12 EXPENSIVE Makeup Products That Are ACTUALLY Worth It

Unpopular opinion, but most expensive makeup is not worth your money. Some $12 products perform like luxury and other $90 products are honestly terrible. But every once in a while, a product comes along that makes you understand exactly why it's expensive. So today I'm sharing 12 expensive makeup products that are actually worth the money. A couple of these might surprise you, but believe me when I say, okay, I'm a professional makeup artist. I've tried hundreds of makeup products. I literally review makeup for a living. And these, at least in my opinion, truly are the best of the best when it comes to luxury makeup. Let's get right into it. The first product that is worth every penny is gonna help me cover this on my face. Oh my gosh, you guys. I literally, it wasn't even noticeable, the little pimple I had before I started filming. But guess what? Right before I started filming, I decided to pick at my face. Am I the only one who sabotages myself this way? Before I do something important, what do I do? Pick my face. Worst habit ever. Please tell me I'm not alone in doing this. I feel so much regret immediately after. But it's okay. I will show you how to cover it. It's probably the best concealer ever, in my opinion. The first thing I'm gonna do, however, is I'm gonna put some powder on top of the problem area. And I'm not gonna tell you which powder I'm using yet because I'm gonna talk about it later in this video because she's also worth every penny. So I'm taking a little bit of that powder on a dense brush and I'm just pressing that right on top because since this one is a freshie, it's a little bit hard for concealer to adhere to skin that is broken. But this is my little trick that I use and this is probably, at least in my experience, the most reliable concealer that I can count on when I do silly things like this to my face. I need this covered and I need it covered now. The concealer I'm referring to is the NARS Soft Matte Complete Concealer. This one comes in a pot and it's $48 Canadian dollars, which is pricey. However, this concealer lasts forever. A little bit of this concealer goes such a long way. This isn't only good for blemishes either. It's really good for anything, redness, even under eyes. This is not too heavy, but it gives you so much coverage. It never looks cakey. It blends out really easy. It lasts a very long time. I cannot say enough good things about this concealer. I will be devastated if they ever discontinue this because this is truly such a unique product, in my opinion. I'm picking up a really tiny little detail brush. I'll link this one down below, as well as everything I talk about in today's video. And what I do with this concealer is, after I've powdered whatever spot is giving me issues, obviously, like I already did, I'm just gonna paint it right on top of that spot. That is all you need. And I'm just gonna let it sit and set for a little minute and I will show you how this blends out later. Immediately, I'm getting coverage and this concealer is adhering where I want it to. It is so annoying when a concealer does not stick to the spots that you want it to stick to. Anyways, we're gonna get back to her later. I want to talk to you about a new foundation on the market that I really haven't tried anything like before, which is crazy because I'm a professional makeup artist and I've tried hundreds of products and it's rare when I come across something that truly surprises me. This is the MPH Leskin Foundation. This foundation is 49 USD, so not the most expensive foundation ever, but also definitely not the cheapest. I would still consider that pretty expensive for a bottle of foundation. It does come in a glass bottle. It feels very luxurious. I'm gonna apply one pump of this on the back of my hand. The consistency is definitely pretty serum-like. I'm gonna pick that up on this spatula brush. This is the most satisfying way to apply foundation and it actually works so well. For those of you that watch my channel, you'll know I'm a little bit more of a natural makeup girly and I don't love foundations generally because I feel like they usually make the skin look really heavy and that's not my vibe, but sometimes I feel like you need a little bit more coverage than a skin tint can provide. And if you want skin that looks like skin, that looks natural and never heavy, this foundation has your name written all over it. I feel like especially when it comes to skin, you don't really want it to look like you're wearing a ton of makeup. At least I don't. And I just find this foundation sits so nice on the skin. It leaves such a pretty natural glow. It actually wears really well throughout the day as well. I did a wear test recently. I'm gonna link that video on the screen. Once we have a nice, thin, even layer of that foundation, I'm going in with the MPH foundation brush and this brush, it has my heart. Watch how it just melts everything into the skin. And you're gonna see this foundation leaves behind such a beautiful, natural glow. It's not too shiny or greasy, but it's not matte or heavy looking whatsoever. I do have dry patches, especially right now. It is the winter time here in Canada and it can be a little bit dry. My skin does tend to look a little textured during these months and I'm really picky about foundation sticking to those dry patches and this one just simply doesn't. And when it comes to that spot, I'm just gonna lightly, lightly blend on top of it. It doesn't need to be perfectly blended out right at this moment. This is what that foundation looks like blended out and up close. My criteria for a good foundation, I have a couple things. Long