Who hasn't been intimidated by the make up counters at those big department stores? Young girls dressed in all black with perfectly slicked ponytails and manicured nails. Or even worse is the older women dressed all in black with every product known to man on their face.
Needless to say I feel a little out of place coming in with jeans, a sippy cup and a touchy toddler at my side asking "Uh, hi, I need a moisturizer?"
Chances are you will either be given the first product available, the most expensive product available or you will be told not only do you need a moisturizer, you also need this sea kelp mask that refines the tone of your sub-dermal layer of skin using new technology only recently discovered in the depths of the African Jungle!
Oy.
Want my suggestion? Figure out what it is that you need. Ask around, find out what people's favorite products are. Do your research. Did you see a product in a beauty magazine (let's be honest, US Weekly anyone? While waiting at the car repair shop?) that piqued your interest? Does a friend use a shade of eyeshadow you covet? Don't be shy about asking people what they use on their face, especially if they are similarly colored as you. And if you really want my advice, find out how much the product is before you head in to those ladies in black and are flabbergasted by sticker shock.
BUT!
The great thing about buying those expensive products is that they come with a little thing I like to call a "return policy". Even if you've had it for two months and have nearly used it all up, if it's not for you, it's not for you. Return it. Be sure to ask the return policy when you purchase the item, is it money back? Store credit? Exchange? Don't be shy! It's your money and your face! Defend their honor! The other great thing about department store cosmetics is something known as the "gift with purchase". Trial sizes of face wash? Hello gym bag! Little funky eyeshadows? Hello girls night out! Little zippered bag? Hello toddler purse! I always try to time my purchase of a new product to coincide with these "gifts", because by dang, if I'm going to be giving you $36 for moisturized skin you'd better add in a little something extra.
Even bargain chains like Walgreens have a return policy on their cosmetics. Buy something in the wrong shade? Exchange it! (Keep your receipt and keep in mind that their return policies are much less generous when it comes to time, I think a week is the general cutoff.)
Before I realized such things were allowed as returning that coral orange lipstick that seemed a good idea at the time, I threw all my dumb beauty purchases into a bin. "The beauty graveyard" as I like to call it. I had spent money on it! I wasn't about to throw it away just because it made me look like a floozy! I may need to look like a floozy someday and I'll have the perfect shade of floozy lipstick!
You know the beauty graveyard of which I speak.
RIP sample sizes and risky spur of the moment purchases.
So here's an idea. Get a bunch of your girlfriends together and host a "revive the beauty graveyard" party. Maybe you have a hair gel that Sarah has been dying to try. And maybe Sarah has a bronzer that you've been wanting to try yourself. You get those useless products out of your life, you may score some sweet new beauty loot yourself and your friends will come to appreciate you, you impulse shopper you. Not to mention the environment (and your husband) will be singing your praises.
So what are your feelings on those (seemingly) overpriced cosmetics? Are you the type that can purchase and return them comfortably? Or are you more likely to go inexpensive and add to your own beauty graveyard? I'd love to discuss it with you further over at Blissfully Domestic Living.
I'm a professional hair color addict. I have learned the hard way that coloring my hair at home is a disaster, and I am willing to sacrifice many personal expenses to maintain salon highlights. 
