Are high-end products really worth the splurge, or can drugstore finds be just as good?
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00:00Okay, for me, if you want to start buying drugstore and luxury products, I think don't really follow the trend.
00:12Hi everyone, welcome back to season 4 episode 8 of Art of Beauty with me Amanda Imani and today we have a
00:19really cool guest. I have Isti in the house everybody.
00:22Everyone, thank you for having me.
00:25Thanks for being here Isti. Now, you recently told me that you are a full-time makeup artist as well as a content creator.
00:31Tell us a bit about what you do. Okay, I'm a full-time makeup artist and also a content creator.
00:36I've been in this industry as a makeup artist for eight years and I think content creator too for eight years too.
00:44You look so young. Yeah, I am. I started my makeup career since I was 15 years old.
00:50I know it's too early and I know I don't know how my past client trust me back then. I was a child.
00:58But you did mention that your sister is also a makeup artist and you were inspired by her to also follow in her footsteps.
01:05So was it mainly because you saw the work that she did and you were also a very creative person or how did that happen?
01:11Okay, the reason why I
01:13started as a makeup artist is because back then I used to follow my sister all the time if she have a job.
01:19I will follow her. I will assist her and one day she was like
01:23I think you can do makeup because I have like she can see that I have the passion in that and then one day
01:28she was like, I think you can do my
01:31my makeup first and she'll see that time she see how I did and she was like, I think you can do my
01:38bride's mom makeup and because the bride's mom asked for it and
01:44it just happened. It just happened like you were right in it and it you were right, you know,
01:49right time right place. Yeah, right and then
01:52after I
01:53did some job, she started buying me like a full set of makeup artists products, makeup
01:59and I was thankful to her actually. She is the one she was the one that actually pushed me to do this.
02:05Mm-hmm. Was that always like in your I guess your aspiration to become a makeup artist or what?
02:11Did you intentionally, you know set out to do I guess with your career? Not really actually back then it was just
02:17Okay, the reason why I I
02:20think I like makeup is because
02:22my sister exposed me to makeup at such an early age when I was I think seven or eight years old and
02:28then I like putting on makeup, but I don't really think that I can do makeup as my career.
02:32Mm-hmm, but when I was 15 or 16 like that
02:35I always follow her and then I saw that I can do this as my career. I can do this to get money
02:41Yeah, it just happened. Mm-hmm
02:43And I mean now in like this day and age, you know makeup is such a big prominent part in our lives, right?
02:48You also mentioned that you also do content yourself
02:51So I'm sure you try out so many different beauty products from you know
02:55Luxury to drugstore makeup and since today's topic is luxury versus drugstore beauty
03:01I want to know you know, all the secrets that you have maybe that you've tried
03:06And I guess in a sense like how would you differentiate, you know?
03:11Drugstore makeup or beauty versus maybe mid-range to luxury beauty
03:17Okay, as people know if you say drugstore people know it is affordable option then luxury one
03:23if you say luxury people tend to pay higher price than the drugstore one and
03:29I think
03:30that is like the different difference about luxury and drugstore and affordable and expensive. Mm-hmm and
03:37in terms of like maybe
03:39formulation or maybe
03:41Application. Do you think there's a difference or does that play a difference or is it very?
