THE COST
Women spend $7 billion a year on makeup, around $100 each (although that’s not true, some of us *cough* spend more than others) (The Gloss).
Vanity Fare says in the U.S. alone, 68% of the 70 million women in the country (48 million) work and have money to spend on beauty, and $17 billion dollars is spent on makeup in the U.S. alone.
Women purchase 2-3 times on average more makeup than they need or use.
The average woman owns:
- 7 Lipsticks but use only 2.6 of them on rotation
- 12 Eyeshadows but only use 5 of them on rotation <– the biggest category!
- 2-3 Mascaras but only uses 1 daily
- 3 forms of blush in various shades but only uses 1 daily
- 2 foundations and they use one or both daily
So we own more than we need (no surprise) and there’s always a demand to look and stay beautiful.
QUALITY FACTORS IN THE COST
The cost also matters in terms of quality and how picky you are with it.
If you want, you can spend only $7 on foundation or concealer, but for the most part, it won’t be as good as if you shell out for other more expensive brands.
This is from experience by the way… I’ve worn very cheap to very expensive, and I find the mid-range brands (mostly available at Sephora) are the best.
Let’s break down what a basic kit would have:
BASIC MAKEUP KIT
- Foundation or Concealer – $50
- Eyeliner – $10
- Mascara – $10
- Eyeshadow – $15
- Blush – $15
- Lip Colour – $15
- Subtotal = $115
EXTRAS TO ROUND OUT A MAKEUP KIT
- Makeup primer – $50
- Eyeshadow primer – $30
- Bronzer – $20
- Concealer or Foundation – $50
- Brushes – $50
- Subtotal = $230
Total = $315
Then imagine variations of colour on blush, lip colour, eyeshadow, foundation, concealer… and you can see how and why women spend so much on makeup.
Granted, the above can last me a good 5 years, so it’s really $295 / 5 years or $59/year, but they tell you to change your makeup every year or so.
THE QUEST
It took me a while to find the right products, and it was just a question of cost.
Spend where it makes sense and save on the rest.
Funny, but true.
I’m not talking about spending $100 on a designer foundation, but if you can afford to splurge, go up to the mid-range costs of makeup products. The extra $20 per tube or compact is worth it, trust me! I cringe every time I pay, but I can’t go back to the cheaper drugstore brands for certain items like foundation, concealer and blush.
The rest, like eyeliner or eyeshadow, can be found in lower-end drugstore products such as Annabelle (which is amazing!), and there’s no need to pay $20 for a great eyeliner unless you want to.
THE HOLY GRAILS
- Foundation: Powder CoverFX covers beautifully and is SPF15
- Concealer: Time Balm TheBalm or CoverFX covers everything with SPF15
- Eyeliner: Marcelle or Annabelle has amazingly soft eyeliners
- Mascara: Covergirl or Maybelline
- Eyeshadow: Annabelle Mono Eyeshadows (Gleam is beautiful)
- Blush: Cargo Blush
- Lip Colour: Rosebud Salve Lip Balm
- Makeup Primer: Tarte Clean Slate
- Eyeshadow Primer: Too Faced Eyeshadow Insurance
- Bronzer: Annabelle Zebra Glow Bronzer works on all skin tones
- Brushes: The Body Shop, Quo or Sephora
The TOTAL? Around $250
Naturally, I have more than what I am listing above, but that would be my current Holy Grail of makeup items and how much it would cost to replace everything.
Want to learn more makeup facts?
Read: The Argument for Wearing and Using Less Makeup (The Everyday Minimalist)
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 am 14 years old and a very pale blonde with moderate acne. So I used to wear concealer, foundation, powder, color corrector, (not in that order! ;)) blush, mascara, eyeshadow, eyeliner, and primer. Whew! It took me about 15 minutes to apply but I only used a little bit of everything. I did not look cakey or overdone. In fact, people told me how natural my makeup was. I did not want to have to spend so much time on something as dumb as makeup. So I gradually decreased to foundation, blush, and mascara. But since my acne got worse, I only wear mascara now.
For those that wear powder as well as foundation/concealer, I found this is a great place to economize. I used to spend $50+ on Dior powder then switched to Neutrogena Healthy Skin and there is no difference in the quality or effect – just a $35+ price saving!
