This question gets asked repeatedly, and is not easy to answer. The beauty space can get very confusing. There are tall claims, fantastic (and relentless) marketing campaigns, paid influencers, and the promise of silky smooth and perfect skin that so many women seem to desire. Whom does one believe? What is and isn’t worth your money?
My take. First of all, this need not be an either/or proposition. But skincare is essential. Makeup is, technically speaking, optional. Your skin won’t suffer without makeup but it will definitely be negatively affected by a lack of good skincare.
It, therefore, follows that one must invest in skincare.
Investing in skincare
Good skincare products need not be expensive. Some of the most effective ones that I have come across — facial oils, essential oils, and herbal treatments, for instance — are not expensive.
Eye creams and face serums, on the other hand, tend to be exorbitantly priced. Formulated with hyaluronic acid, Vitamin C, and several other impressive-sounding dermat-backed ingredients, these are all the rage nowadays. But whether they genuinely work or not we will only find out when this generation gets old. Preventative skincare is definitely a gamble.
Then there’s the green and clean skincare – products that claim to be made without harmful chemicals/carcinogens. Some of it is marketing and some of it the real deal. There are some excellent choices in this regard as well, and they can get expensive.
My point is, if you find a product that promises to fulfill all your skincare needs – it’s chemical-free, may suit your skin, may address your skin problems, may give you desired results, and likely improve the quality of the skin over time – then by all means purchase it even if it is expensive. It is worth a shot and if it does work, you’ve got a keeper! Not everything expensive is good but if something good is expensive, do not shy away from buying it just because it is pricey. Clinique, for example, has a loyal base because the products just work. Your skin is more than worth this investment.
Investing in makeup
For makeup, however, the criteria are different.
Makeup is not meant to improve your skin, though some of it can and that’s just brilliant. What we want from makeup is to enhance our features, hide “imperfections”, and make the skin look better than it is.
I would say buy the very best base makeup you can get your hands on. Particularly foundations. You want something that is long-lasting, oil-resistant, humidity-resistant, sweat-resistant (somewhat) and gives good coverage (to cover acne scarring and other pigmentation). It should also be non-comedogenic, transfer-proof, photograph well, and not oxidize. In my experience, a foundation that ticks all these boxes tends to be expensive.
High-end foundations are not just worth the money but a good investment.
High-end foundations, therefore, are not just worth the money but a good investment. A bottle lasts you a long time, depending on how often you use it.
The same goes for primers, concealers, contouring material, blush and compact powders, I feel. Buy long-lasting and good ones. If you buy one long-lasting product and other with average lasting power, you may find yourself faced with a conflict. If the foundation is long-lasting but the contouring and blush are not, you may find them disappearing through the day as your skin secrets oil or as you sweat, leaving your makeup looking weird. Don’t skimp when it comes to base makeup, especially if you are oily-skinned and also live in a hot and humid place.
But there are other products that you need not spend big bucks on in order to get a quality experience. Many drugstore brands give you excellent choices in the following:
- Eyeshadow palettes
- Lipsticks
- Lip pencils
- Highlighters
- Eyebrow Pencils
- Brow gels
What about haircare? Are the expensive hair treatments/products worth it?
This depends entirely on the condition of your hair, as well as what you want to gain from hair products.
For chemically-treated or otherwise dry and damaged hair, I highly recommend the Wella Professionals range of hair products, which is not cheap but gives you much better results than drugstore products will. I also recommend high-quality heat-protectant serums because they play an important role in haircare if you subject your hair to heat on a frequent basis.
Same goes for hair colour, don’t buy the cheapest pack on the market – check the ingredients (should be free of ammonia, primarily, and also contain nourishing elements) and go by your experience. As I said earlier, not everything expensive is good but a lot of good stuff can be expensive.
You don’t necessarily need to go for high-priced hair spas/treatments, however. You can do this at home with all-natural ingredients. The process may be messy and tedious but you will get good results at less than a fraction of the salon cost.
To sum up
Skincare that works for you is absolutely worth your money and a wise investment.
For makeup, buy the best you can afford as far as base makeup goes. You should be very demanding of your foundation in particular if you are oily-skinned and live some place that is mostly hot and humid.
For soft and lustrous hair, you may have to invest in salon-grade products as OTC/drugstore brands may not give you the desired results – depending on the condition of your hair.
On the whole, try to move away from chemical-laden products and seek out cleaner options, even in makeup.
What are your thoughts on this? Please comment below or connect with me on Instagram for more skin talk.
