I have regrets buying luxury makeup. I am not buying something better anymore, I am just buying a name. You could say I was trying to buy some memories of my youth. A time when makeup existed in a drugstore or department store existence, no in-betweens. (Wait, there was door-to-door with Avon but let's just ignore that.)
The following are my luxury purchases from Armani, Chantecaille, YSL, and Gucci. I can't say I bought better. I bought the names. The formulations didn't wow me like they did in my youth. Back then, department store brands not only meant luxury, they meant better products. Now, everything is different.
These luxury products are okay. I didn't feel special when I used them.
The Gucci bronzer in Light was too orange.
The Gucci Highlighter in Sunrise Gold, although a duochrome of white gold and red, was just a bit thin and sheer. I accidentally dropped it, and the powder ended up in a dirty corner where there was a dead spider! EWWW! Yeah, I threw that away! I guess the makeup spirits were telling me I didn't need it.
The YSL Highlighter in Lavender Lust is powdery and more of lilac pink and not lavender. This is the old version with talc. I think they came out with the reformulated version without talc.
The Chantecaille Mermaid Eyeshadow in Olivia is nice but somehow it emphasizes the wrinkles. I actually ended up mixing this with another K beauty eyeshadow and it turned out so much smoother and better! I had to do something since I wasn't going to waste the $40 I spent on the 4 grams.
The Armani Eye Tint in 18M Beige was just awful. I should have returned it but it was too late. It just made my eye area look dry, and it applied patchy. I tried it with a finger, brush, sponge. Nothing worked. I closed my eyes and threw that one out! I guess I was trying to throw my anger into the trash.
Exploration Makeup
For the past couple of years I had been exploring several Asian beauty brands. Yes, I strayed from my pro brands. I haven't strayed from my philosophy of minimizing my stash though. However, I will admit, finding what works for my skin and my emotions with makeup can be a wasteful process for the wallet. I didn't go wild and get myself in debt, but that money could have gone towards better things. Knowing this, I have decided to tighten my wallet a bit. I have also learned certain characteristics of brands which allowed me to decide which brands I would like to repurchase and which ones I would distance myself from.
And, this brings me back to luxury brands. I haven't been to Sephora in ages and not to mention Nordstrom. I just can't wander around counter to counter or row between rows of beauty products anymore because they will never have what I want. Mostly, I mean colorwise. Pan appeal is the most important for these brands. Everything ends up a bit too warm for my tastes. Also, the meaning of cool tone isn't pink. Pink is a warm tone in color theory. It is made up a warm primary color red with some white mixed in to make it a tint. A color needs to have a blue, the only cool tone primary. Even some of the blue becomes warm from these brands, thus the pan appeal.
Then, the Asian brands entered. The simple color charts of cool to warm, light to dark. Simple! Next, were the formulations. Oh, how I loved them. They were lightweight and much smoother than many of the luxury brands. The luxury brands knew about this too! Many of the products now are made in Korea.
I perused the Nordstrom site during the Anniversary sale (which I skipped completely) and noticed the new Armani blush. Cute and plump! Looks like a propane tank. For a luxury brand it costs $39 for 8 grams. Then look at where it was made. KOREA!
It would make sense since L'Oreal owns Armani and any brand it owns is manufactured by Cosmax which is some Maybelline products are made in Korea. Cosmax also has a hand in the Olive Young house brand Wakemake. Olive Young, L'Oreal, Urban Decay, Maybelline, they are all connected.
Look at Nars (Shiseido owned. I believe Cosmax manufactures their products too.), their mini size Multiples are also made in Korea. I don't know if the new reformulated full-sized ones are also manufactured there, but you might want to check.
Many high end brands have Korean formulations. Why should I pay that much money when I can get the same or even better formulation for a third of the price? I don't care about the plastic container with the luxury name stamped or embedded onto it. It won't change my life for the better.
The Explorer in Me
Most of these Asian brands have very little pigment. I know many complain. I don't because I think first of the formula. I love mixing, especially with pro brands.
My Sian Richards lip palette I do not regret purchasing it at all. The pigmentation and the formula is pure pro. However, sometimes I wish I could find it easier to apply. This is where I used one of the K beauty blushes from Hince - Hince Half Moon blush in Lilac.
Many K Beauty (Korean Beauty) and C Beauty (Chinese Beauty) brands are now formulating their blushes partially like a face primer. (By the way, some of these work great as a soft neutralizer before the actual concealer!) The feel of the product is so smooth and easy to use and since the pigment is so muted, it is perfect to just give a slight boost to a mixture with Sian Richards lip colors.
You can see the result of the mixture. The color is softer because the texture of the mix is now easier to work with for the average makeup consumer. I wore this mixture on my cheeks and it lasted all day.
That is how I can use my Asian beauty products. I haven't abandoned my pro products. I can't, especially when I think of a single purchase from Sephora could cost more than the price of a pro product like Sian Richards. I rather have the no-nonsense pro quality and volume than a measly 3 gram of lipstick in some fancy case.
Luxury makeup just doesn't have a place in my life anymore, and my wallet is happy about that!
If you find mistakes in my brand manufacturing, please correct me.
