11 expensive makeup products our editors think are worth buying

As much as we love drugstore makeup dupes, here at BEAUTYcrew we like to be honest about the makeup products our beauty editors actually use every day.

Truth be told, just like our all time favourite fragrances, the products we can't live without can sometimes be eye-wateringly expensive. 

However, that's not to say they're not worth every cent. In fact, if the curated list ahead tells you anything, it's that foundation is a step in your routine that's worth splurging on. 

Here are 11 expensive makeup products BEAUTYcrew's editors believe are worth buying — despite their price tag. 

Pat McGrath Labs Skin Fetish Sublime Perfection Foundation

from $123 at Sephora

"As far as I’m concerned you can’t put a price on perfect skin. This foundation launched in 2019, but it’s the base makeup product I still recommend to people most often regardless of the RRP. It creates the most flawless, airbrushed and radiant finish I have ever seen IRL, plus, it blends seamlessly no matter what tool I'm using to apply it. However, my favourite aspect of this luxurious pick is just how visually undetectable it is, and how weightless it feels on my skin." — Briar Clark, BEAUTYcrew’s Beauty Editor

Key features:

Available in 36 shades
Weightless, hydrating, serum-like texture
Sheer to medium buildable coverage
Soft-focus finish

Available at:

$123 from Sephora

Guerlain Radiance Boosting 24K Gold Primer

from $131 at David Jones

"I know it seems excessive to spend over $100 on a product to prepare your skin for makeup, but I promise you this primer makes a world of difference in how your foundation, bronzer and blush all look and last. It’s a cooling gel formula spiked with flecks of gold, and on the days I don’t wear it (I ration it due to its price tag), I’m always disappointed with my finished face. It adds an amount of glow and grip to the skin pre-application that allows me to lean more into budget products in the rest of my makeup routine without running the risk of my makeup fading or looking flat." — Delaney Loane, BEAUTYcrew’s Editor

Key features:

Infused with pure 24-karat gold
Promises 24 hours of hydration and radiance
Lightweight gel texture
Promises luminous, fresh and flawless makeup all day
Smooths fine lines

Available at:

$131 from David Jones

Tom Ford Eye Colour Quad

from $160 at David Jones

"In my younger years, I could never have imagined I’d be the kind of person to rely on a simple eye shadow quad… and yet here we are! A good quality eye shadow quad like the Tom Ford Eye Colour answers all my needs these days. No matter which colourway you choose, you’ll get a cohesive colour story that applies easily and looks beautiful, no matter whether you wash it on your lids in two seconds, or spend twenty minutes crafting the perfectly blended smokey eye. I’ve used my quad for many years — so many that the colourway is no longer in production — and it still looks like it’s barely been touched, so I know it’s one that will be in my makeup rotation for a long time." — Maddy Wilson, BEAUTYcrew’s Shopping Content Producer

Key features:

Available in 18 shades and sheer sparkle, satin, shimmer and matte finishes
Highly pigmented and long-wearing
Quad features four complimentary shades
Comes with two applicator wands
Can be applied using fingertips

Available at:

$160 from David Jones
$160 from MYER

M.A.C COSMETICS Studio Radiance Serum Powered Foundation

from $60.80 at The Iconic

"I have always loved a M.A.C foundation, from the ultra-thick mattifying icons, to the lightweight liquid tints — I’ve tried, tested and loved them all. But the one foundation that I reach for on an almost daily basis is the Studio Radiance Foundation. Formulated with an 80 per cent skin care base, this foundation offers 33 skin-benefitting ingredients. Aside from knowing that I’m actually doing my skin some good, I love how the foundation sits. It gives me medium coverage, an ultra-dewy finish, and I honestly can’t get enough. However, if you’re as much of a M.A.C fan as me you’ll think you know your shade (I wear N18), but I recommend getting shade matched first as the shade names have changed ever so slightly." — Emma Allcock, BEAUTYcrew’s Content Producer

Key features:

Available in 56 shades
Moisturising serum formula
Softly luminous, skin-enhancing finish
Medium buildable coverage
Infused with hyaluronic acid, vitamin E, and jojoba and olive oils
Plumps, smooths and enhances radiance

Available at:

usually $76, now on sale for $60.80 at The Iconic
usually $76, now on sale for $60.80 at Adore Beauty
$76 from M.A.C Cosmetics

Hourglass Vanish Seamless Finish Foundation Brush

from $86 at MECCA

"I’m pretty picky when it comes to makeup brushes, because unfortunately they are not all created equal. Take this angled, stippling foundation brush from Hourglass for example. It makes application of liquid and cream makeup products such a breeze, that I don’t realise until I use an inexpensive makeup brush just how streaky, uneven and patchy my makeup can look when I'm not equipped with the right tools. Trust me it’s worth the splurge." — Briar Clark, BEAUTYcrew’s Beauty Editor

Key features:

PETA-approved, ultra-soft Taklon bristles
Suitable for liquid and cream makeup products
Seamlessly blends
Crimped bristles improve control and even coverage
Creates a flawless skin finish

Available at:

$86 from MECCA

Hermès Rouge Hermès Satin Lipstick

from $111 at David Jones

"Hermès is the fashion house beauty brand I still get the most excited about — the packaging is elite, the formulas are true standouts, and honestly, it just feels very cool every time you spy the little logo on the bullet. This powder-finish lipstick is my personal ‘would struggle to live without’ pick. A little goes a long way pigment wise, it looks freshly applied for hours at a time, and the formulas have a powdery finish to them (chic) whilst still feeling hydrating. ‘Beige Sanguine’ is my most beloved shade — it sits somewhere between a nude and a peach, with the added bonus of coming housed in a little orange Hermès box." — Delaney Loane, BEAUTYcrew’s Editor

Key features:

Available in 16 shades
Radiant satin finish
Silky soft texture
Contains highly-concentrated pigments
Infused with lip-conditioning moisturising complex and white mulberry extract

Available at:

$111 from David Jones

Make Up For Ever HD Skin Face Essentials Palette

from $108.75 at The Iconic

"If you’re looking to feel like you’re the resident MUA of your group it’s time to invest in the multi-purpose palette from Make Up For Ever. Designed to be an on-the-go essential, it offers 12 cream shades from blush to highlight and even complexion-perfecting picks. I love that I can pop it in even my tiniest of handbags for top-ups wherever the day takes me. And with girl maths, it literally works out to be like $12 a shade, a no brainer, really." — Emma Allcock, BEAUTYcrew’s Content Producer

Key features:

Available in three shades for light to medium skin tone, medium to tan, and tan to deep skin tones
Contains six cream foundations and six cream blushes
Lightweight, buildable and blendable formula
Never cakey
Natural finish

Available at:

usually $145, now on sale for $108.75 at The Iconic
usually $145, now on sale for $116 at Adore Beauty
$145 from Sephora

La Mer The Soft Fluid Long Wear Foundation SPF 20

from $235 at David Jones

"I actually keep this bottle of foundation in a little piece of bubble wrap in my vanity — I’m that scared of it hitting the tiles and smashing to smithereens. La Mer products are the epitome of luxury to me, and this foundation is somehow (and I know this is saying a lot) actually worth the outlandish price tag. I only reach for it on special occasions (sorry Sunday Woolies run, but you’re dreaming if you think you’re worthy of my La Mer), but it rewards me every time it gets a chance. It’s full coverage but very fresh on the face, seamlessly blends into skin, and actually delivers the ‘airbrushed’ aesthetic that a lot of less impressive formulas claim to." — Delaney Loane, BEAUTYcrew’s Editor

Key features:

Available in 10 shades
Infused with La Mer's Miracle Broth
Weightless, hydrating texture
Long wearing and humidity-resistant
Contains colour capsule technology for a pore-smoothing finish
SPF20

Available at:

$235 from David Jones

Chanel Baume Essentiel Multi-Use Glow Stick in 'Transparent'

from $83 at David Jones

"Ideally I would wake up every day with a naturally glowy and dewy complexion. Alas, my skin errs on the dry side, so it takes a lot of skin care and radiance-enhancing makeup products like Chanel’s iconic Baume Essentiel to achieve my dream. Personally, I like the adaptability of the ‘Transparent’ shade. I can add a wet-look sheen to the tops of my cheekbones, and on my lids, brow bone and cupid’s bow without looking shimmery, or layering yet another cheek colour onto my face (read: I wear a lot of blush)." — Briar Clark, BEAUTYcrew’s Beauty Editor

Key features:

Available in 'Transparent', 'Sculpting', or 'Rosee'
Moisturising highlighting balm
Melting texture
Subtle, light-reflecting finish
Handbag-friendly format
Can be blended easily with fingertips

Available at:

$83 from David Jones
$83 from MYER

Tom Ford Lip Colour

from $88 at David Jones

"Some would say that spending $88 on a lipstick is a recession indicator (and okay, maybe it is!), but to me, it’s about indulging in life’s little luxuries. And the Tom Ford lipsticks are some of my favourite to indulge in. They are quite emollient, so they never dry out my lips, and despite being so creamy, the colour payoff and lasting power outperforms a lot of other lipsticks I own. Whether I’m after a bold red lip, or a neutral everyday shade, the satin formulation sits beautifully and comfortably the whole day." — Maddy Wilson, BEAUTYcrew’s Shopping Content Producer

Key features:

Available in 32 shades
Luminous satin finish
Infused with soja seed extract, Brazilian murumuru butter and chamomilla flower oil
Hydrating, ultra-creamy, long-lasting formula
Smooth, buildable, full coverage

Available at:

$88 from David Jones
$88 from MYER
$88 from MECCA

Ellis Faas Skin Veil Foundation

from $124 at MECCA

"It’s fair to say I cycle through foundations pretty quickly — I’m always trying and testing new launches and formulas. However, one I always love coming back to is the Ellis Faas Skin Veil Foundation. I find it’s the perfect natural finish, medium coverage foundation that is easily buildable for a flawless base – and the best part is that it doesn’t settle into fine lines! When I worked at MECCA, this was a foundation that a lot of people with mature skin gravitated towards, and I totally understand why. It contains vitamin E, so is great at maintaining moisture levels in the skin, while also protecting against free radicals that are damaging to the skin." — Maddy Wilson, BEAUTYcrew’s Shopping Content Producer

Key features:

Available in 14 shades
Medium buildable coverage
Natural radiant finish
Infused with hyaluronic acid and vitamin E
Moisturises skin and plumps fine lines
Vegan formula

Available at:

$124 from MECCA

Main image credit: @emilychengmakeup

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