Today, I’m reviewing my beauty expenses for 2023 and 2024. It’s already mid-November, I didn’t buy anything from the recent Sephora sale. I don’t think I plan to buy anything beauty-related for the rest of the year. If I do, I’ll update the graphs and table.
The Laura Mercier concealer was a repurchase. It’s great for covering up blemishes. I didn’t care for the Peace Out Acne Healing Dots. I prefer the Rael patches (see my pimple patch comparison post). The Kiehl’s cleanser is a nice cleanser, but I don’t know if it does anything special. I just got it to top up my order for free shipping.
2024 Top 3 Most Expensive Purchases
Dear, Klairs Midnight Blue Calming Cream – $37
Takuminowaza Japan High Class Stainless Steel Nail Clippers G-1114 – $27
Isntree Onion Newpair Sunscreen – $23
I haven’t tried the Dear, Klairs cream or the Isntree sunscreen. I know I really like the Isntree Hyaluronic Acid Watery Sun Gel, so I thought I’d try the Onion Newpair sunscreen. I’m still using the Hyaluronic Acid one. The Takuminowaza nail clippers are nice. I heard about them from my sister who mentioned that they’re in a reddit thread called BuyItForLife (For practical, durable and quality made products that are made to last). I decided to try them and they’re so much quieter than the other ones I have because they’re sharper. They’re big and you barely need any pressure to squeeze the clippers to trim your nails.
I don’t know how useful these posts are for readers, but they are helpful for me to track my progress. It also keeps me accountable for budget goals because I’ve written it for everyone else to see.
In previous years, I made budgets for each makeup category, i.e. spend $50 on primer, $20 on eyeliner, etc. This year, my plan was to just stay under $500 like I did for 2020.
Beauty Expenses from 2017 (lightest shade) to 2021 (darkest shade).
Earlier this year, I did a bit of a declutter with my makeup. I realized that I didn’t have some products in certain categories (like a spot concealer or a highlighter), so I bought some items that have been on my wishlist for a while.
My 6 most expensive beauty purchases of 2021. Most of these are products I bought during the Sephora sale in November (prices listed are the approximate sale prices without tax):
Charlotte Tilbury Easy Eye Palette – $58
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer – $55
Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter – $42
Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage Concealer – $36
First Aid Beauty KP Bump Eraser – $35
Sephora PRO Highlight Brush – $28
I have quite a lot of unopened makeup. I’d like to open those products before buying anything more. I might buy a new foundation. I’ve had my eye on the UOMA Beauty Say What?! Foundation and I just found out that some of their products are sold at Shoppers Drug Mart!
PAST GOALS
In 2017 and 2018, a good chunk of my purchases were from Winners. If you’re not Canadian, Winners is like a TJ Maxx. They sell clothes, accessories, home items and beauty products. The beauty products are usually items that are older stock/discontinued. They also sell brands that I’ve never heard of and brands that aren’t as accessible in Canada. From what I can remember, there wasn’t anything I bought from Winners that I absolutely loved. Also, since it was probably a discontinued item, it would be hard to find again.
I also don’t really understand how I was able to purchase more than 100 beauty items in 2017. In 2019, I bought about 85 items. In 2020, I bought about 20 items and 2021, I bought about 15.
FUTURE GOALS
I still haven’t been wearing makeup regularly, but once I do, I’m hoping to stick to a reasonable amount. I think $1000 was definitely too much since most were impulse purchases. I think between $200 and $500 would be a good amount. For skincare, I think staying under $500 would be good too.
I would also like to make an effort to buy makeup and skincare from independent brands, particularly BIPOC-owned brands. It’s hard to find brands that even ship to Canada. When they do, shipping and duties costs more than the product! That’s usually why I stick to bigger retailers, it’s just easier for me and more cost effective. Hopefully more brands I want to try will start selling at Canadian retailers.
Did you make a budget for 2021? Do you plan to make one for 2022?
I’m sharing my Sephora sale haul today! I bought a few things for my mom and then I finally purchased some products that have been on my wishlist for a few years.
Currently, I have Sephora VIB Rouge status, but I haven’t bought much makeup or skincare in the past two years, so my Rouge status will be downgraded next year. I decided to make some purchases with the 20% off while I still have it.
