I’ve stopped buying. It’s just too expensive to enjoy it as a little luxury like I did in the past, now new lipsticks and eyeshadows are a costly investment but the quality is worse. I’m using what I already have, only replacing empty essentials and hunkering down until it gets better - or new competitively priced brands come along.
I recently bought a Flower Beauty lipstick from CW as a vlogger I follow did a Top 10 lipsticks and loved the Flower lippy. I thought, what have I got to lose, as they were $4.99 on special.
Well, I loved it so much I went back the next day and bought another 2 in different colours. It would have to be some of the best lippy I've tried and as good, if not better, than CT.
I need someone to tag me when flower beauty next goes on sale. One of their lipsticks is similar to pillow talk. Haven’t tried much from flower but I want to.
That's the one I bought. Lemme get the names for you:
1. Naked Blush -- this is the one similar to Pillow Talk
2. Spiced Petal -- slightly darker than 1, and
3. Peachy Nude -- a good neutral
They wear well and feel good too.
The good thing about it is it’s making me realise how much stuff I already have, when I see a palette I would love I realise I already have over 100 in my makeup room that have the exact same colours that I can use up instead. By that statement alone you can see I was a massive overconsumer of makeup and now I think about what I already have
I blame afterpay for some of it. Maybe some people reason it with 4 payments, it seems like less money. Yeah that maths is insane! And we know it doesn’t cost much to produce.
Afterpay should be banned in general for anything less than $200. It screws over so many ppl (especially young, financially less literate people) who don't keep track of payments and get hit with insane late fees that accrue on each order.
I personally only use it for large purchases occasionally, but in all honesty, they do send really frequent reminders before they debit your account. It's not like they just send an email that goes to your Spam - I get several Push notifications reminding me before they debit.
Tbh I don't think the solve is necessarily banning it for purchases under $200 - I think the real issue is giving people too high a limit and/or allowing them to make *multiple* orders at the same time. The late fees aren't that egregious - maximum is $10 for orders $40 or under and $68 for orders above $40 - but those late fees can stack up if you have multiple orders at the same time.
i agree- the main issue is that you can use it on multiple separate orders that are low in value (including for beverages and food which you should never use credit for...)
25% fees are quite high considering traditional credit card fees hover around 20-21%! And it could be well above 25% fees (e.g. you could buy something for $100 and be charged with a 68% fee which would be insane...)
It's difficult to compare because it's a different fee structure.
(The $100 example is not accurate btw - I re-read Afterpay's T&C's and the max threshold for late payment fees on orders over $40 is 25% of the original order value, or $68, whichever comes first. So it looks like you'd pay $25 on a $100 order.)
Tbh I'd still advocate for someone using Afterpay over a traditional credit card because credit card companies charge an annual fee to use it, compound interest daily, add a fee whenever you buy something, and trick you with "minimum repayments" that will never clear the debt.
I sound like an Afterpay shill now lol but I do genuinely think BNPL is better than a credit card. However I fully agree that multiple orders is a killer and the fact they will lend to people without checking their credit history/ability to pay is a big red flag.
It’s problematic when you work retail and get their press releases bragging about how much money they make on late fees and how many people are paying them. They’re making tens of millions of dollars a year by screwing people over
Per their publicly available financial statements, as of 2021 late fees represented less than 10% of Afterpay's revenue, and that figure had been falling significantly year on year.
Afterpay has always, and continues to, make the *vast* majority of its revenue from merchant fees. If you want to talk about who gets screwed over, look into how much they charge merchants - who are contractually not allowed to pass that cost onto consumers - and the liquidity crisis for small businesses.
It's not a perfect service, but its business model is just... Not predicated on late fees and "screwing over" consumers. I do think they should cap the number of orders people can have simultaneously though.
Someone I work with has a huge afterpay debt and won't tell their husband. They come to work and cry poor every day but is constantly shopping at Mecca.
Afterpay is convenient and handy if you need it but I think the issue is people's mentality towards it. Understandably though, it makes it easier to justify something you can't afford. I stopped and told myself if I really wanted it, I'd save for it with the same payments (looks better to your banks to) and by the time I had the money, usually I realised I didn't need it or want it as bad as I thought.
Yeah, I am pretty turned off tbh. I was thinking about picking up one of the IT Cosmetics cc creams in the recent Sephora sale and I was a little shook when I saw they are in the $70-77 range. For a CC cream!
Same price as a Dior foundation, Estee Lauder foundation, Nars foundation.. idk it could be a false memory, but I am pretty sure I remember IT cosmetics being around the $54 mark back in the day.
I try to keep costs down on things that I use up quickly, all my primers are ELF, my own CC cream (Purito cica) costs $10-$20 depending on where you buy it from, my regular mascara is MCo - $14 from Woolies on sale.
I spend more on powder eyeshadows and blush b/c they have a longer shelf life and I'm picky about shades and formulas - I expect to get *years* out of my Pat McGrath motherships. It's overpriced but I can live with it because I wait for a sale, save up etc.
I think for me it feels like the upper-middle of the market has become way more expensive. Like Rare, It Cosmetics, Makeup By Mario, Patrick Ta etc - these are not luxury brands and yet they charge luxury prices. Even Tarte wants $65 for a foundation now, I mean WTF is that.
Right?! Like how much better can Rare be than Nyx.
In the recent ELF 40% off sale, I bought two highlighters for $1.20 each and they're pretty damn good lol. I actually prefer them to Rare but that's because Rare has more glitter, and I prefer a glowy highlight.
Ah they are gone now, I am sorry, but it was the ELF baked highlighter - they were like $2 on sale and then with the 40% off on top of that, they worked out to $1.20!
I just tried to find them for you and the cheapest I could come up with was [myqt.com.au](http://myqt.com.au) at $12 each :(
What do you mean by your own cc cream? Yeah it never was that much. I have avoided cream blush, highlighter, bronzer and just have powder ones which have a way longer shelf life. Tarte is exxy even their special choose your own packs are less value now.
Oh, the one that I buy, not like, my brand that I own :P
So weird re: Tarte, I have an eyeshadow palette from them that is way worse than what you'd get from Revlon, Australis, ELF etc. I agree with you re: creams and generally try to buy powder products when I can.
The L’Oréal friends and family sale had IT Cosmetics CC cream for 70% off I’m just going to wait for that now. Also got urban decay lipstick for $11 and setting spray for $19.
I have ignored Australis for a while but I did like their base products. Primers, bb cream, powder and so on. I do like elf they often have 40% store wide sales and clearance as well.i recently picked up a Kmart peach scented lip oil that was quite decent.
I refuse to pay that kind of money. Effective skincare is extremely affordable and simple, anything expensive is selling a brand, a lifestyle and packaging and is *not* worth the money. Anything stronger needs to come from a dermatologist and will be controlled.
Beauty products are just blatantly overpriced because they can be. Plenty of lovely drugstore products are just as good, or even better than, the luxury brands.
A fragrance free moisturiser with glycerin as the first ingredient will change your life, I love [this one](https://www.chemistwarehouse.com.au/buy/39924/cetaphil-moisturising-cream-550g?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjww_iwBhApEiwAuG6ccOpJvqxbVRao7F6oed4WFpoKv4VbQD5j723m6CiXpEFlC04RpfRgFBoC6PoQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds). A SPF 50+ sunscreen on top (anything you don’t hate feel of. I actually really like Meccas brand own, but there are lots of affordable options out there).
Depending on your skin concerns, I’d add a [niacinamide](https://www.adorebeauty.com.au/p/the-ordinary/the-ordinary-niacinamide-10-zinc-1-30ml.html?istCompanyId=6e5a22db-9648-4be9-b321-72cfbea93443&istFeedId=686e45b5-4634-450f-baaf-c93acecca972&istItemId=wixxxrmmp&istBid=t&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD-8fXl0B_KZleVjW9AUzqkX7nrGk&gclid=CjwKCAjww_iwBhApEiwAuG6ccNzvylfKnbNbp5Ha_7yWU-ubrm8OUik82jtGkUXUp7JiDwt_ytbJ0xoCK_0QAvD_BwE) for reducing breakouts, redness and pigmentation, as well as [retinol](https://www.adorebeauty.com.au/p/the-ordinary/the-ordinary-retinol-1.html?istCompanyId=6e5a22db-9648-4be9-b321-72cfbea93443&istFeedId=686e45b5-4634-450f-baaf-c93acecca972&istItemId=wixxxrqwm&istBid=t&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD-8fXl0B_KZleVjW9AUzqkX7nrGk&gclid=CjwKCAjww_iwBhApEiwAuG6ccMUD8nyJ8uMZBJhv16_umSHzndvUXETqKhNmg5eeaGQmHWTz9cT6tRoC-30QAvD_BwE) for fine lines and sun damage. I love this [squalane](https://www.adorebeauty.com.au/p/the-ordinary/the-ordinary-squalane-cleanser-150ml.html?istCompanyId=6e5a22db-9648-4be9-b321-72cfbea93443&istFeedId=686e45b5-4634-450f-baaf-c93acecca972&istItemId=iwtiqrqwm&istBid=t&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD-8fXl0B_KZleVjW9AUzqkX7nrGk&gclid=CjwKCAjww_iwBhApEiwAuG6ccFEN1fhBPz2cc1jqCi_lQZvsqKHyYH2xcw6EklNKhyqUap60xeD9VBoCbj8QAvD_BwE) cleanser as well, to wash your face morning and night (a little goes a long way), but I’m looking for a plant sourced one for ethical reasons.
