I just read a tweet by Fleur De Force that L’Oreal Caresse Shine lip glosses are the same as YSL glossy stains! So, I’ve spent a few minutes Googling (literally 2 minutes) and came up with the following:

- L’Oreal own a large number of well-known and high-end beauty brands including: Lancome, Ralph Lauren, YSL Beauty, Kerastase, Essie, Armani and Stella McCartney etc.

- Estee Lauder also have a huge portfolio of brands including Jo Malone, Mac, Bobbi Brown and Origins.

What does this have to do with anything? Well, like with most things, knowledge is power. The more you know about what you are buying, you will make smarter shopping choices. Some of the companies will use more luxurious ingredients in the higher-end products to give a different scent, consistency, texture etc, but they are likely to have the same R&D team! If you’re going to buy a YSL lip gloss, for example, look at the ingredients for the L’Oreal equivalent – as they could well be exactly the same!