Splurging On Beauty: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

Navigating through the myriad options available in the beauty aisle can be both, tempting and confusing. Shruti Shukla shares basic guidelines from industry experts to help you ace beauty budgeting

- Shruti Shukla

We have launched into 2020s with full vigour and high hopes! But before moving on to all things new, let’s look back at the last decade. If there’s one thing that has transitioned successfully from 2010 onwards, it has to be the beauty business. With the introduction of premium Indian brands and a wide availability of international offerings, the industry is booming like never before. However, as thrilling as it seems to have several options at your disposal, once you think it through, you’ll realise how it has fogged your sense of what you really need and what you want. Results, you ask? Overspending on beauty products has become the modern vice. Here’s a list of the common concerns women struggle with when it comes to self-care and makeup, along with tips and tricks that make for better buys. What’s more, insights from Femina’s editorial team on how they are putting a leash on their beauty expenditure.

DOES EXPENSIVE MEAN BETTER?

The price tag has somehow become synonymous with the quality of products, which is both, a generalization and an over-simplification in order to skip that research-then-spend step altogether. First things first, experts believe that the price of a product can never be a credible indicator of its efficacy. “When evaluating a potential beauty purchase, it’s extremely important to look at the ingredients of the product, the authenticity and credibility of the brand, the product’s reviews, and most important of all, its suitability to your particular hair or skin type/concern. It’s also true that high-quality products with iconic ingredients and efficacious formulations cannot be created at a low cost, and are therefore usually priced at a premium rate,” explains Antara Kundu, marketing head, The Body Shop, Asia South.