This will come as no huge surprise to you, but some fancy products aren't worth the money. (I know, shocking, right?) I always like to find products of good value, but there are some things that you never need to splurge on. Next week, I'll share some beauty products that are worth their price. But for now, read on to find out which things are just as effective as their costly counterparts.
Nail polish
Sad to say, Chanel polish doesn't warrant the $19 price tag. You can get great results without spending more than $10, or even five bucks. Essie, CND, and OPI are all great choices. Sally Hansen and Revlon also make long-lasting polishes for about $5. Why pay more than you have to?
For three more cheapies, read more.
Facial cleansers
It makes sense to invest in a good night cream, since that'll be on your face all night. But a cleanser? You put it on and rinse it off in less than a minute, washing money down the drain. I recently tried Olay Regenerist cleanser and was floored by the quality — not to mention the price. And every dermatologist I've talked with recommends Purpose or Cetaphil.
Body scrubs
Ditto body scrubs, unless you absolutely love the fragrance (and can afford to shell out $30, $40, $50 for a fancy one). I once tried a $95 body scrub, but it did nothing that my drugstore scrub didn't do. And to keep your bank account fat and happy, you can make your own scrub.
Pencil lip liners
The difference between a Wet 'n' Wild liner and one that costs $24 is usually minimal — if it even exists at all. Although I find that certain nonpencil liners go on more smoothly and stay longer than their cheaper counterparts, most pencils behave in pretty much the same way. So try a cheap version before splurging on a department-store brand. At best, you've found a huge bargain; at worst, you're out a buck or two.

















Bikkembergs
7 For All Mankind
Jimmy Choo
I have to agree on the nail polish-not worth the cash.
Although I like my extra $$ MAC lip pencils. I've tried some over the counter and they bleed or don't wear very long.
1Love Cetaphil Gentle Facial Cleanser. Body scrub I use Kosher Salt with olive oil.
2And no matter what my friend says or the people at Sephora or the MAC or Benefit counter I do not need a lip liner. My lip stand out enough. They were lined by nature, they are as my brother says "bee-stung" and lipstick stays put. Whenever a professional makeup does my makeup they pull out the lip liner then they look closer and just put it away and pull out a brush and brush on the lipstick from the tube. Lip liner makes me look cartoony.
Rather astonishing, but I don't own even a single lip liner... it's just unnecessary! But yeah, these things are a bit silly to spend loads on. Body Shop is about as expensive as I'll go for cleanser and body scrub.
3i have two different lip liners, but the truth is, i never use them. i just dont see the point...
4My cheap beauty items I must have are
5St. Ives Apricot Facial scrub...
99 cent pretty Nail polish remover....
99 cent Vo5 Silky experience Champagne kiss shampoo and conditioner (granted I pair that with $25 Aveda Damage Remedy Intensive Restructuring Treatment).... Believe it or not its the best combination for my hair.
Bella, I see where you're coming from but to be honest, I don't think I could part with my expensive beauty products.
6As for the lipliner thing, I don't like or wear lipstick, i'm more of a natural makeup girl- so it's all good (:
I love OPI nail polishes; gorgeous colors; I also buy the 0.99 cent Wet N' Wild nail polishes. I don't use lip liner...yet. I might buy the clear one from Duwop however I'm more of a lip gloss person. I also love the .99 jars of Queen Helene Cocoa Butter at the DS; wonderful and cheap.
7I love Revlon nail polish. It's my very favorite.
8I agree with everything you've stated above
I would never shell out$19 for NAIL polish even if it IS CHANEL (which i adore) I'll stick to OPI and Essie which are my favs! Sally hansen is great also!!!
I have to comment on pencils though..While lip liner pencils might not be something to splurge on of course...EYE pencils ARE!
You might already be covering this in your "what to Splurge on" post but ANYTHING you put near your eyes should be read carefully and have all the properties that are not pore clogging and safe for contact wearers (whether you wear them or not) they dont have to be EXPENSIVE per se but if they dont state that they are safe dont buy them
I find that MAC eye pencils are the best
9Never ever pay for $19 nail polish! Expensive doesn't mean better! And eye pencils are worth the extra $$$.
10Thank you Bella!!!!!!! These are great tips!!!!! ThePerfectScore, I'm totally going to try the Vo5 and Champagne Kiss Shampoo and Conditioner!!!
I totally envy the girls that do not need lip-liners!! My lips are full but very pale - so, unfortunately I have to line them or else I could be able to say. "read my lips' to someone when they bug me
J/K lol. My sister was actually told by Bobbie Brown herself (at some
Neiman Marcus customer appreciation brunch in chicago - too bad Ulta does not have a meet and greet with Sally Hansen b/c that's the extent of my cosmetic purchases these days - hee hee J/K
slightly), and it seems much to Bobbie's chagrin my sister is one of those lucky lady's who does not even need to wear eye shadow!!!!! Again, I am not that fortunate so when I go out I need
to wear eye make-up ( which I only slightly spurge on - I get the Smashbox sets!!! they're great and 'reasonable' for all you get in their sets!!!)
