Beauty Products: When to Splurge and When to Save!

Beauty comes at a price!

It can’t be denied – there is nothing more enticing than the lure of all those fabulously packaged cosmetics and beauty treatments that hit all of our senses when we walk into a department store. But although those lustrous lipsticks and petite little jars of exotic creams appeal to us in every way possible, are we really getting value for the money? Try keeping to the following rules of thumb in mind when purchasing your beauty essentials!

When to Splurge

Always purchase the best moisturizer, foundation, and powder that you can afford – don’t scrimp and let some cheap, poorly-made product sit all over your face all day long! More quality products will lead to better results and will probably have been tested far more widely and in-depth too, ensuring you receive the very best product to use. Put simply, the better your skin looks in the end, the less foundation, powder, etc., that you will need to use!

Hair straighteners are another splurge item. Although there are straighteners available on the market for $10, there’s a reason for that! You don’t have to have the most expensive salon-quality set; however, anything electrical needs to be well-made (especially when involving heat!). Cheap straighteners may only have one heat setting and no temperature control function – that temperature may be too hot for your hair and could cause severe damage after only a few times of using them. 

Make-up brushes! You usually get what you pay for with brushes. Basic brushes from the drugstore are usually made with cheap, synthetic hair, which doesn't lend to a great application. Cheap brushes also fall apart a lot quicker, leaving you with brush hairs on your skin after application. Buy individual brushes that you use frequently instead of a complete set.

When to Save

Mascara! If you didn’t already know, almost all mascaras are made with the exact same ingredients – the only difference is brush size and fancy packaging. You can pick up a tube of mascara from the drugstore for less than $5; Covergirl and Maybelline all do great mascara. As you should change your mascara for a fresh bottle at least every 2 months, then the savings will soon add up!

Shampoo and conditioner! With huge leaps in technology, drugstores have never been so full of so many specialty shampoos and conditioners for whatever type your hair may be! For less than $10, you can buy a Pantene Pro V Shampoo and Conditioner to suit your exact hair requirements, from frizzy to dull and lifeless! And the results speak for themselves – no one will ever know you’ve moved on from your $40 salon brand of shampoo!

Make-up remover! Ask an older family member, and I am sure the brand Cold Cream will be fondly remembered. Long before the fancy products became fashionable, Cold Cream was the staple that everyone used for make up removal (performers swore by it for stage make-up removal) and as a night cream. If it was good enough for my grandma, it’s good enough for me!

As a final rule of thumb, don't judge products on their price tag but on their results. No matter how cheap or expensive a product is, if it doesn’t work for you, then it is worthless. And just think – when you’re saving, you then have the perfect excuse to spend those savings on that FABULOUS new designer brand lipstick, perfectly packaged, with the little Swarovski crystals on the tube... Ah bliss!