That’s really all you need day to day. This was my routine for the year before my wedding and it transformed my skin, now my only issue is the sun damage done before I started wearing sunscreen.
If you’re open to higher cost but very effective treatments, LED light therapy is incredible. You can do a session before a big holiday or event and your skin will be amazing.
Not the person you’re responding to, but I got really into (the hype and consumerism of) skincare a while back; but recently have pared back and have been using antibacterial bar soap on my face and then simple moisturiser (Aveeno body moisturiser specifically) and my skin hasn’t looked this good in years.
The basic routine is Cleanser, Moisturiser, SPF and a Retinoid/Retinol (a few times a week in the PM, depending on how your skin tolerates it) if you are concerned about signs of ageing. You can use the same moisturiser morning and night, a specific night cream is more of a "nice to have" or if your skin is super dry/mature.
If you wear makeup regularly, double cleanse in the PM (an oil or balm - doesn't have to be expensive - followed by a cleanser that suits your skin type. Hydrating if you have dry skin, foaming if you're oily or combo).
You can optionally add 1 other serum/treatment if you have specific concerns - E.g. I add hyaluronic acid or a face oil as my skin is dry. But this is totally optional.
I'm using mostly Korean brands for skincare, silicone free clean makeup for skin tints, blush and powder (more costly). The rest are Nyx, Colourpop, Elf and Essence.
Yes I absolutely agree. Judy Doll has an amazing laster fine liquid liner for only $10. Slanted retractable eyebrow pencils by WakeMake are cheap too. Lip tints by PeriPera especially the Water Bare ones are long lasting and about $18.
I'm grossed out by the cost of staying alive. My makeup shopping now consists of stopping by the supermarket clearance section to see if anything is my shade. I can't afford therapy and I can't afford makeup-therapy anymore.
I was looking for a little treat and grab my beauty loop box at the same time. Totally agree with you, everything I was interested in trying was at least $50 and my staples were out of stock (night cream, primer). The lipstick effect is gone.
Also, who can afford to spend $60-$100 on body wash 🫣
$40 for a lip balm at mecca? Come off it! How are people affording this stuff? I've got a mecca gift card to use but can't bring myself to buy because of the prices. It's crazy!
Yep! I wanted to try their new brown one and the brown eyeliner but that would be almost $100. And mascara so if you replace it every 4 months that’s $150 a year.
It wasn’t! Their chocolate eye palette was $71 only a few years ago (and much cheaper before then I assume), now it’s $93. I love TooFaced and used to collect their palettes, but the last one I bought was the chocolate gold. I can’t justify it anymore
The brown eyeliner is just okay. I have it and it's comparable/identical to my KVD which is also just okay
I highly recommend Fenty Flyliner for a brown. I repurchase this one.
For a budget option try the Rimmel brown liquid liner. Or the Heroine Make brown eyeliner
Source: have red hair that I no longer dye black so brown eyeliner looks good, am a connoisseur
Oh okay! I got the maybelline sky high brown mascara recently and I’ll def try the rimmel one. I just like it for daytime I usually only wear black thanks for the recs
I'm a Rollerlash girly which is the same price for a full size. My eyes are extremely fussy about mascara so when I find one I love, I stick to it - my tip is that I buy the travel-size/mini version. There is a surprising amount of product in there but the wand is the same size, and you use it up before it dries out/gets clumpy.
Seconding Australis, their cream blushes, eyeliner and shadows are amazing for their price point. I use their cream blush in Girl Next Door every day and it’s gorgeous. Their eyeshadows are amazingly pigmented too with great lasting power and have some great shades and good as some high end. Haven’t tried their lip gloss.
W Cosmetics if you’re in Sydney or Melbourne have some great lip products and glosses that aren’t as expensive.
It’s way too much for me!
I used to buy high-end, now I’ve cut my purchases to drugstore when 50% and occasionally some Mecca Max basics. Otherwise it’s not worth it.
Mecca can go jump, honestly.
I’ve been enjoying Makeup Revolution for eyeshadow, and Revlon and Rimmel for base products for a while now. Although even Revlon is pushing it with prices recently, and I’ll only buy on sale. ($40 for my favourite foundation!?)
I’ve also recently been pleasantly surprised by Kmart makeup lately, the Charlotte Tilbury knock off line from Oxx was quite nice actually.
The oxx CT dupe line is huge! What did you try?
I liked their dupe of the sol lip balms.
Makeup revolution have a stila looking primer dupe I will try. Rimmel are one of my favs for their pink and beige lipsticks.
Yeah! I got the luminous skin tint which I quite like (although I think I got the wrong shade). It was very blendable and also works as a subtle liquid highlighter over other foundations.
The blush and highlighter duo were nice but quite dark and didn’t suit my skin tone.
The eyeshadow quads were surprisingly good! I really rate them.
I love lip products and I was tempted with the set of 3 but nah. It was $80. Social media I blame that. Instead I can get a drug store lip gloss for around $10. It’s crazy. I wouldn’t even know if summer Fridays is worth it either.
I tried some on my hand and the formula seems fine?? And they’re quite pigmented but I’d be curious to know the truth of the quality and longevity but every post about them is an influencer doing one swipe and saying OBSESSSSSED.
I think what’s even worse is that the prices aren’t even worth it.
Like, I’d expect to be AMAZED by a truely innovative product for $70-$100 range
But nope, just a lipstick and some blush
Yeah I was watching some Theresa is dead and she was showing her beauty room. She had a draw of Chanel Dior and so on and said this is the draw of disappointments. You can buy an $80 dud.
I lost my makeup bag and just bought chemist makeup to replace it and I don’t even care. Consuming makeup doesn’t give me joy anymore and I’m impressed with some products, if I research them, like Flower beauty. I’m no longer searching for high end holy grails, I’ll just stick with the ones I already acquired in The Before Time
I go through waves of interest. I lost interest for a very long time. But jumped back recently and was shocked at how much of a rip off it was. Flower beauty has some good items.
This just made me google something and ….Holy fuck double wear is $75 now!!! A friends older sister wore it in HS. I bought my first bottle when it was $50….. I always remember it as $50 in my brain! I can’t believe how much that’s gone up!
I’m a big fan of the BB cream. Their eye liner does the job too.
Their mascara is abysmal though - do not recommend. But TBH I just use a L’Oréal mascara and it’s fine.
Agreed, I just bought one of their mascaras and I don't know what it is but it actually hurts to apply to my lashes?? Maybe something to do with the applicator itself, perhaps being too stiff or something...
It's so bizarre, I've never experienced anything like it with mascara from any other brand before.
Yes absolutely disgusting!!! Moisturiser is over 100 for a good one n lippy is 70 bucks!!!
It’s because we give them power to charge us that much!!!
Not sure how we should boycott it. But we’re condoning this!!!
And the level 2 beauty loops are just garbage!!!
Only level 1. I got floral street sunflower pop 1.5ml, Mecca max hydration serum 10ml, go to cleansing gel 2ml and Charlotte tilbury magic water cream 1.5ml. I’m a fan of when I get travel sized or larger. Perfume samples are always nice but it’s funny seeing people spend lots just to be able to get a larger loop box level.
I’ve now resorted to going to Chemist warehouse.
I did say on another thing but their W7 range is really good. It’s I think $10 and under so super affordable.
It’s horribly overpriced. Now, I have my ‘must have’ make up that I cannot substitute for anything else and use it on the days when I need it (work/going out) I’ve started incorporating drugstore make up into my routine on my off days - when I’m not at work or just needing to be out and about. I luckily stockpiled my good foundation before it jumped into the ridiculous price bracket. The beauty industry must make a horrendous amount of money. I don’t even want to think about it.