P.S. My favorite cost cutting item is Vaseline - I use it for an eye make-up remover, put it on my lips and cuticles at night and my elbows and the heals of my feet too (or wherever my skin is effected by winter dryness!!! Oh, and my second favorite is Sally Hansen Lip gloss!!!! It works just as good if not better then any of the expensive brands (who shall remain nameless) that i have tried!!!
11Good tips. I use OPI, Essie, Maybelline Salon Finish and am actually in the process of trying Mac polish ($10 or so) now (so far so good!). I wouldn't pay $19 for polish although it'd be kind of tempting for a moment just because of the Chanel logo.
12I agree on most of these. I refuse to spend a lot on nail polish, I used to only use orly because it didnt use certain chemicals since i have very weak nails, but now sally hansen does the same thing (and hard as wraps is AWSOME)
dont need lip pencils, never really understood that....and as for body scrub, i love the expensive ones...on sale! haha other wise its all the same to me
but i wont part with my nice face cleanser. i LOVE my aveda one, but then again im prone to breakouts or dryness and this one just works for me. plust i love the scent ^___^
13Although Chanel nail polish is super expensive the only only I ever bought was Chanel Black Satin and I love it.
14This is really true that when I read somewhere here that there is a facial cleanser that costs over a $100 , I was stunned. That's really ridiculous to pay such a price for something you just have to take off after putting it on your face for 20 seconds
15Nail polish is the same I think no matter what the cost. It just doesn't stay on long enough. I think the Wet and Wild nail polish lasts longer than more expensive brands.
16I can't live without my Chanel nailpolish.
17I don't think you even need to pay for body scrubs, but some can be very very gloppy and sticky.
You can buy nail polish anywhere.
18I use OPI polish on the regular, but nothing more expensive. Actually, I get my sister to take me to the professionals store so I get them for like $3 since she's a licensed nail tech.
I don't do lip stick anymore and I haven't bought lip liner in ages
I'm still working out the cleanser situation, but you're right Bella. My dermatologist did tell me to use Purpose a few years ago.
My fave body scrubs are the ones by 100% Pure. I think they run about $18 for a jar, but I can't give those up. They truly are %100 pure (no chemicals at all!) and they make you feel like butter afterwards. No extra moisturizing required.
19I totally agree about the nail polish...I like Essie, it's the only brand I really buy.
As for cleanser, I'm very devoted to my Cetaphil and it's only about $10. Can't beat that.
Body scrubs...I have a few that I like and use, none were too $$.
I don't use lipliner, so that one, I wouldn't really know about. The only one I even own is by Stila, one of their lipglaze liners, and I won it from Lucky magazine.
20yeah i agree with everything but the faciacl cleanser one. some ppl are prone to breakouts and can't use regular cleaners so in that case, i say splurge. whatever works for your skin, is what you should buy. plus some facial cleaners don't get all of the makeup off of your face so the type of cleaner you buy is pretty important.
21*facial
*cleanser
ohh typos. such annoyance
22i only buy the wet n wild nailpolish from walmart. it's like 80 - 99 cents!
thanks for posting about the facial cleanser. i always used cetaphil, but they now changed the formula and my face is breaking out!! i'll have too look into purpose or another reasonably priced cleanser
23I totally agree with these four products!!!
24The best scrub I have ever used was the one I make myself: sugar and lemon juice. The lemon juice helps exfoliate my skin and the sugar is obviously a skin smoother. I have problematic skin and I definitely got results in smoothing out the texture right away, which also helps clear it up.
25After using OPI and ESSIE polish, I will spend extra for Chanel. The color is rich, long lasting and application is smooth. Some things are worth more.
26I agree Bella. The only thing of this three that I thought is very important and has to be in high quality is the cleansers
27I just splurged on a body scrub from Bliss, but it is soooo worth it. I used to use the St Ives stuff and I notice a difference with the Bliss stuff!
Nail polish, I couldn't agree more. I could never see myself buying polish that costs more than seven bucks, tops.
Never use lip liner - gloss girl here, and besides, my lips are also full enough to where a liner would (and has) looked cartoony.
28e.l.f. nail polishes are AWESOME! and they're cheap too, only $1 !!
29^ they're formaldehyde/toluene free as well.
30In Europe (at least the UK and Sweden) Essie and OPI nail polishes are about $18 per bottle and considered really fancy. It feels ridiculous considering they're so cheap over in the US...
31I would never spend a lot on nail polish (love OPI)...
