The obsession with expensive brands.

Feb 19, 2013

Kim S.

I take it Sephora is an American thing. I hear a lot about it but I've never come across it :(

Feb 19, 2013

Ashley V.

Yes its American. very over priced but great quality. (:

Feb 19, 2013

Rikki P.

I think Sephora is in some European countries? At least when I see Nikkie do hauls (or uh, did see her do them), she would have a Sephora bag like you'd get in stores.

Feb 19, 2013

El O.

Sephora's prices are no different from the brands' prices on their own websites. If you're finding it overpriced then you just must find the makeup overpriced. I personally think Sephora prices very well.

Feb 19, 2013

Shelley W.

Awww Kim...no need to feel sad about the post you started. Its a great discussion though a very sensitive one. I just noticed that there has become this high-end vs drug-store and I don't want to see folks siding with different camps and becoming elitist. I used to be heavily involved with another beauty site and when that happened girls were becoming quite catty and bad mouthing eachother for their choices. It was quite sad and I had to restrict my activity on there because it was depressing. And thank you for complimenting me in regards to my 13 year old. She is a challenge and I often find her educating me often than the other way around. I wish I could dupe her a million times over because she is a pretty cool kid (world needs more of her running around). :) xxx

Feb 19, 2013

Saskia S.

I couldn't agree more with your post Kim it's just over hyped and sometimes you can be left very disappointed :( the only "high-end" product I purchased was a YSL eyeliner due to the fact it said it was safe for sensitive eyes. I will always love my drugstore products no matter what I personally do not see the need to spend so much money on such high end stuff

Feb 19, 2013

Chelsea S.

It really depends on the product but I really do agree with what you say about eye shadow. I have super sensitive skin and I do have to go high end a lot just because they don't make those products for drugstores. The key is just to finding what makeup works for you and sticking with it.

Feb 19, 2013

Kim S.

@Chelsea S. You're absolutely right about finding what works for you.
@Saskia S. I'm sure it's not all over hyped and I'd love to try a few different things to see what all the hype is about.
But my drug store makeup works fine for me. I do know that if I start to get any work as a makeup artist I'm going to have to broaden what I use a fair bit and start looking into some of the higher end products, because as people have said, you can't expect people to pay you to use stuff they could go out and buy themselves cheap. But I do think the skills are the most important thing, unless as someone said, the product is just awful, so I think it's fine to still use a fair bit of drug store stuff.
@Shelley W. That's cute, I wish I was a kids person, the idea of it sounds lovely I just don't know as I'm ever going to want them :s the whole thing feels very 'not me'. I'm only 23 though so things can change. Just got things I wanna do before I sacrifice part of my life! Lol x

Feb 21, 2013

marcella e.

Agree, but yea can't be blame. most of people buy not only because of the quality but also the brand image, and the packaging. I think people tend to buy the high end product is because of the satisfied achievement, what they feel and think about the brand is what they are, then they'll be the loyal customer. yippeeeeee..
believe it or not :)

Feb 25, 2013

Avanti H.

Hi Kim, you posed a great question. High end make up can often be (extremely) over-priced, however depending on one's skin tone it can also be quite difficult to find foundation to match at the drug-store. In saying that, I also find some counters at department stores are not very effective at helping color match individuals, possibly due to the lighting/lack of experience...I have found the individuals that work at Sephora are excellent at color matching and with providing samples :)

Feb 27, 2013

Danielle P.

I know the UK has some more exciting drug store makeup than I feel we do in the US, now I know this is wrong but I have this issue where I treat my hand end products with such love and care and tend to not give that love to my drugstore products, what's funny is that a lot of it is packaging, the ingredients are literally the same. If I pay 20$ for an eyeshadow I want to believe that it is in fact better than the nyx one, I need to, I paid 20$ for single shadow! This is why I think people get defensive because they need to believe that they got their moneys worth. I am in a situation where I get a lot of nice makeup for free bc of my job and I adore high end makeup, so I do tend to lean towards the expensive stuff, only because I'm lucky. In my experience expensive eye shadows tend to be better, but not always, I love nyx and the new loreal quads are amazing ( I suspect they are the same formula as lancome), I absolutely think higher end mascara is overrated, I
I refuse to spend more than 10, I am a foundation whore so I wear everything from essence to Armani, the same with blush. I also think it's silly to spend a lot of money on pencil and automatic liners and lip gloss. I notice that some higher end foundations have some amazing ingredients. The truth is having more expensive products is not what makes you a gifted makeup artist, it's your actual talent that does, I think a lot of people think that owning expensive products makes them more of a true artist, that's BS

Feb 27, 2013

Danielle P.

I think you would like Ulta more than Sephora they have drug store brands and high end brands... if you ever some to the states, try Ulta, or go on their site.

Mar 5, 2013

Danielle D.

I can totally see where you are coming from! There are so many drugstore brands out there that are exact dupes for high end products! It is insanity! But I must admit it is nice to "indulge" sometimes, within your means! I wouldn't break the bank just to try a high end product that you can most likely find a dupe for! Xoxo Danielle @ YouTube.com/graceandglamor mwah!

Mar 8, 2013

Tee K.

This is just a test.

Mar 8, 2013

Hazel G.

I use MUA aswell, dirt cheap and seriously good. Like the undressed palette they brought out, its pretty much an exact dupe of urban decays naked palette from what I've read/seen on the internet, and at like an 8th of the price or something. Can happily say the most expensive piece of make up I own is my foundation- maybeline dream matte mouse which is like £7 or something. And last time I bought some superdrug had a 3 for £10 sale on them, 3 tubs of that will last me like 2 years lol.

Mar 8, 2013

Kaitlin S.

I am not big on brands unless the performance wows me. I haven't started buying high end products until recently and then only if I put in extensive research. I am a huge fan of drugstore eye shadows and find the dupes of higher end products can end up being better.

Mar 8, 2013

Celeste F.

If you can afford to buy high end make-up, then do it. But I don't agree with saying such and such brand is all I use. In Australia even drug-store make up is quite expensive.. My revlon primer was $30! Yes majority of my huge make up collection is MAC, but that because I can afford it. Plus their studio fix powder is the only powder that works for me. In saying that I also own Inglot, Revlon , Sugarpill and Maybelline, their mascara's are the only one's I will use. All in all if you can afford it, that's great, just don't brag and think you have the holy grail of the makeup world sitting in your hands, because it's probably not.

Mar 8, 2013

Diana J.

How much is £4? In US money?

Mar 8, 2013

Meg F.

High-end and drugstore make up my collection. While I'd love to be able to own everything in, say, Sephora, I cants afford that realistically. I try product after product at the drugstore or until I find the best of the best. Sometimes I've even preferred drugstore over expensive! Whatever brands make you happy and you aren't breaking the bank for, have at em! Just remember, at the end of the day, it's washed down the sink!! In that case, I would spend more $$ on my skin care regimen than MU.