Bestselling: Foundation & Prices

Ok- so I realized in my post on BB Creams it was more about the top rated and bestsellers than it was about price. I am giving the price and a little look-see into what really is worth the BANG your buck deserves but I feel like I've only done that in a read-between-the-lines sort of way. So we're going to really look a pricing today on the bestsellers list. Side by side Bestsellers vs. Top Rated. Just because something sells doesn't mean it is the best. So we need to look at which products make BOTH lists. Which one is popular but also rated on its quality. We're going to do that with Sephora's lists of bestsellers and top rated Foundation, today. This feels like the product that women spend the most money on, or this range; BB, Tinted, Medium, and Full Coverage. It's what starts our flawless look... its the base to the face.

Bestselling                                                                    Top Rated
1. bareMinerals Original- $27.00                        1. Ko Gen Do Triple Lightning- $20.00
2. Make Up For Ever HD Invisible Cover- $42.00  2. Shiseido UV Protective Liquid- $36.00
3. bareMinerals BareSKIN- $29.00                       3. Guerlain Terracotta Joli Teint- $53.00
4. Kat Von D Lock-it Tattoo- $34.00                    4. Givenchy Teint Couture Fluid- $49.00
5. Clinque Even Better Makeup- $27.00              5. Estee Lauder Double Wear Light- $37
6. bareMinerals Matte Foundation- $27.00          6. bareMinerals Original- $27.00
7. Diorskin Airflash Spray- $62.00                       7. Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place- $37.00
8. bareMinerals Try. Believe. Love. Kit- $20.00    8. Guerlain Lingerie de Peau Invisible- $61.00
9. Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet + Mattifying- $36.00          9. Givenchy Teint Couture Long-wearing compact- $55.00
10. Hourglass Immaculate Liquid Powder- $55   10. Diorskin Nude Compact- $50.00

 

Made both bestseller and top rated list, runs in the $20 area.

Company made both lists but not same product. Runs in the $50 area.

As you can see the prices on the Bestselling list range from $20.00 to $62.00. The prices on the Top Rated list range from $20.00 to $61.00. The only company that makes the cut, both lists, is bareMinerals in bareMinerals Original Broad Spectrum Foundation. Telltale, if you ask me. You could spend $62.00 on the Diorskin Airflash Spray but it isn't top rated, so is it really worth it? I feel like Top Rated speaks to quality, number of shades, and ease of application, not popularity but you do trust popularity when everyone is buying something it has to mean something so I think combining the two and picking items that make both lists is the way to get the best of the best for a price. Usually there are a few more options. More companies that make both lists, in this case, bareMinerals would be the only choice. Not much of a choice. So let's look at a few other things. Although the same product does not make both list Dior, the company, makes both lists. Well that seems to be it. So you're most informed guess on the best foundation to buy would be 1) Pick one of the two (Dior/Bareminerals) that has a shade that makes it look like you put on babyskin, 2) One of the companies that made both lists in different products for 2 different sites like Tarte. My guess is they would have something qualifying. 3) Pick one on either list depending on your values and what you want to spend, is bestselling or top rating more important to you? Each of the two companies gives you options; one runs in the twenties and one in the 40's and 50's. Something for everyone's wallet.

Top Rated: BB Creams & Prices

We took a look at the Bestsellers lists from Ulta and Sephora yesterday. We're going to do the same today but we're looking at the Top Rated lists on Foundation or coverage. Ulta includes tinted moisturizer under one heading, Foundation, and Sephora does not. To compensate I was going to take the top 6-7 of each of Sephora's lists but I decided it may be more comprehensive if we separate them ourselves. So I'll take the top 10 foundations, tinted moisturizers, and BB/CC creams from each, for example, if the first tinted moisturizer is number 6 on Ulta's list we'll skip it in Foundation and put it in the #1 spot for Ulta under that heading. That will help us to see what price ranges we're really looking at in different categories of coverage, rather than lumping them all together. It will also make it easier for those of you who only need BB cream or always use foundation (no matter the season) to go to that entry rather then having to scrape around through a mush-mosh of them all.

We'll start with what I consider to be the sheerest coverage, BB Cream (or CC depending on the company. We won't be including those CC creams that are specific to the eyes). I listed them below and highlighted a couple odd balls, Tarte's BB/CC creams. Although, Tarte names includes the word primer in 2 of the 3 listed both can be used on their own as BB Creams. They are not primers in the traditional sense. Tarte has the most BB/CC creams listed in the top 10, Top Rated for this type of coverage. If your having doubts and want to spend the money, go with Tarte. I'd go with #5 its a tinted moisturizing BB Cream because form and it falls in @ #6 on the Bestselling list. It may cost a couple more bucks than the others but it isn't as ambiguous a product. Three cosmetic companies made it on to both Bestselling and Top Rated BB/CC Creams lists; IT Cosmetics, Tarte, and Stila and technically Smashbox.They had an eye-only CC pen in the top 10 Top Rated list. If your looking for something that is Top Rated and Bestselling go with one of the products listed below by any of the given companies I listed above.