Make-up is my crack. YSL mascara beats everyone else!
Have you tried Diorshow Extase? Amazing mascara! I once tried switching to the Maybelline Great Lash to economize and I got the WORST irritation.
I saw Dior Extase online and was keen to check it out! Will do!
I have tons of makeup and I am not buying any until I actually run out of something, which might not happen this year… 😉 I have changed to only organic makeup and I buy everything from Iherb.com cause the choice of organic makeup in Norway is really bad…
If you ever feel like being a huge nerd like me, try computing the cost per ounce of popular makeup products.
Often the drugstore brands are cheaper, but the packages have deceptively little product in them. So the cost per oz. of some mid-range and high-end brands is often smaller than that of drugstore stuff.
Which, assuming you’re going to use every bit of the product before it goes bad or you get sick of it, means the higher end stuff is a better purchase. Not so true if you won’t use all of the package though.
I find that quality is all over the board though. I have tried some very high quality makeup from drugstores, particularly blushes, and some very low quality expensive stuff. That said, I definitely tend to lean more towards mid-range and the occasional high-end makeup item and use drugstores primarily for mascara and lip gloss/balm. I also like smaller brands that often give you a better deal since they have less advertising costs. Oh, and I always buy foundation from higher end places just because I’m hella tricky to skin match and very picky about how well my foundation matches- so generally I’ll splurge on a bottle just because I can get samples of higher end ones and try before I buy. But once I find a good match I stick with it until the bottle is gone, often years.
Oh and I own way more than the necessary amount of makeup, but it all fits into a little makeup organizer with room to spare. I could probably split my stash between A) stuff I use very regularly:
NARS foundation or Alima mineral foundation (depending on season)
Lancome Miel Glace blush
Guerlain Blondes 02 Bronzer (best.bronzer.ever.)
MAC paint pot in some neutral color I forget the name of
Benefit velvet eye shadow in Fawn
Rimmel Mascara
Burt’s Bees tinted lip balm
Fyrinnae fluff powder (if I want to be matte)
And the rest- like brighter blushes, eyeliners, and eyeshadows- which I use semi-regularly when I get bored with my neutral face. I only have a few things that I don’t wear often, and most of it is “special occasion” or really fun makeup (bright red lipstick, electric blue eyeliner) that I get enough enjoyment out of to keep around. I’m at a point where I don’t feel the need to buy a lot of new things though, because I feel like my current mix of essentials and fun stuff is pretty optimal. I just replace things when I use them up.
I have a stash of eye shadow that never gets worn yet I don’t get rid of it… Otherwise I have just what I wear. 1 mascara, 1 eyeliner, 1 powder, 1 blush, 1 concealer, 1 cream eye shadow, 1 (special occasion) powder eye shadow, 1 lip stain/gloss combo, and an errant lip gloss. I wish I could do lipstick, but I haven’t found one I don’t react to yet 🙁
I always think I’ll wear lipstick but I end up with balm.. doesn’t show on my teeth 😛
I was never really into make-up until the past year. And I am almost 42! So I decided to invest in a good foundation as I don’t use it often & wanted it to match perfectly & be good quality ($50 – Dior). I always have a good natural mascara (Buxom Lash or Tarte) but the rest of my make up mostly comes from E.L.F.(shadows, bronzer) as I am still learning and experimenting with colors & techniques! ELF is a great inexpensive choice for experimentation. I also use lip balm regularly (Burt’s Bees) but that’s about it! 🙂
ELF is incredible. I saw their palettes for $5 and was almost sold until I realized I already had a ton of eyeshadows
I only wear lipstick and occasionally a swipe of foundation. I wear the same colour all the time!
If I’m wearing contacts, then some eyeliner and maybe eyeshadow.
I just don’t like wearing much makeup, personally. All up I have a couple of lipsticks, a few glosses/balms, a primer powder, 2-3 foundations, 3? eyeshadow compacts and a couple of eyeliners. Most, I got for free through an old job.
I say keep doing it. Once you get in, it’s hard to get out. You’re always searching for the next thing 😐
I’m working on my skin now.. just getting it clear & scar-diminished so I use less and less.
