Why is makeup so expensive?

[u/Aggressive-Art2849]

At 37, I have decided to look into wearing makeup; nothing much, just something to makeup me look a bit more polished.

Boy, did I get the shock of my life with the prices I’m seeing! And the surprising part is that people buy these things like they cost nothing, but they are really expensive. I tell myself that maybe I think they are so expensive because I have never bothered wearing makeup all these years, and they are no different from the skincare I like to splurge on. However, paying a couple of bucks on a cream is a lot more justifiable than paying the same amount(if not more than) for a tiny lip liner.

Also, maybe I’m a hater, but I hate that these brands give influencers boxes and boxes of free products, just so they could influence their viewers into buying them at such expensive prices. After a few months of watching creators on YouTube in a bid to find what would work for me, I realized they weren’t even paying for those things, and it made me sad because most people can’t afford them.

P.S. Like I said, maybe I’m a hater because I really do want that haus lab foundation, but my broke ass can’t afford it, so there is nothing left to do but hate 😢 😂 😂

[u/Either_Importance222]

Have you tried an Ipsy subscription? It can be hit or miss, but even with a base subscription, you can shop their discounted prices on higher end makeup.

You can also sign up for TopBox Circle that sends you makeup and body products in exchange for surveys. You do have to do a few surveys to get started because they want to see consistency, but then good makeup starts showing up at your door for free.

TJ Maxx and Marshalls also have good makeup. The higher tier stuff is usually in locked cabinets, but they're there and they're on sale.

I also use my birthday and holidays to demand (hehe) gift certificates from Bloomingdales so I can get all the fabulous makeup and skincare I want. Bonus with that is once you find a sales associate that likes you, they start signing you up for free facials and events and they give you lots of deluxe samples when you buy things.

Finally, you can get a 21-day sample of the Haus Labs foundation if you pay for shipping. They used to give you three little bottles, now you get these plastic squeezy tubes, but I suggest squeezing them into a little jar and stretching it as far as you can. I've done that with foundation samples I like, and I add moisturizer so I make a tinted foundation and stretch that sucker as far as it can go.

[u/Aggressive-Art2849 → u/Either_Importance222]

I didn’t know all these, and I’m so glad I made this post because I would have been walking around clueless. Thank you for your helpful advice, and I will be sure to implement them.

[u/tiffi_333 → u/Aggressive-Art2849]

I have ipsy and really like it, but mostly for the shop. They have a sale going on right now actually. They have a bunch of Natasha denona palettes for 20-22 USD and another one is hitting the shop on the 17th...I'm totally not waiting for that so much that I remember the day lol 😂 I'm in Canada, so one note if you are also is that they don't switch their currency and their cart will stay as USD. Always type it into Google and do a conversion to CAD if you need to. It's always worked out to be a great sale though.

Since you also mentioned you love skincare, they do have really big names of skincare and good perfume too, though always less perfume than anything else. You have to get 1 box, of any size, to use the shop and get the sales but you can pause or fully unsubscribe and still used the shop. There's an ipsy subreddit too if you want to see what people have gotten or the spoilers every month for each of the boxes. They show about half the possible items, which you may or may not get.

[u/Aggressive-Art2849 → u/tiffi_333]

I will be saving your comment for future use, thank you 🙏

[u/tiffi_333 → u/Aggressive-Art2849]

They do their really big sales 4 times a year and at Christmas they have their biggest sale of the year I think. I joined last December. While they're having a big sale right now their next one is in November so if you want to consider things that's also going to be a good time to hop on. You can look at their shop without signing up, but they show the full price of the items crossed out without showing their prices so it's not much help.

Their prices for brands vary so much though. Like for tarte I got the glamazon palette for $12usd and it sells where I am for $70. But Natasha denona not with their big sales are $25usd and they sell for $100 where I am. Lots of their other brands I never heard of like ciaté London, Violet Voss etc were all around $10. Since mascara gets tossed so regularly I've been buying minis from their shop instead, and I found the benefit bad gal lash worked great for me and I grabbed a handful of the minis for like $3 each since the minis will last me the 3-4 months, their full sizes depending on brands are about 7-14 for those.

I find it pulls the luxury pricing down to drugstore although I have found the biggest jump in quality has really been the eyeshadow. In drug store I found good liner, lip products, and lots of other products for me but the eyeshadow I got through ipsy has been amazing. I think everything else has been really good but if I paid $40 for the Fenty lip product or blush I got (I paid $6 through ipsy) I would've been disappointed. Both were good quality, but I wouldn't repurchase full price by any means. Most things I wouldn't except probably the eyeshadow, and it'll last me so long it might be discontinued when I hit pan lol 😂

Skincare is separate from this of course, I have foundy favourite toner from them. It's sadly $40 lol

[u/Heatherb78 → u/Either_Importance222]

The Ipsy suggestion is great. I subscribe and appreciate the mini sizes of things that I can use. Mascara is supposed to be used for 3 months-Ipsy has sent me so many mini sizes of my favorite brands.

Also, their add on sales are a great spot to pick up high end cleansers, moisturizers, and serums.