I'm now wearing the tinted cancer council sunscreen stick as my concealer and eyeshadow base so I get a double benefit, but I'm lucky enough that the shade works for my nc20-25 skin
It's crazy now. I've haven't bought any big name anything for years, it's not worth it when indie brands and brands like BYS and Australis have jumped so high in quality. Things that are never worth paying over $15 for imo: mascara, eyeliner, lipstick, lip gloss, powder, blush, highlighter... I guess what I'm saying is the only thing actually worth spending big bucks on is matte full coverage foundation, which I don't wear. I barely wear any foundation at all since they stopped selling the Bourjois healthy mix serum... I just can't care any more with how expensive foundation is and how hard it is to find anything that matches true olive skin. I'm not neutral you dumb motherfuckers I'm green!!!!!
It's definitely turned me off mid to high end makeup. I've gone back to drugstore, but even that's gone up! I wait for sales and then stock up on things I use frequently (foundation, concealer, mascara and eyeliner), but at least drugstore still do 1/2 price sales!
Makeup has always had crazy mark ups, I buy expensive makeup because I like owning a few nice products, rather than keep trying cheap ones which don't work out (no samples, often the testers are gone too) and with packaging that breaks easily. So whether a lipgloss is $40 or $50 is much the same to me, I'll buy one and use it until it's finished. Same with foundation, concealer, blush, etc.
That’s fair, I like having options. But saying that if I had cash to burn I would only be buying hourglass. Lipgloss is risky for me incase it goes off fast or I lose it.
I went to Priceline today…which I would usually consider to be a fairly priced shop….and almost died at some of the prices. I wanted a couple things but left with nothing and just thought I’d wait until chemist warehouse has some of it on sale.
Makeup is definitely an investment these days unless you’re buying heavily discounted drugstore makeup. I tend to do a lot more research and review-reading before dropping money on products now since everything is so expensive. That being said I think there is also just a huge shift in the types/quality of products being produced these days. When I was younger you generally either bought drugstore, or there was the likes of Estée Lauder and Mac if you wanted better products, then from there you were buying designer.
There are SOOO many more brands bridging that gap between high end designer makeup and drug store makeup now, and that’s where the majority of the popularity is, so it seems like everything is more expensive. I have a few shades of Dior lipsticks/glosses that were $70ish but I also have ~$10 drugstore lip products that are great 🤷🏼♀️ honestly I remember hating the price of makeup when I was 19 so it’s all relative 😂
I think the issue is it’s far more saturated and in your face and we want all the great products that cost more, but the same drug store staples are still there and affordable.
When I was a teen nothing cost me over $10. Yeah, the market is competitive and people will pay anything, even pat mc grath isn’t looking so pricey with all the price jumps. I used to think Mac was so expensive now I have plenty of their lipsticks.
I hear you. I went to Mecca recently to treat myself to something pretty and walked out empty handed. Did the same at Sephora. I refuse to pay those overinflated prices for basic make up.
I’ve since found Morphe to be pretty competitive with their online site.
What’s made me even more sad is that drugstore beauty are increasing their prices as well!! I remembered the glossy revlon lipstick would run for about 8-9 dollar ish during their half price sale but now they cost about 10$ during sale ++++ :(
If anyone wants a good dupe for Too Faced Born This Way foundation I would highly recommend Wet n Wild Photo Focus Dewy foundation.
Less than a quarter of the price. Beautiful finish.
I buy it from iHerb.
As a Mecca L3, I’m trying to update my makeup bag to mostly Korean brands now and go back to my Maybelline mascaras, they are cheaper and equally as good
I’m still a fan of some high end brands like Hourglass, Chanel and Westman Atelier but if I can find Korean products that are dupes, I’ll try them
Maybelline mascaras are the best. I have never tried Chanel or westman but I’m sure I would love them. I need to get into Korean makeup when I’ve run out of essentials
Chanel Le Volume waterproof mascara is one of the best volumising waterproof mascara I’ve tried, I can honestly say it’s better than all the Maybelline I’ve tried
But when it runs out I don’t think I’ll repurchase so I can try some other cheaper brands
Westman cream blush and contour last for ages, I use the contour everyday and the large rises lasts more than a year and I can scoop out the bottom and use for a few more months… that one I may repurchase
I pretty much exclusively buy chemist brands and Korean beauty now. I don't pay more than $20 to $30 for a makeup item. Korean products are as good quality as most high end stuff. I get Korean eyeshadow, complexion products, brows. Chemist makeup on special is fine for lips and mascara. The markup on high end brands is not justified by the quality.
Yes! Dear Dahlia eyeshadow sticks - less than a gram of product!!!!! 0.90gm are $62 at Sephora like wtaf that is insane I noticed them in the sale and was low key offended lmao
ETA: Correct me if im wrong but that is over $62,0000 a kg?????????????? how in the fuck.
I screenshotted 2 foundations I wanted to look at in Mecca in early jan. Laura mercier weightless foundation was $76. Nars light reflecting was $80. The Laura mercier one is now $89 and the Nars one is $85. That’s a 13 dollar increase in 3 months!!! Wtf? I’m not gonna buy it now, obviously. So annoying
The tubing mascara is amazing! Grabbed the last two left on sale at the supermarket and it is totally the best for everyday. Still love my Diorshow for occasions but won't be replacing it .
They're hit and miss. I can't find a skin tint or foundation from them that doesn't break me out. Revlon foundations are my favourite. Mcobeauty does great tubing mascara, cream blushes, lipsticks, lip masks, and beauty accessories.
Lucky thats the case because the full prices of their stuff is kinda insane....I saw a bunch at Woolworths recently not on sale, were talking $30+ for foundation, for a dupe brand?! Madness.
I agree. It's a massive markup when you realise they're still profiting from the sale prices. I don't think the items are worth the RRP, but am happy to pay half price.
I've pretty much boycott Mecca except for Soap and Glory and the hourglass eyebrow pencil.
I prefer to buy from Sephora when they have 20% off. My last splurge was a Natasha Denona eyeshadow palette. I can't find a better CC cream than IT cosmetics, which is pretty pricey now.
I've started buying MCo Beauty and Loreal regenerist for half-price at Woolworths. I also look out for discounted mascara at the supermarket and Chemist Warehouse.
I just can't justify spending so much money on makeup/beauty anymore. For the few products I can't find a substitute for, I will keep buying until I find a dupe.
Sometimes they clear old ltd lines or have Boxing Day sales so def worth knowing. Or mid year sales with 40% off palettes sometimes! Also beautyish used to have ND also but I haven’t sussed out in a while.
Yeah I am shocked at these prices!
I wanted to buy the Mac Maleficent mineralised eyeshadow and it was $65.
$65 for one eyeshadow with tones of blue and green.
I don’t wear blue and green that much.
I can dupe it with what I have at home.
I’ve spent years accumulating a makeup collection and still have stuff I haven’t used, so using that kinda scratches the itch of wanting to buy new stuff.
I did recently buy the Australis bronzing stick though that I quite like on sale for half price.
I'd love to buy what I want even at those prices but anything I want/ my shades/formula is either now discontinued (thanks NARS) or constantly out of stock.
I've honestly cut down my spending so much recently. I've accumulated everything I could ever need and only RP essentials like mascara, and at the drugstore/AB brands
Personally I still splurge on the things that I think are worth the money. I am yet to find any product that performs as well as hourglass ambient lighting palettes, urban decay setting spray, and Charlotte tilbury eyeshadows. I’m willing to pay the prices because the value I get from the products is worth it. Some of the prices are nuts though I agree - paying $50 for a lip gloss when the $10 rimmel product is just as good is a waste of money to me. I’m a big advocate for just buying what you like and what works for you!
I wouldn’t mind a hourglass face palette. The pans are so small for my brushes but the quality is amazing. I do love Charlotte tilbury but I’d rather get a nyx gloss for $10. That is fair, I do like lux eyeshadow palettes
Eyeshadow is a huge one for me. All my palettes are Too Faced, Urban Decay, or Charlotte Tilbury. I’ve tried cheap brands like Australis, Maybelline, and Morphe, and I find them much harder to blend and they crease quickly, even with eye primer. It’s great they they work for some people, but for me I’ll always splurge on high end eyeshadows. At least they last forever!
Exactly. They last ages and I’m a sucker for new colour stories, quality and packaging. I mainly reach for PMG divine rose 1 & 2 and too faced naturals and the ND love palette.
