>* Yes, you pay a lot for the name, but if you actually work with them, the overpriced designer products really are better than the drugstore competition. * I'

>* Yes, you pay a lot for the name, but if you actually work with them, the overpriced designer products really are better than the drugstore competition. * I'm not so sure about this. For example L'Oréal owns many brands from NYX and Revlon to Lancôme, YSL and Urban Decay. They compete with themselves to capture a different market. Testing and development would be up to the same caliber and quality standards set forth by the parent company facilities. You are correct that products behave differently on various skin types and other conditions. But is this a quality issue or personal? Most cosmetics cost less than a few euro to produce, if that. This is also expressed in OP's article. Packaging for luxury however is getting more elaborate and therefore expensive. Much of the cost for these items is also due to marketing. Also, then take into account the sheer number of magazine articles, makeup artist interviews and YT videos amassing "favorite drugstore products." This is no matter of hidden gems. Good products are not hard to find if preconceived notions of brand's quality are cast aside.