7 Beauty Products To Stop Spending Money On

Is one of your New Year's resolutions to rock a better budgeting strategy? If so, I'm excited to help you keep that promise by highlighting these beauty products to stop spending money on in 2016. It's almost ridiculous just how many beauty products you can make on the cheap at home with a little DIY knowledge.

Before you gawk and reject the idea of making your own beauty products at home, I dare you to just try whipping up at least one. Not only will you save money, but you'll also get to control exactly what goes on your body (i.e., no scary chemicals). Plus, DIY products make easy and fun stocking stuffers for all your pals that won't break your budget!

I was always on the fence about DIY beauty products (I mean, how could they seriously work as well as what I drop tons of cash on?), but my college roommate was a natural beauty master and gradually convinced me otherwise. I'd watch her concoct exfoliating scrubs and shea butter lotions out of our grungy dorm room kitchen and she made it all seem so feasible. After she let me try out some her products and compare them to my expensive store-bought versions, I knew I had been successfully converted to DIY life.

Scroll below to find out what you can swap out this coming year to save money!

1. Exfoliating Lip Scrub

Little tubs of lip scrub can cost you anywhere from $10-$25. To make your own lip scrub, all you need is a tablespoon of ground coffee (or sugar!) and one-and-a-half tablespoons of softened coconut oil. Mix them together and use just like you would any lip scrub. You're welcome.

2. Deep Conditioning Hair Masks

Some conditioning hair masks can cost upwards of $60 for a small tub. Say. What. Instead of dropping a substantial chunk of paycheck on conditioner, check out these DIY hair masks to fight winter frizz (one of which is a delicious smelling tropical coconut concoction!)

3. Teeth Whitening Strips

Crest whitening strips cost over $40. Yowza. But the cost of aluminum-free baking soda and three percent food grade hydrogen peroxide combined: $4.03. Just swirl one teaspoon of each to create a whitening paste. Brush for two minutes before finishing with regular toothpaste. You can even add a few drops of peppermint essential oil if you really want to "splurge."

4. Pimple Spot Treatments

Unfiltered organic apple cider vinegar makes an amazing (and amazingly affordable) DIY pimple spot treatment alternative to the more expensive chemical-filled creams and gels out there. Just dab a little on a cotton ball, and then pat over your pimples in the morning and before bed.

5. Eye Makeup Remover

Step away from the waterproof eye makeup remover and buy a jar of organic coconut oil instead to get way more bang for your buck. I recently tested out coconut oil as eye makeup remover and can 100 percent promise you it works even better than the makeup remover products at the drugstore!

6. Face Masks

While I admittedly love playing around with store-bought face masks, nothing gets the job done on the cheap like one ingredient DIY face masks. My current favorite for keeping my skin moisturized through winter is just a half a mashed up avocado rubbed on my face for ten minutes before rinsing. I usually spend the ten minutes eating the other half.

7. Lip Stain

As much as I love my TooFaced Melted Berry lip stain, it's $25 per tube. While I'm all about splurging on my favorite beauty products once in a while, I'm all about saving where I can! For a cheaper homemade lip stain that offers a bunch of lasting color, I'll blend together and handful of raspberries and blackberries (about five each) with a teaspoon of olive oil in a food processor. It creates a soft rosy tint that I just dab on with my fingers. The only hard part is not licking it off!

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