Think Before You Buy Cosmetics

“Make-up is not a tool meant to make an ugly thing beautiful.  It is meant to magnify the beauty that already exists!”

The call came about eleven o’clock at night.  The caller was obviously upset.  She had just returned home from a cosmetic sales-party, having bought over much worth of products.  Back home, standing in her own kitchen, reality set in followed promptly by panic. Now she wanted me to tell her she’d made a wise buy.

A few minutes into the conversation and it was clear she had bought a lot of high-priced cosmetics for all the wrong reasons.

Making mistakes, whether at a sales-party or the cosmetic counter, “is certainly not the worst thing that can happen to you,” Elaine Brumberg, author of Save Your Money, Save Your Face.  “But it is expensive, and – perhaps more important-buying the wrong cosmetics will keep you from buying the ones that help you look your very best.”

In her straightforward discussion of cosmetics, Brumberg cites several typical cosmetic-buying mistakes.  See if any of these ever happen to you.

1. Not Taking Your Time – Many women are in a hurry when buying cosmetics, often afraid someone will see them trying out a product. They don’t take time to read the labels, ask questions and test or experiment with the product.
2. Not Knowing Your Skin Type / Ignoring Your Skin Type – All products are not made for all skin types. For example, if you buy a product intended for oily skin and yours is dry, you can find yourself with products that irritate your skin.
3. Disregarding Your Lifestyle – It’s easy to get involved with the fantasy and glamour of cosmetics when you’re surrounded by beautiful products, pictures and promises, to buy products that won’t fit in with the way you really live.
4. Buying Out Of Guilt – The clerk spends quite a bit of time with you, getting out samples you want to try. You’re not really satisfied and want to look a little more before you buy, but feel guilty about the time you’re taking.  So you buy something, anything, just to prove your good intentions and keep from taking more of her time.
5. Buying Makeup You Can’t Apply – The makeover looks great and easy to do. I mean, how complicated can it be?  Not wanting to appear ignorant, you buy the whole set, including expensive brushes.  Nest day you discover you can’t do it at all.  The products still sit on the shelf.
6. Blind Confidence / Unquestioning Belief in the Salesperson / Indicated by the Salesperson – She is the expert, maybe even a beauty herself. Her advice may be well mentioned or calculated to make a sale.  You buy, thinking she must know best.  In either case, it’s not the best advice for you.
7. Never Exploring Available Products / Excessive Brand Loyalty – Many women never try anything new and insist that the brand cosmetics they are using is the only one that will work for them. They are often convinced they can’t mix cosmetic brands for fear of an allergic reaction.
8. Buying At The First Counter – Comparison-shopping takes time some women are reluctant to give.
9. Buying The Cosmetics You Don’t Need To Get The Free Gift You Don’t Want – You may be getting this worth of products with only a few purchase, but a bargain isn’t a bargain if it ends up in the bottom of the drawer.
10. Buying Because You Love The Colors Look On Display – What looks so appealing in the picture or on display may look very different on you. Color may change drastically once it’s on your skin.
11. Buying Products With The Best Advertising Campaigns – Some companies spend a fortune on advertising for a product that may not be all that it’s cracked up to be. Mistakenly, you buy the ad instead of the product.
12. Believing Expensive Is Always Better – How can a product not be good if you spent this much on it? Easy! Inexpensive and medium-priced cosmetics are often just as good and possibly less allergenic than the high-priced brands.
13. Fashion Madness – Even though it’s the latest look, it looks lousy on you.
14. Buying Too Many Products At The Same Time / Buying After A Facial Or A Makeover – In your enthusiasm to do something good for your skin or re-create the look, you buy more than you need or know what to do with.

To avoid making mistakes, make sure you know your needs.  Know if and how a product really works. Take time to comparison shop, to read the labels, to ask questions and test the product before you buy.