Skin Care

The Real Difference Between Affordable and Expensive Skin Care

Eye creams, face oils, sheet masks, oh my. Here, what to buy when you're feeling thrifty and what's worth spending on when it's time to indulge

by Amanda Montell | COMMENT

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Skin care products give us hope — hope that with the next night cream purchase our fine lines will disappear; that with the perfect eye cream our dark circles will crawl back into the Hellmouth they came from. No matter how savvy we are as consumers, our optimism is sometimes enough to lure us into dropping a couple Benjamins on the latest-and-greatest serums and lotions.

But despite the joy we get from placing those expensive, exquisite bottles on our countertops, we still wonder: Is the money we spend (or would like to spend) on skin care really worth it?

According to Dr. Neal Schultz, MD, New York City-based dermatologist, host of DermTV.com and creator of BeautyRx, there's more that goes into the price of a single product than you might think. Of course the concentration, purity and source of active ingredients play a role, but so do lab research fees, advertising and the brand's positioning, audience and packaging.

So does that $300 serum really deserve a line on your credit card statement? "In my experience, it depends," says Dr. Brian Zelickson, MD, dermatologist and Founder of MD Complete Skincare. "I see great products that are both reasonably priced and extremely high-priced, just as I see poor products in both price categories." The bottom line: Read the ingredient list, look at product reviews, and check the website to see if there are clinical studies to back up their claims," he says.

Sounds like a lot of work, right? Luckily, we did it for you. We dug deep into the world of skin care to find 26 top-notch products — half of which you can afford on a shoestring beauty budget and half that are worth the investment. Here, the best serums, masks, lip balms and more at every price point.

Image via Imaxtree

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