There’s something about a Chanel lipstick that adds an inimitable high-end allure to your beauty look. And while the appeal of a luxury beauty and skin care routine is obvious—better ingredients, long-wearing application—justifying the investment might be less so. We asked Oz Zandiyeh, a Vancouver-based makeup artist, for advice on shopping for splurge-worthy luxury beauty and skin care products—and where to save on
your beauty routine.

YOUR LUXURY BEAUTY AND SKIN CARE ROUTINE

Invest in good-quality skin care products

If you’re going to put your money somewhere, start with a high-end skin care routine. “I am a huge skin care advocate,” says Zandiyeh. “
Taking care of your skin and using the right products for your skin type is essential.” This all comes back to the type of ingredients used in a higher-end product. “A small amount of Clinique’s Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion will lock in essential moisture and leave your skin feeling silky soft and radiant, whereas a drugstore moisturizer; you will need to use much more to achieve the same results.”

Classic beauty: The BEST MOISTURIZERS of all time

Invest in separate face and eye moisturizers. “Your skin and under eyes need the nourishment and moisture,” she says, adding that a cleanser, toner, day cream with SPF and night cream are essentials—while serums or concentrates are great add-ons for their anti-aging benefits. “My absolute favourite product that I’ve invested in and recommend often is the Clarisonic Mia,” she says. “The results of regular use remove deep impurities and prime the skin to better absorb your moisturizer.”

Luxury beauty: Where to splurge

Invest in a good base. “I always recommend splurging on foundation/tinted moisturizer and concealer,” says Zandiyeh. “These are your base products and are an important part of your daily makeup regimen.” Make sure the shade is a perfect match to your skin tone and texture. “All your other makeup products will go on smoother, blend better and last longer.” Her favourite picks for a
flawless finish? “An Armani Luminous Silk Foundation, Stila Tinted Moisturizer or Laura Mercier’s Secret Camouflage Concealer will be longer-lasting, fresh looking and feel better on your skin,” she says.

BARGAIN BEAUTY: The best drugstore beauty and skin care products

More splurge-worthy makeup and beauty products on the next page…
The benefit of a long-lasting lipstick totally justifies the cost—just make sure you found the perfect one before committing. “The biggest difference that I’ve experienced between high-end
long-wearing lipsticks compared to the drugstore brands is mainly how the texture of the lipstick changes throughout the day,” she explains. “Higher-end brands such as Chanel and Nars, their lipsticks contain emollients and creamy finishes that don’t dry the lip out, but have staying power.” For soft and moist lips, try Bobbi Brown Creamy Matte Lip Colour. “Estée Lauder Pure Color Vivid Shine lipstick lasts all day and keeps its vibrant colour,” she adds.

50-PLUS LIP FALL COLOURS

As for eye shadows, Zandiyeh opts for luxury brands like Chanel or Clé de Peau. “They use better-quality base ingredients, which allow their products to glide on smoother, last longer, crease less often and are more gentle on the skin,” she says. “A great eye shadow such as Dior 5-Color Eyeshadow Palette or NARS Duo Eyeshadow palette, are long lasting long due to their richly pigmented colours and smooth, silky textures.”

How to budget your beauty routine

Deciding how to invest in luxury beauty and skin care products is all a matter of opinion. If having
flawless-looking skin is essential, start with quality skin care products that are suited to your needs. “With great skin comes smoother makeup applications, [the need] to use less product and in essence, saving money—not needing to replenish as often,” says Zandiyeh.

“I always suggest that you save on products that have basic purposes and don’t change that much in their formulations,” she says. For example, scale back on eye liners in colourful and more on-trend shades, but invest in a
good-quality black eye liner. “When it comes to seasonal trends, I always recommend smart shopping—no one needs five shades of orange lipstick or four different brown eye shadows,” she says. “Invest in products that do more for you for longer, such as your foundations, concealer, bronzer and eye shadow palettes.”

Read more:
Natural beauty: Fresh face makeup
The best drugstore makeup and skin care finds
Skin care 101: The benefits of face masks
Your on-the-go beauty routine