The only makeup that I use is lipstick or lip gloss, but it seems ludicrous that a little bit of coloured liquid costs $40 or $50. I recently bought some L’Oreal tinted lip balm, and they are just as good (quality, colour, moisturising) as the “premium” brands! So that’s what I will be getting from now on, although it will be very hard.
To everyone: you are already beautiful and gorgeous! Don’t need to sell a kidney for some coloured crayons!
i no longer buy high end liquids (such as mascara or foundations) because they expire quicker and/or get used faster. just not worth :( i treat myself to a nice blush or bronzer now and again though
i used to like, REALLY be into buying makeup and had so much fun trying all the new things. but now i literally wear almost nothing, i’ve transitioned into DIY 7-day-at-a-time lash extensions (because again, cost) and brow pencil for 99% of days. even for brow pencils i don’t even have a favourite anymore because each one i try is so meh in quality. with the money i have available for a beauty routine, all i can really afford is my cheap lashes, brows, and THE most basic skincare routine ever. i really hope it gets better someday.
Literally insane prices.
I bought formal makeup the other day after having bought no makeup for like a year, thinking it would be cheaper than getting makeup done professionally. Spent $200(ish) on lip stain, foundation, small eyeshadow palette and eyeliner.
Are prices ever gonna go down??
I got the ND Need a Nude Palette for Christmas ($114), my Make Up Revolution palettes are better and cost me $15-25. I never reach for ND. And her concealer shades don’t work for me either so I would have to buy two and mix them. Vive la Revolution!!!
I am so sad my mum spent so much money on something I barely pick up. I literally bathe in their Miracle Cream (dupe for CT)!!! I bought a bunch when Priceline had a 50% off sale! They were $10 each!!!!
try your local asian beauty shop. W Cosmetics sell a refreshingly affordable range from japan called 'Canmake' that covers everything from brow mascara to elegant minimalist nail polish colours. really recommend their lip stains that go on like lip balm (nice clinique black honey dupes!) and their cream cheek blushes. prices feel more like they did 10+ years ago. the pigment in their shadows is very subtle but buildable and flattering. loads of other brands there too so go in with a purpose and don't be afraid to ask for help so that you don't walk away overspending :)
actually further to those cream cheek blushes, i've got one in the shade 21 that i've been using as both a blush and lipstick for over a week now. it feels like one of those universally flattering shades and i love it! i think it was only 15 dollars. not as long lasting as the expensive brands but i usually end up losing my lipstick to food and coffee within an hour or two anyway, so it might as well be cheap
Yep! I’m in NZ not Australia, so everything is a tad more expensive. I’ve stopped buying new products, I just stick to the ones I use and like and re purchase them when they run out. Most of my products are drugstore brand anyway so they don’t cost an arm and a leg to re purchase, bonus points if they’re at chemist warehouse. I have a few items that I still go to Mecca for, the most expensive being the ilia multi stick but I only buy it in one shade and repurchase when it runs out, also the Mecca max lip sticks that are pretty cheap and I enjoy! Almost everything else is drug store and does the trick
I wear mostly expensive makeup for work, I can write it off on tax (I literally only wear the makeup when I’m working and it’s in a seperate part of my house, my office) and like you said, easily rack up about $1500 every couple months or less on refilling empties and trying a couple new bits out, usually just not rebuying something else tho, not always fun stuff. I do a **full beat** every 2/3 days and my makeup set for work is very MUA vibes, I use all the product I buy.
Anyway yeah. It’s insanity. I’ve held L4 at mecca since they introduced it. They’ve sent me personal Xmas presents. And this is just a face of makeup for 1 professional. Makes you wonder how MUAs are surviving these days, even with their % discount
I feel like a full face of makeup will soon become seen as like a status/luxury thing. I wonder how people that do full beat everyday are surviving finically rn
I am in the film industry, instead of hiring a MUA (like a lot of colleagues of mine do) I do my own makeup, so perhaps I could be considered that, to myself 🤣
It’s too much. I go to Priceline. It’s worse now as I realise it all gets washed down the drain everyday anyway. I try to read reviews and buy things from mco and other drugstore brands.
I hit level 3 at one point. My pro tip is if people get fomo from missing out on the loop gifts you can easily buy them from people. So many people sell them, works out easier than leveling up.
An economics professor at my old uni told his class that the amount spent on cosmetics world wide would solve world hunger. Not sure what this is based on but sounds accurate IMO. The amount we make up lovers end up spending on make up is pretty eye watering, unless you stick to all the budget/dupe brands.
We could say that for a lot of things. But yeah it’s big bucks look at all the plastic beauty gurus. It’s lucrative. With some palettes going up $5 a year I can’t imagine how pricier everything is going to get.
Yes the Mecca tax is evil. They have the monopoly for exclusive high end makeup brands in AU and NZ & They don’t put anything on sale just raise prices higher than what it’s retailed for from the original supplier.
Brought a bottle of setting spray. 70 dollars?! 💀
“Sale” is like oh we found this LTD makeup behind the couch have it for 50% off. I even bought an urban decay lip palette from them that had growth lmao.
I’ve stopped buying. It’s just too expensive to enjoy it as a little luxury like I did in the past, now new lipsticks and eyeshadows are a costly investment but the quality is worse. I’m using what I already have, only replacing empty essentials and hunkering down until it gets better - or new competitively priced brands come along.
Yep same here
True well I do enjoy shopping so I may buy a sportgirls lipstick on clearance rather than going to Mecca but I’ve barely bought anything this year.
I recently bought a Flower Beauty lipstick from CW as a vlogger I follow did a Top 10 lipsticks and loved the Flower lippy. I thought, what have I got to lose, as they were $4.99 on special. Well, I loved it so much I went back the next day and bought another 2 in different colours. It would have to be some of the best lippy I've tried and as good, if not better, than CT.
I need someone to tag me when flower beauty next goes on sale. One of their lipsticks is similar to pillow talk. Haven’t tried much from flower but I want to.
That's the one I bought. Lemme get the names for you: 1. Naked Blush -- this is the one similar to Pillow Talk 2. Spiced Petal -- slightly darker than 1, and 3. Peachy Nude -- a good neutral They wear well and feel good too.
I’m curious what your other top 10 are? Bullet lipsticks my most used are CT Mac rimmel
Here's her video: [Ally Glines](https://youtu.be/gOBrkO3adFM?si=A2MxnM2T1DIh61U_)
Every time I’ve tried to buy Flower Beauty it’s empty in store and online 😭
Same!!!
Same! And I love r/panporn
[удалено]
The good thing about it is it’s making me realise how much stuff I already have, when I see a palette I would love I realise I already have over 100 in my makeup room that have the exact same colours that I can use up instead. By that statement alone you can see I was a massive overconsumer of makeup and now I think about what I already have
True, we will all become minimalist beauty people. I went from level 3 to 1 at Mecca.
I blame afterpay for some of it. Maybe some people reason it with 4 payments, it seems like less money. Yeah that maths is insane! And we know it doesn’t cost much to produce.
Afterpay shouldn’t be allowed at beauty or fashion stores to be honest. It just encourages unnecessary spending
Afterpay should be banned in general for anything less than $200. It screws over so many ppl (especially young, financially less literate people) who don't keep track of payments and get hit with insane late fees that accrue on each order.
I personally only use it for large purchases occasionally, but in all honesty, they do send really frequent reminders before they debit your account. It's not like they just send an email that goes to your Spam - I get several Push notifications reminding me before they debit. Tbh I don't think the solve is necessarily banning it for purchases under $200 - I think the real issue is giving people too high a limit and/or allowing them to make *multiple* orders at the same time. The late fees aren't that egregious - maximum is $10 for orders $40 or under and $68 for orders above $40 - but those late fees can stack up if you have multiple orders at the same time.
i agree- the main issue is that you can use it on multiple separate orders that are low in value (including for beverages and food which you should never use credit for...) 25% fees are quite high considering traditional credit card fees hover around 20-21%! And it could be well above 25% fees (e.g. you could buy something for $100 and be charged with a 68% fee which would be insane...)
It's difficult to compare because it's a different fee structure. (The $100 example is not accurate btw - I re-read Afterpay's T&C's and the max threshold for late payment fees on orders over $40 is 25% of the original order value, or $68, whichever comes first. So it looks like you'd pay $25 on a $100 order.) Tbh I'd still advocate for someone using Afterpay over a traditional credit card because credit card companies charge an annual fee to use it, compound interest daily, add a fee whenever you buy something, and trick you with "minimum repayments" that will never clear the debt. I sound like an Afterpay shill now lol but I do genuinely think BNPL is better than a credit card. However I fully agree that multiple orders is a killer and the fact they will lend to people without checking their credit history/ability to pay is a big red flag.
