You’re being scammed… “luxury makeup” is a lie

Watch the full Makeup Musings playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ad2ZebXp-X4&list=PLTo_pVkRHQ74MIV0Fck2pgl0QnQEfWZ81

I honestly prefer self-service because I don’t feel pressured to buy products. When a salesperson isn’t pushing a product, it’s a lot easier to tell myself, “You don’t need that.”

Presentation is everything. Sephora used to be like dining at a five-star restaurant. Now it’s like grabbing nachos at the airport.

Sephora has lost so many aspects of what felt luxury to me - cracking down on return policies, dirty/messy stores, and yes the Sephora kids affects my experience. It feels much more like shopping at CVS now.

Try this: I kept an empty La Mer eye cream jar (had used it up, liked the packaging and the silver cooling wand) and filled it with a budget eye cream to see if I noticed real differences in the actual product. Nope: I still feel like I’m using a luxury product & have not seen one iota of change under my eyes. Now as I use up my expensive stuff, I wash out the jars and refill them with my cheaper replacements. My vanity looks pretty and I can’t tell a difference in most cases. I’d suggest trying that as an experiment. The placebo effect is real but we can’t deny part of the reason we love luxury products is the feeling we get using it. It’s a good way to know if it’s really the product you love or the feel of owning it.

Going to a counter is not what it used to be. The employees are often covering more than one counter and don’t seem to be the product/brand expert that they used to be.

Cassandra Bankson said that ''bougie is not for the rich...it's for the poor who want to pretend they're rich'' and I pretty much agree. I highly doubt that truly rich, bougie people are watching Mikayla or Glamzilla for reviews on Dior products. Also preconceived assumptions can so easily trick our brains into thinking something is so much better because it costs a lot, has a pretty package or because a Kardashian uses it and hey, if it makes you feel good about yourself it's your money but I guarantee that most of us using Elf aren't suffering from envy.

Customer service is dead. People are so freaking rude at stores, I’d much rather buy online.

Kelly -- you are so right! Retail does not offer a luxury experience but still is charging luxury prices. When I worked Lancome counters in the late eighties and moved to Chanel immediately after, I knew everything about every product each line sold. I kept cards on each significant client, with HUGE amounts of information about them, and they got personalized skin care and makeup regimes or travel samples specifically for them. That was luxury makeup. And the Chanel experience was even more intense, because even at the department store level, it included the beautiful wrapping for one lipstick (generally the cheapest purchase at that time). Repeat customers got early access to holiday makeup specials and gift sets, etc. We knew their birthdays and called them and sometimes had cupcakes and little champagne bottles cold for them if we know they were coming in around a birthday or anniversary -- that is a luxury experience. I can't think of a singly retailer I've been to since the Plague that has offered that level of service. Yes, the Cle de Peau saleswoman at N-M does keep in touch via email -- that it. That is not luxury.

Generally, I like to be left alone while I'm shopping. However, I appreciate it when knowledgeable employees are available when I have a question.

I think it's all about how one defines "luxury." I enjoy quietly shopping online and buying directly from ELF, Physician's Formula, Miliani, etc. They constantly run sales, ship directly to my home, and the products will arrive safely and NOT picked over like in a store these days. If something is broken? They'll work with you to replace it, but I've never had to do that. I like knowing I can take my time to consider my purchase, and that my order will come directly from a clean warehouse. And...I can do all this in my PJs with a hot cup of tea, LOL! ☕

I've probably written this here before, but I had a friend who worked for a make-up company several years back. He told me that they had three lines; a high end one, a mid range one and an inexpensive one. The difference? The packaging. The same product went into all 3 lines and the only difference was the look. Blew my mind. What a scam.

I have to say that I do get a kick out of the Nordstrom employees wrapping my most basic bra purchase in tissue paper, then walking around the counter to hand me my package in a pretty shopping bag.

My biggest pet peeve with drugstore products is flimsy packaging that breaks before I can even put a dent into them. Essence has that a lot.

I think it’s the rewards programs for me, especially ulta. It’s why, unless there’s a sale, I’ll go to ulta

Unrelated but if you’re ever thinking of a different career, something that involves explaining stuff to people would be perfect for you. You’re very articulate

I also own a small business and the experience my customers have opening their package is so important to me. My mom doesn’t understand why I always to want to spend so much on packaging but it’s just important to me for a more “luxury” experience!

Sephora lately don’t even put samples that you are choose into their packages. I reserved multiple packages without samples I choose to receive. It is pathetic.

When I started wearing makeup around 1974, there was drugstore makeup (orange and gross) and department store makeup counters. Now we have middle of the road price points, Indy brands, etc. as well as high end or drugstore products. As long as the shades and textures are up to standard, I’ll find the best value and go with that. I still find that some drugstore products have limited or crude shade ranges, too powdery of a formula and reduced concentration (think mascara) but that’s why it’s great to consider product reviews from content creators like you.

I think one of the reasons people buy luxury items is because they are status symbols. Buying and owning them tell others that you have certain financial resources. Luxury brands don't just sell you an experience, but an opportunity to tell others that you've made it. They sell you a fantasy of success and exclusivity. Funny enough, I think, nowadays, more people from different economic backgrounds are buying luxury items. Luxury brands probably have mixed feelings about this. They are likely to enjoy the increase on sales, but won't like that people who are not "the right people" have their products. I mean some luxury brands are known to burn their unsold products instead of sending them to Marshalls or other places for resale... 😱Not judging anyone who buys luxury (I own a few pieces myself). Sometimes the fantasy keeps you going in a tough world! 😓