03:46Subjective. Okay back then you can say that drugstore and luxury is very different
03:50But now you cannot say that right as it is very drugstore is really leveling leveling up their game
03:56They are like changing every day. It is always an upgrade upgrade upgrade in terms of quality
04:02ingredients packaging and the ambassador itself
04:06Drugstore is really leveling up their game and luxury products are here just to prove each
04:13proof themselves how their price is
04:17equally to their quality and their
04:20Packaging itself. Mm-hmm. That's true. So we used to say because I find this to be like
04:27There's a big difference. I guess when I first started buying makeup as a teenager myself
04:31I found that a lot of drugstore products were a lot cheaper versus now
04:36Because I know you mentioned price was one of the factors that differentiate drugstore and you know luxury
04:42But I find that like in Malaysia at least right when I go into a drugstore, I expect to spend
04:48You know X number of ring it
04:50But then I end up spending so much more than I expected because drugs for makeup is not that cheap to begin with anymore
04:57so
04:58From I guess a consumer's perspective like for me. I always find it
05:02You know, like is it worth it for me to just spend, you know, maybe I don't know 40 50 ring it
05:08Extra and you know get myself a mid-range product from you know, Sephora for example
05:13so what's your opinion on that or do you think that you know drugstore makeup is
05:18kind of becoming like
05:20a mid-range product brand price
05:23I think yes, because you can see that brands like Maybelline
05:28L'Oreal they are drugstore makeup, but they sell at quite a high price I think and it can be like very
05:38Similar to luxury brand for example back then
05:41Maybelline mascara was 20 to 30 ring it but now you can see it's 60 to 70 ring it right because I think that drugstore brands are
05:49Really really want to catch up with luxury brands in terms of quality and I think it is not
05:56Wrong for you to splurge on luxury makeup, but I think you should give drugstore makeup a chance
06:01Because it is equally good now because I myself a makeup as a makeup artist
06:05I use luxury brands for my base foundation powder like that
06:10But in terms of eye shadow, eye shadow, eye makeup, brow makeup, brow products, I use drugstore only
06:17It is equally good right and I I also think like oh because with like the expiry of products, right?
06:23Cuz sometimes like eye makeup products tend to expire faster as well
06:27And so it would make more sense to you know
06:29Maybe not splurge on those items because you do have to replace them a lot faster as well
06:34So like I really find myself like also reaching for
06:39Mascaras, especially from the drugstore because I just find that you know
06:42They do a better job and a lot of times like the ones from you know, higher-end brands tend to yeah
06:48Don't really meet my expectations for the price because you're paying a premium for what it is
06:53So I guess what are some of the misconceptions that you've seen people have about these categories?
06:59Do you think like a lot of people tend to only buy?
07:02Luxury because they are trying to I don't know
07:05I guess appeal to maybe you know a social status or do you think you know certain people don't really have the means to
07:12sometimes necessarily splurge on a very high expensive price point of a foundation
07:18So, what do you think are some of the misconceptions some of the misconception? I've
07:25Usually heard is drugstore products are not good compared to luxury products, but it's actually not true as I mentioned before. Yeah, and
07:34People always use okay for me people always buy luxury products because of the experience
07:38The packaging the brand
07:41People buy that actually
07:43Yeah
07:43But drugstore drugstore products are not that people who want to buy drugstore product usually they good they just go to Watson's
07:49Mm-hmm, and there's no experience there. But if you buy luxury products you go to their boutiques
07:54There's a sales girls who attend to you show you one of one by one of the product
07:59So from there you get you you buy the experience actually
08:02Yeah
08:03That's the difference and actually for drugstore makeup. Now the misconception is just that people always thought drugstore makeup is not good
08:10But actually it is good. It is equally good. It is getting better every day and I myself always
08:18opt for drugstore makeup first then a dreamy cut because I think if there's a product at drugstore makeup it is that is
08:26Already good. Why should I try luxury makeup and I spend more than and I guess for you like a makeup artist
08:32you know, you have to have a complete kit for every skin type skin tone and
08:37I suppose if for people who are like maybe starting out it would make more sense to maybe purchase, you know
08:42Drugstore products for their kit as well, right?
08:45So is there a difference in your opinion in the quality and effectiveness of these products that you've tried so far?
08:52Okay for my makeup kit. Mm-hmm. Most of my beast makeup such as foundation
08:59Setting spray primer and then
09:04Concealer powder are all from luxury brands because I've tried several
09:08Drugstore products, but I don't really like it because I think back then luxury makeup always emphasis on long lasting on
09:17better finishing
09:19the
09:22Suitable for many skin skin types and skin tone but drugstore back then it is not that it was not that
09:29and for
09:31Drugstore makeup, I think if you want to try something that is not really suitable with your budget
09:37You can go for that. But as for me, I always for my base. I always
09:44Opt for luxury makeup. I see
09:46I mean that's really interesting the way you put it because I think you know
09:50People don't realize that we wear if you're wearing foundation or base makeup
09:53You have it on your face all the time
09:55And now I think in 2024 we see a huge emphasis on, you know base makeup like skin
10:02It's always about like the skin looking glowy natural perfect glass skin glowy skin clean girl beauty aesthetics and all that. So
10:10You know your base and your skin plays a huge role like more than 50% of the whole makeup look, right?
