Perhaps I should say “all in a dazed work”. Nah. Now that I’m working on the blog without getting any sort of salary, I was hard at work. It was really “all in a day’s work”!
Am I dazed and confused? Or am I lazed and confused. It’s all in a day’s work!
Something was bothering me. I don’t know why certain things trigger my emotions but lately, I’ve been hearing YouTube Beauty Gurus talk about the escalating prices of drugstore beauty items and cosmetics. And since I had to run errands anyway, I thought it would be fun to do some sleuthing.
Hmmm. Let me do some detective work on the cost of drugstore cosmetics and such!
After my coffee, I went through my morning skincare ritual and proceeded to make my way to the guest room where I do my makeup.
Chippy loves to relax on the bed in the room. It’s a daybed and is covered with pillows and a folded comforter sits at one end. Chippy thinks this comforter is his personal bed and he always messes the perfectly folded comforter and rests upon it.
Chippy. Nesting on his favorite comforter and waiting for me to leave the house so he can be naughty!
I’ll get back to that later. There’s a story to this.
I got dressed and, since it was finally a very autumnal day, I could wear clothing other than shorts and a tee. With Chippy being taken out to do his business, I was ready to explore this phenomenon of drugstore pricing.
My detective outfit. I didn’t want to look too obvious so I left the trenchcoat at home. It is finally boots weather! I am wearing a white tee from Old Navy, J. Crew Pixie Pants, denim jacket by G. H. Bass–and it has pockets. Boots from Tory Burch and the scarf was a steal at $5.00 from Shein!
Since I had been searching high and low for Wet n’ Wild’s new Photofocus concealer and have not been able to find it, I decided to try my luck at Rite-Aid. This drugstore always has a wide selection of cosmetics that is nicely displayed and laid out. I hadn’t been there in almost a year though.
Rite-Aid up the road from me in Trooper, PA. It’s huge!!
Here’s what I noticed.
I picked up Micellar water at TJ Maxx the other day at a price of $2.99 for 9.1 ounces. Rite-Aid was selling Garnier Micellar water for eight bucks. Freaking eight dollars for 13 ounces of water.
$8.99!! For Micellar water? I am going back to TJ Maxx to get more of the cheap stuff. Hell, I picked up Bioderma Micellar water in France for less than 5 euros!! This? At a Hms I happened to see and a few that I ended up purchasing.
Here’s more of what I saw. And I made a few purchases!
Seriously. I can’t believe the price of some of this stuff. I know Rite-Aid has some good twofers and other sales but this is ridiculous. For a few dollars more you can go upscale!
The Bio-Oil is overpriced too. That small size should be a lot cheaper!
I hadn’t had a good chew of bubble gum in a while and was going to get this because of the cute packaging. Then I realized it was lip balm. I put it back!
Wet n Wild continues to remain extremely affordable. But what’s with the mermaid theme lately? Want a mermaid? Go watch the movie “Splash”–we’ll discuss!
$12.99 for drugstore foundation? I can now go online and order The Ordinary Serum or Coverage foundation for a lot less
Almost twenty bucks for a Revlon Palette? I purchased two Lorac Palettes last month for $12 each. Something is amiss here!
This is crazy! Whatever happened to cheap goods? Perhaps it’s now time to Shop Miss A!
A few years ago, Jane cosmetics were dirt cheap! $11 for a drugstore lipstick? Ahh…No. Just No! NYX is a lot cheaper and makes a great lippie!
This was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me. Ardell lashes at over four dollars? I have quite a few pairs of Ardell falsies and never paid over $2.99 a pair.
I found the Wet n Wild Photofocus concealer and at $3.99, I was ready to do the happy dance. I even snagged the last Bright Ivory concealer.
Why not? At $6.00 it satisfies my foundation junkie habit!
On the way to the cashier, I spotted this eyeshadow palette from Jesse’s Girl. at $4.99, it was a great deal–especially since I’m a neutral girl when it comes to eyes. This would be a fun way to experiment with color without spending a ton of money.
