What beauty brands do you think are overrated and overpriced?

[Mmmmmmmchips]

For me it’s
Molten Brown

Bare Minerals. Utter shite.

If you like Jo Malone then take a look at Perfume Parlour dupes. I am very exacting about scent and I cannot tell the difference.

Jo Malone (or NoMalone as we call her on the perfumista thread) Probably most successful marketeer though. Put a very average and linear easy to copy product in ten ton of snazzy black and cream packaging and stick a hefty price tag on.

Benefit mascara. I want to have eyelashes not look like a panda who has been crying in the rain.

The Ordinary- also fell for the hype (and I firmly believe a lot of the threads on here are product placement plants, as are Saltwater sandal threads and numerous others) funny how they recommend about 15 different treatments innit? Or maybe not...

Elemis marine cream. Smells lovely, but is a watery lotion (don't know they can call it a cream) it made my skin.bobble due to all the 'cones.

However, I love Lush bubble bars. I adore Liz Earle products and treat myself to L'Occitane Divine Cream every so often. (I love the LE C&P smell, whilst the Superdrug "dupe" is very highly perfumed and itchyscratchy on me.

Oh yes, Bare Minerals..Barbara Cartland gets Tango'd. Awful stuff.

Jo Malone

There was a program last year and the person on air was a die hard MB fan.

I’m a blind test they couldn’t however tell the difference between MB and B&H

All beauty stuff is overinflated and overpriced yes.

But there are some that are worse than others

I like the beauty boxes M&S do as they are perfect for trying high end beauty brands without committing to full size products. I can honestly say I would only buy 2 of the products that seem worth a full size purchase from all the boxes I've had!

Body Shop products I think are mostly good if you buy at 40% off.

Massively overrated is everything I've tried by Gatineau!

The Aldi cleanser is an exact dupe of the liz earle cleanse and polish.

Perfume parlour stuff smells just like JL but apparently you can only smell it when your nose is half a mm from your skin, something to do with them not using alcohol.

Think I agree with pp - if I'd used nothing but soap, water & suncream for the past few decades I'd probably look exactly the same!

Jo Malone & creme de la mere. Shame it took so long for me to work it out.

Charlotte Tilbury - total hype
Benefit
Sunday Riley
Most of the brands hyped by Hirons and crew.

Molton Brown, in a big way. I used to like it, but it was never worth the money, and the prices are even higher now. A shop has opened in my town and it is always, always empty. Even the day before Mother's Day. It won't last much longer.

PP Jo Malones (at least the 6 or so I have) last loads longer on the skin than JMs do. They aren't the most long-lasting perfumes (the JM dupes that is, their others can be monsters for sillage) because the original JMs are so "plain" and linear.

I do still like a lot of Body Shop things, but would never buy at full price. The chamomile cleanser is fabulous, and the Oils of Life oil is lovely and really plumps my skin. (I know it's still overpriced as you could buy all the plain oils and make your own but I can't be faffed)

Anyone mentioned Tom Ford and his perfume yet? Gets about as much love as No Malones on the perfumista thread. (also available on Perfume Parlour and loads better than the real thing! We don't work for the PP on the perfumistas, honest! We just like a bargain!)

My rule is the higher the price the (proportionately) crappier the product.

Molton Brown is just soap with colouring and irritating perfume.

In reality I am deeply envious of the balls of cosmetic companies selling dreams and making absolute fortunes . I wish I could sell lies and get away with it . Harsh but true.

Maybe in a minority but I can see a real difference when I'm wearing charlotte tilbury

Jo Malone.

I really struggle to understand why people repeat buy. Most of their scents don’t last and have little sillage because they are colognes. They are not perfumes. A £90 bottle contains maximum of £2 of Perfume oil. They have 5% Perfume oil compared to the 20% in proper perfumes. Nowt wrong with a good cologne but they should cost £10 a bottle, not £90.

Other perfumes are worth the money. The Chanel, Dior classics have about £40 of oil each. The niche houses possibly more. I’m not convinced that Tom Ford are great quality- I think there’s a massive mark up.

So in perfumery, the lesson is spending more does not guarantee quality. However lots of expensive perfumes are worth the money because a little goes a long way.

So you’re better buying cheap copies of the overpriced perfumes. Or saving up for a small bottle of high quality perfume with a good concentration of expensive perfume oil.

My other nominations for overpriced brands/ products are:

Charlotte Tillbury
Chanel nail varnishes
Stackers jewellery boxes

REN

@LibertyBlue I get my Jo Malone copies from PerfumeParlour and they do last as they are all perfume!

I see Perfume parlour has lots of fans!

BelleandBeast No Malone is one of the most popular dupes on Perfume Parlour because (a) the scents are usually spot on (b) they have better longevity than the real thing. They are simple, so very easy and cheap to copy. A 50ml spray costs £12 which is about right for a cologne.

@Lanaa I completely forgot about Constance Carrol! 😆

Elemis - doesn't do anything for my skin
Clarins -foundation bought me out in spots

Urban decay. I've no idea why people continue to recommend a £39 eyeshadow pallete to every single person that asks for recommendations. They're ok but not even remotely worth the price.