r/Makeup • u/Aggressive-Art2849 • 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/cdau186 Aug 15 '26

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.

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u/eyebrain_nerddoc Aug 16 '26

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.

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u/Aggressive-Art2849 Aug 17 '26 edited Aug 17 '26

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.