I've spent a lot of money on all sorts of makeup from the cheapest to the most expensive, and have tried hundreds of hair products from different price ranges. I found that in most cases, the more expensive, the better, but there is a limit.
It's a bit different whether it's hair, makeup or cosmetics.
Makeup
In makeup there a lot of factors for me that make it worth to spend more.
Stores: high end beauty stores are nicer to shop at, cleaner, I don't bump into a tower of diapers like I do at the drugstore. The lighting is better, it smells nicer, everything is organised, there are always tissues and cleaners around.
Staff: high end beauty stores have staff in case you need help. This one sort of speaks for itself since you want to be sure that you are spending your money wisely. No one will help you with that two euro lip balm that breaks into two, like that one from MUA.
Offer: this is a very important one. What's the offer? You can find perfect dupes of one lipstick, yes, but what else does the high end brend have to offer? A lot more various shades, textures, brushes (more than you think, all you need is ask, I didn't know Dior offered brushes at the departement store until the sales lady puled open a secret shelf). Many budget brands are from the same company and offer what's "fashionable" only. L'Oreal for example is currently only offering almost only red lipsticks with an orange undertone, while maybelline is offering mostly purple and flashy pink shades, Bourjois, also mostly orangy reds. The high end brands stay with the classics and don't change their fixed collection so often. Their products are usually timeless, like the red lipstick from Chanel, the Dior Show Blush, the Guerlain Kiss lipstick with the coral sheen, the Dior Skin Flash, the Lancome Hypnotise mascara, the Guerlain pearls,... etc. The products stay lovely forever.
Quality of contents: pigmentation and ingredient quality are highly different in high end makeup. And it's important for your look. A well concentrated product won't to be built up as much on the skin and so will last longer and look more natural and professional. One sweep of Dior blush is enough to revive your face, while cheap blushes need to built up. Some goes for eyeshadow. A quality foundation brush won't get stiff or sticky after a few washes. Quality is quality. Cheap liptick can have a foul smell and taste, making it unpleasant to use. It may dry out your lips. A high end nail polish won't stink so much and will give finishes you could only dream of, while cheap nail polish literally ends up looking cheap most of the time and will stay smelling on your hand. Even cheap foundation can have a foul smell. So have high end products always been good quality for me? There have been a few cases where I was disappointed with the product. Clinique's Chubby Sticks for Eyes, for example. I bought one and when I wanted to draw on eyeshadow, the tip of the stick just broke off. Also application was almost impossible since the stick was hard and didn't deposit any product. I was also a bit disappointed with Chanel lipstick in the shade Magnolia. It looked completely different in real life than it did in the ad. From others I've heard that the Guerlain Meteorites Voyage powder isn't worth the money as it gives the skin a dry finish, and that for 180 euros!
Product safety: I've bumped into cheap products that have smelled of amonio or that have made my eyelids burn. Some cheap mascaras literally smell of warm beach ball and it makes me sick. Cheap mascaras also may stiffen up the lashes causing them to itch and break. I have never experienced any of this with a high end product.
Quality of packaging: this is a major difference and so important. How many cheap foundation haven't I bought where, after one use, the inside of the plastic cap would be smeared because the pump is too close to the cap? It's just dirty and annoying to clean. A lot of cheap products also come with tape, stickers and annoying plastic wrapping that's almost too hard to cut open. Then the quality of the tins. A lot of cheap eyeshadows don't fit in their container well and break. I've known lipstick tubes not twisting up or just breaking into two. I've had the same type of palette break on me a few times. High end product packaging is made of quality material, it closes perfectly, the powders lay perfectly in the pan and are pressed seamlessly. You can drop them even sometimes and they won't budge. After years the letters are still intact and there are no scratches. Some cheap eyeshadows have sprayovers. I've never experienced this with high end makeup.
Appearance of packaging: it's funny how high end products always use classy fonts. This is why I'm not a Mac person. It's an expensive brand but doesn't have a classy font. I just love showing off with my golden tube of Guerlain lipstick with the automatic slide, I love the little black pouches that Dior products come in. I love how everything is shiney, clean and pretty on my nightstand and how all high end products always look good together. My cheaper products would look like a pile of sand if I didn't wipe them every few weeks.
