                    

                                               
  A good affordable foundation dupe for MAC Studio Fix Foundation is the Maybelline Fit Me Foundation. It has the same matte finish as the Studio Fix and is around $5.96 at Walmart while the Studio fix is around $35 dollars. You will save around $30 and will still look amazing! To apply the foundation you will need a foundation brush by E.L.F. The best affordable makeup brushes from the drug store to use is the E.L.F brushes, they are about $1 to $3 a piece.            

                                 Highlight and Contour 

            

One of the new latest make-up trends in  makeup is highlighting and contouring. Stars like Kim Kardashian are know for starting the trend. Your highlight and contour shade should be two shade lighter and two shades darker. In order to show up on your face. Be careful when selecting your highlight and contour shades you don't want your concealer to be to light or  to dark. So you won't look like you have clown make-up on! Also you can use these L.A Girls Concealer to clean up around your eyebrows and to highlight them. These concealers runs around $2.99 a piece at your local beauty supply or any L.A Girls retailer. Also if your lucky you can find them at the Dollar Tree for just a dollar. The stippling brushes from E.L.F are $3 at your local drugstores. For the highlight around the eyebrows you would use the smallest brush. Then a medium or large brushes to blend out the contour and highlight. 

                                               Eyes

 

Eyeshadow pallets can get pretty expensive. Higher end cosmetic brands sell eyeshadow pallets as high as $60! My favorite drug store eyeshadow pallets is the Nudes by Maybelline. It has all the colors you need in one pallet and it is only $9.99 ! You can also use this pallet for night and day. To help keep your eyeshadow on all day you can get some E.L.F eyelid primer and spread the primer all over you lid before you put your eyeshadow on. The two main brushes you will need for your eye shadow is a eyeshadow brush and blending brush to blend out your eyeshadow. They are only $1. They are by far my favorite brushes in the world! I use them everyday, they are such good quality for only a dollar. 

                                                 Lips

A bold lip will make or break your face. The NYX soft matte lip creams are the best liquid lipsticks ever! There only $6.99 and I sometimes find myself reaching for certain colors over my MAC lipsticks. They look beautiful on. There also extremely bold and eye catching. Just remember a bold lip and some mascara can go a long way!

Setting Spray 

Are you tired of runny make-up and your make-up not lasting all day? Get you some setting spray girl! These sprays will save your life on a hot sunny day or if your always running around busy. You can go to sleep in your make-up and wake up still looking like Beyonce' with just two pumps of  setting spray! It is one of the most important steps that women skip and has there makeup gone by the time they get off work. For starting out I would try the E.L.F brand for $3. For a stronger and longer lasting setting spray I would try the NYX Matte or Dewy finish for $7.99 

All of the products that where listed above is on my model below:
     

Christmas Shopping

Christmas is approaching fast and before you know it, it's Christmas Eve and your out late at night trying to find your family a last minute Christmas gifts! Here is a way to start plan out your Christmas gifts before you go shopping. So when you go to the store you will not have to spend all day there.

1. Make a list out for everyone you are going to buy gifts for.

- Mom
- Dad
- Brother
-Sister

2. Set a budget.

      Write down how much money you have to spend at the top and bottom of the page so you won't  forget when your writing out the list.

$100

-Mom
-Dad
-Brother
-Sister
                      total: $100

3. Divide up the amount of money you have to spend by the people you have to buy gifts for.

$100

- Mom ($25)

-Dad ($25)

-Brother ($25)

-Sister ($25) 

                                        total: $100

           Dividing up the amount of money you have by the number you have to buy gifts for will prevent you from over spending on one persons gift. This way everyone gifts cost around the same amount.

4. Fire up your computer and start searching for your gifts

$100

- Mom ($25)

        Candle Bath& Body Work $12 

        Setting Spray MAC $10

                                      total: $22

-Dad ($25)

        Tool Set Macy's $22

                         total: $22

-Brother ($25)

             Itunes gifts card $15

             Game-stop gift card $10

                                  total: $25

-Sister ($25) 

                MAC Lipstick Rebel $16

                NYX setting spray Ulta $7

                                               total: $23

                                       

                                                                                             Total $100 

**  DO NOT  FORGET ABOUT TAXES!  MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A COUPLE DOLLARS LEFT OVER FOR THAT** 

    Once you have an idea on who you want to buy gifts for and how much money you have you can now get online and start searching for gifts in your price range. Remember to write down the stuff you found and how much it cost. Then look for coupons for whichever store you plan on buying someone's gift and save the coupon. The more coupons you get then the more you can save on someone's gift and you could use that money to buy that person more gifts or buy gift bags or boxes.

5. Go buy your gifts from the store.

     Try to keep screen shots of the items you want to purchase at the store so you can just run in and out. Also if you can't find the item you are looking for you can always ask a sales associate for help. Just remember COUPONS are your bestfriends around the holidays! Your goal is to try to get the most stuff out of your spending limit. As well as keep from getting broke.

Winter Must Haves

Fall is sadly coming to end, but Winter is right around the corner. It's time to start putting up your light sweaters and scarves and pull down the cable knit scarves and sweaters. Slowly start transitioning from your dark purple and red lip sticks to bright red and nudes for the holidays. The best part about winter and fall is you can still use a ton of your fall clothes for the winter by layering. Here are some of this years Winter must haves:

Need some of these items? Click on the links for similar items.  

Faux Fur vest-

Maroon Sweater

Embellished Sweater

Utility Jacket

Flannel

Thin Quilted Vest

Boot Socks

Cable Knit Scarf

Pom-Pom Beanie

SCHOOL UPDATE

I can't believe it is already December! In just a blink of an eye it will be Christmas. I am sorry I haven't been posting a lot lately. I have been busy with school and studying right now it is final times and I have 3 finals next week. So I need lots of prayer! I'm excited/sad about going home next week because I'm going to miss school and my new friends, but I miss my family even more. Plus I just need a break after all this studying for finals. I've had an amazing time at school and meet a ton of interesting people. I'm so happy I made the decision  to come to Sam Houston! I didn't really start enjoying school until I started being more open minded about making new friends because I was so use to my set of friends back home. Also I started attending more events on campus! It is the best way to get connected with everyone on campus. I'm so proud of myself for completing my first semester of college. I can't wait to kick spring semester but!!      
                                           - Jaidyn

Here is a recap of my first semester:
           - I just want to thank everyone in these pictures with out you guys I probably would have been sleep in my room all semester (: