Start Saving! My Favourite Fashion and Beauty Bargain Websites

Ever since I began this blog back in September, I have to admit that it's taken its toll on my bank balance. I'm not complaining in the slightest because there's nothing else I enjoy more than purchasing new products and reviewing them, but it does get quite difficult at times - especially now that i'm interning and only working part-time on weekends. So i've compiled a small list of my favourite websites that I use to snag fashion and beauty bargains, and hopefully you guys will save a few pennies too!

1. Buyapowa

I was introduced to Buyapowa through various twitter accounts, and was immediately sceptical due to the reduced prices on well-known brands (Your first thought is: "They have to be cheap dupes, right?"), but this has quickly become one of my favourite places to purchase beauty items.
Buyapowa is a site that bulk buys items (Not just beauty, but that is what features mostly) and then gives people the opportunity to purchase the items at a lower price - the actual price determining on how many people join in on then co-buy. Essentially, it is: The more people get in on it, the lower the price gets. Recently they have featured items from OPI, NARs, GHD, and Morrocan Oil - read my review here. The only problem is that there are limited items available to co-buy, but you can put in request for what you'd like to see featured, and even haver the opportunity to recommend the co-buy to others (The person who recommends the product to the most people gets the item for free!). This is perfect if you have your eye on a particular product, and you can save up to 50% off of the original retail price. It's so much fun to see the price drop, and I love browsing the items to see what I can save money on next!

2. Studentbeans

Studentbeans is a discount website aimed at students, if you didn't guess! It's packed full of special offers, freebies and discounts from practically every store and service imaginable. Gyms, restuarants, cinemas, shops and adventure days, but what I like the most is the beauty section that is jam-packed with offers of free samples and codes for discounts off of both full price and sale items. It's great to have a browse and try and snag some freebies, however I have found that some of them are outdated and you sort of have to sift through the rubbish to find a good one - but i've found discount codes for stores such as Topshop, The Body Shop and New Look, as well as samples from brands such as Maybelline.

3. Shop It To Me

This is a website that specialises in being an online personal shopper. I personally cannot stand the sales in certain highstreet stores (River Island, i'm sorry, but you need to sort it out!), so this website is perfect for me as you can be sent through via email a personalised list of sale items from your favourite stores. Ranging from designer to highstreet, you can complete a short questionnaire online which helps customise the search, meaning that you'll only get sent the brands that you love. Obviously I can't shop on a daily basis, so i've chosen to have my Shop It To Me email  sent once a week, but you can choose to have an email sent daily or monthly! It's great being able to sift through the rubbish and shop the sales from the comfort of your own home, without having to scroll through endless pages and navigate through various websites - it's all there and waiting.

I know there's probably plenty more, but these three are my most used. I'm always on the hunt for more, so feel free to comment below with your favourite bargain websites!

On a more personal note, i've recently had my bedroom turned upside down and been bought a new bed for an early 21st birthday present - hence why I haven't filmed my Cosmopolitan Blog Awards video like I said I would on twitter. Now it's back to normal, i've decided that i'm going to start filming some vlogs, to add a bit of versatility to my blog :) I have no idea what i'm going to talk about yet, so if anyone has any suggestions please feel free to contact me!

P.S.: I've been asked repeatadly to give a shout-out to Mattie, who actually suffered injuries whilst putting my bed together for me yesterday, and is also a frequent reader. So there you go, HI! :)


Be sure to vote for Sophie Says for the NEXT Newcomer Blog Award at this years Cosmopolitan Blog Awards HERE!