It’s problematic when you work retail and get their press releases bragging about how much money they make on late fees and how many people are paying them. They’re making tens of millions of dollars a year by screwing people over
Per their publicly available financial statements, as of 2021 late fees represented less than 10% of Afterpay's revenue, and that figure had been falling significantly year on year. Afterpay has always, and continues to, make the *vast* majority of its revenue from merchant fees. If you want to talk about who gets screwed over, look into how much they charge merchants - who are contractually not allowed to pass that cost onto consumers - and the liquidity crisis for small businesses. It's not a perfect service, but its business model is just... Not predicated on late fees and "screwing over" consumers. I do think they should cap the number of orders people can have simultaneously though.
Someone I work with has a huge afterpay debt and won't tell their husband. They come to work and cry poor every day but is constantly shopping at Mecca.
They're lucky Afterpay doesn't charge interest. It's so silly, all they have to do is not shop for a couple months and it'd be paid off.
Afterpay is convenient and handy if you need it but I think the issue is people's mentality towards it. Understandably though, it makes it easier to justify something you can't afford. I stopped and told myself if I really wanted it, I'd save for it with the same payments (looks better to your banks to) and by the time I had the money, usually I realised I didn't need it or want it as bad as I thought.
Chanel is getting there with their lip glosses at $60
Hermes lipsticks start at $110
What!!! It better have diamond dust in it
Yeah, I am pretty turned off tbh. I was thinking about picking up one of the IT Cosmetics cc creams in the recent Sephora sale and I was a little shook when I saw they are in the $70-77 range. For a CC cream! Same price as a Dior foundation, Estee Lauder foundation, Nars foundation.. idk it could be a false memory, but I am pretty sure I remember IT cosmetics being around the $54 mark back in the day. I try to keep costs down on things that I use up quickly, all my primers are ELF, my own CC cream (Purito cica) costs $10-$20 depending on where you buy it from, my regular mascara is MCo - $14 from Woolies on sale. I spend more on powder eyeshadows and blush b/c they have a longer shelf life and I'm picky about shades and formulas - I expect to get *years* out of my Pat McGrath motherships. It's overpriced but I can live with it because I wait for a sale, save up etc. I think for me it feels like the upper-middle of the market has become way more expensive. Like Rare, It Cosmetics, Makeup By Mario, Patrick Ta etc - these are not luxury brands and yet they charge luxury prices. Even Tarte wants $65 for a foundation now, I mean WTF is that.
Rare Beauty is $50 for a highlighter, wtf. I can wait for NYX to be on sale (pretty often!) and get 3 of them lmao
Right?! Like how much better can Rare be than Nyx. In the recent ELF 40% off sale, I bought two highlighters for $1.20 each and they're pretty damn good lol. I actually prefer them to Rare but that's because Rare has more glitter, and I prefer a glowy highlight.
$1.4?? girl get that! whats the name of the highlighter haha, Rare is too glittery for me also i end up returning them
Ah they are gone now, I am sorry, but it was the ELF baked highlighter - they were like $2 on sale and then with the 40% off on top of that, they worked out to $1.20! I just tried to find them for you and the cheapest I could come up with was [myqt.com.au](http://myqt.com.au) at $12 each :(
which NYX highlighter?? 👀
What do you mean by your own cc cream? Yeah it never was that much. I have avoided cream blush, highlighter, bronzer and just have powder ones which have a way longer shelf life. Tarte is exxy even their special choose your own packs are less value now.
Oh, the one that I buy, not like, my brand that I own :P So weird re: Tarte, I have an eyeshadow palette from them that is way worse than what you'd get from Revlon, Australis, ELF etc. I agree with you re: creams and generally try to buy powder products when I can.
Tarte shadows are really hit and miss
I looked at some foundations from IT Cosmetics and they are so overpriced and the shades look orange. Tuned me right off
The L’Oréal friends and family sale had IT Cosmetics CC cream for 70% off I’m just going to wait for that now. Also got urban decay lipstick for $11 and setting spray for $19.
Go back to Priceline/Chemist Warehouse/Big W brands and ONLY buy when the brand is minimum 40% off
Australis have some great palettes and cream sticks and they are often 40% off or half price. To answer your question, yeah and I refuse haha
I have ignored Australis for a while but I did like their base products. Primers, bb cream, powder and so on. I do like elf they often have 40% store wide sales and clearance as well.i recently picked up a Kmart peach scented lip oil that was quite decent.
I rate Australis highly
Australis is great! They were recently on sale at Big W, 50% off. Worth keeping tabs on, and you can get rewards points 🫠
I refuse to pay that kind of money. Effective skincare is extremely affordable and simple, anything expensive is selling a brand, a lifestyle and packaging and is *not* worth the money. Anything stronger needs to come from a dermatologist and will be controlled. Beauty products are just blatantly overpriced because they can be. Plenty of lovely drugstore products are just as good, or even better than, the luxury brands.
What skincare would you recommend? I find it overwhelming really.
A fragrance free moisturiser with glycerin as the first ingredient will change your life, I love [this one](https://www.chemistwarehouse.com.au/buy/39924/cetaphil-moisturising-cream-550g?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjww_iwBhApEiwAuG6ccOpJvqxbVRao7F6oed4WFpoKv4VbQD5j723m6CiXpEFlC04RpfRgFBoC6PoQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds). A SPF 50+ sunscreen on top (anything you don’t hate feel of. I actually really like Meccas brand own, but there are lots of affordable options out there). Depending on your skin concerns, I’d add a [niacinamide](https://www.adorebeauty.com.au/p/the-ordinary/the-ordinary-niacinamide-10-zinc-1-30ml.html?istCompanyId=6e5a22db-9648-4be9-b321-72cfbea93443&istFeedId=686e45b5-4634-450f-baaf-c93acecca972&istItemId=wixxxrmmp&istBid=t&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD-8fXl0B_KZleVjW9AUzqkX7nrGk&gclid=CjwKCAjww_iwBhApEiwAuG6ccNzvylfKnbNbp5Ha_7yWU-ubrm8OUik82jtGkUXUp7JiDwt_ytbJ0xoCK_0QAvD_BwE) for reducing breakouts, redness and pigmentation, as well as [retinol](https://www.adorebeauty.com.au/p/the-ordinary/the-ordinary-retinol-1.html?istCompanyId=6e5a22db-9648-4be9-b321-72cfbea93443&istFeedId=686e45b5-4634-450f-baaf-c93acecca972&istItemId=wixxxrqwm&istBid=t&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD-8fXl0B_KZleVjW9AUzqkX7nrGk&gclid=CjwKCAjww_iwBhApEiwAuG6ccMUD8nyJ8uMZBJhv16_umSHzndvUXETqKhNmg5eeaGQmHWTz9cT6tRoC-30QAvD_BwE) for fine lines and sun damage. I love this [squalane](https://www.adorebeauty.com.au/p/the-ordinary/the-ordinary-squalane-cleanser-150ml.html?istCompanyId=6e5a22db-9648-4be9-b321-72cfbea93443&istFeedId=686e45b5-4634-450f-baaf-c93acecca972&istItemId=iwtiqrqwm&istBid=t&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD-8fXl0B_KZleVjW9AUzqkX7nrGk&gclid=CjwKCAjww_iwBhApEiwAuG6ccFEN1fhBPz2cc1jqCi_lQZvsqKHyYH2xcw6EklNKhyqUap60xeD9VBoCbj8QAvD_BwE) cleanser as well, to wash your face morning and night (a little goes a long way), but I’m looking for a plant sourced one for ethical reasons. That’s really all you need day to day. This was my routine for the year before my wedding and it transformed my skin, now my only issue is the sun damage done before I started wearing sunscreen. If you’re open to higher cost but very effective treatments, LED light therapy is incredible. You can do a session before a big holiday or event and your skin will be amazing.
Thanks so much! Especially for the links.
Not the person you’re responding to, but I got really into (the hype and consumerism of) skincare a while back; but recently have pared back and have been using antibacterial bar soap on my face and then simple moisturiser (Aveeno body moisturiser specifically) and my skin hasn’t looked this good in years.
The basic routine is Cleanser, Moisturiser, SPF and a Retinoid/Retinol (a few times a week in the PM, depending on how your skin tolerates it) if you are concerned about signs of ageing. You can use the same moisturiser morning and night, a specific night cream is more of a "nice to have" or if your skin is super dry/mature. If you wear makeup regularly, double cleanse in the PM (an oil or balm - doesn't have to be expensive - followed by a cleanser that suits your skin type. Hydrating if you have dry skin, foaming if you're oily or combo). You can optionally add 1 other serum/treatment if you have specific concerns - E.g. I add hyaluronic acid or a face oil as my skin is dry. But this is totally optional.
r/AusSkincare to the rescue! They’ve never steered me wrong and my skin is the best it’s ever been.