10:16So it's interesting that you say that it's important to maybe splurge on the right things
10:21I guess would be you know the takeaway from that
10:24Are there do you think there are any differences maybe like the ingredients that are used that you know
10:29Make the price point what they are. Okay in terms of
10:33Drugstore makeup you really see them market their ingredients, right?
10:39Compared to luxury product. Yes, if you go to
10:42Brands such as Dior Chanel, they will
10:44Sell you the ingredients I use this is nice in a my I use
10:49Properly, but if you go to Watson's you cannot see like what they are trying to sell you in such as ingredients
10:55You need to check but one by one by yourself, but compared to luxury products
11:00They sell you that ingredients and also what I saw throughout my career luxury products. They always
11:08cater to anti aging
11:11Problems, but if you see drugstore product, no
11:15Not really it is always makeup makeup makeup, but luxury product they sell you skincare also skincare goodness from the makeup itself, right?
11:22So that's the difference I think in terms of ingredients. Okay?
11:25Yeah, because I guess you're also paying for the ingredients that go in and the quality of those ingredients a lot of times
11:31Also, I think people see like a certain word like when brands market, you know, like you said like niacinamide, for example
11:37you don't know what percentage of niacinamide there actually is in a certain product or what kind of
11:43Grade of quality that niacinamide actually is and so maybe like for people who don't know like how do you how does someone actually?
11:51go through the ingredients and read through like what's
11:54important to see and
11:56Maybe ingredients that you kind of want to stay away from like in in base makeup, for example
12:02Okay for base makeup, usually you can see at the ingredient list. The first ingredient that you saw is like the most
12:09Ingredients that are in the products. Yeah contains the most but if it is the the
12:16Selling point the USP product right or the ingredients that are they're trying to tell you but it is like below on a bit
12:24Yeah at the end of the ingredients list. It is like probably 1% or 2% inside the ingredient content
12:31Yeah, so I think that is how people need to know. That's how people
12:35Should know in when you want to buy products that sell you some ingredients that they came to be good to your skin
12:41Yeah, yeah
12:42I think that's a really important tip, you know, cuz not a lot of people know they think you know
12:46The ingredients list is just kind of like just a bunch of words like yeah
12:49everything in there is in the product, but I think it's also important to know that the percentage of each of these products are different and
12:57The higher up it is the more of that ingredient you have in the product and I think it goes the same with like
13:03Skincare, I know we mentioned makeup, but especially skincare. That's right. So I guess in a sense like for
13:09We're talking about drugstore and luxury. What about skincare?
13:13What's your take on skincare from the drugstore versus luxury skincare? Okay for luxury brands. Usually they will
13:21Go through a very extensive research on ingredients
13:24It takes a long time for them to actually come out with new products because they go through the ingredients and what they use for
13:32the products really really
13:35They take it seriously for that and as for drugstore, I think they are catching up actually
13:41Yeah, yeah drugstore skincare are equally good and as for luxury brands
13:46I I don't really know why they charge us at that such price
13:50But as I say before experience and how they treat their customer if you go to drugstore or what sense of guidance or what?
13:56So whatsoever you you are self servicing yourself
14:01you you buy it yourself you check it one by one by yourself and I think that is what
14:07Differentiate drugstore and luxury. Mm-hmm
14:10But actually if you say one if you want to say luxury right now at Sephora also you go there
14:14Yeah, it's just the same right you you go there you check check it one by one by yourself
14:21But sometimes if you need the beauty assistant helps you you can ask for their help but drugstore. No, you cannot have that
14:27yeah, because I don't think the sales girls at the
14:31drugstore Watson's really know like
14:34Really really know about that products compared to beauty assistant beauty consultant at the luxury boutiques itself
14:40Yeah
14:41so I guess people would have to do their own research, you know if they were looking for a specific product in the drugstore for
14:46Example and kind of know like what you're looking for
14:49So when you go into the store, you know what to you know
14:51Look for versus like if you go to Sephora for example or department store or a boutique
14:56You can kind of go in there have an idea of what you want
14:59And then, you know kind of narrow it down based on what the sales assistant has for you or is more catered to your skin
15:05Type for example, right? So that's pretty interesting
15:08Do you have any examples maybe on?
