When it comes to your beauty and skincare routine, it’s tough to know which products you should spend on and which you should save on—especially in times like these, when every beauty purchase feels a bit like a splurge. Here’s how to know which expensive beauty products are worth the extra money.
Which expensive beauty product categories are worth the money?
The first way to tackle this problem is easy: By category. Some beauty products simply cost more to produce, so if you’re not spending on them, you know you’re likely to get a lower-quality product. This category can include products like skincare and tools, but the biggest one here is actually fragrance. High-quality perfumes and colognes make great gifts, but they also cost a fair bit to produce. From expensive ingredients to specialized, sought-after formulating perfumers (aka “noses”) and custom-blown glass bottles, you’ll notice that an expensive perfume smells more complex and lasts for longer than a cheap one.
When it comes to expensive perfumes, some of my favourites include Frederic Malle and Tom Ford, who you’ll find in the Best Buy Marketplace alongside other sought-after niche perfumers like Maison Francis Kurkdjian, Byredo, and Killian.
How to get the most out of your perfumes
If there’s a scent that you love, knowing this can help you get the most out of each bottle. Make sure to store your fragrances in a cool, dry place—not the bathroom—and purchase higher-concentration versions for longer wear throughout the day. There is more perfume concentrate in an extrait de parfum than there is in an eau de parfum; more in an eau de parfum than in an eau de toilette; and more in an eau de toilette than in an eau de cologne. As you rise in perfume concentration, you’ll notice that the price tag goes up. But, with that rising price tag, you really do get more in the same amount of fluid ounces.
Fun fact: Many perfume houses, especially the more serious ones, will reformulate the concentrate that they use to create each of these scents. Perfumers know that their scents will perform differently in weaker concentrations, so the “juice” in an eau de toilette may not be identical to that used in an eau de parfum. I find this most noticeable in Chanel, whose scents tend to get more spicy as you go up a grade (e.g. from an eau de toilette to a parfum).
Splurge on your beauty tools
If you’re looking to spoil yourself or someone you love, I always recommend splurging and spending on excellent, high-quality beauty tools. Products like makeup brushes, hair dryers, and flat irons are available at every price point—but you really do notice the difference with the expensive ones. Expensive beauty products really hit their peak, in my opinion, when it comes to a great tool that you’ll use for years.
Perhaps the pinnacle of this phenomenon is the well-loved Dyson Airwrap and Supersonic lines. These are some of the most expensive beauty products you can buy (that are still part of a non-professional line), and for many, they’re worth the money. Check out my review of the Dyson Airwrap Complete if you have any second guesses about the Airwrap line—I loved it and have yet to use another hair tool that’s been as advanced or felt as luxurious to experience!
Spend on high-quality skincare
Like your beauty tools, you can find great skincare at any price point—but you will notice a difference in effectiveness and experience at a higher price point. When you’re spending a little more on skincare, you can expect the formulas to use higher-quality ingredients and contain, if that’s what you’re looking for, a higher percentage of stabilized active ingredients.
I recommend saving on skincare items like body lotion, cleanser, and toner, and spending on products like vitamin C serum, retinol, and sunscreen. The experience of using a beautiful, high-quality product coming out of a perfectly-machined bottle or jar is uniquely satisfying—especially at the end of a long day.
Shop beauty products online at Best Buy.
