Saturday, May 7, 2011
I am all for quality.
Fine materials, durability, the feel, the look. I want it all.
Yes, all those things cost money and yes most of us, including myself, can't afford them all the time.
Once in a while though, we need to invest in some quality.
Look at it this way, an eyeliner.
You can get many types of eyeliner starting at $1.
The cheapest one will not necessarily be bad, but I wouldn't trust it to be durable.
Then there's my favorite eyeliner; Urban Decay's 24/7 eyeliner.
They will set you back $18 a piece, crazy I know!
I almost had a heart attack when after trying on this amazing product I saw the price.
$18? Are you serious? Who in their right mind would pay so much for an eyeliner?
Me, that's who, and I can't say I regret because it was that purchase that led me to understand when it's ok to splurge on some items.
This $18 eyeliner has lasted so long. I've used it almost every time I've done my make-up and it's still pretty long. I've only sharpened it four times.
How? Well let's get into the specs.
It's very smooth when applied, the liner just glides on.
The pigmentation is amazing, one pass through your eye and it's enough to get a nice black solid line.
It's also waterproof, hence the 24/7 claim.
You do not need to reapply it so you don't use as much product, that's why it last so long.
So in conclusion, I much rather buy an $18 eyeliner that is going to last me forever and look amazing rather than get 18 $1 eyeliners that are going to take too much effort to apply, not lat long and in the end waste product.
Another example would be clothing.
I live by Fordham Rd. and anybody who knows anything about cheap clothing knows that this is the place to go if you're looking for bargain piece.
The downside is, there isn't much quality.
The fabric on some of these pieces is somewhat thin, the stitching isn't that great, and the colors sometimes fade after a few washes.
Please don't get me wrong, not everything found here is bad. I myself have found some good sturdy pieces that I've had for years, but this is not always the case.
So should you not shop here?
No!
Just understand that buying a $2 top will most likely not last you months and months as would a more expensive alternative would.
Now I'm not saying that everything that costs more will last you longer.
I just believe that higher end brands do take pride in the quality they offer their customer and they actually take the time to find the best materials to create these pieces.
One last example would be purses.
I've always been a fan of the handbags. My favorite ones were from Victoria's Secret. I would wait and wait until their semi-annual sale and stock up on two or three handbags to use during the year.
Their bags are of nice quality, usually they are under the $40 mark and they come with goodies inside.
I never really did care for the lotion and mists included, but the bag, their designs are to die for. I love them!
Sadly, they do not last forever, and once the year has passed my bags are all but falling apart.
I do want to say though, I use these bags on a daily basis, they've seen the floor of every corner of my room, they been hung by one handled, thrown over the bed, sat on, punched, flung around, you name it!
Lately though, I've started to appreciate another brand such as Coach.
They are designer bags but the price-tag will not make you go bankrupt.
It's a more affordable way to sport some fancy purse that actually looks and feels good.
So far I own two but I did not pay full retail price for either of them.
Thankfully some friends of mine who take good care of their bags decided to resell their bags.
Well one person did, but one of the bags went to someone else before getting to me.
Regardless of that, the bags are of top quality, they may be pre-owned but you could not tell just by looking at them.
I think the combination of very careful handling by their previous owners, and the way these bags were made makes them age beautifully.
Granted, they aren't that old, but I can see the quality oozing out of them.
The stitching is sturdy and impeccable, the design is modern yet sophisticated.
There's so much more I could say about them but the point of this is to let you know that sometimes is a good idea to invest in quality.
I can't stress this enough though; Higher price doesn't always mean best quality and neither does low price mean bad quality.
If you like something and you know the quality is amazing then get it.
If it happens to be affordable then good for you!
If it happens to be a bit pricey then splurge a little. It will be worth it in the long run. You won't have to purchase a replacement so soon and that means more savings for you.
To conclude my very long speech, I want to say this. Yes, I like to buy higher end brands, no I'm not being a snob by doing so. I just rather have finer quality that will last me years to come than save a few bucks here and there for crappy things.
If I had 3k-5k to spend on a Louis Vuitton I so would. I wouldn't even think about it.
Sadly I can't afford it, but this would be a great example of where quality meets ridiculously pricing. Is it worth it?
Hellz Yeah!
Is it pricey?
Hellz Yeah!
In the end, you decide what's worth splurging on or not.