Charlotte Tilbury Darling Eyeshadow Palette | $72
I have been looking at eyeshadows for a while, this one was a bit of an impulse purchase, but the shades are so pretty. lately, I’ve been leaning toward warmer colours.
Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter in 2 – Fair | $53
I’ve had this on my wishlist for a long time. I hope it lives up to my expectations.
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Bronzer in Nude Bronze Light | $69
The bronzer came broken :/ I contacted customer service to get a re-shipment, so just waiting for the new one to come in. This has also been on my wishlist for a long time. It was sad to open it and see some powder on the outside of the packaging. I knew right away that it was probably broken.
MAC Cosmetics Mineralize Blush in Sweet Enough | $35
I bought this for my mom. She previously really loved the powder blush in Mocha, which I also bought. I thought she might like a baked blush more since she got hard pan quite often with the powder blush.
MAC Cosmetics Powder Blush in Mocha | $32
Sephora Collection PRO Powder Brush #50 | $45
I got this brush for my mom. She mentioned that her powder foundation was providing more coverage than she wanted. She prefers a more sheer coverage. Right now, she’s using a denser brush, so I thought a slightly fluffier one might do the trick.
Sephora Collection PRO Highlight Brush #98 | $40
I have a Sephora PRO powder brush and it’s one of the softest brushes I own. I currently have a highlight fan brush from Winners. I thought it was time to get one that had a name brand.
Today, I’m sharing my 20 most expensive beauty purchases. I wore makeup in high school, but I just wore eyeliner and a dab of concealer if needed. I thought foundation was unnecessary for some reason. My face was relatively clear, I would get breakouts every now and then, but nothing unmanageable. I started wearing foundation in university. Also, I would just use the same moisturizer my mom used…Complex Moisturizer from the drugstore. It wasn’t until a few years ago that we both decided to upgrade from that. Since I started blogging, I’ve tried a lot more makeup and skincare, but I’ve still only scratched the surface. I’ve tried a few higher end products which are on the list. Keep reading to find out if all 20 were worth it!
Sigma Essential Brush Kit (12 brushes) – $99 from Winners
Tula Illuminating Face Serum – $88.30 (15% off)
Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Invisible Cover Foundation Kit – $83 from Sephora (included full-sized foundation, primer and a foundation brush)
Tory Burch Eau de Parfum kit – $80 from Mac Warehouse Sale (included a full-sized perfume, a mini perfume and a full-sized hand lotion)
Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel – $73.95 (15% off)
Giorgio Armani Acqua di Gioia Eau de Parfum – $69
Tarte Maracuja Oil (supersize) – $66 (25% off)
Sephora Flatter Yourself Contour Brush Set – $60 (includes 3 brushes – angled blush, duo fiber, buffing)
Make Up For Ever Step 1 Equalizer Primer (Redness Correcting) – $45
Lancôme Skin Feels Good Skin Nourishing Foundation SPF23 – $45
Sephora PRO Featherweight Powder Brush #91 – $45.05 (15% off)
I don’t know why I was so dumb before, but several items on this list were purchased at full price when I could’ve waited until the Sephora sale. Now I know better!
Sigma Essential Brush Kit – This is a great brush kit. I’m glad I was able to find it at Winners for $99.
Worth it? Yes!
Tula Illuminating Face Serum (read my review) – This was one of my favourite serums, but Tula no longer sells to Canada.
Worth it? Yes!
Make Up For Ever Ultra HD Invisible Cover Foundation Kit – This was a beautiful foundation, but I still haven’t found my shade even though there are 40+. This is where I first tried the smoothing primer which I love and there brush is nice and soft.
Worth it? Yes.
Tory Burch Eau de Parfum kit – I love this perfume. I would’ve paid $80 or more just for the perfume.
Worth it? Yes!
Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel – I haven’t used this as an everyday cleanser, but it’s nothing SPECIAL.
Worth it? No.
Giorgio Armani Acqua di Gioia Eau de Parfum – Loved this perfume! It’s so much more expensive now though and the bottle is different. I don’t know if that means the formula has also changed.
Worth it? Yes.
Tarte Maracuja Oil (supersize) – I bought this during a Black Friday sale so instead of $88, it was $66 for the supersize bottle which is twice the size of the regular one.
Worth it? Yes!