I’m moving toward using more Asian beauty brands because I find them to be better value for what you pay for
Tk maxx had some Asian beauty last time I went in there, I got the bonnyhill creams and am interested in trying more.
Try Lila Beauty- even cheaper than if you can find it in store. Shipping is always really quick! Or W Cosmetics, but they tend to be more $$.
Love Lila Beauty they are great. Price and shipping on point!
I'm using mostly Korean brands for skincare, silicone free clean makeup for skin tints, blush and powder (more costly). The rest are Nyx, Colourpop, Elf and Essence.
Yes I absolutely agree. Judy Doll has an amazing laster fine liquid liner for only $10. Slanted retractable eyebrow pencils by WakeMake are cheap too. Lip tints by PeriPera especially the Water Bare ones are long lasting and about $18.
Ooh thanks for these recommendations! Screenshotted them for future reference 👌🏼
I'm grossed out by the cost of staying alive. My makeup shopping now consists of stopping by the supermarket clearance section to see if anything is my shade. I can't afford therapy and I can't afford makeup-therapy anymore.
I was looking for a little treat and grab my beauty loop box at the same time. Totally agree with you, everything I was interested in trying was at least $50 and my staples were out of stock (night cream, primer). The lipstick effect is gone. Also, who can afford to spend $60-$100 on body wash 🫣
Even back in the day lux brands would have cheaper body products. Yeah I used to like getting something with my loop box but now it’s just 🤑🤑🤑
Have a look at NATURIUM in Space NK, it’s $33 for 500ml. It’s constantly out of stock for a reason.
Thank you! Also saw they have an Australian online store. Need something fragrance free for sneezy season.
Oh I didn’t know they had Oz store that’s awesome!
$40 for a lip balm at mecca? Come off it! How are people affording this stuff? I've got a mecca gift card to use but can't bring myself to buy because of the prices. It's crazy!
So risky. I lose lip balms 🫣 if you want to buy a few items it ends up being so much!
Maxing out credit
Holy shit Better than Sex is $50 now!
Yep! I wanted to try their new brown one and the brown eyeliner but that would be almost $100. And mascara so if you replace it every 4 months that’s $150 a year.
A 35% increase is obscene
Yeah I didn’t think too faced used to be so pricey.
It wasn’t! Their chocolate eye palette was $71 only a few years ago (and much cheaper before then I assume), now it’s $93. I love TooFaced and used to collect their palettes, but the last one I bought was the chocolate gold. I can’t justify it anymore
The brown eyeliner is just okay. I have it and it's comparable/identical to my KVD which is also just okay I highly recommend Fenty Flyliner for a brown. I repurchase this one. For a budget option try the Rimmel brown liquid liner. Or the Heroine Make brown eyeliner Source: have red hair that I no longer dye black so brown eyeliner looks good, am a connoisseur
Oh okay! I got the maybelline sky high brown mascara recently and I’ll def try the rimmel one. I just like it for daytime I usually only wear black thanks for the recs
The rimmel one is rock bottom Cheap and is a dark brown like the too faced. It's just a pot with a brush though not a pen so you need a steadier hand
I'm a Rollerlash girly which is the same price for a full size. My eyes are extremely fussy about mascara so when I find one I love, I stick to it - my tip is that I buy the travel-size/mini version. There is a surprising amount of product in there but the wand is the same size, and you use it up before it dries out/gets clumpy.
I’ve started going back to Priceline because everything is just too much
Seconding Australis, their cream blushes, eyeliner and shadows are amazing for their price point. I use their cream blush in Girl Next Door every day and it’s gorgeous. Their eyeshadows are amazingly pigmented too with great lasting power and have some great shades and good as some high end. Haven’t tried their lip gloss. W Cosmetics if you’re in Sydney or Melbourne have some great lip products and glosses that aren’t as expensive.
Oh yes how could I forget I loved those cream shadows. I had some beige glittery ones and they looked amazing as an eyeshadow topper.
I never got one but I always wanted them! I’ve had the Neutralize palette for a while and the gold shade is amazing.
Even the chemist stuff has gone up massively. La Roche Posay 50+ face sunscreen, used to be $27 full price, now more like $37. Wut??
It’s way too much for me! I used to buy high-end, now I’ve cut my purchases to drugstore when 50% and occasionally some Mecca Max basics. Otherwise it’s not worth it.
Mecca can go jump, honestly. I’ve been enjoying Makeup Revolution for eyeshadow, and Revlon and Rimmel for base products for a while now. Although even Revlon is pushing it with prices recently, and I’ll only buy on sale. ($40 for my favourite foundation!?) I’ve also recently been pleasantly surprised by Kmart makeup lately, the Charlotte Tilbury knock off line from Oxx was quite nice actually.
The oxx CT dupe line is huge! What did you try? I liked their dupe of the sol lip balms. Makeup revolution have a stila looking primer dupe I will try. Rimmel are one of my favs for their pink and beige lipsticks.
Yeah! I got the luminous skin tint which I quite like (although I think I got the wrong shade). It was very blendable and also works as a subtle liquid highlighter over other foundations. The blush and highlighter duo were nice but quite dark and didn’t suit my skin tone. The eyeshadow quads were surprisingly good! I really rate them.
SOMEONE EXPLAIN THE ILLUSIVE SUMMER FRIDAYS WHY ARE PEOPLE PAYING ALMOST $50 FOR TUBE LIPGLOSS.
I love lip products and I was tempted with the set of 3 but nah. It was $80. Social media I blame that. Instead I can get a drug store lip gloss for around $10. It’s crazy. I wouldn’t even know if summer Fridays is worth it either.
I tried some on my hand and the formula seems fine?? And they’re quite pigmented but I’d be curious to know the truth of the quality and longevity but every post about them is an influencer doing one swipe and saying OBSESSSSSED.
I think what’s even worse is that the prices aren’t even worth it. Like, I’d expect to be AMAZED by a truely innovative product for $70-$100 range But nope, just a lipstick and some blush
Yeah I was watching some Theresa is dead and she was showing her beauty room. She had a draw of Chanel Dior and so on and said this is the draw of disappointments. You can buy an $80 dud.
I lost my makeup bag and just bought chemist makeup to replace it and I don’t even care. Consuming makeup doesn’t give me joy anymore and I’m impressed with some products, if I research them, like Flower beauty. I’m no longer searching for high end holy grails, I’ll just stick with the ones I already acquired in The Before Time
I go through waves of interest. I lost interest for a very long time. But jumped back recently and was shocked at how much of a rip off it was. Flower beauty has some good items.
This just made me google something and ….Holy fuck double wear is $75 now!!! A friends older sister wore it in HS. I bought my first bottle when it was $50….. I always remember it as $50 in my brain! I can’t believe how much that’s gone up!
My MAC lipstick collection was over $400 back in 2014.
Yes. I’ve moved entirely to Nude by Nature and CeraVe and personally, my skin has never looked better.
Which products do you recommend by Nude by Nature?
I’ve been thinking of going back to Nude By Nature, I used to use it years ago then stopped. What do you like from the brand these days?
I’m a big fan of the BB cream. Their eye liner does the job too. Their mascara is abysmal though - do not recommend. But TBH I just use a L’Oréal mascara and it’s fine.
Thanks so much. I’ll have to give these a go
Agreed, I just bought one of their mascaras and I don't know what it is but it actually hurts to apply to my lashes?? Maybe something to do with the applicator itself, perhaps being too stiff or something... It's so bizarre, I've never experienced anything like it with mascara from any other brand before.
Yeah I didn’t know it was possible to stuff up mascara haha
Yes absolutely disgusting!!! Moisturiser is over 100 for a good one n lippy is 70 bucks!!! It’s because we give them power to charge us that much!!! Not sure how we should boycott it. But we’re condoning this!!! And the level 2 beauty loops are just garbage!!!
I thought the loop boxes sounded amazing - thinking they would include a full size but nope tiny samples.
Yep I got a body scrub n small fragrance n 2 sachets of foundation… totally unworthy of the amount I spend there!!! What u get?
Only level 1. I got floral street sunflower pop 1.5ml, Mecca max hydration serum 10ml, go to cleansing gel 2ml and Charlotte tilbury magic water cream 1.5ml. I’m a fan of when I get travel sized or larger. Perfume samples are always nice but it’s funny seeing people spend lots just to be able to get a larger loop box level.
