The Advantages of Buying Drugstore Makeup

It may feel glamorous to buy your makeup from the cosmetics counter at a swanky department store, but the glow will quickly fade when the credit card bill arrives.  The cost of high end designer makeup brands such as Estee Lauder and Lancome can really take a bite out of your budget and it may not be worth the free samples they throw in with your purchase or the glamorous bag you carry out of the store.  The reality is that drugstore makeup can provide many of the same benefits as designer cosmetics if chosen properly.

It might surprise you to learn that drugstore makeup may come off of the same assembly line as the designer makeup lines you buy at cosmetic counters.  Although they may not have the same fancy packaging or a big name on the cover, it may be the same product that’s sold at the cosmetic counter of your local department store.  The key is to learn to recognize a quality cosmetic product, regardless of its packaging.

One of the advantages of buying makeup at the cosmetics counter is the opportunity to try it on before you buy it.  In most cases, you’re not going to have the opportunity to do this if you purchase drugstore makeup.  Although you may find testers for a few products, the selection will be limited and even if you find a tester you’ll have a hard time locating a mirror to see how it goes with your skin.  By the way, it’s best to try these products only on your hand for sanitary reasons.

The other frustrating drawback of buying drugstore makeup is the color that’s shown on the outer packaging for lipsticks and blush is almost never the color you get when you open the container.  Keep in mind that because you can’t see the color you’re going to make some mistakes.  The good news is most drugstores have a 100% satisfaction return policy on cosmetic items even if you’re used them.  It seems even they realize how difficult it can be to select makeup at a drugstore.  Once you’ve made your mistakes and found products that really work for you, you can buy them regularly with confidence and realize a significant savings.

When buying drugstore makeup, it’s important to consider which products are best purchased there and which ones are best bought at a cosmetic counter.  In general, items like mascara, eyeshadow, eyeliner, lipstick, lip liner, and nail polish if chosen well will be of good quality if purchased from a drugstore.  If you buy from a reputable company such as Loreal or Almay you’re going to get quality comparable to what you’ll find at most cosmetic counters.

Items you may want to purchase at a cosmetic counter are foundation, powder, and, possibly blush.  These are items you’ll want to try before buying and they’re the products most likely to be of better quality at a cosmetic counter.  Selecting a suitable foundation shade can be tricky and buying at a department store allows you to enlist the help of the makeup specialist.

If you’ve always purchased cosmetics from a cosmetic counter and want to save a little money, give drugstore makeup a try.  Before purchasing, verify that you can return an item if it doesn’t work for you.  This will allow you to experiment a little and discover colors that really work for you.  Once you’ve found products that work, you can buy them on a consistent basis. Your reward?  You’ll no longer have to dread the credit card bill arriving.