Maybe it's Chanel, Maybe it's Maybelline

Clinique makeup consulant helps a customer choose what makeup is best for her
Picture courtesy of The Consumerist on Flickr

When she walked in to the makeup store Elena gasped.  Some of the makeup was $40 or more.  "I can't afford this," Elena thought.  She looked around at it and realized that it wasn't much different from the stuff that she found at the grocery store.  So why was it so expensive?

Makeup like the stuff that you buy from Chanel is really expensive.  Their concealer is often in the $50-$60 range.  Their blush is less expensive, but not by much, it can cost $40-$50.  Their mascara is generally $30.  "Some people think that Chanel is a lot better," Elena said.  "But from personal experience, I don't think that there is a difference in how well it works, just the logo on the bottle."

A brand that can be found in the same stores as Chanel but is not nearly as expensive, is Clinique.  Clinique concealer is my personal favorite and their liquid concealer (which works wonders) is $14.50.  Their blush is generally around $20 and their mascara ranges from $10-$15.

Now for the brands that you can buy at drug stores and grocery stores.  Two really great drug store brands are Neutrogena and Maybelline.  Neutrogena's concealer is usually $6 or $7 and it fights acne.  Maybelline is known for making amazing mascara that won't break the bank.  Their mascara costs around $7.

I think that designer makeup is like grocery store makeup in every way, except one thing, price.  Normally I buy Maybelline mascara because it works just as well as anything else and it doesn't cost more than a teenage girl like myself can afford.  The only time that I ever don't buy the makeup found in drug stores is with concealer.  It's hard to find the right shade of concealer or a concealer that works, so I usually buy Clinique concealer, it's not too expensive and it works really well.  But if you don't have the extra $7 or don't have time to go to the mall, Neutrogena concealer works almost as well.

-Audrey