Beauty on a Budget
Which products should you splurge on and where can you save your pennies..
How many of you have stood in the drugstore for over twenty minutes comparing name brand skin care to the store brand counterparts? I know I’m not the only one! I mean, the label clearly says to “compare to XXXX” and so I do, ingredient-by-ingredient and claim-by-claim. I want to spend less because who doesn’t but I also want the same quality and benefits. After spending enough time in CVS for the stock boy to think that we’re dating, I have read enough labels and tried enough products to come to a conclusion- the store brands rarely measure up to the real thing. When it comes to store brands, its price first and quality second. As long as the product is “close” to the name brand then it’s acceptable which in all honesty is good enough for some products- but not all.
Basic needs like cleansing, toner and moisturizing can be taken care off with store brand products. You may notice slight differences but not enough to pay the difference. You want to save those bucks for the treatment items because that’s where store brands fall short.
When it comes to treatments, all are not created equal! The look, smell, and feel of the store brands may match the name brands (hopefully) but the quality and effectiveness are questionable. The difference usually comes down to the type of the ingredients being used such as true extracts that actually do something versus “whiffle dust”. True extracts are analyzed to prove that they contain an active component while “whiffle dust” extracts serve no purpose other than to look good on the ingredient label (the trophy wives of skin care). How much of the stuff is being use is another factor. The good stuff is not cheap therefore store brands aren’t likely to use high enough levels to do the job. It’s difficult to keep the price down if you load the products with high priced ingredients at active levels.
Opting for cheaper alternatives can impact the skin in unexpected ways- sometimes for the good but also sometimes for the bad. Cleansing and moisturizing with store brands is pretty safe but don’t skimp when it comes to treating your skin!
