There are so many products that are created for the sole purposes that you, as a consumer, purchase them - however, they aren't necessarily useful in any sense.
I have chosen a couple examples below of products where the brand went to another level in either packaging or how the product looks, to make it seem worthwhile for you to buy it.
Dior's Limited Edition Anselm Reyle Palette ($110)
It's a purple, gray and black camouflage patterned eye shadow.
Is that necessary for anyone? Nope...especially since it's $110!
There is no way to use only one color in this palette, so you'd have to mix them all together on your brush before applying to your eye lid. The color will be a dark gray tone that has a hint of purple. As much as it is a beautiful and a fun looking palette, it's completely unnecessary. Not saying that I don't want one, I do - if I had $110 to throw in the garbage I would possibly spend it on this compact, actually I probably wouldn't. :)
You can get the same color by mixing a few less expensive colors together that you probably already have (purple, gray and black) OR you can purchase a color that will have a similar effect, such as MAC's Trax or Satellite Dreams (and those are only $15!).
The problem with many company's is that they already have all the products that are available, so they decide to create a new looking product with a new name, that will achieve the same result.
For example, face shimmers. There are only so many face shimmers that a company can create before they start using different packaging and different names to mask the fact that you bought the same shimmer four times (which you will notice you bought once you're going through your makeup at a later date, ugh how annoying?!)
Bobbi Brown's Shimmer Bricks ($40) are super popular, and have been mimicked by many other brands.
As usual, there is too much of a good thing. Bobbi Brown's bricks come in a variety of shades so that you can use one as a bronzer, and one as a highlighter, or over bronzer, or in addition to blush, etc! But, as you'd expect, they decided to create a new shimmer compact limited for the holidays - their Party Shimmer Brick ($40). It's a compact that has gold shimmer on one side and silver on the other and has the imprints of a drink shaker and a martini glass - to make it fun, which it is! However once you use it, the color is extremely similar to their Beige Shimmer Brick that is in their regular makeup line. Now, if you don't already own their beige shimmer brick, but you happen to love shimmer like I do - I'm sure you own a compact that can replicate the color.
The MOST common product that is purchased in the same tones and colors from different brands is lip gloss. Oh, stop it, you know it is true! If you have a lip gloss color you like, you probably own it in atleast 3 different brands - maybe each is a different price point? I knew it!
I don't even need photos to prove this point, and company's don't even need to change the packaging to get consumers to purchase colors that are almost exactly the same. You do this all on your own.
You find a color in a department store you love, now all you do (without even realizing it) is look for other brands that have the same color, and you purchase those too! You probably didn't even finish the first one you purchased; you probably didn't happen to lose it either - it is right in your bag - you most likely take it out and compare it to the one at the store to make sure they are similar, then you make your purchase. You are happy for a day, and then you realize that you just spent $15-$30 on a lip gloss that looks exactly like the one you already purchased a month ago. Oh dear. It's ok. I do it too.
The more variety a brand has with colors, the more likely they will have colors that are very similar to each other. To save money and be product saavy, purchase what you need and will use. Remember products do eventually go bad - yes even powders and glosses go bad - you don't want to overpurchase just to throw it away down the road.
**Please comment or email me at makeupbyheathera@gmail.com if you have a topic you'd like me to write about or have any specific questions! I would love to know what you'd like to hear! Thanks for following! xo!
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