Aesop Skincare by the Number$: Justifying the Cost for Great Products

Let me preface this very long post with a big thumbs up endorsement for Aesop. In this post I will walk you through my decision process that made me first aware of this well designed brand and why I eventually paid my hard earned money for my first bottles of product.

So to start, let's state for the record that I'm just like you; I work hard, I like nice things, and I'm a sucker for great packaging. So it's no surprise that after seeing this social media darling brand on Instagram prominently for over a year now I finally caved and plunked down the funds for a toner and a moisturizer. I didn't do it because I'm a brand whore. Sure, I'm a weak person and am occasionally blinded by labels, but I'd like to think that I rise above that temptation more often than not. To state it simply, I'm a consumer and a human being just like you; I get up in the morning and wash my face, slather on moisturizer, get some SPF in there, and get ready for my work day. I too get frustrated when my skin occasionally erupts with pimples, or insane dry patches mixed with what seem like oil slicks, or even hives on crazy sensitive days. I've been #blessed with pretty good skin in that I never had very bad acne, but the fact is my own face is on my person for life, and when it's not in tip-top shape it eats away at my resolve to be a confident person. So I research the hell out of products to try.

I was on the Kiehl's wagon for a couple years before, but my skin was ultimately either too sensitive to some of the more antioxidant oriented products or just plain unchanged by the much-heralded tried and true favorites. So I moved up to Aveda: I liked it! I love some of the hair products and like that they are more natural and plant based than other products. But after a while I was wishing the toners and moisturizers I was using were a little more potent — had more oomf to really last through the day. I even tried laddering up to the even more intense product line, but that ultimately proved too oily or equally ineffective. So I sat without a go-to skin regimen for months. I didn't want to just go out and buy anything either, so I was using body lotion on my face, or over the counter Ponds cream, which was nice for a while, but over time the lack of quality of ingredients, or the mish mash of ingredients (or both?) really started to run amuck on my face. Disaster. 

Sure, I am using Glossier's moisturizer, but I consider that product strictly makeup because it really does nothing more for my skin that make it ready to accept the skin tint. That leads me to a couple weeks ago when Aesop became a real frontrunner based off of what I read online about their ingredients and convincing product descriptions. So I lurked around the intimidating beauty counters with pricey skincare items and I practically insisted that the salespeople everywhere give me enough samples to try an entire regimen with Aesop for long enough to verify a) nothing would make me break out in pimples or hives, or b) if the designer/cult hype behind them was real. 

I worked like a conman, hitting up different stores at different times getting samples to make sure I had what I needed to try Aesop out before buying anything. This, my friends, is not tacky behavior, and in fact I stand by it because Aesop is not cheap. The initial cost of 2-3 bottles of anything will run about $200+. (Tangent/support message: If you too are on the fence but feel all sheepish about asking for free stuff you need to snap out of it. Go out and get yourself some samples until you're happy and satisfied with your new resolve to spend over $200 on pricey skin care products. No one will judge you! And if they do, who cares! These people don't pay your bills!! You do!!! So you do you.)

Olga, I'm getting worried, this is a really long post, even for you. Is there a point?

Yes. There is. Bless you. My point is this: 

After living off samples for about 3 weeks I can attest to the fact that it takes very little of Aesop product to quench your beautiful face and slather it in concentrated beautiful smelling goodness. So when you do the math, a $65 of toner (like the Parsley Seed one above) will probably last you about 4-5 months. That's $13 a month, people, or $0.43 cents a day. Nice right? Take the superb Parsley Seed face moisturizer as another example, that bottle is even smaller but I only use about two pea size amounts on my face because this shit is that good. A little truly goes a long way here. That bottle costs another $65, and I can estimate there are about 3-4 months of pea sized portions in there. That comes down to $16.25 a month, or $0.54 cents a day. All told I purchased my favorite hand balm as well for $27.

That to me is a good purchase because I've not only proven to myself that it satisfies my skin's needs, but after the initial ramp up costs, the products themselves are well worth the money for how long they last. If anything, I suggest buying one bottle at a time with each paycheck and over time growing your favorites of whatever that brand may be.

Bonus: when there are beauty events that involve extra large gifts with purchase go for it.