If it’s more expensive, I have to be more conscious of the likelihood I’ll be able to review it in a timely manner, and to a degree, if it’s quite pricey and I’m not certain quality will be decent, I might purchase a few shades to try first rather than all.
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I usually wait for sales, gift cards, or coupons to buy expensive items. I won’t go over certain amounts, a limit I set for myself. $38 is the highest I would ever pay for a lipstick…and even then, I try not to pay full price.
These days, when many of our common higher midend (pretty oxymoronic, no?) brands are on sale within a month, there is almost no need to pay full price. For the truly coveted, always OOS, I still wait for the sale. It took me until last week to get Guinevere at a discount, but she should arrive today. I am not averse to higher price tags, but KNOW if I wait, a bargain can be had. As this industry is contracting….the bubble has burst, IMO…. different brands have different tactics. We all see it. Read it; don’t weep; use your knowledge for your benefit, not theirs. I’m only willing to go UHE (Tom or >) on something that is both truly unique and a hole in my stash.
👏👏👏Yes, KJH, you hit the nail on the head!
Totally right, in the last two years I have planned lots of my purchases around Sephora sales and deals on Paula Choice website (I only purchase when they have 20% off + gifts with purchase).
Unfortunately it seems like products simply don’t have a real value… just floating prices and deals…
Because I live on a fixed income, it definitely does impact the way I look at a higher end product. Even a mid-end product. I need to feel in my gut that I will actually be able to get tons of use out of it for my $’s. That it’s not just a flippant purchase just for the sake of having it. Even then, I always wait for major sales or coupons to go into that new and now commonly occurring unwholesome stratosphere of spending.
I am fortunate enough to be able to purchase expensive stuff if I want, but I still factor price into my purchases.
The main question for my if the price is really justifiable. I would spend $70 (random high price) on a foundation that looks and performs awesome, since it makes the whole face. I would spend $70 on a serum or and eye cream with great formulation, many skin replenishing and treatment ingredients. I won’t spend more then $20 on a cleanser, which I simply wash of my face.
But sometimes I like to splurge. For example, the NYX Micro Brow Pencil or the Wet’n’Wild Ultimate Brow Retractable are great products… but there’s something slightly better on the Anastasia Brow Wiz and the Benefit Goof Proof that makes me prefer to spend the extra dollars.
Because of a relatively unique set of circumstances, I don’t think price plays a huge role in some of my purchases. I should qualify that by saying I love a bargain as much as the next person and if I can get it on sale, all the better, but sometimes waiting for a sale can mean I don’t get something that I really want or that would fill a hole in my collection. If I lived somewhere that was close to a major shopping hub with all the major retail stores then I could zip over there and view in person, determine if I like it and it will work for me and then determine whether I feel I can wait until a sale rolls along or I get a coupon. That just isn’t possible for me and my not purchasing a very sought after product while waiting for a sale has meant that I haven’t been able to buy that product. This is especially true with LE products. I live in a small rural community that does not have a shopping mall of any kind. The nearest access to even basic makeup is over three hours away in each direction but that only gets me to a small Ulta and an even smaller Sephora inside a JC Penny’s. If I want a Nordstrom or Macy’s I have to drive over 9 hours away. I am not rich but I am comfortably retired and have the ability to purchase products that I want so it is worth it to me to jump on something that I really want or need. In the past when something has sold out and I have really wanted it I have had to resort to Ebay and paying an exorbitant amount so it is better for me to pick it up at full price rather than miss the opportunity to get it. Having said all of that, of course, I do try to buy when things can be had at a cheaper price.
Even for me, there are limits to what I will pay for a product and especially one that I can’t test before purchasing. I rarely buy from the top tier of makeup brands, the La Mer’s, Cle de Peau, Tom Ford, etc. I never buy from them unless I can test the product first and the purchases that I have made are not ones that have wowed me in the past, with the exception of a couple of Tom Ford products. I haven’t found most of his products to be worth the cost, even with a coupon or sale.
Somewhere along the line in answering this question I went off on a tangent and not even sure I answered the question. My thoughts have been all over the place lately.
While I hate wasting money even on less costly items of poor quality, I am really unforgiving if it’s something with a high price tag so I will absolutely wait for a review here and I won’t purchase it (even if it rates highly) unless I can first see it and try it in-store. If I think there might be a sale or discount coming up, or if it is something I can get at SDM on a Thursday (20% off), I will try to take advantage of that as well.
I’m loathe to spend a lot of money on myself so tend to either look for dupes or simply opt out of expensive purchases period.
If a product was bought for me by someone else, I know it works and it’s without dupes then I’ll gladly pay for it myself. Amlactin springs to mind (I’d never pay $14 for a small bottle of lotion but my skin was suffering noticeably this winter), although the smell is atrocious so if I can find a dupe for it I’d be thrilled.
I have gotten into the habit of indulging during sale events for the most part, especially if it is high ticket. If it is a blush or lipstick/gloss, or under the $30 mark, I will go ahead and order it to treat myself using a code for a freebie that I want to try, collecting samples and redeeming Rouge points. That makes the purchase a bit more palatable for me.
