About.com’s 2010 Beauty Study:
The study revealed that beauty products are considered a necessity, with over two-thirds of respondents willing to purchase products even while watching their budgets.
The study revealed that beauty products are non-negotiable, regardless of budget, because consumers view them as an important part of life and necessary to help maintain their look and skin/hair health. (Source)
I AGREE!
I do find that makeup and beauty products like face creams are important to maintain my skin/hair health. Without heavy moisturizers, my skin turns into an eczema patch in this super dry weather.
I also enjoy wearing a little makeup now and then, and it does make me feel better. I even spend more on makeup products than I did before, because for me, the majority of products, price does matter, especially if you want the benefits of the great properties of makeup, but in a more natural format such as not having parabens in it, or pthalates.
From my experience of trying low-end drug store brands to high-end versions, this is what I’ve realized works for me:
WHERE TO SPLURGE
- Foundation – Higher end brands have a greater selection of shades and colours, plus the quality of pigmentation and feel is much better
- Concealer – Ditto
- Primer – This is what you put under your makeup, and I’ve found the cheaper primers haven’t held up my makeup during the day
- Eyeshadow – For me, I could go either way here. I’d splurge on better quality eyeshadow, but you can find drugstore versions that are just as great such as Annabelle
- Blush – I could go either way here, the lower end brands don’t hold as much pigment or last as long, but I’m not a blush fanatic
WHERE TO SAVE
- Eyeliner – I’ve never found that using a higher end eyeliner was any better than my Marcelle or Annabelle liners
- Mascara – Same with mascara. All mascaras, expensive or not, tend to clump up after 3 – 4 months of use, so you end up tossing it to buy a new one
- Bronzer – I don’t really wear bronzers, but Annabelle makes a mean Zebra Haute Gold bronzer that is incredible for only $10
- Lip Stuff – Again, not a lip fanatic, although I know Maybelline makes some killer lip products. I just use lip balm.
They say once you buy the higher-end brands, you just can’t go back, which wasn’t true in my case.
I never try to go cheap on my foundation or concealer again, because it really makes a difference in its coverage and lasting power.
Cheap foundations would make my face feel and look oilier, and would rub off in a heartbeat.
Brands like CoverFX or TheBalm are incredible in their range of colours and shades, plus the quality is incredible to boot.
As always, the general price range for everything above is about $50 or under. I never spend more than $50 on any one item, but if you head into higher-end brands like Chanel or Givenchy, you can rack up a big bill in no time.
Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver.
I cleared $60,000 in 18 months earning $65,000 gross/year.
Now I am self-employed, and you can read more about 
I disagree with the mascara. I used Maybelline for years, and then I tried a Clinique mascara, but the brush has an eyelash comb built right in. It stays the longest, doesn’t clump.. I’m never going cheap on my mascara again.
It’s interesting what counts as a necessity in different societies.
I’m sure in Africa they wouldn’t consider makeup a necessity. Affluent societies have a different opinion of what necessities are. So IMO it really depends what society you live in. A lot of people in the U.S. consider A/C service, cars, internet access, and cable tv as necessities. I have to admit that I consider all of the above except cable tv necessities. I use Netflix, Hulu, and Itunes instead of cable tv.
Personally since I live in this society, I do consider makeup as a necessity, but that’s because our society judges us on our appearance. They’ve done several studies and they have found out that women are judged more on their appearance than men are. Also if you’re a woman your salary is affected by how good looking you are.
Another study found out that women who are overweight earn less than thinner women and that attractive women earn more than average women. So I don’t really blame women thinking that makeup is a necessity. I had a nose job and I considered that a necessity to live a happy life, my nose was really wide, big, and weird looking. I always felt ugly because of it.
I never dated anyone before my surgery and growing up I was teased horribly for my looks. It was the only plastic surgery I’ve ever wanted and I was very happy afterwards. I feel so much better about myself. I had consultations with 3 different plastic surgeons and the last one was the one who understood what I was going for. I also researched his credentials. He also explained everything before he operated.
People who are good looking, have no idea what it’s like to really struggle with being awkward looking. There is so much pressure to look good in our society, especially if you’re a woman.
I used to agree about foundation but I have been using Maybelline Superstay lately and I really like it, the coverage is perfect and it lasts all day no problem, its the only drugstore one that has ever really delivered for me. BUT, I cannot find drugstore concealers so I stick with Bobbi Brown under eyes and Makeup Forever on Blemishes so far they can’t be beat and both last a really long time. I typically buy any kind of pencil, mascara, or lip product at the drugstore since I really can’t tell the difference. I am not really in to blush that much I just wear the same one every day, bobbi brown pale pink, I don’t know if I could find a cheaper one since I haven’t tried, the same goes for face powder, I use Shiseido because its the only ‘white’ translucent in a pressed compact I’ve seen so I just stuck with it since I am very pale. My skin care is from the drugstore because all of the expensive brands I have tried have not worked and Cetaphil works great. I also tend to get hair products from the drugstore but I go to a high end salon for cut and color. Nail polish definitely I spend a little more on I usually get Essie or OPI because I find brands like Revlon or Maybelline streak and bubble on my nails and chip off really quickly. http://lilacs1986.blogspot.com
I agree with you! My foundation is “brand,” while eyeliner, mascara and chapstick are always the cheapest. I find this really works well.