Concealer and a few other purchases in hand, I was ready to get into my car. Only I made a mistake. I tried to open the wrong car. Has that ever happened to you? You get to “your” car and realize that it isn’t yours? Oops!
This is what I bought from Rite-Aid. The affordable receipt is below. Both eye shadows the Creme Brulee and the Nutty Noisette from Wet n Wild were .99 each. The foundation came in at $6.00 the concealer at $3.99 and the eyeshadows at $4.99. True drugstore prices. Seek and ye shall save some money.
Read the receipt. With my Rite-Aid rewards, I received the concealer for .99. A great deal!
The $4.99 palette from Jesse’s Girl–it’s a good one. Nice and pigmented–it’ll be great for events and the Holidays!
Next stop was Walmart. I was hemming and hawing about even going but the price of the Micellar water at Rite-Aid was itching away at me like a bad mosquito bite. I had to compare!
Walmart. Ever the mecca of all things dirt cheap. Well—not anymore. Their drugstore cosmetics are climbing the price vine.
Here’s what Walmart was offering. And this pisses me off. When was the last time we received a “cost-of-living” raise? You don’t remember? I think it was in the late seventies. Forty years ago. And since the economic downfall of 2007, have salary increases really increased?
Where Rite-Aid charges $8.99 for this, Walmart’s price is $6.96. That’s about two dollars cheaper. But, I still don’t think almost seven dollars is a good price for fancy water!
L’Oreal’s Micellar is no great price at Walmart. Check out the price of Hydra Genius–more fancy water. WTF?
Neutrogena’s Healthy Skin Liquid Makeup isn’t exactly a healthy price. I remember when Neutrogena had a soap that sold for a dollar! The soap was blue and smelled really good!
$12.00 for DRUGSTORE primer? You have to be kidding me! Hard Candy has a great primer for eight bucks and e.l.f’s primers are six bucks and work just fine.
It’s good to know I can get my cotton rounds at the best price at Walmart!
I had to get down on all fours to snap this pic because this was at the bottom of the barrel! Salon Perfect falsies are on par with Ardell–and this price is fine. If you want falsies either go to Walmart or..order from Model21–I order my falsies from here and they are dirt cheap!
So why the big jump in low-end cosmetics? It’s killing me. Higher-end and luxury cosmetics and beauty products, although pricier, have pretty much remained stable. So where to draw the line?
For me, I continue to purchase both. That’s why brands like The Ordinary are gaining popularity. High-end ingredients and far less expensive than most drugstore brands.
And while I was at Walmart, I picked up some cotton rounds—which I scouted around until I found the super-cheap ones and I also picked up the Equate brand moisturizer which is an exact dupe for old-school Olay moisturizer. The Equate brand costs $3.97.
I found my affordable drugstore items in the form of Equate’s dupe for old-school Olay Moisturizer and those cotton rounds! The moisturizer cost $3.97 and the rounds $1.50. Oh happy day!
Since I was kindly asked to make a Cointreau pound cake for Bonaparte, I sauntered over to Walmart’s grocery section to pick up butter. At 2.98 for a pound of unsalted, Great Value brand butter. This brand’s butter is the same AA butter as Land-O-Lakes and half the price. It does the same job. It’s butter! A few other groceries and I was on my way.
Did I mention that the only true errand I had on my to-do list was to buy organic chicken at the Farmer’s Market in Wayne? Yeah. Bonaparte gave me money before he left for work and gave me specific instructions to go to the Farmer’s Market early on because the vendor we buy the chicken from usually runs out at about noon.
I left my house at 9:00 AM. It was now 11:00 AM. I spent two hours roaming the aisles of Rite-Aid and Walmart.
Back in the car and on my way to the Farmers Market to get the chicken.
But wait.
Bonaparte told me that the Bed, Bath, and Beyond store in St. David’s, which is next to Wayne, is closing. How could I not check this store out to see what bargains could be shelved before me?
I got to the store and didn’t expect it to be so….so..messy!! Store closure or not, I can’t stand a messy store. It ruins the shopping experience for me. But, you never know what could be found.