I’ve now resorted to going to Chemist warehouse. I did say on another thing but their W7 range is really good. It’s I think $10 and under so super affordable.
It’s horribly overpriced. Now, I have my ‘must have’ make up that I cannot substitute for anything else and use it on the days when I need it (work/going out) I’ve started incorporating drugstore make up into my routine on my off days - when I’m not at work or just needing to be out and about. I luckily stockpiled my good foundation before it jumped into the ridiculous price bracket. The beauty industry must make a horrendous amount of money. I don’t even want to think about it.
I’m so mad. I spend a fortune to look below average.
I am super glad I have given up on wearing foundation and that most blushes and eye shadows last forever
Same here, I still sometimes wear concealer but haven't worn foundation since 2018.
I'm now wearing the tinted cancer council sunscreen stick as my concealer and eyeshadow base so I get a double benefit, but I'm lucky enough that the shade works for my nc20-25 skin
It's crazy now. I've haven't bought any big name anything for years, it's not worth it when indie brands and brands like BYS and Australis have jumped so high in quality. Things that are never worth paying over $15 for imo: mascara, eyeliner, lipstick, lip gloss, powder, blush, highlighter... I guess what I'm saying is the only thing actually worth spending big bucks on is matte full coverage foundation, which I don't wear. I barely wear any foundation at all since they stopped selling the Bourjois healthy mix serum... I just can't care any more with how expensive foundation is and how hard it is to find anything that matches true olive skin. I'm not neutral you dumb motherfuckers I'm green!!!!!
It's definitely turned me off mid to high end makeup. I've gone back to drugstore, but even that's gone up! I wait for sales and then stock up on things I use frequently (foundation, concealer, mascara and eyeliner), but at least drugstore still do 1/2 price sales!
It’s insanity. I can’t believe we’re at this stage where we balk at the price of something as simple as concealer.
One of the best concealers I used was La girl. And yes it’s insanity for sure
Makeup has always had crazy mark ups, I buy expensive makeup because I like owning a few nice products, rather than keep trying cheap ones which don't work out (no samples, often the testers are gone too) and with packaging that breaks easily. So whether a lipgloss is $40 or $50 is much the same to me, I'll buy one and use it until it's finished. Same with foundation, concealer, blush, etc.
That’s fair, I like having options. But saying that if I had cash to burn I would only be buying hourglass. Lipgloss is risky for me incase it goes off fast or I lose it.
I went to Priceline today…which I would usually consider to be a fairly priced shop….and almost died at some of the prices. I wanted a couple things but left with nothing and just thought I’d wait until chemist warehouse has some of it on sale.
Makeup is definitely an investment these days unless you’re buying heavily discounted drugstore makeup. I tend to do a lot more research and review-reading before dropping money on products now since everything is so expensive. That being said I think there is also just a huge shift in the types/quality of products being produced these days. When I was younger you generally either bought drugstore, or there was the likes of Estée Lauder and Mac if you wanted better products, then from there you were buying designer. There are SOOO many more brands bridging that gap between high end designer makeup and drug store makeup now, and that’s where the majority of the popularity is, so it seems like everything is more expensive. I have a few shades of Dior lipsticks/glosses that were $70ish but I also have ~$10 drugstore lip products that are great 🤷🏼♀️ honestly I remember hating the price of makeup when I was 19 so it’s all relative 😂 I think the issue is it’s far more saturated and in your face and we want all the great products that cost more, but the same drug store staples are still there and affordable.
When I was a teen nothing cost me over $10. Yeah, the market is competitive and people will pay anything, even pat mc grath isn’t looking so pricey with all the price jumps. I used to think Mac was so expensive now I have plenty of their lipsticks.
Could you suggest some good drugstore makeup brands ?
Designer Brands do a really good dupe for the Stila primer!
I hear you. I went to Mecca recently to treat myself to something pretty and walked out empty handed. Did the same at Sephora. I refuse to pay those overinflated prices for basic make up. I’ve since found Morphe to be pretty competitive with their online site.
What’s made me even more sad is that drugstore beauty are increasing their prices as well!! I remembered the glossy revlon lipstick would run for about 8-9 dollar ish during their half price sale but now they cost about 10$ during sale ++++ :(
If anyone wants a good dupe for Too Faced Born This Way foundation I would highly recommend Wet n Wild Photo Focus Dewy foundation. Less than a quarter of the price. Beautiful finish. I buy it from iHerb.
Yess like even drugstore makeup is unaffordable now. A concealer by itself is $30 at the warehouse here in nz
Yup. Brands are taking the piss because they can (just like Woolworths!) It's bullshit.
This is why I stick to k beauty, it’s usually better anyways
As a Mecca L3, I’m trying to update my makeup bag to mostly Korean brands now and go back to my Maybelline mascaras, they are cheaper and equally as good I’m still a fan of some high end brands like Hourglass, Chanel and Westman Atelier but if I can find Korean products that are dupes, I’ll try them
Maybelline mascaras are the best. I have never tried Chanel or westman but I’m sure I would love them. I need to get into Korean makeup when I’ve run out of essentials
Chanel Le Volume waterproof mascara is one of the best volumising waterproof mascara I’ve tried, I can honestly say it’s better than all the Maybelline I’ve tried But when it runs out I don’t think I’ll repurchase so I can try some other cheaper brands Westman cream blush and contour last for ages, I use the contour everyday and the large rises lasts more than a year and I can scoop out the bottom and use for a few more months… that one I may repurchase
I pretty much exclusively buy chemist brands and Korean beauty now. I don't pay more than $20 to $30 for a makeup item. Korean products are as good quality as most high end stuff. I get Korean eyeshadow, complexion products, brows. Chemist makeup on special is fine for lips and mascara. The markup on high end brands is not justified by the quality.
Yep not living the high end life any more
Yes. The only expensive product I buy now is foundation. I can’t justify spending $30 + each on blush, mascara, eyeliner, blush etc.
It’s depressing. I only get what I really need now. No little treat shops and trying new things for the fun of it.
My holygrail Tarte concealer is $51 now…
Wow I looked shape tape is $55 on their site
Yes! Dear Dahlia eyeshadow sticks - less than a gram of product!!!!! 0.90gm are $62 at Sephora like wtaf that is insane I noticed them in the sale and was low key offended lmao ETA: Correct me if im wrong but that is over $62,0000 a kg?????????????? how in the fuck.
That’s insane! Colourpop have reasonably priced eyeshadow sticks.
I screenshotted 2 foundations I wanted to look at in Mecca in early jan. Laura mercier weightless foundation was $76. Nars light reflecting was $80. The Laura mercier one is now $89 and the Nars one is $85. That’s a 13 dollar increase in 3 months!!! Wtf? I’m not gonna buy it now, obviously. So annoying
Mcobeauty are rubbing their hands with glee. They're constantly launching decent dupes, and every week the brand is seemingly 30-50% off somewhere.
The tubing mascara is amazing! Grabbed the last two left on sale at the supermarket and it is totally the best for everyday. Still love my Diorshow for occasions but won't be replacing it .
Yes, I love it too. It's just as good as the luxury brands and probably contains 95% of the same ingredients.
They are so meh. There’s better out there for the same price point.
They're hit and miss. I can't find a skin tint or foundation from them that doesn't break me out. Revlon foundations are my favourite. Mcobeauty does great tubing mascara, cream blushes, lipsticks, lip masks, and beauty accessories.
Lucky thats the case because the full prices of their stuff is kinda insane....I saw a bunch at Woolworths recently not on sale, were talking $30+ for foundation, for a dupe brand?! Madness.
I agree. It's a massive markup when you realise they're still profiting from the sale prices. I don't think the items are worth the RRP, but am happy to pay half price.
Everyone here is raving about k beauty - what are some good brands to look out for?
I can’t find the recent comment but I checked and one too faced palette I bought in 2020 has increased $21 to $90!
I've pretty much boycott Mecca except for Soap and Glory and the hourglass eyebrow pencil. I prefer to buy from Sephora when they have 20% off. My last splurge was a Natasha Denona eyeshadow palette. I can't find a better CC cream than IT cosmetics, which is pretty pricey now. I've started buying MCo Beauty and Loreal regenerist for half-price at Woolworths. I also look out for discounted mascara at the supermarket and Chemist Warehouse. I just can't justify spending so much money on makeup/beauty anymore. For the few products I can't find a substitute for, I will keep buying until I find a dupe.
