14 Things You Shouldn’t Pay More For (Because There’s No Difference Between Expensive And Cheap)

The modern market offers us a huge number of products of the most diverse types, from budget to luxurious. And we tend to think that the quality of the more expensive ones is very different from the cheaper ones. After all, the more expensive the better, right? Not necessarily.

In this post, an author of awesome.club, based on his own experience, compiled a list of goods and services that are generally not worth spending a lot of money on. After all, the higher cost may not mean a big difference in quality.

My name is Julia, I’m 41 years old. Over the past 20-25 years, I have experimented with various types of beauty and care products, and have also used many other goods and services that we are encouraged to pay a lot for. But empirically, I’ve found that it’s not always worth buying a more expensive product; sometimes cheaper doesn’t mean worse.

I have already tested many nail polishes and I can say that, regardless of the cost and quality, they all look the same on the nails: even, smooth and beautiful. But none last more than a few days. It’s a similar story with nail gels: the professional paints your nails in the salon with a specific tool or you do it yourself at home with a simple product from a cosmetics store. And then they both take off just as quickly. It all depends not on the glaze, but on the skill of the one who applies it. Oh yes, things also depend on how often you wash dishes without gloves.

There is certainly a difference in the composition of the products: in some there are less harmful substances, in others more. And this is an important factor. However, if we talk about durability, then there are no differences. For example, both nail polishes in the photos above peeled off after three days.

I used professional cosmetics, luxury products, natural shampoos and other common supermarket ones. Once, as a test, I washed one half of my head with cheap shampoo and the other half with expensive shampoo. I was surprised to find that cheaply washed hair looked so much better.

True, after using cheap shampoos, the hair becomes greasy a little faster: apparently, they have a lot of silicone in their composition. But for the same money you can buy any natural shampoo that contains much milder ingredients. And between natural products and expensive shampoos, I didn’t see much difference in quality, no matter how hard I tried. Only in price.

I brushed my teeth with all kinds of toothpaste. There were times when I wanted an exclusively natural composition and used one without excipients. Sometimes I bought special products on the recommendation of a dentist. But gradually I came to the conclusion that genetics, and not the paste itself, affects the condition of the teeth. If your teeth are not very good from birth, then the paste will not help: you need constant prevention and regular treatment. If nature gave you strong teeth, you can clean them even with ashes – this will not make them hurt more often.

This is an absolutely foreign cosmetics segment for me from the beginning. I never understood why one shower gel costs BRL 4, another BRL 15 and the third BRL 75. They foam exactly the same way and the aroma of the product, both for a lower price and for a higher price, disappears with the same speed. By the way, the aroma of gels with perfume lasts a little longer. However, in this case, a logical question arises: what’s the point of paying for microscopic packages of expensive shower gel if you can use the same perfume?

I used to think that expensive cosmetics could stay on your face all day and not smudge, leak or score in the wrong place. But, unfortunately, I found that many luxury brand pencils, when applied to the upper eyelids in hot weather, leak, leaving ‘tragic’ black shadows under the eyes. In desperation, I tried something cheaper. The effect turned out to be the same: most of it is still stained and marked, but there are some that hold up well. Now, my eyebrow pencil is from a Polish brand, it costs up to R$20 and, for the eyes, R$25. I am absolutely satisfied with both.

Many women use hair removal devices regularly. I must admit, I have never seen much difference between a device from a well-known women’s brand with a removable (and expensive) blade and a simple disposable one that can be used by both women and men. Yes, expensive blades last two to three times longer than cheap ones. But a device with a replaceable blade costs more than R$52 and a disposable one (which can actually be used more than once) costs R$5. As a result, the quality is the same, but the price is five to six times lower. .

I asked the opinion of a friend who bought an expensive device. This is what she told me: “Those wide edges at the top and bottom are said to protect against cuts. Well, the hairs themselves protect from the blade. Not sure if I’ll buy another removable pad.”

Clothes from ‘cool’ brands are, of course, really cool. However, let’s face it: brand name jeans wear out just as much as cheap brand jeans. Sometimes even faster. By the way, not only us, mere mortals, are preferring “democratic” clothes: in recent years, pop stars are increasingly attentive to the ‘mass market’.

I usually go to the hairdresser when I need to do a complex color or cut that I can’t do myself. After all, if it’s possible to do something on my own, I will. Dyeing and cutting my own hair, unfortunately, is not on my list of possibilities. But I can easily cut my son’s and my husband’s hair. There’s nothing ultra-difficult about scissoring and finishing with the hair clipper at the back of the head. Therefore, I do not see anything shameful in the fact that my loved ones cut their hair with me, and not with the ‘master’ for big money.

The main component of clay masks of any price segment, as you might guess, is clay itself. Manufacturers of expensive brands subtly imply that it was extracted by “people specially prepared for this on full moon nights” (a narrative to value the product), add oils, crushed cranberry or grape seeds — in short, they create stories to sell the product. product at a higher price. But, to be honest, ordinary cosmetic clay in a transparent bag, bought on the market for $4-$8, works in exactly the same way.

Nowadays, sneakers have gained a kind of universal status. They are the most democratic footwear that exists and can be used in many situations. I had expensive branded sneakers and regular, simpler sneakers. Both leather with fabric parts. I didn’t feel any difference in use and they lost their lifespan after the same time. Therefore, when buying a new one, I opted for an ordinary sneaker from the middle price segment. By the way, it’s nice that celebrities support this wonderful trend by simply wearing cheap brands.

Hygienic lipsticks, balms and lip butters can cost from a few cents to hundreds of reais. But spending a lot on such an item simply does not make sense, since the composition of most of them is approximately the same. Wax, oils, and lanolin: that’s the main ingredient list. You can, of course, pay R$70 for the lipstick and pamper your vanity with the brand name printed on the lid. Or you can buy the product for BRL 4 to BRL 8. The principle of action and the result of application will be the same.

Those who cook regularly must have paid attention to utensils and cookware from the most popular cooking shows. If that’s the case for you, don’t be in a hurry to throw away your grandmother’s old frying pan or your favorite stainless steel pan from the most popular brand. In fact, stainless steel pans are not good for everything: food sticks to the bottom and everything burns. Keep in mind that the good old cast iron skillet your grandma used on the farm or an aluminum one will do the trick, sometimes with more quality than the fancy pieces.

It’s nice to have a premium class phone, but let’s face it: most of us don’t use all the features it has. A medium-priced device meets the needs of an average person. In addition, nowadays the models are so similar that there is simply no longer that status of answering a call on a device with a cool design or a brand that is the darling of ‘geeks’. Almost all models allow you to make calls and access the Internet, so there’s no point in paying extra for the brand or even just for the latest version.

It’s the same phone story: they all have the same operating systems and the difference is only in the amount of memory, battery capacity and screen quality. More expensive and sophisticated models are needed only by those who need to install large programs for work or study. If you work on the Internet, a simple Chromebook is enough, which will allow you to have all the office programs and the same applications on your phone.

And what things do you skimp on without sacrificing self-esteem and health? Comment.