Very methodically, I took my time wheeling the cart up and down the aisles—after all, with one good eye, I didn’t want to miss a thing! Nothing jumped out at me because of the state of the store. I’m sorry but if tables are placed in the main aisles with picked through merchandise, it turns my stomach! I like shopping in a more organized atmosphere. Organization and atmosphere were sorely lacking!
As I traveled past the bed linens and area rugs I arrived at the table settings. I spotted four cloth napkins. These would go perfectly with the tablecloth I picked up last week at Home Goods for $4.99. Marked down from $2.99 to a dollar, I grabbed the four that remained and headed to the cosmetics area.
Remember the great deal I got on the HUGE tablecloth for $4.99 at HomeGoods? I just knew I would find inexpensive cloth napkins to match! And I did!
Everything was gone apart from a few NYX items and L’Oréal foundations. I spotted a luminator and threw it in the cart.
My big purchases consisted of the four napkins and a NYX illuminator product.
It was marked down to two dollars. I couldn’t resist!
At this point, it was after noon. And I was supposed to have bought chicken a few hours ago.
Finally, on my way to the Farmers Market, I was reciting Hail Mary’s that Rittenhouse Farms did not run out of chicken breasts and thighs. BTW, Rittenhouse Farms is the cleanest vendor at that filthy market!
This Farmer’s Market. I’ve written about it in the past—maybe about a year or so ago. As much as I love the chicken we get here, I can’t stand this Farmer’s Market. It’s filthy. Like—dirty filthy. And it stinks of old frying oil.
Bonaparte does 99.9 percent of the shopping at the Wayne Farmer’s Market because it’s just too gross for me. And I’m not fussy either but this place skeeves me!
Old frying oil makes me ill—even 34 years after my first pregnancy. I was working down on Wall Street and there was a Falafel place nearby. The stench of the oil from the falafel literally made me sick one day. I puked into a city garbage can. Thank God the garbage can was there or I would have thrown up an innocent passerby. And ever since then, I’ve been ridiculously sensitive to the smell of old frying oil.
To this day, the stench of old frying oil makes me ill!
And people eat at this farmer’s market. It skeeved me to see people eating there.
I got the chicken and hightailed it out of there quickly—besides, I promised Bonaparte I would make a Cointreau pound cake for him.
So happy to be in the car and on my way home–and my makeup hasn’t failed me! I’m wearing The Ordinary’s Serum Foundation today!
Back to Chippy. Bonaparte arrived shortly after I got home. As he went upstairs into our room, he peeked into the room where I put my makeup on in. There is a reason that he did this. He likes to see if I’ve “tidied up” before I leave. (Yes. Life with Bonaparte is akin to him being the dad and me being the bad child). The next thing I knew, I heard a heavy French accent.
Bonaparte: “Cassee.” “Cassee”. “Pliz comb ‘ere”
And I did an eye roll as I walked up the stairs and got to the room.
This would be me!
Bonaparte: (looking at me) “Wha do ou see”?
Me: “Um……nothing?”
Bonaparte: (Pleading) “Ahhhh, Cassee” “Lewk at zuh bed—do’n ou see zuh comfer-tahr eez awl mess up?” “Can you pliz fix eet befowhr ou liv zuh ‘ouze”?
Me: (Like Ralphie in “A Christmas Story” when the bell rang) “Chippy did it”!!!!!
Chippy did it!!
Bonaparte gave me a look as though there was something wrong with me for blaming the dog, who clearly cannot clean the mess.
Me: “Ok” “I’ll fix the bed”.
And that’s why I can’t understand how someone as obsessive as tidying a comforter, which, by the way, will be messed up when Chippy goes back on the bed to look out the window, cannot be bothered by the dirty Farmer’s Market in Wayne.
And I fixed the bed! I think it’s time to make a trip to Ikea for more bedding!
The cake turned out marvelous. The crumb and texture were perfect. Although, next time I will “up” the amount of Cointreau.
The cake was crazygood! One is wrapped up and in the freezer–although it won’t be there for long!