wearing doesn't separate throughout the day. Secondly, it looks like skin. It doesn't look heavy, doesn't look like I'm wearing a mask of makeup on my face. That is a immediate no from me. And thirdly, I want it to be easy to blend. I want it to melt into my skin when I'm blending it. I don't wanna have to sit there and really work it into the skin for a long time. I want it to be blendable. This foundation checks all of those boxes for me. I was very pleasantly surprised by this, but should I really have been surprised, it's Mary Phillips. She is one of my favorite makeup artists of all time. Okay, so we're gonna revisit that concealer on my little spot here. That concealer honestly looks pretty good. When you blend foundation on top, it does sort of move it around a little bit. So I'm just gonna tap using that same brush as before. I'm not picking up any extra product, but I'm just kind of like tapping on top of that spot and like diffusing those edges if there's anything that is unblended. And if you feel like that spot is still poking through a little bit, you can always apply a very thin layer of powder and then go right back in with a little bit of extra product. Less is definitely more. I feel like that did a pretty good job of covering that spot considering it is a fresh spot. It's very hard to cover up these sorts of things. I do have one more expensive concealer that I wanna talk about. I'm very picky about concealers, okay? Concealers can really age you and you really want a concealer to perform, especially if you don't want your makeup to look cakey. In my opinion, I find relying on a concealer for that extra coverage instead of a foundation often gives you a more natural effect. And for some reason, no one talks about this concealer. It is so underrated. I love this concealer. This is the Armani Luminous Silk Perfect Glow Concealer. And this is maybe my favorite concealer for under eyes. I do have criteria for what makes a good concealer for me as well. Obviously, I don't want anything too heavy, but I really, really don't want anything that is going to settle into my fine lines because that can be really aging and obviously it's natural for makeup to settle into these fine lines and wrinkles that we have. But if I can help it, I wanna choose makeup that is going to do as little of that as possible. And so for that reason, I love this concealer. This isn't like a super full coverage concealer. This is definitely a medium buildable coverage. If you do want more of a full coverage, I would recommend going with the NARS, but this is just a really great everyday concealer that is going to make your skin look perfected. It's gonna stay in place, but it's gonna look natural. This concealer is 57 Canadian dollars, which is extensive for a concealer. However, I will say I use this concealer pretty much every single day almost, and it doesn't look like I'm running low on it, which is wild. When it comes to concealers, I do test out a ton of different formulas because of the nature of my job. And I just feel like we don't have to settle, no pun intended, for concealer that is going to settle into our fine lines and wrinkles, not wear very well throughout the day. There are so many concealers out on the market and it's really hard to know which ones are good and which ones just are not good. If you want good drugstore options, I have videos on drugstore makeup. I will link them down below and on the screen. And I also did a video where I rank my top best concealers that I've ever tried. I will also link that one and put it on the screen for you. Bringing you up close, just look how beautiful the skin finish is. It's not heavy, it looks like skin, but also everything is covered, everything looks perfected and even. And this is gonna last you a very long time throughout the day. Keeping it super real for you guys in this video, there are products that I think drugstore options are honestly the superior option. You do not need to splurge. But there are certain products and formulas that I just haven't been able to find a very good drugstore version that I love to use. And in my opinion, it is hard to find a cream bronzer, cream contour that is really good and high-performing from the drugstore. If you've found one, leave it down below in the comment section. I would love to know. But this contour stick is so worth the money. This is the Westman Atelier Face Trace Contour Stick in the shade Biscuit. This is a $65 contour stick. It is expensive. However, this is a contour stick that I reach for very, very often. I use it all the time. They just extended their shade range too, which I'm really excited about. For me, Biscuit is my girl. If you have fair skin, you're gonna love this shade. And I just like to apply it straight from the stick above my cheekbones, just like this. You don't need too much. I also like to apply a little bit on my forehead just to make my forehead look a little bit smaller. And before I blend that out, first of all, this color, perfect. Not too gray, doesn't make you look dead. Not too warm, doesn't make you look orange, which if you have fair skin, it's a bit of a struggle. I'm just gonna begin blending this out with my Refined Duo Ended Brush. This is my favorite brush for cream products. It's so good. I'll link it down below. I'm just using the dense side to push that into the skin. And this blends out just like a dream. It's a little bit of a stiffer formula, but I actually like that because this lasts a very long time. It's not too stiff that it's patchy and disrupts the makeup underneath. It is just right. And then once I have a pretty good blend, I just like to go over with the fluffy side of this brush and tap out all the