Budget v Splurge . Is it worth it.

[Adoree]

I've always been a more of a budget type . Body Lotions around a fiver , foundations less than £15 , bog standard shampoos / conditioners etc.

However , whilst not going high end , I've tried going up a notch , so Loccitane / Molton Brown handwash & body lotion , Liz Earle cleanser , that sort of thing.
I've noticed that the handwash / body lotions have longer lasting fragrance etc , but they don't do anything more than the cheaper end stuff. The body lotions haven't transformed my skin or improved it .

What makes you buy the slightly dearer stuff ? Do you think it's better than budget ?
What brands are they ?
Once I've used my Loccitane / Molton Brown handwash (I bought both to compare )
I'll be happy to go back to my Baylis & Harding and Faith in Nature as I can't really see the difference !

I have dry skin and hated every cheaper facial moisturiser I tried (always felt sticky and/or didn’t help my dry skin) so started shifting up price wise. They were still mostly horrible but then Dermalogica was suggested to me by my hair dresser. Love it and will never change. That was 10 years ago. It’s pricey but not eye watering.

My DH is a Molton Brown devotee, whereas I will happily use any old cheapo stuff in the bath/shower. MB lasts much, much longer and the cheap ones are very watery by comparison. So MB is better from a packaging waste perspective if nothing else. Personally I don’t rate L’Occitane and I don’t rate MB body lotions either, but i buy body lotion & hand cream for performance rather than fragrance and actively dislike strongly scented creams.

I think for me it depends where it’s ‘worth it’.

I don’t mind spending if the product is particularly effective or I just really enjoy it (like it smells nice or feels good on). But I don’t spend on stuff where there’s a cheaper alternative that’s just as good or better. I have a mix of high street and more expensive items.

For skincare there are a few things that really work for me and I don’t mind spending money on. With haircare, I just use a basic shampoo as I never notice the different with expensive shampoo but I buy a more expensive conditioner. For bath products I really enjoy certain scents so will buy them.

Some things are worth it, some are not. For me:

I think more expensive make-up is worth it - goes on better, looks more even, lasts longer.

I spend a lot on my hair care products because I have bleached and toned hair which needs professional shampoo to keep in good condition and not fall out in clumps

I don't find body lotion, body wash, soap and the like at all worth spending extra money on. I will sometimes splash out on expensive body lotion for the smell though as a treat to myself.

I go mid-range on face products - CeraVe products.

I really like Laura Mercier makeup so will happily splash out in that. And Bravura London products keep my somewhat troublesome skin in check. But I’ve got really short hair so don’t care what shampoo I use, prefer bar soap to shower gel and hand wash and any old body lotion will do so it probably evens itself out.

More expensive rarely equals better. I buy many of my beauty products from independent brands on Amazon and filter by reviews. A lot are from other countries and are just amazing!
Soap wise, not sure it really matters. Just put whatever into a Molton brown empty bottle and add some brown colouring if you want it fancy! All does the same thing. The only thing I will ever splurge on is retinol products, skin makeup and SPF.

Some things are worth it, others aren't.

For me, expensive shower gel isn't worth it. Occasionally I might buy an expensive body lotion (like Jo Malone for example), which I would wear instead of a perfume - so buying for the fragrance rather than the effectiveness of the moisturiser (although they are nice moisturisers too)

I find that things like lipsticks are often better if you spend more. Cheap ones dry my lips out.

Fragrance in body products mean very little to me - especially body wash, it just goes down the drain. More importantly I look at whether I need that product at all. I use rhassoul mud for washing hair and hair oil (a couple of drops) for moisture and it works very well for me, so I don't really need shampoos/conditioners. I like non-fragranced body creams and I'll add my own fragrance if I want to. It's more the functionality of it - I do find a couple of body creams very nice to use and if I want to treat myself I buy those, but otherwise cerave works great. For hand wash I use soaps, but my family use any bog standard hand wash. For makeup however, I'll spend for quality, as it does make a difference in its colours or texture.

Make up I do find spending more makes a difference. There’s the odd cheapo star and definitely plenty of expensive duds but in general the best make up is at the pricier end, not necessarily top end prices but definitely NARS or MAC level of cost rather than Rimmel level.

A few things for me in recent years and months I've upgraded.

Moisturiser and face oil brand called Balance Me.

For the moisturiser oil a serum and face balm it's around £150 however I have them on subscription so it's not all four every month. Definitely worth it for my dryer perimenopausal skin.

Brows and lashes.

I've recently had powder brows/micro blading done and have to say it was the best £200 spent. It completely changes my face in regards to making my eyes look brighter and having lashes done aswell means hardly any time in the mornings and I still
Look younger and brighter faced

Lashes are around £50 a month.

Oh and agree Cerave is a lot better than many of the top end skincare products. In general I would pick some of the more “medical” ranges - La Roche Posay, Cerave, Cetaphil, Dermalogica - over designer names for skincare.

I splurge on things where I find the quality / more expensive ingredients makes a difference to my hair / skin etc and/or if it means the product lasts longer.

I think it can be quite specific to an individual though. For example, I have problem hair especially now I'm menopausal and when I use Kerastase shampoo and conditioner, it makes a tangible difference to my hair's look and feel. I'm never going to get the same results with cheaper products (believe me, I've tried!). Someone with more 'normal' hair is probably fine with Tresemme etc.

I like fragranced products and will spend more on good quality ones where the fragrance lasts longer. I tend not to do that with shower gel although I do sometimes makes an exception for Sol de Janiero and Elemis shower gels as the bathroom smells so lovely afterwards and the smell lasts for ages.

I have oily but sensitive skin so I buy high end make-up because the cheaper stuff tends not to last or isn't good for my skin.

Years ago I used to like Molton Brown but when they were sold in 2005, I thought the quality dropped significantly so I no longer buy their products (apart from for my father who likes to wash his hair with their shower gel!!😳)