However, my hairdresser always notices if I skimp on shampoo. My hair becomes a mess.
I splurge on make up brushes as well. I bought a set of lancome brushes 2 years ago, and with regular cleaning (i clean them with baby shampoo), they are still good until now. I think that’s value for money.
I don’t spend on blush at all, simply because I look awful putting them on.
I save across the board – primarily because I wear so little makeup. I don’t use mascara and keep shadow and liner to a minimum given that I’m prone to eye infections. I chose lip gloss over lipstick and cheap is always cheerful in that respect. Foundation I’ll use a little if I’m going out but it’s just not an everyday thing for me. I’ve also found some well priced cleansers and use nose-pore strips once in a while, drink plenty of water and my skin is fine. Never needed to spurge!
Now I am starting to wear less and less makeup but there are days I like to go all out 🙂
I had pretty bad acne as a teenager, so I ALWAYS splurge on anything that goes on my face. I’m pretty brand loyal in this department, too, because if I know a particular thing won’t make me break out, I’m really unlikely to try something else. That said, because of my sensitive skin, I most often just don’t wear makeup at all.
How’s your face now? I found that once I stopped eating a lot of fats and oils, deep fried things.. my skin improved dramatically
Honestly, I’ve never noticed a difference, whether I indulged or completely abstained from fatty, oily foods. While I suppose it’s possible to have a sensitivity to these things, what you eat has no effect on acne. My skin is totally clear now, save for the odd pimple. I guess I just grew out of it.
Couldn’t agree more about foundation. I was NEVER lucky with drugstore brands. On the other hand, I have found cheap eye-liners which I like better than the more expensive ones!
I know what you mean about the feel of high end makeup. I used Lancome for awhile and it was addictive!
Right now I am using a BB cream that was about $11-13 off ebay. It has lasted me so long because a little goes a long way. I also have a NARS foundation that retails for over $50 but I got it at a warehouse sale for $15. I will probably keep an eye out for the next one so I can get more because I really like it.
The eyeshadows I use the most are MAC (middle end) and NYX (lower end).
My MUFE primer is used up and I probably won’t buy another right away because of the price 🙁
Basically I have quite a variety of things. I don’t really spend a huge amount on any one item because I look for the warehouse sales to try the most expensive brands at a lower price.
I would also say that splurging on a good brush set (or at least for powder foundation) is a good idea. I LOVE my makeup brushes, and they really do help spread out the life of my foundation.
– Bethy from Credit Karma
I don’t use foundation, but I do splurge a little (Clinique) on my eye makeup when I find a color I love, it works better for my sometimes itchy eyes. The only think I ALWAYS spend more on is lip stuff because I have sensitive skin and have actually had my lips get swollen, crack and bleed from less expensive brands. My lip stuff is Clinique all the way.
I really don’t need any more makeup but it’s hard to stop 🙂 Clinique is a brand favourite of my sister!
I splurge on my “foundation” and blush too. I use Clinique Almost Powder makeup for foundation (it’s a really light coverage, but it has SPF in it and does a nice job of evening out my skin) and Beneft BeneTint which also doubles as a great lip stain. I skimp on eye makeup and bronzer. Rimmel has a bronzer that I’ve found works better on my skin than pricier kinds. I like L’Oreal mascara and Cover Girl eyeliner and eyeshadow (which I don’t use every day). The concealer I have right now is Maybelline and I don’t care for it. I might need to spend a little more on my next concealer!
Try Time Balm TheBalm. It is FANTASTIC as a concealer. Mac’s longwear concealer is good too, but a bit sheerer than TheBalm
After trying nearly all liquid eye liners, cheap or not so, L’Oreal is the best by far!
I love makeup and use it every day. I have that sort of look that, if I don’t wear makeup, I can look over-tired and a little less professional that I’d like.
I splurge on foundation, bronzer (otherwise it looks funny..) and sometimes eyeshadow, mainly because I love MAC’s colors.
I feel that beauty products are a necessity for me – since I’m trying to start out my career and looking polished is important.
My favourite bronzer is the $10 Annabelle Zebra Gold. It gives me a gold shimmer 🙂
The more money I made, the more I tend to splurge on makeup. I went from drug store makeup to a phase of collecting MAC collections. Now I only spend on makeup that is part of my ‘routine’ and are natural. They tend to be reasonably priced.
DITTO.
I finally
Great list. The only one that I doesn’t work for me is cheap mascara. I have super sensitive eyes and the drug store brands make them get really red and irritated. Granted the last time I tried a drug store brand was over 7 years ago…so maybe things have changes. The downside is I cannot bring myself to throw out mascara after 3 months if I spent $30+ on it. Which drug store mascara do you find to be the best?
I think Maybelline (for me) is the best mascara. CoverGirl is really too cheap and Revlon is weird.
I like the higher end Maybelline though, not the pink and green bottle.. the other ones are better.