edges. This really just diffuses everything and makes it look so airbrushed. Oh my gosh, it looks like a shadow on my face. It just makes my cheekbones look sculpted instead of like a orange stripe on my cheekbone. And for me, this sort of product is just worth the investment. Something that I see really often is contour that clearly has issue formula-wise, doesn't blend out easy. You get a really patchy kind of unblended look. Also a contour that is too orange in color. It can really cheapen the look of makeup. A lot of the time, you can get away with an affordable alternative, but for me, I just haven't found that with cream contour products, so I had to mention this one in today's video. I hope you can tell how naturally effective this contour product is on camera. It looks like my facial structure is just naturally enhanced. It doesn't look like I've drawn on a ton of product. This next product is probably one of the most universally flattering blush shades that I've ever tried. Somehow it just looks good on everyone that I've put it on. This is the Westman Atelier Baby Cheeks Blush Stick in the shade Petal. And again, $65 for a blush, not to mention 0.2 ounces of product, okay? I don't take that lightly. I'm not messing around when I recommend this blush. There is something special about this shade and this formula in particular. Like for reference, Dior blush sticks are $59 for the same amount of product, so it's actually cheaper to get a Dior than Westman Atelier, but I love this formula way more than the Dior. This formula is a little bit drier, just like their stick bronzer. So if you're a beginner and you want to use this product, but applying it straight from the stick doesn't work out very well for you because you're unable to blend it how you would like it, get a brush, put it on the back of your hand. This warms up the product. It makes it a little bit more blendable. And then just tap that right on the cheeks. It's gonna be a lot more forgiving than applying it straight from the stick. This is gonna build out a lot easier because with a stick, you can't really tell how much and how it's gonna look like once you blend it out. And with this, you can just slowly work in very thin layers until you are happy with it. Do you see what I mean about that shade? That is gorgeous. And again, melts into the skin just beautifully. This specific shade, Petal by Westman Atelier, is recommended by a lot of makeup artists that I really look up to, like Lisa J, Nikkila Rose. They all recommend this blush and they actually influenced me to get it. So when I actually tried it, I was like, okay, I get it. This might be my favorite blush shade of all time. That's a little crazy for me to say because I am a blushaholic, but like, I don't know. I just really think it is very, very flattering. And although this is expensive and you don't get like a ton of product, a little bit goes a long way. You'll notice me saying that with a lot of these products. It's very important to me if I'm gonna be spending money on something, I want it to be able to go a long way for me. And now that all the cream products are applied, let's talk about powders, okay? When it comes to powder blushes, bronzers, highlighters, I do feel like the drugstore has some really solid options, but when it comes to face setting powders, you really need a high performing product. And there are two powders that I wanna talk about for today. One that is more targeted for under the eyes and one that is more for all over the face as a blurring powder. The first expensive powder that I feel like I cannot live without, this powder is really expensive, but it is so worth it. This is the Pat McGrath Sublime Perfection under eye setting powder in the shade light. This is $51 for four grams of product, okay? Expensive. Huda Beauty is only $2 more at 53 Canadian dollars for five times the amount of product. There is 20 grams in the Huda Beauty loose setting powder. So that comparison makes this powder sound crazy, but I've tried a lot of powders and this one just performs so, so well. Specifically for under eyes or any areas that you have a lot of fine lines and creases, this I find really doesn't settle into those areas. I like to use this with a powder puff or a brush, but today I'm just gonna use a brush and I'm just gonna press a thin veil of that powder right underneath my eyes. This product is very finely milled, so that's why it's not gonna settle into fine lines and creases as much as other powders. And I do feel like this lasts all day long. At the end of the day, when I look at my under eyes with this combo, it is lethal. My under eyes look fresh even after a very long day. I also like to use this powder in my smile lines because I just don't want anything too heavy. So even though it's an under eye powder, just works anywhere, like I said, that you have fine lines, creases that happen. I think investing in a good under eye setting powder is a good investment, especially when you get a superior formula like this. Finely milled, lasts all day, doesn't look heavy, brightens the under eye area. I have this one in the shade pink as well, which I've used for many, many months and I actually dropped it and broke off the top part because this is a baked powder and I still haven't hit pan in it. This will last you such a long time. So I do, again, really can justify the splurge on this because of performance and how long it lasts. This next powder is literally giving that blurring filter on the face. I've loved this powder for years. I've gone through, honestly, probably like four or five of them at this point. I just cannot let it go. This is the Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish Powder. I