The recipe I used was The Barefoot Contessa’s Perfect Pound Cake recipe from her “Foolproof” cookbook. This wasn’t the first time I’ve made her pound cake and it is perfect.
Someone’s in the kitchen with Ina–and it’s me! This cookbook is one of the best! Every recipe IS foolproof!
I made a couple of changes, however. (Click on the link to the recipe above if you want to make it). I didn’t sift three times. Twice was enough for me. In addition, I used ¾ cup of heavy cream and ¼ cup of Cointreau. Next time, I’ll add more Cointreau. Lastly, I did not use a vanilla bean.
I didn’t make the cake in a tube pan. I opted for two loaves instead. This. Is. A. Winner!
The cake has a very subtle taste of the orange liquor but is moist and not overly sweet. It’s a great tea cake.
And that was it for my lazy Friday. I hope you had a wonderful Friday and are enjoying the rest of the weekend!
Lazy Days Were Made For You And Me. Spanky and Our Gang know that!
Great post! I chuckled, though, at your description and photo of the “filthy” farmer’s market. If you ever get to downtown Los Angeles, be sure to visit Grand Central Market – the most fabulously filthy farmer’s market evah! And yet I used to go there on my lunch hour all the time. Go figure! Sometimes filthy can still be fun! 😉
True Christine!! Filthy can be fun and I have the mouth to prove it! Seriously. The joke is that Bonaparte is the NEATEST person on earth. He is very obsessive about the state of our home. I used to be obsessive but not anymore. I’m more chilll–but that Farmer’s Market!! LOL!!! XOXOXOXO!!!!
Really enjoy your writing. I think blogging is your calling. You have a really fresh and genuine voice. As a sixty something woman I have tried some of the products you have suggested and they are great. Hopefully someday soon you can be deservedly compensated for your efforts on this blog. I will keep reading!
Oh Colleen. Thank you so much!!! I wish that Huff Post or the powers that be would notice my blog too..LOL!!! But most of all, I’m thrilled that you are pleased with some of the products that I’ve suggested. It’s important to me that our age group remains visible–at least with each other!! And thank you—keep on reading. Please!!! XOXOXOXO!!!!
OMG!! The price of that Garnier Micellar water is insane!! I paid 5.99CDN for it at a large drug chain here and I saw small travel bottles for 1.99 at the grocery store. It’s great stuff but I still love my Vichy more. I find that our larger drug stores are going all French Pharmacie with products like Vichy, Nuxxe, Laroche-Posay, Avéne, Jouviance and our home grown NeoStrata. Even with cosmetics the drug stores seem to be moving away from the ( formerly) less expensive brands. I was really shocked at the prices you showed especially after converting to Canadian $$. I have noticed that Walmart here has cut its cosmetics area back too. Maybe competition from the drug stores and Sephora?
That cake looks delicious!
Ding. Ding. Ding!! Momcat. You just lit a lightbulb over my head! Canada has so much in common with France being the Montreal/Quebec area. I’m wondering if that’s why you guys are getting the good stuff? I swear to God. I go crazy when we visit Paris because my fix is CityPharma. I get stuff there for less than half the price of what we get here in the States. And I feel the need to get back there soon.
In the meantime, I think you hit on something. I noticed that Walmart has cut back on it’s cosmetics–The Hard Candy and Wet n Wild displays are nothing more than a few items and they used to have a ton of false eyelashes and no more. I’m afraid that the middle class is shrinking in more ways than one. How can women on a budget afford the escalating price of drugstore beauty–and they can’t afford high end either. This is serious stuff!!! XOXOXOXOXO!!!!
Your bed looks cute- haha! And that cake had my mouth watering.
xx
Courtney || https://courtneylivin.com/
Thanks Courtney! Ikea bedding. Best place for so many items!! And the cake–it was fantastic!!! XOXOXOXO!!!
The last time I priced Bioderma Micellar Water (because my Garnier was sold out and I had heard it was good) it was almost $50! Yes that is a zero after the five there. My Garnier is normally about $20 (for 700ml I think, I always get the big bottle).
