Figuring out when it is okay to spend a pretty penny on a product, or when you should seek a bargain on your makeup/skincare products can be difficult to navigate. Here's a little input that can help you maneuver this very confusing beauty industry.
When deciding what makeup products to buy, I think it's important to note that just because something is expensive doesn't mean it's the best, and just because a product is inexpensive doesn't mean it's not going to work well. However, price does often play into the quality of a product. It takes a lot of research and trying different things to figure out what works well. And its confusing, because often, if a product is expensive, it is because the ingredients are higher quality, however sometimes a brand will slap a name on something because they can, and consumers don't know any better and think the price tag is worth it.
If this is something that really matters to you (which if you work hard for your money I HOPE it does), try to familiarize yourself, or at least do a little research before you buy things. There are a TON of products out there with almost the exact same ingredients, but because of the name it might be 10x or more the cost of a product that works just as well.
One particular product that comes to mind exemplifying this exact scenario is the Kylie Lip Products. Let me preface this by saying I have tried her liquid lipstick - wasn't a bad product, but definitely didn't LOVE it. The price tag isn't absurd, costing $17 for a liquid lipstick, which I think is pretty average. HOWEVER, the Colour Pop liquid lipsticks have almost the exact same ingredients list, and only cost $6. In this case, I've never repurchased a Kylie Lipstick, but have repurchased the Colour Pop ones often.
Another product that I've found that has a very affordable "Dupe" is the Makeup Forever HD powder ($36). The ingredients in the e.l.f. HD powder are almost identical, and it comes with a price tag of only $6. I've tried both products, and I do think the e.l.f. powder performs just as well as the Makeup Forever one. I do however much rather prefer the packaging of the Makeup Forever powder.
One thing I do recommend spending a decent amount of money on is eyeshadow. There are so many companies coming out with giant palettes with like 100 different shades of eye shadow for around $20. A few brands known to do this are BH cosmetics and Morphe. These products are known to be made in Asia where FDA regulations on ingredients and workplace environments are not nearly as regulated as they are here. I'd recommend drug store shadows over these any day. (also no one needs over 100 different shades of eyeshadows).
The things I do typically find myself splurging on most often are foundations. I've tried almost every drugstore foundation on the market, and they just do not have the longevity of the more expensive ones. I'd say the ONE drugstore foundation I'd buy again if I needed to save some money, is either the NYX total control drop foundation ($14), or the Revlon ColorStay Foundation ($14.49).
A product that is very okay to save money on all the time is Mascara. There are a ton of great mascaras on the market at very affordable prices - especially with all the sales and coupons CVS has. Mascara is a product that should be replaced every 2-3 months because of health risks, so spending a lot of money is not necessary or practical. Loreal Voluminous Mascara ($7.95) is a great one that a ton of professional Makeup Artists, including myself have been using in their kit for decades! A definite tried and true product. Another great drugstore mascara is the good old pink and green Maybelline Great Lash ($4.39). If you do have a higher end mascara you love, buy the travel size. This will save you money, and also prevent you from wasting product when it's time to replace it. Benefit & Too Faced both make some great travel size mascaras for about $12 each.
For me, eyeliner kind of falls into the same category as mascara, because it's one of those products that has to be replaced more often. Wet n' Wild makes an awesome liquid liner, that I always find myself going back to.
Skin Care products are definitely products that I would almost always recommend splurging on. There are very few drugstore skin care products that I'd recommend to anyone, but if you really have to save on skin care products, CeraVe has a decent line and is pretty gentle on the skin.
Well since this pretty much turned into a post about my favorite drugstore products I'll be sure to do another post about my favorite products to splurge on in the next few days. So for now, enjoy bargain shopping!