I have enough of a collection to not “need” anything, including backups of favorite skin care products, so I can afford to wait for the discount!
I have a budget, so some things are just going to be too expensive. I can’t buy every single thing that catches my eye, and I rarely buy luxury items. There are certain amounts I just won’t pay for certain things (no $90 lipsticks for me unless I win the lottery). I usually wait for sales or promo codes, or until something goes on clearance.
$90 lipsticks!!!! Who Christian Louboutin? NO WAY, unless there’s a diamond or two on the container and you can reuse it as a piece of jewelry. LOL!
Yep. And it can be worn as jewelry. 😀 No diamonds though. loil
https://www.olivela.com/products/christianlouboutin-velvetmattelipcolour-18905?blk=false&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIrJ6IgZSl3wIVB9VkCh1EPgoYEAYYASABEgJc6vD_BwE
It’s definitely a factor. A little thought experiment I’ve used lately is to ask myself whether I would be comfortable re-purchasing something if I lost it. Yes for a $10 mascara, no for a $50 lipstick, which means I probably shouldn’t buy that lipstick in the first place. I don’t want to feel like my makeup is some highly valuable thing that I can’t afford to lose.
Also, I’m trying out a specific budget for makeup purchases next year. I’ve always kept my yearly spending at around the same amount, but I think it will be helpful to stick to a certain number as a goal. I might still buy a fun midrange item or two, but that will really affect how much other stuff I can buy…plus I have to keep a certain amount of the budget saved for everyday stuff like mascara, brow gel, etc.
So yeah, all in all, I definitely think about price a lot, especially now that I’ve gotten into budgeting and determining how much value makeup really has to me.
70-80% of the time I’m using a mascara received as a freebie either from Sephora (if they don’t send expired sample/mini sizes as they sometimes do), either from MAC. 😆 Sometimes even paying $10 seems too much given the chance of getting for free (or perk points) a Clinique, Benefit, Hourglass, MUFE or MAC mascara.
On the other side, I have a stash of mini Clinique Take the Day Off Cleansing Balms (they gave them like free cheap candy this latest months on many websites)… and I would still pay $30 without an eye blink since I love that product.
Price factors a great deal into my purchases. This is why I use the dupe list so religiously, if I can get the same shade and quality for a cheaper price (if I haven’t got it already in my stash) I will try and bag the less expensive option.
I am always look for sales and discounts on desired items and I am prepared to wait until they become available. It’s quite rare that I pay full price for anything – the last time was the Sultry palette, which my son got me for my birthday. Before then, it was a long time ago.
For most used beauty and skincare items, it makes sense to wait for the sale. Particularly skincare products as these are the ones that I go through the most.
It’s definitely a factor, I am looking for more value for my money. I am far less likely to buy any high end product unless it’s the only thing I know works, and the one candidate that I am most inclined to do that with is foundation. I don’t see the point of paying $30-$50 for a tube of lipstick. I’ve done it, but I’ve regretted it.
It is the first thing I look at. If it’s more than I am willing to pay for a project, I’m just not going to buy it no matter how good it is.
If the item is more expensive, I’ll think it over for awhile including to really challenge myself and talk myself out of it. If after all this, I still want it and am sure I’ll use it a lot, I’ll go ahead. It’ll affect choices on other items though; I have to stay within a monthly budget, so an expense in one direction means no others for awhile.
With skin care, I seldom go high end and instead look for proven effective ingredients. In addition to those very basics, I like Clinique and Caudalie.
For makeup, I have some products I buy on repeat like foundation, setting powder, a few primers and UD setting spray.
The products I play more with are lipsticks, eyeshadows and liners, and, to some extent, blush. They must be colors I love and I’ve read favorable reviews. I also prefer to buy with a 20 to 25% off code and a big ebates refund.
If I really, really must have it I will purchase it. Price sometimes doesn’t matter to me. If I want it, it’s coming home with me. But I justify it, if I can’t get if anywhere else, I don’t have dupes, I really, really need it. Can’t do without it, die without it. I know you know what I’m talking about!
Some, as I do have an undefined, limit in my mind. For example, if I were purchasing a six-pan eye shadow palette even by Pat McGrath, $60ish would be my limit. And now, with ND and Pat’s expensive 15 pans, $150 would be my limit. For facial creams for example, anything over $60 seems just too much because all scientific studies show that they mostly do little, so whether paying 20 or lots more will likely yield no better, results, so my purchase is more based on texture, odor and feel for facial products. For makeup products, I’m looking for pigmentation, shade changes, color shifts (when there should be, say for duo-chromes), texture and wear.
I always try to purchase mid-high end makeup only if it’s on sale, but that especially applies to pricier items (for example, Hourglass Ambient Lighting palette, Marc Jacobs blushes, etc). Only time I pay full price on anything mid-high end is if it’s a limited edition product I’m afraid will sell out. If it’s a luxury item, I do tend to view it as more special, so I’d likely only want one shade in a range and would wait to receive it as a gift (as opposed to splurging on myself). It also had better be pretty good quality if it’s got an inordinately high price tag, otherwise, won’t bother.