It’s no secret that safer, cleaner products are more expensive. This goes beyond beauty and skincare. I get so many questions on how to save on products that are better for you so here’s my answer.
Why safer products are more expensive.
First, let me explain why they’re more expensive. Safer ingredients cost more. Responsible sourcing of those ingredients from sources that are eco-friendly takes a lot of work. On top of that, many ingredients need to have byproducts filtered out of them to make them completely safe. Ingredients like retinol or PEGs are great examples. That filtration process costs money. For all these reasons, safer products often come with a higher price tag. If the brand is paying more to manufacture, you can bet you will. Otherwise, they can’t make a profit. Unfortunately, that’s just business.
While this is hard to avoid, at least until more companies and manufacturers care after making safer products, here’s how I’ve justified the cost.
- Long term, you’ll pay less in medical bills. You’ll be healthier and have fewer problems.
- Cleaner products also tend to be free of toxic chemicals that cause skin issues which we then have to cover up with makeup. So, you’ll spend less on makeup that you need. Makeup you just want to wear is a different story!
- Most safer products really aren’t that much more expensive. Sure, they’re more pricey than drugstore products but drugstore products are packed with ingredients you really don’t want on your body or your family’s body. Here’s the best analogy I can find. Safer beauty products are like organic apples at the grocery store. Regular beauty products are like the regular apples. And drugstore beauty products are like the discount items that have expired or are almost to the point of being unusable.
Nothing is more valuable than you are – your health, happiness, and quality of life. It comes down to what’s right for you and what you value which is a decision everyone makes for themselves.
One of the biggest hurdles is budget which I completely understand. Budgets are restricting for various reasons at various points in our lives. As someone who works in finance, I get it more than anyone! But for the first reason above (fewer medical bills), I feel pretty strongly that using safer products has been better on my budget over the last 5 years. I’ve gotten sick once or twice and haven’t been to the doctor other than to get my annual exams. This doesn’t happen overnight though so I’m constantly looking for safer budget friendly options to share with you guys!
Safer products and effectiveness.
When it comes to safer beauty products, a lot of them just don’t work. Heck, a lot of any kind of beauty products just don’t work. The most effective or most active ingredients are often the most toxic. Either that, or brands leave ingredients out to cut their costs. It’s all business. It’s frustrating to find products that are effective and don’t make us regret splurging on a little self care!
You guys know that Beautycounter is one of my favorite brands. I’ll be the first to admit that not every single product is the best in the world. No brand has a selection of products that are the best in the world. Just like not one of us can be best at every single thing we do. That’s why you’ll find me mixing brands in my skincare and makeup routines. Having working in the beauty industry for 3 years in Los Angeles, I know the challenges better than most! At the same time, Beautycounter is one of those brands that has the widest selection of good quality products that actually work.
Beautycounter Band of Beauty Membership.
So how do you save on safer products? This is what I would do. I’d get the Beautycounter Band of Beauty Membership. It’s an annual fee of $29 but here’s why it pays for itself on your first order. And then some. Let me break it down,
- You get a free gift (full sized product) with your first $50 purchase. In the last 6 months, the free gifts have been the Charcoal Face Mask and the Sugar Body Scrub. Both products are outstanding products that I use regularly. And they’re both worth more than $29. Right there, you’ve already made the $29 back and then some (depending on the product). They seem to switch up the free gift every couple months and there’s no way to know in advance what it is until you add the membership to your cart along with $50 in product. It will automatically appear in your cart after that. You don’t have to do anything else! And if it’s not the mask or the body scrub, add those to your cart.
- 15% product credit. This is basically like a 15% discount code every time you order. In this instance, loyalty pays. Since not everyone wants to be loyal to one brand, I usually recommend the membership to people who do care about making the switch to safer products or really need whatever the free gift is at the time. Either way, it’s worth it. I will caveat and say up front that the product credits need to be applied to future orders and they expire in 60 days. This is why I recommend placing smaller orders more frequently. Try a few products now and a few others later. When trying new skincare products, you should only be introducing a few new ones to your routine at a time anyway. That way you can keep track of the results better. Think of it as a scientific test. All of the Beautycounter products should last you longer than 60 days unless you’re using them more than normal. Just make sure you don’t let them expire!! That’s a waste of money!
- Free shipping at $100. This is why I say purchase smaller orders more frequently. After hitting the $100 mark as a member, it doesn’t really benefit you much to spend more unless they’re running a promotion. Therefore, I’d get your order to just over $100 + any necessities and checkout. You can always go back and place another $100 order. With so many great products, there are plenty of things I’d recommend you try. I’m always here to answer questions or make recommendations too. I am honest with my experiences and help you prioritize what to buy now versus later.
I’m often asked if Beautycounter runs sales. They don’t… really. To my knowledge, they’ve never done a site wide sale like 30% off. I worked at the corporate a few years back and it’s just not functional for them. They value health, quality, and effectiveness over a cheap product that doesn’t help you and harms your health.
Now, they will do the occasional promotion where you spend $x and get a free gift with purchase. I’ve also seen certain products marked down when they are planning to relabel or reformulate. They did that with one of their shampoo and conditioner collections this year (they discontinued it temporarily to make the formula even better) as well as the sunscreen (they launched a new line that includes a mist). They also ran this clean swap promo earlier in the year. There’s honestly no way to predict these promotions other than to keep checking their site. If you follow me on Instagram, I’ll always let you know though if that helps!
Being skeptical of an MLM.
In full disclosure, Beautycounter is a multi-level marketing company (MLM). You don’t have to shop with a “Consultant” because you can always just go to their website and shop directly but most people do. I’m a Beautycounter Consultant so if you do shop through my links or “with me” it supports my business. The same is true of almost all links on Visions of Vogue. It’s how I manage to make this a business!
I know there are A LOT of people that are skeptical about MLMs. I totally get it. I WORKED at the company and refused to be a Consultant because I was so skeptical. I generally felt like all of them were scams – it didn’t even have to do with Beautycounter. Consultants seemed too pushy. I can’t tell you how many Rodan + Fields Consultants have messaged me on Instagram whether trying to attack me for liking Beautycounter or to take advantage of me! You do you, but I’m going to do me!
It took me 5 years to come around to the idea of being a part of an MLM. 5 YEARS. Talk about reluctance! In the end, I wanted to be a part of Beautycounter’s social mission. To support their work on legislature that makes it so all companies have to be a little better about checking their ingredients. More safe brands means more competition. More competition means better prices and better products. That sounds pretty good to me regardless what company I’m a Consultant for. For me, that’s what made Beautycounter different than all the rest. Having a powerhouse lineup of products that I regularly used doesn’t hurt either!
Again, this is a personal choice as is making the switch to safer products. You have to do what’s right for you and for your family. We are all at different places. I will say that anyone can become a Consultant and it’s also a great earning opportunity. If you ever want to know more, send me an email. I’d be happy to have you on my team and it is my job to coach you to success. And truly, anyone can do it. You don’t need a big following on social media or a blog to be successful – but a passion about safer products helps.
Are you interested in trying safer products? Have you heard of Beautycounter? What did you think?
looking good
nice post