The High Cost of Cosmetics

Cosmetics consumers, mostly women, spend
$30 billion a year with the goal of improving their appearance. But do they really need to spend so much?

"The myth is that expensive means better," says Paula Begoun, a skin care expert turned consumer advocate. "It's actually shocking how similar the ingredients are. Particularly for eye pencils and lip pencils. Not only are they similar, but they often, about 80 percent of the time, come out of the same manufacturing plant."

Many retailers base their markups on such incidentals as brand names, packaging, and even where the makeup is sold. But often, whether a woman buys her cosmetics at Saks Fifth Avenue or the local drug store, the ingredients are the same.

The best way to fight back? Read the labels.

For complete details, click on Baskin's investigative report above.

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