Sephora Flatter Yourself Contour Brush Set – Sephora Collection brushes are okay, I’ve since bought a Sephora PRO brush which isn’t the same as any of the three brushes in this set, but it’s so much softer.
Worth it? I would pass on this one.
Giorgio Armani Fluid Sheer in #7 – I was buying my mom the Luminous Silk Powder Foundation and wanted to try the fluid sheer. It’s beautiful and looks great under foundation, mixed with foundation or on top of foundation. I have a shade that’s kind of pinky and it wasn’t the one I wanted originally, but it was all they had in stock. It’s beautiful though.
Worth it? Yes! Would definitely try other shades.
Laura Mercier Matte Radiance Baked Powder Compact – This is a face powder, but I use it as more of a highlight. Although it would be beautiful as a face powder for that glowy/dewy luminous look.
Worth it? Yes.
Clé de Peau Stick Concealer – This stick concealer isn’t as emollient as other sticks I’ve tried. I don’t know if it’s dried out because I bought it from the Warehouse sale, but it definitely wouldn’t be worth the full price at $93.
Worth it? No.
Kiehl’s Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado – My under eyes had a reaction to this eye cream. I had to give it to my sister.
Worth it? No.
Dior BACKSTAGE Face & Body Foundation (read my review) – While this was a beautiful finish and looked very natural, it didn’t last very long on my skin. Dior foundations are also very fragranced. I gave this to my friend.
Worth it? Not for me.
Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish Setting Powder – This powder is a very finely milled pressed powder. It’s beautiful on the skin, but can look cakey if you apply too much. It also pans really quickly and there’s only 3 shades available. The medium one is the shade that I bought and it’s too orange for me.
Worth it? Not for me.
NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer – Beautiful tinted moisturizer!
Worth it? Yes.
Lancôme Teint Idole Ultra Longwear Foundation Stick SPF21 – I really like this foundation stick.
Worth it? Yes.
Laneige Water Bank Serum – I originally loved this, but after using it for a month or so, my skin started having a reaction. This is also very scented. Ended up giving this to my sister as well.
Worth it? Not for me.
Make Up For Ever Step 1 Equalizer Primer (Redness Correcting) – I love the Smoothing primer from Make Up For Ever, but this redness correcting one didn’t do a lot. If you want to colour correct, use a colour correcting concealer.
Worth it? No.
Lancôme Skin Feels Good Skin Nourishing Foundation SPF23 (read my review) – The shade range of this foundation is crap, but it’s a beautiful foundation/tinted moisturizer. I would definitely repurchase if they came out with more shades because the one I had wasn’t quite right and the shades above are too dark.
Worth it? Yes.
Sephora PRO Featherweight Powder Brush – According to the reviews on Sephora, this is called the ‘bunny punch’ because it’s so soft and fluffy. I really like this brush. Although it’s a little top heavy, it’s nice for setting.
Worth it? Yes.
As you can see, most of the purchases WERE worth it. Unfortunately some of them didn’t work out for me.
What expensive makeup and skincare products have you purchased?
For my estimated costs for 2019, I didn’t include a section for lip products, blushes, bronzers, highlighters, eyeshadows, nail polish or hair because I already had a lot of things that I wanted to finish before buying new products in those categories. I ended up buying products in the blush/bronzer/lip/highlighter categories though…oops! The miscellaneous section includes hair products, makeup tools, makeup removers, etc.
As you can see, I went $150 over my proposed budget of $1800. I’m going to do my best to get the skincare category from $700 to $500.
My 6 most expensive beauty purchases of 2019:
Tula Illuminating Face Serum – $83.30 (15% off, bought on TULA Canada before they got rid of the Canadian website)
Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel – $73.95 (15% off, bought during Sephora VIB Sale)
Giorgio Armani Fluid Sheer – $58.65 (15% off on Armani-Beauty.ca)
Kiehls Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado – $51 (20% off sale at Kiehls.ca)
Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish Setting Powder – $49.30 (15% off, bought during Sephora VIB Sale)
Most of my purchases were from Sephora, the drugstore or a brand’s website (e.g. Kiehls.ca, Giorgio Armani Beauty, Smashbox). I only purchased a few items from Winners this year. I’ve tried to cut down on the makeup purchases from Winners because they’re usually discontinued items that I can’t review on Instagram or my blog.
Did you have a beauty budget this year? Did you stay under budget or go over like I did?