I’ve been spending more than usual lately on makeup because I’ve been experimenting with smokey eye looks using various hues. My holy grain is a liquid mineral foundation (not sure if its available outside of Australia): http://www.natio.com.au/colour/foundations/pure-mineral-foundation-1.html It’s light reflecting so it especially looks amazing on film or in photos.
No more enabling!! *tears hair out* 🙂 I want to try this stuff too!
I have recently cut down my makeup to my tried and true favorites, so it’s a pretty minimal stash. I love it, but I picked up a way too expensive foundation. I’m embarrassed to say it’s $125 Cle de Peau refining fluide. It’s so great on my skin though, and my DH is actually the one the talked me into buying it since he thinks it’s impossible to see on my skin. It really does look great, and I can’t see it at all, so I just picked up my second bottle. Thankfully it lasts longer that I thought it would. And now I have the concealer too, but what can I say when DH is the one telling me to buy it because it’s the only one I’ve ever used that he says he can’t see. Luckily it’s within our budget to get a couple times per year, I just wish I could get the same results with even a $60 one.
Wow. You make me want to try it….. badly.
I like v. natural looking makeup but I hate buying/trying anything that will be down the drain if it doesn’t look great
Well you could always go in and try it on first and get a sample maybe. I found it at Ogilvy in Montreal, the sales person is very helpful. I ordered it from Nordstrom for my second bottle.
I have alot of makeup. I am currently reducing my makeup stash. Looking at the numbers here, I’m embarrassed to say how much I have. I definitely have more than the average woman, that’s for sure! Luckily for me, I didn’t pay for it all and most of it was free gift with purchase for skincare buys. I’m not buying anything right now since I have so much.
Counting each eyeshadow pan as 1, I have close to 100 eyeshadows and around 50 for lipstick/lipgloss. I don’t really count eyeliner pencils since I use dark eyeshadow as my eyeliner anyway. That gives you an idea of how much I have.
I have only two mascaras and am trying to finish one up because the formula doesn’t like me and smudges. So I have overload in every department but this one.
I’m forcing myself to wear makeup every single day so I can use up my horribly gargantuan makeup stash.
Also, I can’t tell if having a wishlist of what to buy next is helping me or hurting me in my venture to downsize my stash to reasonable proportions.
*LAUGH*
Nice phrasing: “I’m forcing myself to wear makeup every single day so I can use up my horribly gargantuan makeup stash.”
I feel like that right now, and I only have 3 small-medium palettes (8-12 each) and 3 single pots of eyeshadow..
I have quite a bit of makeup, last year I got the makeup bug and got a lot. Most of my stuff is high end brands because my mum insists and my dad let me choose my birthday gift this year and I chose makeup.
Primer – Guerlain’s Météorites light diffusing primer ($800 MXN)
Foundation – Guerlain’s Parure Extreme ($800 MXN)
Bronzer – Guerlain’s Terracotta something ($600 MXN)
Finishing powder – Guerlain’s Météorites in the pressed presentation (these were free)
Eyeshadow – Shiro Cosmetics’ 20+ shades in samples (~$25 USD) UD NAKED palette ($620 MXN)
Eyeshadow Primer – UD Primer Potion ($295 MXN)
Lipstick – M.A.C. lipsticks (2 x $320 MX), Wet n’ Wild red ($25 MXN), Chanel samples (4 x free)
Lipgloss – Clinique (2 x $250 MXN), Victoria’s Secret Beauty Rush (gift), Lancôme Juicy Tube ($250 MXN), M.A.C. Dazzleglass (gift)
Mascara – Wet n’ Wild Mega volume ($55.50 MXN)
Eyeliner – L’OREAL duo liquid (came in a package with the Million Dollar Lashes mascara, my mum got it because of the mascara but gave me the liner), TokiDoki liquid eyeliner ($255 MXN) and Maybelline pencil eyeliner ($55 MXN)
Blush – Bobbi Brown one that I’m almost done using (gift) and a mineral one that came in a package with mineral foundation and 4 mineral eyeshadows ($150 MXN for the whole package)
Moisturizer – Clarins energy cream ($290 MXN)
All of these are products I’ve gotten over the last three years and that I still use every time I wear makeup. I think that I will re-purchase the Guerlain foundation and primer, it comes with a lot of product and it’s the best foundation I’ve ever had. I like to invest in things that I use everyday.
