Is My Luxury Skincare Worth It?
Somehow, over time, spending money has become one of my main hobbies. While I am working on becoming the type of person who can find joy outside of consumption, one of the hardest places for me to cut back is on skincare. I love Asian skincare, clean beauty and green beauty skincare, mainstream skincare, medical-grade skincare. But, most of all, I love luxury skincare.
There's nothing better than seeing a sleek black miron glass bottle with impeccable lettering on the counter of your bathroom. Especially if that bathroom could use a renovation.
Luxury skincare has become a way of injecting some glamour back into a life (and apartment) that could use some work.
Some skincare's sky-high costs are justified by their use of next-level, emerging ingredients. Others are simply coasting off their brand name or hoping well-designed packaging is enough to placate you.
Knowing this, I set out to find out if I had been wasting my money or if the expensive products I buy actually produced results. I took a look through each product category (cleansers, hydrating serums, vitamin c serums, moisturizers, hydrating masks, eye creams, and SPF) to identify my most used products. Then I did some real soul-searching:
My Most Expensive Luxury Skincare Products
African Botanics Le Masque Hydralift Intense: Absolutely not and I can't believe they have the GALL to charge $180 for this product. I thought this would be the perfect product to use on my dehydrated skin but the formula was so thin that there was barely any moisture at all. Nothing "intense" about it.
Allies of Skin Multi Nutrient & Dioic Renewing Cream: SO good, especially for acne-prone skin and clogged pores. I love to travel with it because it's an all-in-one formula: antioxidants and peptides for anti-aging, dioic acid for acne, ceramides for hydration, plant extracts to support all three. So you're basically saving money! Kind of!
Drunk Elephant Shaba Complex Eye Serum: Ehhhhhhhh it's hard to say. Eye cream is something that takes a really long time to show real results. Some brands will put in mica (to reflect light and mimic smoother skin) or caffeine (to constrict blood vessels to hide discoloration) but those are quick fixes, not long-term solutions. Plus, I didn't have any major issues to fix so I didn't notice a change.
Everything from the [now tragically discontinued] Moss Skincare: Moss Skincare, an independent beauty brand, shut down a couple of days ago so I will refrain from waxing poetic about their perfectly-crafted, science-based formulas. Just know that if the founder, Celestyna, ever decides to make new formulations, I will be first in line.
Josh Rosebrook Nutrient Day Cream SPF 30: I actually love this clean beauty formula because it can be used as a botanical-based moisturizer, sunscreen, and makeup primer all in one. But there's no justifying the price ($80 for 1.7oz) when there are other SPFs on the market that do the same. The only reason to buy it would be if you have dark skin and have been looking for a clean beauty physical sunscreen that doesn't leave a white cast. I've found that this formula goes on white but it dissipates after about 5 minutes. Otherwise, I'd stick with Suntique I'm Safe for Sensitive Skin at $22.
Yuli Skincare Ambrosia Beauty Nectar: Beyond expensive but beyond worth it. I don't know that I've ever used a better hydration serum. The slip on your skin is perfect. It's got probiotics, powerful antioxidants like astaxanthin and fucoxanthin, and thioredoxin which is anti-inflammatory and can rebuild UV-damaged skin. And the real money maker: epidermal growth factor, a polypeptide that promotes cell growth, thereby healing skin wounds. There's some evidence that it stimulates collagen production but I wouldn't abandon your retinol until that's proven. Still, my skin looked calm, plump, and glowy to the point that it makes me want to break down and buy it full price.
Final Thoughts
I was determined to walk away from this project with a newfound resolve to stick to budget skincare but a ton of these products turned out to be worth the cash.
From a financial standpoint, I don't think luxury skincare will make or break me when it comes to stocking my emergency fund or saving for retirement. I've mastered the art of finding a deal — whether that's holding out for a sitewide sale, buying overseas when the conversion rate works out, or subscribing to beauty boxes that feature luxury products. Still, you can always save more money and I know there are plenty of mid-level and budget skincare brands that can give me similar results, just without the fancy ingredients or elevated experience.
Instead of giving up luxury skincare altogether, I'll buy it when I can afford it and I won't when I can't. It's the same logic to me as grabbing the nice bottle of wine at Target when you're feeling spendy and then picking up the $10 bottle of rosé when you just want to have some low-key fun with your friends. Either way, I know the ingredients I need to use to have smooth, glowing skin regardless of the price point.
Is luxury skincare worth the cost for you?