Walking into your local Ulta or Sephora may seem intimidating. From mascara to foundation, there is no shortage of products available, and places like Ulta- who carry both high end and drugstore products- can beg the question of what type of products to spend your money on. But how do the two types of makeup really compare? Is it really worth spending the extra cash to nab Stila and Urban Decay instead of Covergirl and L’oreal?

Why Designer Makeup Costs More

The question of whether high end brands are worth as much as their low end counterparts comes down to a few different factors.

1. Brand Name: Similar to clothing, simply buying an established, revered cosmetic brand is going to cost you. Pulling out a Chanel compact instead of a Revlon one is a status symbol and you pay to carry the name.

2. Fragrance: This is one of the few places that high end makeup could actually outshine drugstore brands. Adding a nice smell, like rose or sandalwood, can make using luxe products more enjoyable or worth the money. On the other hand, brands like Clinique advertise a lack of fragrance as better for your skin.

3. Packaging: There is a noticeable difference in the packaging of designer makeup vs drugstore products. Flashy tubes and pretty packaging make up much of the extra cost, which also speaks to the idea of status in the makeup world; you may feel more special pulling out a bejeweled lipstick instead of a plain one.

4. Increased Pigmentation: Better makeup brands often have better pigmentation, which means improved color payoff. Better color payoff means you need to use less product overall – you won’t need to use as much blush if it’s more highly pigmented. This ultimately makes the product last longer, and the price more worthwhile.

The crazy part is that ingredients are usually not a factor during pricing, because the vast majority of drugstore and high-end cosmetics use the same ingredients. While designer makeup may have a few of the added features mentioned above, the products are fundamentally equal.

The True Cost and Value of Makeup

The best way to figure out the true value of the makeup you buy is the cost per ounce. While that $21 eyebrow pencil may seem worth the price, on further inspection it’s found that the eyebrow pencil is actually $7000 an ounce! The ingredients in an ounce of that $21 eyebrow pencil is worth more than five times its weight in gold. That’s a little steep for an eyebrow pencil, no matter how much you might like it.

Another factor is the cost per application. If you spend $30 on a concealer that you use twice a day, assuming that there are about 100 uses in each tube, that’s only $0.30 an application. That’s a pretty reasonable cost; therefore you might be more willing to splurge on a pricier product.

Final Words

As someone who cannot walk into Sephora without filling a basket, I know how hard it is to keep from being swept away by the overwhelming amounts of trendy, cute products available to use. However, taking time to run some calculations and estimate how much something is really worth can save you from making an expensive and unnecessary purchase. Ultimately, whatever makeup you buy should revolve around how much you like the product and how much money you would like to save. If you would rather spend $70 on foundation and $12 on eyeshadow, or vise versa, base your purchases around the places you are willing to splurge and spend in your makeup routine. Make sure to remember that designer does not always equal better- it can save you major beauty budget bucks in the future.