Prestige: like I mentioned, I love to show off with the brand name. I love having Dior or Guerlain laying around, it's definitely a pick me up for me and gives me confidence. If I use that one shade, knowing that I was worth it, it just makes my day. I never push it in anyone's face but I just love to pull out that golden Guerlain and slide it up with one finger before I seamlessly reapply my favourite glossy pink shade in one sweep.
Application comfort: thanks to better quality, application also goes a lot better with high end products. Applicators are denser, smudge brushes softer, foundation brushes finer, eyeshadows cleaner and more crisp, shades are well matched, there are enough applicators for each shade, the ingredients are so well balanced that application can be done in one go rather than in different layers.
Lasting power: a quality product can last longer than a cheaper product, because you don't need as much. This one is pretty logical considering the price and quality. Dior makeup brushes contain hair that hasn't been cut, meaning it will stay soft for a longer period.
Duration of wear: I haven't seen many differences here. Cheaper products can be pretty waterproof too. Cheap lipsticks though can be very slippery, gummy or flakey, meaning they will last a lot shorter.
Cosmetics
With cosmetics it's a different story. I've been using Clinique and Biotherm cleansing products for months now and they don't seem to do anything different for my skin compared to cheaper face products. Even though I scrub every day with Clinique my pores are clogged and even though I use the Anti Blemish Solution to moisturise my skin, I still get breakout.
When it comes to facial hydration I think it would be better to use natural ingredients and make products yourself, like rose water, honey and almond oil. I once bought a Collistar oil against cellulite and when I looked in the ingredients, it was just a bunch of oils mixed together. I could try making it myself. With the scrub it's the same, you can spend 70 euros on a tub of Collistar scrub but it's something you can easily make at home. The cellulite oil didn't work too well by the way, it didn't even moisturise my skin and it just made my butt a greasy mess. It just would absorb. I had better experiences with the Garnier Body Tonic, which even smells a lot better too. So I'm very sceptical about high end body products.
For a perfect body...
Hand lotion, same thing, very strong perfume scent, it lays on top and just won't sink in. I expect better when I spend more, or are rich people just stupid idiots?
Of course there are exceptions, there are people claiming that some high end products actually work, like the Korres moisturiser with wild rose, or the Origins Scrub. I've ordered the Korres moisturiser to see what it would do for me. I already loved the deep red Wild Rose lip balm.
Hair products
My experience with high end hair products, like Kerastase, is that they aren't worth the money. Neither the shampoos, the conditioners or the masks seem to improve my hair the way that averaged priced hair products do. I would never by Kerastase again. When I use their volumizing shampoo, it makes my hair flat. When I use their Iris conditioner, it just makes everything brittle and dirty, when I use some of the 40 euro hair mask and leave it in for ages, my hair will look exactly the same as before. I also tried a cream for split ends by Kerastase and it just didn't do anything other than weigh down my hair.
So what expensive hair products do I like? I do like Alterna's expensive Perfect Iron spray which I use on wet or dry hair to protect it from heat tools. It was quite expensive at 40 euros but it smells great and creates a fine mist which is very important in protecting sprays and it's something that you can never find at drugstores, where L'Oreal offers sprays where it just shoots out into your eyes in one big stream.
I also like L'Oreal Professional, Redken, Dessange and sometimes even the regular L'Oreal. Very cheap products like drugstore brands, Garnier, Herbal Essences, or not a good idea, most drugstore brands actually. John Frieda is a terrible brand in my opinion.
Conclusion: when it comes to makeup, expensive is better, but there is a point where it gets ridiculous and where the 100 euros you spend extra should go to a animal rescue shelter instead... When it comes to cosmetics expensive is not always better and you need to find what works for you. Drugstore products are not recommended but neither do I recommend high end. When it comes to hair I will never recommend anything above 40 euros and definitely not Kerastase. It depends a lot on the brand when it comes to hair, but I would stay away from most drugstore products. I recommend brands that are around 15-25 euros per bottle, like Redken or Alterna.
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Helena
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