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We're all for high-low beauty. We save where we can by picking up that $6 Garnier cleansing water, then we splurge when we really want the never-goes-on-sale YSL lipstick. But what's interesting, and relatively unknown to the average buyer, is that plastic pink-capped bottle "save" from CVS and the gold-plated designer lipstick are more similar than you'd think — because they're actually owned by the same company.
The big beauty conglomerate L'Oréal owns budget labels like Garnier and Essie, and more luxe names like YSL and Lancôme. Same goes for Estée Lauder, Shiseido, P&G, and more. It's business 101, and the beauty industry is 445 billion dollars strong (and growing).
And although that all might seem like not-so-sexy corporate mumbo jumbo, hear us out because it's actually relevant to your shopping experience. That's because when brands share a parent company, they also share a bunch of other things — namely, product technologies, ingredients, and formulation innovations. So, how you shop for pricey mascara and night cream could actually help inform how you navigate the aisles of CVS — because technologies are often shared between prestige and budget brands within the same family. It also affects your purchasing decisions, like whether brands that don't support animal testing are owned by parent companies that do.
So whether you're just curious about the history, or hoping to find a cheaper alternative of your more expensive products, click on through. You may be surprised to find out that your favorite CC Cream has a cousin.
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