use the shade fair. Actually just opened a new one because I just finished my old one. This one is $67.50 Canadian. Expensive. Right off the bat, something I love about this powder is the packaging. This is so easy to put in your purse and take with you to touch up throughout the day. It is not bulky packaging. It also has a really nice mirror. I do like this powder for under eyes as well. It is a little bit heavier than the Pat McGrath, but you can really get away with using it in my opinion. I like to apply this kind of everywhere on my face because I feel like it gives me like a blurring filter on my skin. I don't know what they put in this, but truly the most blurring powder that I've ever tried in my life. I find this doesn't get gummy throughout the day when I reach for it for touch ups. This is what the skin looks like up close. This is a matte powder, which I think is a big reason why it gives a very blurred effect. This looks beautiful in photos, in person. If you have a special event or anything like that that you just really want to look flawless or for every day, this powder is just so good. I've been using it for years and I will continue to use it for years. Really one of the best pressed powders that I've ever, ever used. Before we get into the eye makeup, there is a specific tool that I absolutely swear by. This is my eyelash curler. Specifically, this is the Shiseido one. I've tried so many eyelash curlers and nothing compares to this. This is a cult classic for a reason. Let me just show you. I'm gonna curl this eye. It really gets like corner to corner, which I love. And the lift you get with this curler is insane. I'll zoom you in closely so you can see the difference. Look at how lifted my lashes look on this eye compared to this eye. My eyes look so much more open on this side. And a bad lash curler really just doesn't do you any favors. Your mascara is not gonna look good. I feel like a lot of eyelash curlers are just too bulky and I like how this one is nice and dainty. You can really just get right in there. I like to do my eye makeup first before I go in with mascara so I curl my lashes before I do eye makeup. Spoiler alert, I really just don't think luxury mascaras are quote unquote worth it. And that's not to say there aren't amazing luxury mascara formulas. I really love some luxury mascaras, but when we're talking about it being worth it, there are just too many drugstore formulas for mascaras that are pretty much identical to the luxury mascaras in formula, in longevity, in performance. So I just think if you're gonna invest in makeup, mascara, you really just don't need to. You can go get an affordable option at the drugstore. On the opposite hand though, I do think something that you should invest in is an eyeshadow palette. There are some decent options when it comes to drugstore, but in my opinion, it doesn't really compare to a higher end palette. And I didn't even have to think twice about this. I use this palette so, so often, and I really think it is kind of a good everyday all around palette. This is the Makeup By Mario's Master Matte for the Neutrals palette. And as you can see, this palette is very well loved by me. They have a warm version too, in case you prefer warm tones. But I really just think for the everyday girl, this is gonna be such a good palette because it has a very light shade that I think is really important, especially for me, I'm very fair. It's hard to find a pale shade that's actually gonna give me brightness. This one does. You have all of these shades in between and you have a black. So you can use this as eyeliner. That's what I'm gonna do today. I have used this in a ton of my videos, so you can watch my eye makeup tutorials if you wanna see this in action. I'm just gonna speed you through the eye makeup tutorial. What I love about these shadows is how easy they are to blend. They are so buttery. You get just enough pigment without it being too much or too little. This is one of those palettes too, where I actually use all of the colors. And I know I'm sounding like a broken record, but I use this palette so much and I haven't hit pan in any of the shades. I just think Mario did such a great job curating this palette. You can get so many different looks out of this. The only thing about this palette is it doesn't have any shimmer shades. So if that's a deal breaker for you, that's a deal breaker for you, but spoiler alert, I'm gonna talk about my favorite shimmer eyeshadow a little later in this video. It is such a beautiful product. But if you don't mind that this palette is all matte, this is such a good option. I was a little hesitant to buy this palette because I was a little worried it would be just another neutral palette. But this very quickly became an everyday staple for me. I can go traveling with this palette and I really don't feel like I need anything else. If you've been thinking about picking up this palette, this is your sign. So that's eyeshadow done. This is just a quick, easy, everyday look. So I did my entire eyeshadow and I did my liner with that black shadow. It's just so good. This is my favorite palette for everyday, hands down. When it comes to eyeliner pencils, I break them down into two very important categories. One of them being a creamy pencil. This is something I would use on my upper lash line, something you can manipulate, blend out, smudge out if you want a smoky eye. But there's another category for eyeliner pencils and that is waterproof, budge-proof. And there are very few that make it into this category. I've tested a lot, a lot of eye pencils that claim to not budge and be waterproof. Guess what? They budge. I personally haven't found a drugstore