Mini Beauty Products: Are They Cost-Effective?

We’ve all been there. You’re standing waiting in the queue to pay for your items, and you notice a basket of mini beauty products. It’s tempting to pick one up. After all, these are typically well-sought-after products from premium brands at a fraction of the full-sized price. The question is: are they worth it? 

With the cost of living crisis, most of us will be looking to see where we can cut back on expenses. Knowing which products will actually give you the best return on investment can be difficult. We’ve broken down the value of mini beauty products so you don’t have to. These items are from the make-up and skincare categories, as these tend to have more miniatures than other categories. We’ve included mostly mid-price to premium brands, as these also have more mini-products available. 

Our initial impression is that the price differences between minis and full-sized products can be quite steep with some brands. We chose to keep things simple and calculate the price difference per gram/milliliter with a mini. As the Health and Beauty editor at MyVoucherCodes, I’ll take you through it step-by-step. 

Things to Keep In Mind

There are a few things to bear in mind with the value of beauty products. You might find that on paper some mini eyeshadow palettes are worth the money per gram. However, it’s worth noting they might not always have every shade included in the full-sized eyeshadow palette. 

It’s also worth considering when the expiry date is for certain makeup products. Generally, different types of makeup products have different expiration dates. You can find a helpful list of the expiration dates and makeup products at our partner publication Marie Claire. Mascaras only have a 3-month expiration date with use every day or 6 months with occasional use. If you won’t use a full-sized version by this time, then it’s better value to choose the mini.

I’d also recommend considering how often you use the product. If the initial cost is expensive but you use your beauty product for months, it might save you money.

Expensive Mini Beauty Products

Let’s take a look at the highest percentage price difference first. This means you’re paying the most significant difference between the mini and full-size products. As predicted, extremely high-end brands took these places. In particular, Hourglass had over 100% price difference between their miniature and full-sized products. 

In the past, I admired how beautiful Hourglass blushes and bronzers were with their swirling patterns. They are a more high-end makeup product and would make an excellent gift for someone. With the price difference percentage, I would recommend investing in a full-sized powder or bronzer. 

Unsurprisingly, the more expensive brands again have the biggest price difference. Figure 1 shows a price difference of 105% more between the mini beauty product and the full-sized one, while Figure 2 shows a whopping 133% price difference.

Now, I am a firm lover of the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer. It’s one of the products I have bought each time it runs out. It seems to have a lot higher coverage than drugstore concealers, although some good dupes exist. I was shocked to discover a 73% price difference with this product. I would recommend this product, but not the mini size now.

If you're looking for more information about beauty dupes, make sure to check out our other blog post on beauty dupes.

Mid-Range Mini Beauty Products

There are mid-range to high price difference percentages between mini beauty products and full-sized ones. These brands included Too Faced and Natasha Denona at the higher end. Laura Mercier and Huda Beauty also scored around 70%.

If you know anything about beauty, you know Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder has been a cult favourite for years. It’s worth knowing there is a 70% difference between buying the mini and the full-sized powder. If you want to pick up this staple beauty product, I’d suggest investing in the full-sized.

With these products, you’ll pay around a 30 - 140% price difference between the full and mini sizes. 

Personally, at this price difference, I wouldn't consider a mini beauty product. The price of the mini beauty product also needs to be reasonable for me. For example, £20 for a mini Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Filter is a lot of money. 

Lower Cost Mini Beauty Products

Lipsticks are no exception; the price difference for the above minis is between 40 and 81%, so it's better to just buy the full size if you want value for money.

Figure 6 shows two more mini beauty products that are inferior to the full-sized version. If your purchase decision is based on value alone, then definitely choose the full-sized beauty product over the mini one. With these options, you should be paying less per gram for the full-size product. 

Are mini beauty products cost-effective?

Now, with these prices, we have not included any loyalty programme price discounts or special promotions. An example is the Boots Advantage Card, which sometimes has discounts on premium brands such as Benefit. These would make a mini beauty product more affordable, possibly changing the price percentage difference. 

But in summary, it is definitely more cost-effective to buy full-sized beauty products. We have done extensive research on the mini-beauty products available, and none are of better value. If you simply can’t say no to a cute miniature beauty product, one of our retailer discount codes might give you more value. 

A note on pricing: all costs stated were as of writing, in March 2023. Prices per gram may have increased slightly due to inflation.