When you utter the words "high end", chances are you have began taking a virtual tour via your imagination around your local department store stopping by the likes of Chanel and Tom Ford? I for one wouldn't dispute your nor the general perception of luxury but wouldn't you agree that the lines have began to distort a little?
As a teenager - on a very limited budget - I would spend all my time and spare cash on brands such as Revlon, Bourjois and Maybelline; it was all I could afford and brands such as MAC seemed very much out of reach. Fast forward a few quick years and the price brackets have all but blurred - where there was clear up and lower brands it has all become a little muddled. It is not unheard of to spot a foundation in the likes of Superdrug or Boots (not including Boots prestige brands) for closer to the £20 mark, rather than the more pocket friendly target of £10 - a price that I deem to be the defining mark of the budget category.
If price is not the deciding factor, what about packaging and formulation? Admittedly most - and I do say most as a few launches do slip through the net - high end brands do pour a lot of time and energy into presentation, where as this where the more affordable brands tend to skimp. Or do they? Have you seen a poorly packaged collection from Kiko? No me neither and the products are incredibly affordable too. What about the likes of M.U,A or Make Up Revolution? Both have upped the ante and despite the low price point are well presented and often high quality purchases - admittedly both could do with lowering the sheer volume of dupe products that they produce, and work on more innovative launches, but other than that they are great brands.
So when does a product earn it's high end status stripes? Is it purely the prestige a brand label carries and nothing else, or is there another deciding factor I am missing? At the moment, all I can see is what most would deem "drugstore" brands pricing themselves out of such bracket and the world of affordable make-up becoming that little smaller.
What are your thoughts? Have you noticed that your favourite and once bargainious foundation can no longer be described as such, and what about it being less than easy to find a mascara for under £10 in the likes of Boots and Superdrug?
I usually consider beauty products in the likes of Debenhams/House of Fraser to be high end or anything that's edging over the £30 price mark.
ReplyDeleteI was having this rant to my (not listening) husband just this morning. When did Boots-stocked foundations get to being the wrong side of £15?! These days the price points seem to be fluidly melting in to a "middle" bracket, with little distinguishing between them except brand name, and it can be tricky to work out exactly what you're paying for!
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I was thinking this the other day when looking for a decent drugstore mascara - in the end I decided I didn't want to spend £10-£12 on a Rimmel one, and just go and spend an extra tenner on my trusty Lancome one!! The lines have definitely become blurred!
ReplyDeleteZoe Newlove Beauty Blogger & MUA
I used to roam Boots a lot but these days the prices have gone up to at least minimum £8 per product, even though it's just Maybelline or L'Oreal. To me high-end is stuff like Chanel, Dior etc£ brands that are over the £20 price mark. x
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I find a lot of the typical drugstore brands have gone in price, especially foundations, you can pay upwards of £10 now! Anything from £15/£20 I would consider high end! x
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www.abeautyromance.com
I've been thinking a similar thing lately, I'm sure I used to buy "drugstore" brands and never spend more than about £7 or £8 on a product - now it's often more like £15! The line between drugstore and high-end has definitely become blurred, although to be fair I do think the quality of drugstore products and their ingredients has increased with that.
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This is such a good post, thanks for sharing! <3 :)
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I think reputation, as well as price, are the two things that truly make it high-end
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I think when you are paying 'more' you expect more in value. The quality, recentness in terms of trend or technology. But it all seems to be blurring a bit. Brands like L'oreal, Maybelline, Covergirl are just as good brands as any other. Their options are much more as well.
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I think within the drugstore prices are so varied now, you have the really affordable (foundation for £3) lines and the semi-affordable like L'Oreal and Maybelline and then the more high end like Vichy etc. For me high end products are sold in Selfridges, John Lewis, House of Fraser, Debenhams and Harrods. That is how I differentiate. If a brand is sold in those stores it is high end, that's why I love Boots because it contains brands that are sold in House of Fraser like Benefit and Clinique but also a huge variety of drugstore brands as well. A thought-provoking post though, you can get NYX in Selfridges now which I would consider "drugstore", but the contour palette is £18! That is a high end price in my opinion.
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YES! My drugstore purchases which used to be affordable are definitely being priced on the higher end of bargain these days. There's still a few brands, like e.l.f. and NYC that are true drugstore prices but all the others are super expensive anymore...to the point where I only buy when there are offers anymore! Great post! XO -Kim
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very good became my favorite :) love you very much
ReplyDeleteI never really thought about this before. I think to me 'high end' is more exclusive. So if you can't just rummage about it yourself, or it's harder to get it's more high end. So MAC you can rummage, but it's more exclusive. And I still see TheBalm as high end because it's not as easily accessible (although it is in a number of Superdrug stores now). If Boots/Superdrug sell it readily, I see it as drugstore (even if a foundation is going to cost me up to £15) but if it's got a stand alone stall with 'experts', I see it more high end. I guess that's how I see it anyway.
ReplyDeleteSophie x | Essential Twenty
I feel like there are definitely 3 categories in beauty. Drugstore (MUA, Revlon, Maxfactor) all of these have one thing in common, self serve. The products are cheaper so the service is less. Premium (Benefit, MAC, NARS, bareMinerals) slightly higher price point but along with that you get serviced counters 9 times out of 10 and better quality. Then truly high end (Tom Ford, Chanel, Sisley) the price is way up there but usually so is the quality. Interesting though I think service is better with premium brands rather than high end.
ReplyDeleteRobyn | www.robynlouiiise.com
great post I thoroughly enjoyed reading it! i completely agree with you where does the line end or begin! Drug store prices are getting out of reach!
ReplyDeleteDrugstore makeup has become so expensive, sometimes I just don't bother and buy high-end brands. There are usually gifts with purchase so it's all the best for me. I remember when I was a teenager an eyeliner pencil was around 2-3$ and now it is almost 10$!!!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean! Sometimes buying a full-price Max Factor mascara is virtually the same price as going with what you'd consider to be 'high end' usually. Likewise, there are drugstore lip products that are £10 now so I feel like I may as well spend the extra £5.50 on MAC. I've realised that I really love sort of 'mid range' brands like Zoeva and KIKO :) xx
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Nice post, I hate that being beautiful is getting increasingly expensive. Your right i love the cheap brands like MUA and MU REV who know were all suckers for aesthetic packaging so they dont scrimp. two of my favourite every day products are from MU REV at £1 each! and they far from poor quality!
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Robyn xxx
It's definitely a hard one to tell, but I know for me buying high end is a treat, it's all about the joy of owning it - so some brands just don't excite me, therefore I just don't buy from them. I have also found myself not buying from the higher end of the drugstore anymore, brands like Maybelline all I can think to myself is that MAC is only £5 more expensive... So I'm either low end (seventeen is a favourite) or higher like UD or Too Faced. Now a brand that really does sit on a fence is the balm. Can buy it from superdrug or Debenhams??? The craziness!
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It all depends what your budget is. Some people think £20 is expensive while others think it's pocket change. £20 is still "drugstore" in my opinion; as a general rule, anything over £40+ could be considered high end. When we talk about high end we're not really talking about the price though, rather the name and branding.
ReplyDeleteI don't class MAC or Urban Decay as high end (it's pretty cheap, not so far off drugstore prices) but names like Tom Ford, Shu Uemura, Dior, Chanel, YSL, etc. fall under that category in my opinion.
I sometimes get a little bit confused as well! I believe the boundaries have been becoming a lot more blurry over the past few years! Mac has always confused me, I believe it sits somewhere in the middle, and Kiko puts so much effort into their packaging that they could almost fit into the high end category!
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The prices have gone up! My foundation is £15 and when I was younger I could get one for £5.99! Mascara is way to expensive in Boots now! KIKO has become on of my favorite brands, the packaging is stunning and the products are amazing + the price is perfect! Fix Me In Forty Five - A Beauty & Lifestyle Blog
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xx
i couldnt say it better!
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This is quite a difficult one to be honest! I think I often go by brand as to whether something is high-end etc. So Rimmel/Bourjois etc would be drugstore for want of a better word, MAC/Clinique for high-end and then the likes of Tom Ford/Guerlain etc I would refer to as luxury. Price wise about £15 plus for high-end and maybe about £25-£30 plus for luxury x
ReplyDeleteBecky @ The Little Blog of Beauty
I always think of it being in 3 categories Drugstore/High end/Luxury
ReplyDeleteBut i do agree with the blurry lines look at mascaras for one they can be anything up to £15 and thats just drugstore!
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