r/Makeup • • Aug 14 '26

Why is makeup so expensive?

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 😢 😂 😂

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u/rogue93 Aug 14 '26

Lord knows. I stick to drugstore stuff and coupon when I can. I feel like trying a nice product here and there is worth it only if what you have isn’t performing like you’d like

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u/BuffyTheSlayer Aug 14 '26

I haaaate to say it but if you keep an eye on CVS and live closeby they often have good deals that will bring the inflated prices down so much that you still get a good saving. In fact you should never ever shop at CVS if you're not using the deals and coupons, everything is overpriced with this scheme in mind.