By now you have used hundreds of beauty products, but have you ever wondered what are the world’s best beauty brands that are under budget? With the ‘Top 10’ stigma overriding almost every fashion blog these days, even Fashionlasy was not an exception.
[Also Read: Best Budget Lipsticks]
Being enslaved by this trend, I have also come up with a ‘Top 10’ piece. Not just any random topic, but I have gathered the world’s top leading brands, which are hugely popular because of their advanced formulas and high end results. And the best part is you do not have to spend a fortune on these items, as they come under your budget.
Do have a look at the world’s best beauty brands that are available at affordable rates! Every brand listed here comes with an honest review for your convenience. Bonus points grab them!
#10 Shiseido
2012 Brand value: $2.9 billion
2011 Brand value: $3 billion
Change in value: -2%
Last year’s rank: No. 11
Shiseido is a prominent Japanese hair care and cosmetics brand, which is also one of the oldest cosmetics companies in the world. Founded in 1872, it celebrated its 140th year anniversary in 2012. That’s incredible isn’t it? It is the largest cosmetic firm in Japan and the fourth largest cosmetics company in the world.
The strengths of Shiseido –
Suncscreens: Their sunscreens are among the best in the world. As most of them offer UVA protection along-with a variety of options including titanium dioxide, zinc oxide or avobenzone
Moisturizers: The brand offers a handful of good even though not great moisturizers
Oil Blotting papers: They come with powerful oil-absorbing ingredient, Hydroxyapatite that absorb sebums as well as lipid peroxide.
Foundations: Their liquid foundation not only seamlessly blends but also instantly removes conspicuous pores, acne scars, and skin roughness for perfectly even, long-lasting coverage.
Lipstick: Their Perfect Rouge Lipstick is one of the best creamy lipsticks you can find at the department store. This lipstick comes with powerful skincare with cutting-edge color technologies to create the ultimate lipstick. the clear, true, rich with polished finish surely makes this luscious shade unique.
2012 Brand value: $3.3 billion
2011 Brand value: $3 billion
Change in value: 11%
Last year’s rank: No. 10
Biore is a sister company of Kao Corporation, which manufactures daily skincare and makeup items in Japan.
Strengths
- The brand offers complete ingredient lists for every product listed on their website
- Provides high end improved cleansers
Weaknesses
- Notorious for pore strips
- Lots of their items are alcohol/menthol based
- Sunscreen lacks the proper UVA protection
#8 Estee Lauder
Based in: U.S.
2012 Brand value: $3.7 billion
2011 Brand value: $3 billion
Change in value: 22%
Last year’s rank: No. 9
Estée Lauder is an American cosmetic company based in new York City and manufactures high end skincare and haircare products, makeup and fragrance items. As of 30 July 2013 (the end of the fiscal year), Estée Lauder, for the first time, had sales of more than $10 billion.
Strengths of Estee Lauder
State-of-the-art moisturizers: Their moisturizer comes with powerful UV protection that helps defend your skin and make it look younger. It is enabled with the most effective anti-oxidant power ever.
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Other strengths: Toners, serums, sunscreens, concealers, powders, blush, lip pencils, long-wearing lipsticks and eyeshadows.
Weaknesses
- Highly fragranced cosmetic items
- No good products for blemishes
- No effective BHA or AHA items
- Re-Nutriv items are pricey
- Average makeup brushes
- Products come with jar packaging
#7 Dove
Based in: Britain
2012 Brand value: $5 billion
2011 Brand value: $4.5 billion
Change in value: 12%
Last year’s rank: No. 8
Dove is a UK-based personal care brand owned by Unilever. The products are sold in more than 80 countries and are offered for both women and men. They produce deodorants, body washes, beauty bars, lotions/moisturizers, hair care, and facial care products.
Strengths
- Inexpensive
- Readily available in all major drugstores and mass-market stores
- Offers some very good body washes
Weaknesses
- All bar cleansers create problems for skin
- Beauty bars of average quality
#6 Lancôme
Based in: France
2012 Brand value: $5.1 billion
2011 Brand value: $5.7 billion
Change in value: -10%
Last year’s rank: No. 7
Lancôme Paris is a French cosmetic brand which is expensive than other listed brands in this edition. L’Oréal took over this brand in 1964. It is now a part of the luxury division of L’Oréal. It manufactures skin care and makeup items including fragrances at bit high prices.
Strengths
- Good quality cleansers
- Well-formulated scrubs
- Advanced sunscreens: All of their sunscreens contain avobenzone, ecamsule (Mexoryl SX), or titanium dioxide, which is sufficient for UVA protection
- Self-tanning products
- Excellent foundations with beautiful shades for almost every skin color
- Great concealers
- Outstanding mascaras
- The Absolute powder
- Smudge-free liquid eyeliner
- Long wearing lipsticks
- Good powder eyeshadows
- Automatic lipliner
Weaknesses
- Unnecessarily expensive
- No AHA or BHA products
- No such products that treat blemishes effectively nor lightens skin discolorations
- Mositurizers fall sort of state-of-the-art ingredients
- Foundations with sunscreen do not actually provide UV protection
- Average powder blush
- Average makeup brushes
#5 Nivea
Based in: Germany
2012 Brand value: $5.6 billion
2011 Brand value: $6.6 billion
Change in value: -15%
Last year’s rank: No. 5
Nivea is a worldwide reputed cosmetic brand that is owned by Beiersdorf, a German company. It is one of the world’s oldest beauty brands, mostly dealing with toileteries including tanning oils, shaving creams, shampoo and facial toners.
