Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Homebrand Beauty Products: My Thoughts!

What I wanted to know: are homebrand beauty products cheap and nasty, or cheap and awesome!? 


To find out, I set out to compare and use similar products, but that catch was: one of the products was homebrand and the other product was from well-known brand. Over the years, I always used products that were well-known brands, because I thought that homebrand was just a cheap knock-off of the brand products! I thought that:


Homebrand = cheap price = low quality = bad product!! 


Also, when I lived with my parents, I didn't really think of the price (naughty I know!), but I just picked up the product that I always used. In saying that, I was aware that it was my parents who paid the grocery bill, so every so often, I would try homebrand products...Back then, the homebrand beauty products were not up to scratch. 


Homebrand products a couple of years ago...
Make-up removal pads
  • The make-up removal pads fell apart as they didn't have sealed edges (so instead of having one pad, you had two!)
  • When the pad fell apart, the fibres went everywhere! 
  • They weren't the softest thing around...
  • If you had dry skin, the fibres would cling to your skin!
  • Trying to use a pad to remove nail polish was useless, because after one nail, the pad became flimsy and useless!


Cotton tips
  • The cotton tips were inconsistent in size (some were tight, while the other end was fluffy!)
  • As soon as I place it in nail polish remover, the tip swelled to double the size, which meant I couldn't clean around my nails as well,
  • The quality was shocking...I remember the tip fell off a few times! (for no apparent reason! I didn't pull it off either!)


Nail polish remover
  • The nail polish remover wasn't moisturising and it made my skin feel drier after several uses
  • It didn't clean my nails properly!
  • It would take several make-up removal pads and lots of nail polish remover to take off my polish!
Needless to say, I went back to buying brand products, which was normally Swisspers or Cutex. I found that these brands had great products, that never did any of the above...however, the price tag was higher! It was only once I moved out of my parents place, a couple of years later, that I began to think about what I really used the products for! I mean, it's not like I was using these beauty products to eat off...and after one use, they went in the bin! Therefore, I decided to give homebrand another try...

Most of the time, I shop at Woolworths (a supermarket here in Australia), and everytime I reach the beauty aisle, I smile! That day, I made my way to the nail section and picked up the Woolworths Select nail polish remover, and from memory, there are three types to choose from: moisturising, nourishing and acetone-free (don't quote me on that though!). I decided to buy the moisturising type! I then went to the make-up removal pads and cotton tips, and picked up the Woolworths Homebrand of each.

Homebrand products now...
Make-up removal pads
  • The make-up removal pads now have sealed edges, which prevent them from falling apart
  • No messy fibres! 
  • Doesn't cling to any dry skin!
  • When using with nail polish remover, I only need two pads!
  • Also, they are soft and very easy to use!


Cotton tips
  • The cotton tips are consistent in size, small and tight!
  • No fluffiness (if you like fluffy cotton tips, these aren't for you!)
  • When putting it in nail polish remover, the tip stays the same size, so it is really easy to clean around and under the nail!
  • Best of all, the tip doesn't fall off!

Nail polish remover
  • Given that I chose the moisturising nail polish remover, it actually moisturises my skin as well! It doesn't make my skin dry :) It has almond oil and shea butter in the ingredients!
  • It cleans my nails well and I only have to use a couple of make-up removal pads to take off my polish! (Unless I'm wearing glitter polish!!)
  • For a nail polish remover, it actually smells nice! Not your typical chemical smell!
You can tell how much I love this...
It's virtually empty!!


Needless to say, I now re-purchase these homebrand products constantly! I don't even look at the brand products anymore! Another plus of these homebrand products is the price! These are at least a few dollars cheaper, and are usually less than half the price of the brand products! 


My verdict:

Homebrand = cheap price = great quality = awesome product!! 

I hope this helps anyone who is a bit iffy about the quality of homebrand products! I'd love to hear what your thoughts of homebrand products are and any experiences you have!


3 comments:

  1. Very well written my friend! Wow...you've done your homework. I too am finding out how well homebrand (or 'brand name' as we call it here) have improved. Target brand and Walmart brand name products are amazing...not all, but many. I use the Walmart brand facial cloths and Target brand eye makeup remover and cleansing wipes. Good job!!

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  2. Yay! Great post K :) I totally agree, homebrand products have improved dramatically in the last few years. There are tonnes I get from Aldi - might review or blog about those down the track. I'm so jealous of Em having Walmart! I'll have to try the Woolies makeup pads, as the Aldi ones don't have sealed edges and that has always been an issue for me.

    I can HIGHLY recommend Aldi's makeup/skincare brand Lacura, and a lot of Aldi's other personal care items :)

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  3. will try some make-up removal pads and cotton tips when i next time go to Woolworths :) thanks :)

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