I really like a range of foundations but I am finding the Stila powder (as of late) to be working well, rather than a liquid or cream foundation..
Waiting for the coveted Marcelle BB cream however.
Um… I have two tubes of red lipstick, one tube of pink lipstick (the pink one doesn’t look that great on me), one liquid and one powder foundation (what I was really looking for was concealer and liquid foundation…), and some nail polish. So maybe I own $30 in makeup?
I am one of the girls that hardly use makeup and never really learned to as a teenager. Luckily, I still think that I am good looking without it – but this might change when I finish school in 5-6 years or so when I see other working women. And to be honest, I’m still scared of eyeliner, mascara, and eyeshadow. The makeup doesn’t give me any additional confidence, though my boyfriend says that it makes me took better.
Not to pressure you into makeup if you don’t want to go into it, but doing basics can work wonders.. I never wore any during high school but once I hit college I learned how to apply it and I saw a difference in my attitude and the way people reacted to me. It’s like I was a grown up!
I own too much in makeup, but I use most of it (not everyday, but every now and then).
I’m trying to use what I have more 🙂
Longtime lurker here!
I rarely buy makeup, and rarely wear it – I’m a grad student. Most everything I have was bought from a drugstore except some lip glosses and some eyeshadow that were Christmas gifts. I tried to get foundation once at small specialty shop and ended up getting guilted into the wrong color. I probably could use a good foundation for when my skin breaks out, but I’m kind of terrified of the makeup counters in malls.
Doesn’t a lot of this stuff technically expire within a certain number of months or a year of when you open it, to prevent eye infections and the like? Though I’ve always thought that it was a ploy to get women to buy more makeup
I was curious about this so I asked my friend who is a professional MUA with MAC:
If it doesn’t smell funky or separates/formulation doesn’t look the way it did the day you bought it, it’s usually fine. The only thing I would do is throw out mascaras every 2-3 months, as well as any liquid/gel/balm/cream type things that don’t come with a pump every year or so. Lipsticks can be kept a while as long as there is no moisture beading on the side, if you clean them properly (dip the bullet in rubbing alcohol and wipe with a kleenex); glosses should be thrown out every year or so. Powders can last a while (especially mineral powders), and nail polishes/anything solvent based can be kept indefinitely. Basically, if it looks or smells weird/different, or stops working the way it’s supposed to, throw it out!
He also suggested splurging on foundations/blushes/basics, and sticking to cheap alternatives for mascaras/trendy colors.
Yes, this is what I was told too. I’ve had my blush for 5 years now and it still looks fine — no smell or discoloration.
Yup, what I got from him was that essentially you just need to make sure the TOOLS you are applying them with are clean – clean brushes/applicators are a must (in industry parlance, no double dipping!). He also mentioned the importance of storing them properly – too many people store their cosmetics in a humid bathroom/on a sunny countertop and wonder why their stuff goes bad so quickly. Humidity/sunlight/direct heat will cause the forumlas to break down and also creates a breeding ground for bacteria.
Oh good call. Thanks. I’ll keep it somewhere cool and dark.. I don’t keep anything in the bathroom, knowing about the humidity, but I didn’t know about sunlight 🙂
I do clean my brushes quite often…
A friend once told me to get a new tube of eyeliner and mascara every six months to prevent eye infections, but I don’t really use makeup either, so I don’t really know.
It doesn’t actually expire after only a few months. It really depends on how infection-prone you are. I can’t use a tube of off-mascara, but my mom, aunt, and cousin can. They have mascara tubes and eyeliners that are years old and they don’t have infections. Granted, they don’t really get infections that often. I do, and I can’t take the risk. But, I can still use year-old mascara.
Technically but I totally believe that those expiration dates are a ploy to get you to buy more. I’ve been using the same foundation for years, the same eyeshadows for even more years than that, and no one wants to know how old my lipsticks are- nothing has ever had ill effects. You can tell if something is bad by how it looks or smells, more often than not. The only things I replace habitually are mascaras, since they go right up against your eyeball and have a high risk of bacterial growth.