Fine materials, durability, the feel, the look. I want it all.
Yes, all those things cost money and yes most of us, including myself, can't afford them all the time.
Once in a while though, we need to invest in some quality.
Look at it this way, an eyeliner.
You can get many types of eyeliner starting at $1.
The cheapest one will not necessarily be bad, but I wouldn't trust it to be durable.
Then there's my favorite eyeliner; Urban Decay's 24/7 eyeliner.
They will set you back $18 a piece, crazy I know!
I almost had a heart attack when after trying on this amazing product I saw the price.
$18? Are you serious? Who in their right mind would pay so much for an eyeliner?
Me, that's who, and I can't say I regret because it was that purchase that led me to understand when it's ok to splurge on some items.
This $18 eyeliner has lasted so long. I've used it almost every time I've done my make-up and it's still pretty long. I've only sharpened it four times.
How? Well let's get into the specs.
It's very smooth when applied, the liner just glides on.
The pigmentation is amazing, one pass through your eye and it's enough to get a nice black solid line.
It's also waterproof, hence the 24/7 claim.
You do not need to reapply it so you don't use as much product, that's why it last so long.
So in conclusion, I much rather buy an $18 eyeliner that is going to last me forever and look amazing rather than get 18 $1 eyeliners that are going to take too much effort to apply, not lat long and in the end waste product.
Another example would be clothing.
I live by Fordham Rd. and anybody who knows anything about cheap clothing knows that this is the place to go if you're looking for bargain piece.
The downside is, there isn't much quality.
The fabric on some of these pieces is somewhat thin, the stitching isn't that great, and the colors sometimes fade after a few washes.
Please don't get me wrong, not everything found here is bad. I myself have found some good sturdy pieces that I've had for years, but this is not always the case.
So should you not shop here?
No!
Just understand that buying a $2 top will most likely not last you months and months as would a more expensive alternative would.
Now I'm not saying that everything that costs more will last you longer.
I just believe that higher end brands do take pride in the quality they offer their customer and they actually take the time to find the best materials to create these pieces.
One last example would be purses.
I've always been a fan of the handbags. My favorite ones were from Victoria's Secret. I would wait and wait until their semi-annual sale and stock up on two or three handbags to use during the year.
Their bags are of nice quality, usually they are under the $40 mark and they come with goodies inside.
I never really did care for the lotion and mists included, but the bag, their designs are to die for. I love them!
Sadly, they do not last forever, and once the year has passed my bags are all but falling apart.
I do want to say though, I use these bags on a daily basis, they've seen the floor of every corner of my room, they been hung by one handled, thrown over the bed, sat on, punched, flung around, you name it!
Lately though, I've started to appreciate another brand such as Coach.
They are designer bags but the price-tag will not make you go bankrupt.
It's a more affordable way to sport some fancy purse that actually looks and feels good.
So far I own two but I did not pay full retail price for either of them.
Thankfully some friends of mine who take good care of their bags decided to resell their bags.
Well one person did, but one of the bags went to someone else before getting to me.
Regardless of that, the bags are of top quality, they may be pre-owned but you could not tell just by looking at them.
I think the combination of very careful handling by their previous owners, and the way these bags were made makes them age beautifully.
Granted, they aren't that old, but I can see the quality oozing out of them.
The stitching is sturdy and impeccable, the design is modern yet sophisticated.
There's so much more I could say about them but the point of this is to let you know that sometimes is a good idea to invest in quality.
I can't stress this enough though; Higher price doesn't always mean best quality and neither does low price mean bad quality.
If you like something and you know the quality is amazing then get it.
If it happens to be affordable then good for you!
If it happens to be a bit pricey then splurge a little. It will be worth it in the long run. You won't have to purchase a replacement so soon and that means more savings for you.
To conclude my very long speech, I want to say this. Yes, I like to buy higher end brands, no I'm not being a snob by doing so. I just rather have finer quality that will last me years to come than save a few bucks here and there for crappy things.
If I had 3k-5k to spend on a Louis Vuitton I so would. I wouldn't even think about it.
Sadly I can't afford it, but this would be a great example of where quality meets ridiculously pricing. Is it worth it?
Hellz Yeah!
Is it pricey?
Hellz Yeah!
In the end, you decide what's worth splurging on or not.
Labels:
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment