When Does a Beauty Product Become High End

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.

When Does a Beauty Product Become High End

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?