I love hearing this. It’s what I do with my stuff too…
Great post! You definitely have a point about mid-range brands being better value in the end. Since becoming minimalist I only have 7 products in my makeup bag and that’s all the makeup I own in the world. I can afford some expensive products because I only have to replace each one once a year or so.
It can be a little boring (I only own one eyeshadow palette with 3 colours) but my style is very classic so I’d be unlikely to use lots of different colours on a regular basis anyway.
Do you have the brand Rimmel in the US? I find their mascaras even better than Maybelline.
Oops, sorry, I think you’re actually in Canada, aren’t you?!
We do have Rimmel in Canada and in the U.S. but I only went with the Maybelline brand on a recommendation 🙂
I agree with you that some things are worth splurging for (foundation!) and some simply aren’t (mascara).
Just one comment about your list of holy grails. I’m not sure if you’re wearing sunscreen in addition to your foundation + concealer or not, but from what I’ve heard, we cannot rely on makeup to provide adequate sun protection. We’d have to cake on a lot of foundation in order to reach their proclaimed SPF factor, thus the need for a separate sun protection product. (Sunscreen is another category I don’t think we need to splurge too much on. Just enough. You’d feel so bad about using your $$$ Chanel sunscreen that you wouldn’t be spreading the adequate quantity on your face :P)
Oh yes! I didn’t add in there that I use Pure & Simple SPF 30 sunscreen.
I don’t wear primer with the sunscreen (it flakes off), but I do wear it religiously.
I actually am a light user of makeup, despite that I put on a full face of it every day. I have several eye shadows but only use two daily. I have a bronzer and a blush, and then one lipstick. I guess it’s not that bad, but I want to use up the rest of my eyeshadow
They say it’s difficult to get down to the pan. I’ve only done that in my Cargo blush… but I rarely wear makeup every day especially in the last year when I’ve been travelling, so my makeup supply hasn’t really been diminishing.
Ahh, this use to be my territory. I easily spent $600 a year on makeup before minimalism. It was insane how much I bought vs. how much I use. I’ve been making an effort to use more in rotation, it will probably all go bad before I can even finish what I have. Last year, since I have started minimalism, the only makeup product I bought was mascara. I’ve been enjoying the more natural look lately though and use makeup only once or twice a week.
I still own about 20 lipsticks, 1 liquid foundation (rarely use it now), 1 concealer, 1 mineral makeup foundation, 1 powder, 3 pencil eyeliners, 4 gel eyeliners, 1 mascara, 4 blushes, 3 lipglosses, some eyeshadow palettes and 4 individual ones as a remnant of my past splurges.
I would love to downsize these but right now, I don’t find it too cluttering since I have no need to be mobile and want to use them all as much as I can before they go bad since I spent so much money on it.
My HG minimalist makeup bag:
RMS Beauty ‘un’coverup concealer
Jurlique Silk Dust powder
NYX brown eyeliner
Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler
Majolica Majorca mascara (it’s a bitch to get off but it is the best mascara I have ever used, doesn’t run)
A multipurpose cheek and lip stain, yet to find something in this category
MAC Style Snob eyeshadow
Shu makes an awesome eyelash curler but I am hesitant to use it unless needed because I don’t want to ruin my eyelashes.. 🙂
The worst is when you have great beauty blogger friends who give you stuff LOL!
Yeah it’s a lovely little thing, If my lashes aren’t curled, they are pin straight so the curler made it to the HG list!
I used to be addicted to beauty blogs (Temptalia, Makeupandbeautyblog) and drooled over every pretty looking thing but replaced them with minimalism blogs hehe. I used to get so excited when limited edition products came out, how things have changed 🙂
Over the last year I have REALLY simplified my skin care and makeup routines. I never really did like makeup. I think it’s a waste of time in my mornings. I prefer to use the extra time to do yoga. However, with that said, I will wear minimal makeup on special occasions, holidays, etc. All I have fits into one zippered pouch. Tarte mascara ( I have sensitive eyes), Body Shop eyeliner and concealer, Josie Maran blush, and Mary Kay lipgloss. I don’t use foundation. I don’t need it with my skin care program. All I use to wash my face is a cleansing oil I make myself with olive oil and castor oil. I use the same mixture to moisturizer my skin. I will use lip gloss and concealer everyday when I go into the office. That’s it!