I like standard or jumbo, but it definitely depends on the item. Something like a cleanser or body cream, I like in jumbo sizes because I find it easier to commit and use them up.
We're here to help you make better beauty purchases that you'll enjoy and love! We recommend signing up to take advantage of personalized features like tracking products you own, viewing dupes that you already have, and more!
Here are some useful resources for you:
Curious how two shades compare to each other? Type in the shades below to get instant side-by-side swatches!
Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!
Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).
We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!
We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! 🙂 If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!
Before the pandemic, I used to travel a lot, thus O made good use of mini sizes. Now they are quite useless for me. I like standard size products, in particular when it comes to moisturizer (facial or body or under-eye), facial mask and scrubs; that because I love variation and change often products and try new things, so no jumbo sized products (that are not so diffused here, by the way), even if they are usually more convenient. I uses jumbo size only for micellar water, since I’m using the same from many years
I was keeping minis, samples and multiple shampoo/conditioner packets for travelling. But I gave up it September and made a purpose of using them. 😅
Standard or jumbo, if it’s a product I use a lot of (I wish Embryolisse came in an even larger tube, for example). The Body Shop used to have double sized tubs of their body butters (I have one that I got for next to nothing in a “spin the wheel” event a few years back) and those were great as I really like to indulge in that stuff but when I recently checked their website, they only seem to have their standard ones and minis now. Interesting that you’ve used a photo of Kiehl’s Creme de Corps in this thread. My kids got me the mega-sized bottle (1 liter, maybe) of it for Mothers’ Day a few years ago and the colour of it has changed to a bright yellow that actually stains my towels (it does wash out in the laundry but it’s not very appealing overall, no pun intended).
Hi Mariella, in Australia I’ve noticed that the BS body butters only come in selected variations in the larger sizes. Could that be the case there too? I hope they don’t all disappear.
I’m hoping perhaps they’ll come out for the Holiday season although this year, I imagine most companies are really cutting back on Holiday releases. Who knows. I think they might be available at the warehouse location in this area but I’m not keen to head out there.
I always start with the minis and like you, if it’s something like skincare and I like it, I’ll get the jumbo. I bought 2 of the pump bottles of Kiehl’s during the last Nordy sale!
I like standard sizes for skincare as i find them easier to use up.
For shampoo, conditioner, body care, I prefer to buy jumbo sized. Other hair care is all standard size.
For most of my facial products, I buy standard sizes. But, after learning about how quickly Vite C serums can lose their efficacy, I have started to just buy the mini of Ole Henrikson Truth Serum.
For hand care? Mostly minis so that I can bring them along in my bag. Hand sanitizer and lotions.
Because I don’t stray too much with my skincare and haircare, I love the value that jumbos offer!
I always check the price per unit (oz/ml etc) …..sometimes you et a better deal with the mini’s and sometimes its a better deal on the jumbo size…..
If it’s a product I know I love and will use within a reasonable amount of time (shampoo/conditioner/SPF) I will get a Jumbo size on a sale. Skincare regular size, but on sale or through Beauty Pie (usually Beauty Pie).
I like Vitamin C capsules (example Elizabeth Arden) because they are not active until you pop the capsule. Beauty Pie also have the capsules (at a fraction!) and the capsules are bio-degradable.
It depends on the product.
For items I use everyday (even twice a day) and basic things I use often, I prefer jumbo sizes. Body lotion, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, face cleanser, toner, body SPF (during summer, when I expose more skin), are the products for each I will buy the biggest size possible.
For active treatments, potent formulas and items I use on a weekly/bi-weekly basis, I will get minis or travel sizes. I prefer to have them as fresh as possible, being able to use them up in 6 months or so. I don’t care if I end up paying more per ounce. This includes things like Vitamin C, retinol, benzoyl peroxide, peptide boosters, azelaic acid, brightening treatments, serums, AHA and BHA lotion etc. This also includes hair styling products; a little goes a long way with me for leave in conditioner, smoothing products or hair oils, so I usually end up buying sets of minis (like the Sephora sets) that last me for the whole year.
Usually for face moisturizer and face SPF the regular sizes are OK for me.
I also buy minis of body lotion or face moisturizer (cheaper basic ones) to carry around with me as hand cream on the go; but most times it’s actually a sunscreen moisturizer, because hands are always exposed.
I like all! The mini for trying stuff out, the standard for skincare for the face, and a jumbo for stuff I use a lot of, usually body care 🙂 For intance, I tried the mini BumBum-cream, which I found way too scented, and I was glad I didn’t spend a lot of money on the full size 🙂
I prefer standard size for skincare – mainly because the standard size is more cost effective. I dislike the jumbo size because the bottles/containers can be awkward to handle and I do like to switch my skincare up a bit. I find with jumbo sizes that the active ingredients are often no longer active by the time you get to the end of the product.
Minis are a good way to try out a new product and if there is, say a strong scent, well you haven’t wasted too much money on it.
I prefer standard sizes of most products because I like to keep things fresh. I have gotten jumbos of conditioners, some shampoos and body washes if they are products that I return to, but even in those cases I like standard sizes since I have a hard time dealing with bulky packaging and lack of storage space.
Jumbo so I don’t have to buy very often
Mini if I’m trying something for the first time, Regular full size otherwise. I rarely go for jumbo size, as I worry about ingredients becoming ineffective or going off before I used it all up.
Thank you to everyone who shared the secret of only buying minis of Vitamin C products. What a brilliant way to ensure maximum potency of the active ingredient!
Minis if available if it’s something I want to try otherwise standard for everything. I rarely buy jumbos, if I do it’s body lotions or shampoo and conditioners. I have a tendency to get bored though and have at times had to force myself to use up jumbo bottles.
Jumbo in basically everything. But especially in body lotion.
At this point I’ve done a good job with sorting out my skincare and 1 ounce sizes don’t last very long.
I like minis if I’m looking to try something new so I don’t feel bad for shelling out so much if it ends up not working but otherwise I prefer standard sizes. I’ve had too many instances of things that stopped working for me to get jumbos.