The reason 1 in 4 Aussie women are buying their makeup from the supermarket.

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Let’s play a guessing game: where do you think most Aussie women are buying their makeup?

Here’s a hint: it’s not a department store. It’s not even a dedicated cosmetics shop, or one of those pop-up counters you find in malls.

It’s… the supermarket.

Brand new figures from Roy Morgan Research reveal that 25% of Australian women aged 14 and over have been tossing foundations, mascaras and blushes in their supermarket trolleys, along with their feta and Tim Tams.

This figure is 5% up from 2009.

“I do all my beauty shopping at the supermarket”

It’s sort of surprising, but also not – it’s the perfect case of ‘killing two birds with one stone’.

“Supermarkets have been the leading channel for purchasing cosmetics for more than a decade,” explains Geoffrey Smith from Consumer Products at Roy Morgan Research.

“For women with busy lifestyles and multiple commitments, buying their make-up at the same place as their groceries cuts out the need for a separate visit to another shop and saves them precious time.”

Often, it also saves us precious, precious money.

“The $16 life-changing beauty product I found in the supermarket”

The two top-selling beauty brands in Australia, Maybelline and Covergirl, can cost up to five times less than their higher-end counterparts. Some of the other brands sold in Coles, Woolworths and other supermarkets include Rimmel, Nude by Nature and ModelCo, which are often similarly priced.

Then there’s the increasingly popular Aldi, which has its own range of makeup products called Lacura.

We review Aldi’s makeup range. Yes, ALDI has a makeup range.

“Bearing in mind that value for money is the factor most women consider important when buying make-up, retailers that offer cosmetics at a reasonable price have the advantage in this crowded and competitive market,” Mr Smith adds.

In the year to June 2014, one in five women had bought their makeup from a chemist, 13% bought theirs at Priceline Pharmacies, and 12% shopped in the beauty aisles of Kmart and Target. Myer and David Jones saw 11.8% and 5% of shoppers respectively.

Where do you buy your makeup? Do you have any favourite supermarket beauty buys?