Are back-ups worth it?
For skincare, yes, I definitely go through most of them, but for makeup, I have probably spent more on unused backups than I have on ones I’ve actually used up!
— Christine
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21 Comments
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I agree, Christine. For skincare, yes. For makeup, not so much. Especially knowing there are dupes on dupes on dupes of one’s favorite makeup out in the world.
Probably not, but I like knowing they are there if I need them.
In the “before times” (i.e pre-COVID) I liked to get backups of my very favorite limited edition products so that I would feel more comfortable traveling with them. That way I get to wear them away from home and at more special occasions knowing that even if they get lost or broken I still have another. It has been worth it though I have only finished a few of the originals on things like blush or highliter.
I agree with you Christine, skin care yes but for makeup no.
For some things, yes – some skincare, certainly (so many of my favourites have been discontinued – it’s really annoying) and for some colour cosmetics. It’s worth it to me to have one or 2 backups of MAC Craving, for example, or Sephora Cappuccino liner because they are products I use almost daily (and in the case of Craving, I have one in my purse makeup bag, one in my bathroom, one in my school bag, etc.) and so I will use them up before the “back ups” go bad/go off or dry out. But for many other things, even given how acquisitive (read “greedy”) I am, it’s not really a good idea as things like cream shadows, lipsticks I use rarely, stuff like that – can become unusable with time, even when they’re unopened.
Agree with skincare, whenever a brand advertizes “new improved formula” I’m worried how bad it would be. Makeup, don’t do it anymore, as I there is no chance I will use it.
Yes to skincare and things like eye shadow primer or brow pencils. I generally have one backup eye primer and buy an extra brow product/mascara when they are on sale.
I’ve only purchased on back up, for the purposes of being a back up: Hourglass Strobe Metallic highlight palette. I haven’t made a dent really in the original, but it makes me so happy I have another! It’s unreal! However, I thought I was getting low on 2 products in my life, decided to do a real splurge (over $300) during Sephora 20% sale and so I purchased a Dior Forever foundation (the original) and a Dior BB cream—both of these products are no longer made. I’m so glad I bought them when I did, even though the originals had far more left than I thought and lasted months more. The only other product I’ve been tempted to purchase a back up for was the Chanel tweed beige blush, I miss the opportunity. However, once the overspray was gone I was less enthralled with it anyway and I’m glad I didn’t.
I agree with skin care yes but make up not really. With so many brands and the fabulous archives for dupes here on Temptalia, it’s not really necessary for me.
I remember buying a backup of MAC Oh My Passion because I didn’t want to ruin the pretty design but now I am determined to use it because at the end of the day it’s just gonna sit there and look pretty and then get tossed?
I have bought backups of a few limited edition lipsticks and I am very glad I did because I am going through those (ironic for this year). I store them in my makeup fridge and they’ve kept fine.
It mostly depends on how quickly that thing gets used up, I think. I did recently buy a backup of a lip gloss I really enjoy since it was a limited edition release; I’ll keep that sealed until my opened one runs out or goes bad.
Yes, I think so, most of the time anyways. I’ve definitely done several skincare backups and was happy I did. I’m also glad to have backups of several of my favorite lipsticks and pencil eye liners stored in my refrigerator!
Skin care – yes. Lip balm – yes. Mascara – yes (I know what I like at this point and pick it up on sale). Brown eyeliner that works in my water line without ruining my contacts – yes. Everything else? eh. I *have gone through two butter bronzers so I keep an extra on hand. Bronzers aren’t a weak point for me and I’m never tempted to try new ones. Having finicky skin means face makeup in certain formulas is hard to find. Like Becca’s liquid highlight in Pearl. It’s perfect for me and I’ve used a whole one up (yeah). So I shamelessly purchased two when they discontinued them. Worth it to me.
Other things I’ve grabbed over the years like colored eyeliners and primer…yeah, not so much. I look at some other cosmetic backups and wonder what the hell I was thinking.
Only with mascara and skincare. And lip balm. All other makeup gets either misplaced or discontinued and I do like finding dupes when I cannot find the original lipstick or gloss. I t becomes a treasure hunt of sorts.
No. Several years ago I found myself with two giant bottles of cleanser bought in France that my skin no longer liked so that was the end of skin care back-ups. I continued to stockpile sunscreen but now I have three tubes of a product that may not have the promised SPF level so no more of that either. I have never bought backups of makeup because I always want something different.