Strengths
- Inexpensive: High quality items available at quite affordable rates
- Great makeup items
- Good removers
- Good facial cleanser for normal to oily skin
Weaknesses
- No avant garde formaulas
- No such products to treat breakouts
- Bad quality anti-cellulite products
#4 Neutregena
Based in: U.S.
2012 Brand value: $6.2 billion
2011 Brand value: $6.4 billion
Change in value: -2%
Last year’s rank: No. 6
Neutrogena is an American beauty brand, dealing with skin care, hair care and cosmetics. It has its headquarter in Los Angeles, California. Neutrogena products are distributed in more than 70 countries. Neutrogena was originally named as Natone and was founded in 1930 by Emanuel Stolaroff. In 1994 Johnson & Johnson took over this brand and named it as Neutrgena.
Strengths
- Superior water-soluble cleansers
- Good topical scrubs
- Effective AHA and BHA products
- Several retinol options
- Excellent sunscreens with UVA protection
- Good self-tanning products
- Fragrance-free items
- State-of-the-art skin products
- Sunscreen-based foundations offering UVA protection
- The Moistureshine Gloss
Weaknesses
- Overlapping anti-aging products that is confusing
- Bar soap
- Toners are irritating
- Bland moisturizers & eye creams
- Some sunscreens contain too much alcohol
- Deep Clean products are terrible
- No effective skin lightening products
- Concealers are pathetic
- Lip balms with sunscreen are not effective
- Poor mascaras
#3 L’Oreal
Based in: France
2012 Brand value: $7.7 billion
2011 Brand value: $7.6 billion
Change in value: 1%
Last year’s rank: No. 4
The L’Oréal Group is a French cosmetics and beauty company, headquartered in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, France and is the world’s largest beauty brand. It deals with cosmetics, specialized on hair colour and also deals with skin care, sun protection, make-up, perfumes and hair care. Besides the brand is also active in the dermatological, tissue engineering and pharmaceutical fields and is the top nanotechnology patent-holder in the United States at present.
Strengths
- High end water-soluble cleansers
- Great self-tanning options
- One of the most comprehensive makeup collections
- L’Oreal’s mascaras
Weaknesses
- Daytime moisturizers with sunscreen lack sufficient UVA protection
- No effective items to fight blemishes
- All skin-lightening options contain problematic ingredients
- Boring toners
- Foundations with sunscreen are not 100% UVA protective
#2 Avon
Based in: U.S.
2012 Brand value: $7.9 billion
2011 Brand value: $10.2 billion
Change in value: -22%
Last year’s rank: No. 2
Avon, is an American international manufacturer of beauty, household, and personal care products, which are sold across 140 countries in the world. In 2012, the brand had sales of around $10.7 billion across the globe. It is the fifth-largest beauty company and second largest direct selling enterprise in the world, with 6.4 million representatives.
Strengths
- Almost all of the products come with UVA protection
- State-of-the-art moisturizers at bargain prices
- Formidable concealers, powders, blushes, lipsticks and lip glosses
- Pressed powder bronzer
Weaknesses
- Clearskin products are mostly irritating
- Ineffective: Poor choices for anyone battling blemishes
- Jar packaging diminishes the antioxidants
- Imperfect marriage: Insect repellent with sunscreen is an imperfect union
- Unnecessary moisturizers with exaggerated claims
- SPF ratings are too low
- Average eyeshadows and pencils
- Mascaras are pathetic
#1 Olay
Based in: U.S.
2012 Brand value: $11.8 billion
2011 Brand value: $11.1 billion
Change in value: 6%
Last year’s rank: No. 1
As per Wikipedia,
“Olay is an American skin care line. It is one of Procter & Gamble’s multi-billion dollar brands. For the 2009 fiscal year ended June 30, Olay accounted for an estimated $2.8 billion of P&G’s $79 billion in revenue.”
Strengths
- Outstanding water soluble cleansers & scrubs
- Absolute advantage for cleansing clothes
- Good AHA exfoliant
- All sunscreens include UVA protection
- Bountiful state-of-the-art serums
- Excellent moisturizers
- Fragrance-free items
Well even the number one beauty brand has weaknesses. Here we go –
- Bar cleansers
- No effective disinfectant for blemishes
- Some products contain menthol
- Handful of dated moisturizers
- Moisturizers with sunscreen don’t offer protection
- Same old formulas
So these were the world’s best 10 beauty brands. Hope this helps!