A Farmers Market here is an outdoor market (normally on the weekend) where farmers sell directly to the public
Hi Q. Yeah. Most Farmer’s Markets are outdoors. There is one here in Phoenixville and most of those outdoor FM’s have great produce and I don’t mind being on the soil sort of dirt either. The indoor FM’s are the worst, IMHO! Actually, the only indoor FM of sorts that I’ve ever liked was in St. Germain in Paris. It’s CLEAN as a whistle!! LOL!!
WTF?? $50.00 for fancy water? That’s robbery!! The governments all need to put ceilings on the price of cosmetics. I should run for office–as Counsel of Beauty. I would put a stop to the escalation of these prices!!!! XOXOXOXO!!!!
Wow I didn’t realise how much makeup prices have gone up throughout the year!
Yeah Jess, It’s ridiculous how the prices have gone up!!! XOXOXOXO!!!!
Xox
So glad you got the chicken. I was getting slightly anxious for you as I read along! That cake looks fabulous. I always tidy up before I leave the house too.
Hi Turner!! LOL!!! When Bonaparte read the blog post, he was getting anxious too. He said that he tried to get in touch with me during the morning to see if I had gotten the chicken and I had my phone shut off. Oops!!!!
Yeah–I used to be OCD with tidying up before I left the house. I vacuumed twice a day because of the dogs and literally got down on my hands and knees three times a day to scrub the kitchen floor. I washed the bathrooms with clorox and ammonia (I know–it’s a bad thing to do). But then, after I lost my house during my divorce, I changed. My home is very clean and tidy these days, but I no longer obsess!! Funny how certain things affect us, isn’t it?? XOXOXOXOXOXO!!!!
When I was using Bioderma Micellar it cost me around $25 a bottle and I had to order it online! I stopped and now use Neutrogena cleansing wipes instead, cheaper and they work better. That L’Oreal Hydra Genius is a very nice moisturizer with hyralaunic acid, and that’s a great price, so I’ll have to get it at Walmart now! I’m a big fan of Wet n Wild, use their primers, concealers, eyeshadows, brushes, hilighters… I love when theres a BOGO in stores, and their website does a lot of % off sales.
Hi Lori. I’m really in a state of shock at how much the micellar water costs! But the Wet n Wild brand is certainly making me stop and buy. My only “issue” is with the .99 shadows, there’s a ton of fallout but for the price, I can’t complain. I’ll be writing about the foundation in today’s post!!! XOXOXOXO!!!!
Actually I see that a bottle of 400 ml of Garnier Micellar Water is between 8 and 12 euros here so all in all it seems cheaper for you to buy than in France. And you can find Bioderma basic micellar water starting at 9 euros and up, depending of the place you buy it. Of all the make up brands you are writing about, I know only a few. Wow your husband would be horrified to see my current place as well, it is not really neat: it is, shall we say a neat mess. But I will improve once I’ll be in my new place with more room and, at last, a clean and tidy place to leave instead of my current horror (thank you to my greedy landlord!). Those last few days are very sunny and quite hot here in France so time to soak in the sun …and start a good cleaning with open windows. Yesterday I was in Paris with a friend and as we were walking, we just happened to a one shot booth selling silk scarves directly from India, hand made, 3 euros each (which I think gave quite a lot of over value to the seller). As you guess it, we both stopped and bought some beautiful scarves with beautiful colours but, I should say, as french and parisians goes, there was a lot of people around the booth, rumaging among the scarves to find THE one: you know how much the french, as it is said, love their scarves! I also happen to find a whole shop dedicated to pistachio (yes I did not know it could exist). What do you call a filthy market? A smelly one? A messy one?
By the way you can find some cheap make up and cosmetic in Tati in Paris or in the supermarket like Carrefour, Auchan, Leclerc or even Monoprix. Or the Presty Woman booth in some train stations in Paris. Or in the market, especially in the suburbs, where no tourist goes.
Hi MB!!! Can you believe how much money those products cost here? Garnier has always been very affordable but all of a sudden, it’s becoming a luxe brand–it’s crazy!!
