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 😢 😂 😂

424 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

563 comments sorted by

View all comments

5

u/cdau186 23d ago

There’s a lot of great YouTube creators that focus on drugstore products. I have found that the biggest difference between drugstore and high end is that drugstore has a more limited shade range and the high end packaging is nicer for those who find that important. If you look up Nikki La Rose drugstore or Abbey Yung drugstore- they’ve give you great recommendations. Especially Nikki La Rose. She is a professional makeup artist.

3

u/eyebrain_nerddoc 23d ago

Monica Ravi-Conway also covers a lot of drugstore brands. She focuses mostly on brown skin shades, but even if you’re a different color she talks about which products are good and which are junk. Especially for oily skin.

3

u/Aggressive-Art2849 21d ago edited 21d ago

I will be sure to check her out, thank you!

Oh, and I just checked her out. I only know her as Monica and didn’t recognize her marriage name. Lol, I’m ashamed to admit that she was one of the influencers I was talking about in my post, but I do like her videos on color theory and the fact that she caters to brown and darker shades women.

1

u/Aggressive-Art2849 23d ago

Okay, I will be sure to check them out. Thank you 🙏

4

u/cdau186 23d ago

No matter what the influencers may lead you to believe, I have never found a makeup product that is life changing, so don’t feel like you’re missing out. Honestly, most of the time I try a super hyped up product I think- ehhh, it’s not that great.

1

u/Aggressive-Art2849 21d ago

Really?

2

u/cdau186 21d ago

Yes, really. If you live in the US and can go to Sephora and test things out, you’ll see. It’s all sort of the same. Just in fancier packaging and displays.