You should all know by now that I love a good deal, and the dollar store is well....the king of good AND bad deals. I do a fair amount of shopping at my local Dollar Tree so I'm going to share my knowledge of what to buy and what not to buy at the dollar store.
Buys:
Bobby Pins: I don't know about you guys but I lose these suckers at a rate that would confound mathematicians. These are just as good as the ones you pay top dollar for, so why not save some money and buy them for a buck.
Children's Shampoo/Bubble Bath: Seriously, how do kids go through so much of this? We go through a bottle of bubble bath a week and a bottle of shampoo a month, for a 3 year old. Crazy right? So I buy it here and use the extra money I saved to buy him a new book once a month. He still gets his mountain of bubbles and my bank account stays happy.
Makeup: This is a category where you have to do a fair amount of looking. My favorite Dollar Tree can get really great makeup in, like Milani, Wet&Wild, Rimmel, and ELF, so I always rifle around the aisle and see what new treasure I can find. And even some of the LA Colors makeup isn't bag, like the loose eyeshadows. Stay away from any mascara and foundation and for the most part you'll be fine.
Cotton Swabs/Q-Tips/Tissues: BUY! Seriously, these are one shot items, why would you spend $5+ of something to clean your ears or wipe off boogers? I also buy bandaids here because we go through them like crazy, but I know not everybody's dollar store carries the good brands so just pay attention to what your buying.
Bar Soap: At least at my store you can get Dove, Irish Spring, Neutrogena, the works. So if you see it snag it.
Do NOT Buy:
Toilet Paper: Please don't make me explain this, it ain't a pretty story. Just....don't buy dollar store toilet paper.
Shampoo/Conditioner: If what you like is the VO5 crap that turns your hair to stray they hey, have at it. Otherwise just keep on walking.
Any sort of facial wash, scrub, cream, or makeup remover: These will not only let you down but will cause you to at the very least break out and at the worst leave you with a nasty rash or hives.
Razors: Well...these are ok for traveling when you're going to toss it after one use. But for everyday use they'll leave you with some horrible razor rash.
A general rule a thumb is if you've never heard of the brand, don't try it unless you do some research first. And always check the expiration date, sometimes that great find is two months pasts it's best buy date.
I used to shop at the dollar store a lot and I came to realize that some things like paper plates and things like that, you think it's a good deal bc it's $1 but you will get like 100 Q tips for $1. But target will have 500 for $3. When I started comparing a lot of things I started realizing that it wasn't such a good deal after all!! There's definitely some steals but you have to watch out for those hidden little suckers!
ReplyDeleteDepends on your store I guess. My Dollar Tree has the same size packs at my local Target, but I know that isn't always the case. I think my store is nicer than others, they tend to carry higher end makeup.
DeleteMilani is nice! They have Vegan stuff too :)
ReplyDeleteI never realized Milani was a good brand till I started reading other blogs because I'd only ever seen it at my dollar store. Now I snag it whenever they have it. I've got a gold gel eyeliner from them I bust out during holidays.
DeleteLove this! Sometime they have cheap makeup applicators too (like cotton pads or foam applicators). They get scooped up fast but a great buy when you can get em!
ReplyDelete-Jess
Yes, I forgot about that! I actually buy my foam wedges there, thans for pointing that out!
DeleteLove this! I was always curious to which items + makeup to stay away from! This helps a ton, thank you!
ReplyDeleteGlad you found it helpful :)
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