For me they are totally worth it, but it’s because of the way I approach makeup and skincare.
Except color (eyeshadow, blush, lipstick), I only use and open one product at a time; and when I finish it, I move to my back-up for that item. I also track my skincare and makeup in a spreadsheet: when it was opened, when it expires (based on label or batch code), when I expect to use it up (e.g. I know it takes me around 6 months to use up my concealer, or 1-2 months depending on size my body lotion), if I have a backup and if not when should I buy it.
Given that I only have one product of each, having backups is essential because… if a product is finished, I have to backup or nothing at all. 😅
Personally, I prefer having enough stuff, while being a minimalist. This goes to everything in my life, including clothes and household items. I just have a variety of things, but just one of each (except specific items like eyeshadow and socks 😅).
Backups also work for me since usually I just repurchase the same things again and again.
And since I plan my backups, it’s so easy to plan purchasing them on sales and in bigger orders (rather than making too many wasteful small purchases).
During sales I will by back ups of my skin care , oh and I always have a back up of my Benefit eyebrow pencil because I can never tell when I’m at the end.
Yes with skincare and mostly no with makeup I have some eyeliners that I will stock up on and as long as I don’t open them until I need them they have kept perfectly thank goodness!
Yes, I’m glad I bought backups of my favorite eyeshadow from Sydney grace because they discontinued it. I would of bought more had I known!
Yes they are! I always have skincare back ups for cleansers, moisturisers, facial oils etc. And I love taking advantage of the sales in skincare to stock up.
I do have backups of favourite lipsticks too – because you never know when a brand is going to discontinue a goodie.
As for eyeshadows – the only palette I have bought a backup of is Lorac’s Pro Metal palette. One of my very best favourites.
I have very particular coloring, and when I find a beloved color, LE or discontinued, especially on sale as many things have been the past few months, I have stocked up on products like Bobbi Brown’s crushed liquid lipstick like East Coast Slay and West Coast Bae (which together make a perfect medium warm nude lipstick and East Coast Slay alone is the perfect nude when surrounded with a darker liner like MAC’s Hover or BB’s Cocoa)and BB’s new oil infused lip gloss from the Yara LE collection in Forever Chill (it’s half price on the BB website now, I found the others on Nordstrom’s website thanks to your advance sale warnings ❤️. I also found Beaux, a discontinued light warm brown MAC lip gloss on Nordstrom thanks to your link, and bought two. I know there are probably plenty of dupes for these colors, but they are colors that are less common than most, and are also fragrance free or have limited or tolerable fragrances, which limits cosmetics purchases significantly for me. When Clinique’s Comforting Cream Cleanser, a FF cream that removes all makeup from eyes and face, including waterproof , leaving skin moisturized and glowing, was being discontinued, I bought the maximum amount I could from every website that sold them! I have a box full thanks to less makeup use the past year! I have yet to find a replacement ANYWHERE and bless the day I made the decision to hoard! I know new products are released daily, but are they significantly different? Foundations are improved, not always for the best, and old colors get new names. So if I have a color that I love and searched for for years (especially after the winter disaster of 2018, when my husband accidentally flipped a lucite lipstick holder containing my favorites into a flushing toilet, and most were retrieved by the plumber in a trap leading to the cesspool, and all but one (MAC Touch) were discontinued, I have been very protective of my warm brown or spice lip colors. They are no longer the primary shades of the makeup artist inspired lines like the OG Bobbi Brown or Nars, and they seem to be released in LE collections by MAC and Bobbi Brown. So, yes, I grab them when I know they work, especially when 25-50% off! Just saves me the time of finding a dupe one day, and today, when we cannot even try on testers in stores, it seems even more important to avoid the 2018 catastrophe! There are way worse catastrophes out there right now! So I wish a happy, healthy and SAFE. New Year to all Christina’s followers, and lovers of beauty in all its forms, internal & external, everywhere!❤️
For things I go through regularly, such as skincare, toiletries, setting powder, foundation, etc. yes. I don’t have to worry about running out, and I can save money by buying a few when the items go on sale.
For colored products, usually not. They’ll go bad or something better will come up by the time I use them up. I have a few things I have single backup for in case the item gets lost or broken. That’s only for a handful of items, and they’re all-time favorites, so to me it’s worth it for piece of mind. None of them were outrageously expensive, at any rate.