15:11Situations where you've opted for you know drugstore makeup versus luxury. I know you do a lot of beauty
15:19Makeup on brides and stuff. So have you ever had a situation where you feel like you know what this works better on?
15:26Most brides because of whatever reason whether it's you know, I make a palette
15:32Mascara setting where I choose drugstore instead. Yeah. Okay. I have that moment
15:37I don't know if you know about this Charlotte Tilbury has a very nice eyebrow. Mascara. Mm-hmm
15:42Like the very thin one
15:43Yes
15:43But it is very hard to get charlotte to bring me here because it is not available in Asia
15:47you need to go to Thailand or Singapore or you need to buy true personal shampoo, but
15:53After a while, I stopped using charity Marie because it is very hard to get and it is very very expensive and
16:00Back last year. I went to Bangkok and then there is a brand called non chat, which is a makeup brand
16:08Produced by a makeup artist itself
16:10So I give it a try and I and I and I found like the exact same
16:15Eyebrow mascara as charlotte tilbury really and the price is only 20 ringgit like that
16:20It's a it's a steal and I tried it and I love it. I never go back to
16:26It's gonna get like so many of that just versus with like one of the
16:31That is great. I have to try that. Yeah, but what do you think of like?
16:35Makeup brands that are you know founded by makeup artists? Okay in Malaysia in Malaysia internationally
16:41Okay in Malaysia most of brand that are founded by makeup artists are good. Mm-hmm. Okay, for example for lipstick
16:48I never use that. I never use Mac or
16:51Top four or what? I use side a one hour. All right, I don't know if makeup artists
16:57Invented that products it is because they know it's good right?
17:01I've gone through so many clients so many makeup
17:04Clients that have chap lips that has dry lips and then of course if you do makeup for bright you you want the lipstick to stay
17:12Longer on your lips, right?
17:13And I believe makeup artists and I've tried it most of my lips lip products are from local
17:19Moss products and I love it. That's good because I feel like you're also, you know, contributing and supporting local brands that
17:27Again have the experience and the knowledge that maybe don't get the same amount of recognition as you know
17:34Some of the big brands that you can see true true in drugstores and such. So in your opinion, are there any
17:40Trends I guess there are more prevalent in drugstore products versus luxury
17:46So like we see a lot of trends right on tik-tok, especially and a lot of those things are going viral for a reason
17:53So do you see it like, you know, a lot of these trends becoming more
17:59Popular because of drugstore products or luxury. I
18:02Personally feel like it's a lot more drugstore
18:05True right because you can see every time there's a new trend drugstore products will go will come out with the new products
18:13Instead of luxury products because if you see back if you take a look back luxury products
18:18They focus on timeless makeup and classic makeup products
18:23Not not as trucks or makeup if there's a trend about a liner that is colorful
18:28You can see drugstore products are the one that will come out with the products and they're really quick to yeah
18:33Really quick to and luxury, but you cannot see that because they I think they take the
18:41Quality and about in the timeless and elegance makeup first rather than the trendy trenches, right?
18:47Yeah. Yeah, and also I think that has to do a lot with the you know, the consumers
18:52Yeah, like who are there what their clientele is?
18:56Like I think drugstore makeup is usually catered to the younger crowd for example
19:01And maybe luxury makeup is catered to you know
19:04More of a mature crowd and because of that maybe they don't really watch
19:08TikTok or they don't really have Instagram or they don't like to buy things online
19:13Whereas like maybe you know drugstore makeup you can find on a tik-tok shop for example and things like that
19:17So that's pretty it's a pretty cool
19:19Thing because you know social media has played such a big role and it's constantly changing as well
19:25and I feel like social media is changing the makeup industry the beauty industry even and
19:31Would you say that you know now?
19:33Consumers get to dictate like what brands come up with versus like back then, you know, I feel like before the existence of social media
19:42Brands would just come up with products and then they would market it and people would see the ads and be like, yeah
19:47I want that. I want that lipstick because it's appealing and you don't really have much options
19:51Whereas now I feel like people have that platform to really research and do their background checks on you know
19:57If it's ethical if it's vegan if it's cruelty-free all these things
20:00So do you think that you know consumers now play a big part if not the main part on how?