liner that actually is genuinely waterproof and doesn't budge in my waterline or tightline, but this one has. And unfortunately, I must report it is expensive. This is the Prada Prada Lines Gliding Waterproof Smudge-Proof Eye Pencil. I have the shade black. This on the tightline or the waterline is not going anywhere. This is truly a waterproof formula. I love this pencil, especially when I do a black liner like today's look. I like to put this in my tightline and I am a contact lens wearer. I've never had any issues with this pencil. In fact, I will link the contact lenses that I'm wearing down below. These are a very natural blue contact lens. I bet you didn't even realize I was wearing contact lenses because they look so natural, even in person, so comfortable. I absolutely love these contacts. So I'll link the exact shade that I'm wearing in the description. I don't know if you can tell on camera. I'm gonna zoom you guys in pretty close. This is the eye that I have applied that eyeliner to. I think you can really see a difference without versus with. This really gives a completed look to the eye and it actually gives the illusion of longer eyelashes when you have a dark color in your tightline. It makes your winged liner look more finished. It's honestly the worst when you apply liner in your tightline or your waterline and it's just smudging and watering everywhere at the end of the day. And so many pencils that claim to be waterproof just fail in that department. So that's why I really do think this is worth it, although it is expensive. This shimmer eyeshadow has been a standout for me for a long time. This is a breathtaking eyeshadow. If you're like me and you want some shimmer in your life every once in a while, you need to try these shimmer eyeshadows. Oh my word, they're so good. This is the Victoria Beckham Beauty Lid Luster in the shade Chiffon. And I actually have a ton of different shades of these because they are all so beautiful. This just happens to be my favorite shade. I really think this is gonna last me forever. I use this so much and I've barely made a dent in it. I actually like to apply these with my fingers, but because I have long nails on right now, I'm gonna apply this with a brush. This is a beautiful lid topper shade. It's like a natural, subtle champagne color. I am just going to tap that all over my lid. And these don't give like a metallic finish. They give more of a ethereal, scattered, natural twinkly effect on the eye. These catch the light so beautifully when you look down. I mean, look at that. And they apply even more pretty with a finger. I'm actually gonna try and apply a little bit with my finger just so I can show you. Look at that, absolutely stunning. They have a bunch of different shades on their website. These are $57 each, which is not cheap in the slightest. But again, really do think these are worth every penny. If I could only keep three shimmer shadows in my collection, this one would definitely make the cut. Now that the eyes are complete though, I'm gonna go off camera and do my mascara because I'm using an affordable mascara, good old L'Oreal Telescopic. She's never let me down. I will be right back. Finishing off strong, this lip product is truly so good. I'm talking about a lip liner and it's $47. I know that's expensive, but you know what's more expensive? Lip filler. And you know what I always say? Why get lip filler when you have lip liner? I don't have full lips, but I can give myself the illusion of full lips with this bad boy. This is the Victoria Beckham Lip Definer in the shade two, specifically the shade two. Mine is literally a little nubbin because I love this shade so much. I'm just gonna show you, it is like the perfect your lips but better shade. This might be the most beautiful lip liner I've ever used, seriously. Like I said, I love to overline with this. It makes my lips look so full and plump, but look at this color. It is just so gorgeous. I love this formula. It's a little bit on the drier side. It's not super creamy, so it actually stays in place throughout the day, but it's not super dry either. It's that perfect in between. I also love that it is a classic wood pencil, so you can get a really nice sharp edge on it. And there's just something about the shade. It's not too brown. It's not too pink. It makes your lips look so full, but not too obvious. I just really can't get enough. Do you see what I mean? Doesn't my lips look so much more full? I think this is so flattering. This is the one step in my makeup routine that truly gives me so much confidence. This honestly looks good on its own, just like how I have it. You can apply some lipstick on top, or like I'm gonna do today, just apply a little bit of gloss and you are done. Your lips look luscious. You absolutely don't need luxury makeup to have beautiful makeup. There are amazing affordable options now, but like I said, every once in a while, you just come across a product where you use it and you're really just like, okay, I now understand why this costs so much. Those are the kind of products I really wanted to share today. Let me know in the comments, what is an expensive makeup product that you bought that was actually worth it? And also tell me the opposite. What is the most overhyped makeup product that you've ever tried? I am always so curious to hear what you guys think. I read all the comments, so I'll meet you in the comment section. If you enjoyed this video, I also made another one where I talk about seven makeup habits that I'm quitting this year and what I'm doing instead. I'm gonna put that up on the screen for you guys to check out. Thank you so much for watching and I will see you in the next one.