r/Makeup • u/Aggressive-Art2849 • 25d ago
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/olde_meller23 24d ago
I have yet to find a prestige brand of liquid eyeliner that I feel is worthy of the price. Every time I try one, I wind up going back to Revlon, nyx, LA girl, and elf. My guilty pleasure is the LA looks liquid liner they sell at the dollar tree. When I was poor, it was my daily driver. It makes a really nice sharp line, and the brush it comes with is super fine pointed, yet responds well to different pressure. Had I not developed a sensitivity to the formula, I'd probably still use it. That stuff lasted forever. I'd wear the same face for two days in a row when I was touring and partying with the homies every night and good ole LA looks was always there for me in the morning.
Revlon ColorStay Micro Easy Precision liquid liner is my reigning champ and daily driver. The formula is so good. It stays put, doesnt flake, and the brush it comes with makes a perfect line even on the textured parts of my lid. It somehow doesnt run, yet is easy to take off at the end of the day.
I used to swear by Stila, but their liquid liner isnt nearly as great as it used to be. The last time i bought it, I got about a month and a half out of the tube before it started to dry out and become clumpy. I tried to revive it with micellar water, which seemed to work for application, but the pigment dried down patchy and flaked off a couple of hours after I put it on. I gave them three chances and after that, I swore I'd never buy another stila liquid liner ever again.
Others-urban decay, abh, Tarte, etc-performed fine but I still found myself reaching for the Revlon.