Expensive Does Not Mean Better

Hi, friends!

This week, I have yet another makeup post that will be interesting to approximately two of you. Sorry! I have a lot of thoughts about makeup, apparently.

I saw a post online once that said, "Good makeup isn't cheap and cheap makeup isn't good!" (From context, I think the image was originally made as a way to sell MLM makeup.) That saying stuck with me because of how utterly foolish it is.

Ben Wyatt is very relatable sometimes.

While I might expect that kind of thinking from someone who's trying to justify the ridiculous prices of makeup sold by "their" business, it's weird how many others seem to share those sentiments. I'm guessing a lot of people had bad experiences with inexpensive makeup years ago and assume that all drugstore makeup is going to be chalky and awful. That's really not the case anymore, though; while there are definitely duds to be found among the cheaper brands, they've seriously improved their overall quality over the past several years. Expensive brands aren't immune to releasing disappointing products, either.

Some of the people who assume cheap = garbage are influencers who should definitely know better. (That's just one of the many problems in the "beauty community" as a whole.) Some beautubers will do "challenges" in which they are only allowed to use inexpensive products and they joke that everything they use will give them skin problems or probably not work very well. Some claim to not be biased against inexpensive brands, but act shocked when drugstore products do their jobs properly. It's even implied sometimes that only people who can't afford fancier makeup would want to buy from Target or Walmart.

High-end makeup does have its advantages. You're more likely to be able to swatch and test in a Sephora than in a drugstore. The shade ranges for base products tend to be better and it's easier to find a match when you can put a dab of foundation on your jawline to see if it looks right instead of guessing based on the closed bottle. Employees at high-end stores can give you samples of most products to help you decide if you want to buy them. The packaging is usually cuter, sturdier, or more luxe-feeling.

When it comes down to product performance, though, your results will vary a lot. Every brand has their hits and misses and there are good and bad versions of essentially any product out there that you can find at a variety of price points. Viseart eyeshadows are known for being great (which they should be, considering a twelve-shadow palette is $80!) but there are also amazing eyeshadows you can get for way less money from brands like ColourPop and Wet N Wild. Popular products are often duped and the inexpensive versions perform better than the original in some cases; Zabrena, one of my favorite beauty YouTubers, has many videos that prove this point.

Norvina palette from Anastasia Beverly Hills ($42) vs. Luna palette from Bad Habit ($16)
When Zabrena compared these two, she decided to return the Norvina palette because she liked the dupe version better.

"But Lizzie, those expensive brands must be expensive for some reason, right?" Yeah, but that reason isn't simply the quality. Most of the reasoning for higher prices comes down to the packaging and branding. If you compare Kylie Jenner's lip kits with ColourPop's equivalent products, they're very similar as far as ingredients, performance, and packaging go. ColourPop's price is reasonable, whereas Kylie's is much higher. When you buy her lip kits, you're paying for the privilege of owning something with Kylie's name on it. There's a peachy lip balm in a cute little jar from Too Faced that sells for $17 even though the balm itself is pretty standard. A Louboutin lip gloss will cost you $85 due to the prestige of the brand, the ridiculous packaging, and the fancy feeling of owning a ridiculously expensive gloss from a French designer. If you want to read about this from a source other than me, here's a neat article that's worth checking out. (A relevant quote from that link: "Many of the luxury brands are made at the exact same house as the over-the-counter brands to the point of having the exact formulation in a different package.")

In fairness, packaging does matter a lot to some people. I don't personally have a certain aesthetic that I want everything to fit and I don't generally worry about how travel-friendly products are. Some makeup lovers want to see coordinated, beautiful packaging on their bathroom counters and would be bothered by a mixture of classy and cutesy. Some people are annoyed by unnecessarily bulky containers or things that feel cheap. If part of why you enjoy makeup is that it helps you feel like an elegant lady, then high-end brands are more likely to have the luxurious packaging that can do that for you. If you aren't as concerned with the container as long as the makeup itself is nice, your options will be more open and you can almost definitely find inexpensive makeup that you'll love. (There are some drugstore products with fancy packaging, just not as many as you'd find in a Sephora.)

I'm not saying you should head to the beauty aisle of your drugstore of choice, blindly toss things into your basket, and hope for the best. Even though you'd only be out a few dollars if a product doesn't work out, I'd still recommend reading or watching reviews to see what things might interest you. Pay attention to the reasons people give for liking or disliking something. A person with dry skin may complain that a certain foundation didn't work very well on them, but if you have oily skin, that review is probably a good sign for you. Someone who doesn't have a lot of experience might be intimidated by something that's super pigmented, so reviews saying that a certain blush needed to be built up would be a pro instead of a con.

If you were wearing a mood ring, butterfly clips, and body glitter last time you bought some drugstore makeup, I encourage you to give it another shot! Old-school brands have stepped up their game and new ones have appeared with great products of their own.

Instead of choosing between quality or quantity, you can get both. You just have to know where to look.

Love,
Lizzie