I use Dove (bar of soap) to wash my face (and LOVE the results) so I save a lot of money there. I also use Cetaphil as my lotion... not to save the money but because it works. Saving money is just the plus!
I don't own and would not buy lip liner.
32LOVE Essie, although, I'd like a bottle of Chanel Vamp. I just can't justify it though because I have a similar Essie color, and I know no one is paying very close attention to my nails anyway except me.
I love Alba body scrub--it's all-natural, no chemical additives, and you can get it at most grocery or health food stores.
Agree on lip liner. I rarely use mine, and when I do, it's a cheapie nude color.
I have acne-prone skin, and I like Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash. Also Almay makeup remover pads, Olay moisturizer, Clearasil or Oxy cream. I used to buy very expensive products until I read The Skin Type Solution and found that many products perfect for my skin are cheaper than what I was using. I splurge on a sulfer mask, Ole Henrickson Enlighten, and sunblock, though.
33thanks bella for the great tips! i too don't believe in spending a lot of money on certain products. I love Aveeno positively radiant cleanser ($7?) and for day moisturizer, oil of olay with spf. Both of these products were recommended by my derm along with cetaphil and purpose. For my night cream I really love RoC Protient Fortify Lift and Define Night Cream ($14 at drugstore.com). I signed up for testtube beauty and they sent me a full size sample of it and i loved it. I do however believe that it is better to by more expensive eyeshadows, blushes, lipsticks and lipglosses. I think the pigments are better.
34Well, considering Chanel nailpolish constantly gets low ratings by reviewers in wearability and duration (I even think one was featured here a while ago), I'll stick w my Essie.
35bath and body works makes a great sugar scrub for $20. in mandarin lime, it's delicious!
36I agree with everything on that list, and I would add mascara to the list as well. I never tried a department store brand that worked better than the drugstore versions.
37I'm always surprised by the number of people who say "I would never..."! When I look for a nail polish or a lipliner, my number one concern is color and finish. If I can find it on the cheap, excellent! If the only place I can find a particular color I want is Chanel or another expensive brand, I save up for a splurge! I've found the things that really match my specifications in so many places, so I never say "never"!
38Philosophy Purity cleanser is more expensive than those mentioned but I would pay even more for it because NOTHING feels so good on my skin or takes makeup off better. It is the one thing I cannot do without!!
39NYC nail polish is the best and it's only $1.99!
40I love my OPI polish. I tried an Estee Lauder polish & it was no better than the OPI, so I stick with that.
Bella is right about the Olay Regenerist. My dermatologist would not recommend any skin care line to me, except the Obagi one that he sold in his office. (I do like the Obagi gel cleanser, though.) I told my relative, who works for him, & she told me to try all of the Olay Regenerist line & that it was just as good. She was right.
41Cheap is so excellent. Cheap designer like from an outlet is even better or what about a SALE!?!? Be still my heart.
But ITA w/ the Cetaphil, E.L.F. products which I randomly find in the weirdest places on crazy sales. You truly can find great products for cheaper prices .
42Chanel polish is a luxury. I have always thought the place to spend money is on product that actually goes IN to your skin, not on it. Cetaphil cleanser and moisturizer ($5 each for huge bottles)is right along side my Perricone, Wexler, and Brandt treatments.
43Raider814 - I completely agree with you on the Philosophy Purity line. Love that stuff - and it's gentle/non-drying for my skin, even during the winter! Plus, it's a steal if you can get it off QVC (or HSN, I can't remember which), where they sell the 32oz. size for about $40!
44I confess I do spend money on facial cleansers, but I'm 30 years old and still break out like I'm 15 so anti-acne products (I'm currently using ProActiv, which I like very much) do a lot more for my skin than Cetaphil. I'm happy with Essie or OPI nail polishes and rarely use body scrub, but *hides* I really like my MAC lipliners. Wearing a liner helps my color last longer, and sometimes I just fill in my lips with the liner color and put some gloss on top of it!
45I mostly agree, I love my NYX nail polishes and lip liners! But I've never found a cheap cleanser that I like. I use Philosophy's Purity and it's the best cleanser I've ever used.
46I'm a bit of a skin care wh*re, I'd be willing to spend a lot on stuff for my skin.
474 me the best nail polishes i used is Bourjois the red one is so hot it's called so laque and they have French Manicure kitt i used also good
48the best Facial cleansers i used is t-zone and neutrogena Deep Clean Facial Cleanser btw i have oily t zone skin
Body scrubs st ives the best i use it twice every weak
Pencil lip liners well Bourjois,remeel and the body shop
ps: u can find all the product in any drugstore
Thanks for all the great tips- I have been wondering about olay and also philosophy- going to give them a try!
49You have got to add mascara to that list! I've tried just about everything and the best ones are still Cover Girl and Rimmel! go drugstore!
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