Ulta Top 10 BB Creams: price range $14.99 - $48.00

1. Kinerase BB Cream Broad Spectrum SPF 15 UVA/UVB Sunscreen- $48.00
2. Karora CC Cream- $35.00
3. IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better CC Cream with SPF 50+- $38.00
4. Tarte Amazonian Clay BB Tinted Moisturizer- $36.00
5. Tarte BB Tinted Treatment 12hr Primer- $35.00
6. Peter Thomas Roth BB Blur BS SPF30- $48.00
7. Olay CC Cream Total Effects Daily Moisturizer- $21.99 (currently on sale for ~$18)
8. Tarte Colored Clay CC Primer- $34.00  
9. Lumene Anti-age Time Correcting CC Cream- $14.99
10. Stila 10-in-1 Stay All Day Bronzing BB Cream- $38.00

#3 Top Rated and #1 Bestselling BB/CC Cream @ Ulta.

#8 Top Rated and Bestselling BB/CC Cream @ Ulta.

Moving on to Sephora's Top 10, Top Rated, BB/CC Creams. Their prices vary at a much higher range, but they don't sell any lower priced products and they sell more highly priced brands than Ulta does, so they are bound to have a little higher price range in this category. As you can see 2 of the 3 Tarte products are listed. The BB Tinted Treatment by Tarte made it on to the bestsellers list, as well. The other companies products, listed below, that made it on to the bestsellers list were Dr. Jart+, Dior, and AmorePacific. Tarte wins by a landslide! It made every list from both sites, is sold at a mid-level price range, and well received. I've always been a big fan of the Tarte products, their packaging calls me. I don't own anything but their blush, but after doing this research I'll be buying their BB Cream, for sure.

Sephora's Top 10 BB & CC Creams: price range $35.00 - $60.00
1. Cover FX BB Gel Mattifying Anti-blemish Treatment- $45.00
2. Estee Lauder Daywear BB Anti-oxidant Beauty Benefit Creme- $39.00
3. Dior Diorskin Nude BB Creme- $44.00
4. Guerlain Lingerie de Peau BB Cream- $52.00
5.  Tarte Amazonian Clay BB Tinted Moisturizer- $36.00
6. AmorePacific Color Control Cushion- $60.00
7.  Tarte BB Tinted Treatment 12hr Primer- $35.00 (travel size $10, 3 shades)
8. Dr. Jart+ CC Essence Balm- $42.00
9. Dr. Jart+ Premium Beauty Balm SPF45- $39.00
10. Philosophy Hope in a Jar A to Z Perfecting BB Cream- $38.00

#9 Top Rated and #2 Bestselling @ Sephora.

#7 Top Rated and #4 Bestselling @ Sephora.

 Tinted Moisturizer and Foundation will be the next two upcoming entries, one later today and one tomorrow. 

Price Tags Series

Since, the interest in packaging didn't seem to be there I promised we'd move onto price tags, pricing, costings, the BIG M! Money. So here we go... 

During this series we're going to take a look at a few different facets of pricing. We'll look into price ranges on Bestsellers and Top Rated lists and companies that show up on both lists spanning different product types, for example, foundation and blush and their prices. We'll take a look at reviews on drugstore products and their prices. Which line at the drugstore is a Bestseller and Top Rated? Are the really low priced products worth the few bucks spent? Are there products out there that cost a fraction of what the high-end, highly publicized products cost that compare, almost exactly?

We'll start with the Top 10 and Top 20 Bestsellers and Top Rated lists from Ulta.com and Sephora.com. I'll include both sites own brands in the list but also mention passed Top 10 and Top 20 if their products make the cut because I don't know that those listings are a true representation of ratings or best sellers. It is their site. We'll look at which brands make both lists, if the same product from that brand makes both lists, and of course what price ranges those products run towards. Are there any new products that have already made the list? Is it possible for something that has only been out a week to supersede another product in sales already? How do these companies account Top Ratings and Bestsellers. Is it by the week, month, year, quarter, or from the dawn of make-up/the particular store? We'll find out where the true, overall not just by store, Bestsellers and Top Rated lists are and what price points we're looking at for those lists. 

We'll do everything in between and end the series with a look at what we, as women, are willing to pay more for... just based on research. What was the highest priced item on all of the lists for all of the products combine? Which product did we buy even if it cost us an arm and a leg? Once we figure that out we'll see if we can get our arms and legs back, get the same quality, and at a lower price. Maybe we can't but just maybe we can!

Chanel Nail Colour $27.00. Pretty pricey, is it worth it? 

E.L.F Fan Brush, $1.00. Pretty cheap, does it work?