Allow me to add Geant Hypermarche to the list of grocery stores that offer affordable beauty products. In Theoule, Geant is my happy place! I’ve never seen Presty Woman. Next time we’re in Paris, I’ll be perusing the Metro for that booth! OMG. I just read the website. I need to get back to Paris!!!!!! I need money to get back there!!!!
The scarfs! Oh I wish I had been there with you. I would have done some serious Christmas Shopping!!!!!
XOXOXOXOXOXO!!!!
Your mouth will drop to the floor, just like Q.D mentioned Bioderma is super expensive, normal price AUD $43 for 500ml
https://www.priceline.com.au/bioderma-sensibio-h2o-micelle-solution-500-ml
Garnier Micellar AUD $13.99 for 400ml
https://www.priceline.com.au/garnier-micellar-cleansing-water-400-ml
I always stock up when there is 40% off sale of the Garnier. I use the micellar mainly for taking off eye make up. I remove my makeup with cleansing milk with a warm face cloth, I like to use the Caudalie cleansing milk & I like their toner, both are super gentle on the eye area. The cleansing milk leaves my skin supple and soft. It is exoensive but cheaper to buy from Feelunique UK than buying from Sephora Australia
Hi Dianne! I’m still in shock at the price of beauty products in Australia!! See–I use the micellar for spritzing during the day. The amount of mascara I use needs Albolene!!! Caudalie is great but are super expensive here in the States!!!XOXOXOXO!!!
Beauty products are rising in price here Cathe too….what isn’t! We’ve got the Brexiteers to blame for that.
I use Garnier Micellar Water also, sometimes I can get it cheaper in a supermarket offer, I once paid £2.66 for 400ml but last time I went to Superdrug it was £4.99…. no way I was paying that.
A look around the shelves showed that Simple had an offer and their Micellar Water at £2.99 for 400ml so I got that one, I’m not that brand loyal, you just have to do your homework and shop around these days. The elf primer cost me £7.99, not cheap, but as you recommended it I thought it was worth a punt.
Love your tablecloth, the bargain napkins look great with it.
xxx
Hi Fiona. What did you think of the elf primer? Ahhhh. the Brexiteers–much like the Trumpsters–and here’s the thing–most of the Trumpsters ARE the ones that depend on the drugstore prices and now are escalating to out of their reach. Should have thought before the vote. I need to stop.
But–I’m not brand loyal when it comes to a sale. I’ll keep scouring TJ Maxx for the micellar water at the best price. Other skincare items I will order online from companies I trust.
Oh. I can’t wait to use that tablecloth. I love it! XOXOXOXOXO!!!!
You’re the bad kid in the marriage??? Fantastic – me too, for some reason people class me as the naughty one at home, at work, amongst my girl friends, everywhere – I am told I just look naughty, people always assume I am up to no good. I tell you even trying to be good is exhausting and sooooooo boring, I leave being the grown up in our relationship to gravel-guy, he is like captain sensible and logical to an extreme – we are complete opposites. The range in prices is fascinating, I also wonder about the sizes of things – I am sure things are shrinking (and I love micellar water – in France I bought the best micellar wipes ever, so soft, effective and biodegradable and I can’t remember the name of them as the daughter swiped them and I haven’t seen them since – so they must have been good).
Love your blog…I have definitely noticed the prices of drugstore products rising, and was starting to do a blog post about it, when I came across yours…it’s amazing to me that they are charging $11-13 for a lippie, when for $4 more, you can get MAC or Clinique…and the fancy water? I found the same thing at Ross and Target for a few bucks and it works just as well! Also, from your posts and where you shop…I think you live around where I used to! I lived in West Chester and then went to Villanova 🙂 Miss that area~! xx
Hi Amber! Yup!! That’s the area! But isn’t it crazy??? What’s your blog?? I wanna see it!!! Don’t even get me started on the lippies–or the water!!!Oh..you just gave me an idea. I hadn’t even thought about Ross for the water!!! Thank you!!!!! XOXOXOXOXO
Informative post
Thanks for sharing ! 🙂
Amanda- http://www.organicisbeautiful.com