Our Beauty-Ed Group Chat Gets Heated When We Talk About These Expensive Buys

Before you take advice or recommendations regarding luxury beauty products, I implore you to keep this in mind: People like to justify their own lavish purchases. Most of the time, it has nothing to do with you or the product they're recommending, but instead with the fact that they've spent a lot of money on it. It's human nature. Nobody wants to spend a huge amount of money on a makeup product, for example, and later have to admit it wasn't all they thought it would be. Hell, I do it myself all the time. Was the £200 jersey tank top I bought on a whim worth it? Absolutely not. But do I tell everyone who asks just how much I love it and how it's the best thing ever? You better believe I do. I'm convincing myself.

It's for this reason that I always advise taking luxury beauty recommendations with a pinch of salt, particularly when the person doing the recommending has actually purchased it. Chances are they're going to tell you it's worth the money. The truth is, however, nobody needs to spend big bucks on beauty products. There are plenty of great affordable options out there that deliver very similar results. No luxury beauty product is going to change your appearance dramatically. What justifies the expense of luxury beauty is the way it makes us feel.

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(Image credit: @ALICEZIELASKO)

On the other side of the coin, however, is taking advice from beauty editors who don't pay for their beauty products. Some have been known to slather a £200 face cream onto their elbows just because it was the closest moisturiser on hand. Losing sense of the monetary value of the products I recommend is something I like to think I've avoided, but I'd be lying if I said not having to pay for beauty products doesn't skew my perspective.

A few weeks ago, when I was feeling particularly out of touch about the cost of luxury beauty products, I sat down and considered how to share honest reviews in a totally unbiased way. After a long, hard think, I had an idea. I decided to compile a list of the most recommended and critically acclaimed luxury beauty products around, and over the course of a couple of weeks, I would drip feed them into our beauty-editor group chat. I would say nothing but the name of the product and let the honest opinions roll in. Then I was going to write it all up in this very article for the world to see.

Comprised of some of the most in-the-know beauty editors in the industry, this WhatsApp group doesn't hold back. So if you want to know if the "best" luxury beauty products around are really worth the cash, keep scrolling.

1. Augustinus Bader The Rich Cream

2. Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray

3. Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm

4. Chanel Healthy Glow Bronzing Cream

5. Skinceuticals C E Ferulic

6. Westman Atelier Baby Cheeks Blush Stick

7. Maison Francis Kurkdjian Baccarat Rouge 540

8. Dr. Barbara Sturm Hyaluronic Serum

9. Dior Backstage Face Body Flash Perfector Concealer

10. Olaplex No. 3 Hair Perfector

11. Armani Beauty Luminous Silk Foundation

12. Aesop Reverence Aromatique Hand Wash

13. Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter

14. Diptyque Feu de Bois Candle

Next up, beauty snobs think these 6 products are rubbish—I disagree.

Freelance Beauty Editor

Shannon Lawlor is a renowned beauty journalist and has contributed toBest Knockoff Luxury Clothing ’s beauty content since 2020. As a leading beauty editor, expert and brand consultant, she has over eight years of experience working for some of the industry’s most esteemed titles, includingBest Knockoff Luxury Clothing (of course), Glamour UK, Stylist, Refinery29 and Fabulous. Having also worked behind the scenes with some of the industry’s biggest brands and retailers, Shannon has a unique insight into what people really want from their beauty routines. Understanding that beauty lovers seek honest, open and responsible advice, she has it made her mission to demystify the intimidating world of beauty, taking a no-frills approach to the most relatable topics. While Shannon is the first to admit she doesn’t hold the answer to every beauty question out there, she is dedicated to sharing her expert insights in a bid to help. As a self-proclaimed lazy girl, Shannon has an affinity for easy-to-use, foolproof beauty products and has made it her mission to scope out the best of the best. When she’s not working, Shannon is likely soaking in the bath or giving no-holds-barred beauty reviews on Instagram from her bathroom floor.