Showing posts with label beauty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beauty. Show all posts

Friday, July 15, 2016

How to Get Your Money's Worth from Beauty and Personal Care Products

According to a recent Washington Post article, most American women are more likely to buy luxe beauty products over clothing. However, I recommend using samples first. Shaking brand loyalty is a little more difficult to do.

I spend hundreds each year on personal care products and cosmetics, but most upscale brands simply cost too much for the average person, myself included, to grab on a whim. With Sephora letting customers have up to three samples per in-store visit and plenty of competitors giving away free trial sizes online, I am part of a new wave of consumers the common retailer may struggle to engage. 

Poor packaging only compounds the pricing pain point. Why would I buy something that is not only difficult to use, wasteful even, and expensive? Before throwing out that next shampoo bottle, open the cap and take a look inside. You will be surprised by how much is left- that's a lot of discarded money over time.

Nars Satin Lip Pencil (deluxe sample shown) retails for $26 for 0.07 oz

The solution? Scissors, in most cases. In the above, I used a matchstick after cutting the sample open because anything else would have been too large. A small spatula with an extended handle is cost-effective and can get the job done too.

MDSolarSciences Mineral Tinted Crème Broad Spectrum SPF 30 UVA-UVB: $32 for 1.7 oz.

It may seem petty and cheap to bother, but doing this greatly extends the "life" of most products by 3-5 days on average, and full-sized products even longer. In short, you will notice a cost difference over time. Your bank account balance will thank you.