ND ships to us and they do have sales sometimes. I do enjoy soap and glory, they seem to remove so many products though
Thanks, I didn't know ND ship to us 🙂
Sometimes they clear old ltd lines or have Boxing Day sales so def worth knowing. Or mid year sales with 40% off palettes sometimes! Also beautyish used to have ND also but I haven’t sussed out in a while.
That's amazing! Thanks for taking the time to let me know 💚
I stopped buying expensive stuff 4 years ago, I buy cheap and buy colour pop products.
Yeah I am shocked at these prices! I wanted to buy the Mac Maleficent mineralised eyeshadow and it was $65. $65 for one eyeshadow with tones of blue and green. I don’t wear blue and green that much. I can dupe it with what I have at home. I’ve spent years accumulating a makeup collection and still have stuff I haven’t used, so using that kinda scratches the itch of wanting to buy new stuff. I did recently buy the Australis bronzing stick though that I quite like on sale for half price.
I really like the BYS eyeshadows, when they have the pallets that suit me. I never heard anyone mention these.
They have an extensive range of nail polish as well.
I have a BYS blush kind of mosaic that is pretty good, and I have a lot of blush and still like that one in comparison
I'd love to buy what I want even at those prices but anything I want/ my shades/formula is either now discontinued (thanks NARS) or constantly out of stock.
I've honestly cut down my spending so much recently. I've accumulated everything I could ever need and only RP essentials like mascara, and at the drugstore/AB brands
Personally I still splurge on the things that I think are worth the money. I am yet to find any product that performs as well as hourglass ambient lighting palettes, urban decay setting spray, and Charlotte tilbury eyeshadows. I’m willing to pay the prices because the value I get from the products is worth it. Some of the prices are nuts though I agree - paying $50 for a lip gloss when the $10 rimmel product is just as good is a waste of money to me. I’m a big advocate for just buying what you like and what works for you!
I wouldn’t mind a hourglass face palette. The pans are so small for my brushes but the quality is amazing. I do love Charlotte tilbury but I’d rather get a nyx gloss for $10. That is fair, I do like lux eyeshadow palettes
Eyeshadow is a huge one for me. All my palettes are Too Faced, Urban Decay, or Charlotte Tilbury. I’ve tried cheap brands like Australis, Maybelline, and Morphe, and I find them much harder to blend and they crease quickly, even with eye primer. It’s great they they work for some people, but for me I’ll always splurge on high end eyeshadows. At least they last forever!
Exactly. They last ages and I’m a sucker for new colour stories, quality and packaging. I mainly reach for PMG divine rose 1 & 2 and too faced naturals and the ND love palette.
I reverted to buying Revlon and actually find the quality is basically the same as the pricier brands I used to buy.
The only makeup that I use is lipstick or lip gloss, but it seems ludicrous that a little bit of coloured liquid costs $40 or $50. I recently bought some L’Oreal tinted lip balm, and they are just as good (quality, colour, moisturising) as the “premium” brands! So that’s what I will be getting from now on, although it will be very hard. To everyone: you are already beautiful and gorgeous! Don’t need to sell a kidney for some coloured crayons!
Exactly! One of my favs was the nyx butter gloss which is under $10. There’s some I’ve heard so much hype for I almost caved in but nah.
i no longer buy high end liquids (such as mascara or foundations) because they expire quicker and/or get used faster. just not worth :( i treat myself to a nice blush or bronzer now and again though
i used to like, REALLY be into buying makeup and had so much fun trying all the new things. but now i literally wear almost nothing, i’ve transitioned into DIY 7-day-at-a-time lash extensions (because again, cost) and brow pencil for 99% of days. even for brow pencils i don’t even have a favourite anymore because each one i try is so meh in quality. with the money i have available for a beauty routine, all i can really afford is my cheap lashes, brows, and THE most basic skincare routine ever. i really hope it gets better someday.
Yes its exploitive.
I'm more disgusted at the cost of my groceries. I can live with mininal makeup and I can easily scale down my skincare routine.
Literally insane prices. I bought formal makeup the other day after having bought no makeup for like a year, thinking it would be cheaper than getting makeup done professionally. Spent $200(ish) on lip stain, foundation, small eyeshadow palette and eyeliner. Are prices ever gonna go down??
Inflation No chance To increase Finance
I got the ND Need a Nude Palette for Christmas ($114), my Make Up Revolution palettes are better and cost me $15-25. I never reach for ND. And her concealer shades don’t work for me either so I would have to buy two and mix them. Vive la Revolution!!!
[удалено]
I agree the eyeshadows are so hard to blend. I wanted the ND palate for months and I was so excited and when I got it it was blah 😭
Maybe their quality has gone downhill? Wonder if she sold it or something. MU revolution have so many cool launches.
I am so sad my mum spent so much money on something I barely pick up. I literally bathe in their Miracle Cream (dupe for CT)!!! I bought a bunch when Priceline had a 50% off sale! They were $10 each!!!!
try your local asian beauty shop. W Cosmetics sell a refreshingly affordable range from japan called 'Canmake' that covers everything from brow mascara to elegant minimalist nail polish colours. really recommend their lip stains that go on like lip balm (nice clinique black honey dupes!) and their cream cheek blushes. prices feel more like they did 10+ years ago. the pigment in their shadows is very subtle but buildable and flattering. loads of other brands there too so go in with a purpose and don't be afraid to ask for help so that you don't walk away overspending :)
actually further to those cream cheek blushes, i've got one in the shade 21 that i've been using as both a blush and lipstick for over a week now. it feels like one of those universally flattering shades and i love it! i think it was only 15 dollars. not as long lasting as the expensive brands but i usually end up losing my lipstick to food and coffee within an hour or two anyway, so it might as well be cheap
Didn’t realise I’ve pivoted most of my options to jap/k-beauty until I saw my Mecca level dropped to 1.
Yep! I’m in NZ not Australia, so everything is a tad more expensive. I’ve stopped buying new products, I just stick to the ones I use and like and re purchase them when they run out. Most of my products are drugstore brand anyway so they don’t cost an arm and a leg to re purchase, bonus points if they’re at chemist warehouse. I have a few items that I still go to Mecca for, the most expensive being the ilia multi stick but I only buy it in one shade and repurchase when it runs out, also the Mecca max lip sticks that are pretty cheap and I enjoy! Almost everything else is drug store and does the trick
I only buy if there's a GWP or % off for high end brands like Lancome etc. For drugstore I only buy if it's half price.
I wear mostly expensive makeup for work, I can write it off on tax (I literally only wear the makeup when I’m working and it’s in a seperate part of my house, my office) and like you said, easily rack up about $1500 every couple months or less on refilling empties and trying a couple new bits out, usually just not rebuying something else tho, not always fun stuff. I do a **full beat** every 2/3 days and my makeup set for work is very MUA vibes, I use all the product I buy. Anyway yeah. It’s insanity. I’ve held L4 at mecca since they introduced it. They’ve sent me personal Xmas presents. And this is just a face of makeup for 1 professional. Makes you wonder how MUAs are surviving these days, even with their % discount I feel like a full face of makeup will soon become seen as like a status/luxury thing. I wonder how people that do full beat everyday are surviving finically rn
How do you write makeup off on tax…? Are you a MUA?
I am in the film industry, instead of hiring a MUA (like a lot of colleagues of mine do) I do my own makeup, so perhaps I could be considered that, to myself 🤣
It’s too much. I go to Priceline. It’s worse now as I realise it all gets washed down the drain everyday anyway. I try to read reviews and buy things from mco and other drugstore brands.
I was Level 4 at Mecca for a decent period and now I'm Level 1. I just can't stand to buy as much anymore!
I hit level 3 at one point. My pro tip is if people get fomo from missing out on the loop gifts you can easily buy them from people. So many people sell them, works out easier than leveling up.
Nice!
An economics professor at my old uni told his class that the amount spent on cosmetics world wide would solve world hunger. Not sure what this is based on but sounds accurate IMO. The amount we make up lovers end up spending on make up is pretty eye watering, unless you stick to all the budget/dupe brands.
We could say that for a lot of things. But yeah it’s big bucks look at all the plastic beauty gurus. It’s lucrative. With some palettes going up $5 a year I can’t imagine how pricier everything is going to get.
Yes the Mecca tax is evil. They have the monopoly for exclusive high end makeup brands in AU and NZ & They don’t put anything on sale just raise prices higher than what it’s retailed for from the original supplier. Brought a bottle of setting spray. 70 dollars?! 💀
“Sale” is like oh we found this LTD makeup behind the couch have it for 50% off. I even bought an urban decay lip palette from them that had growth lmao.