We compared beauty bargains at Dollar General and CVS - and the dollar store came out on top
Our first stop was Dollar General in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
Dollar General currently has 15,597 physical retail stores and is one of the largest discount stores in the US.
Source: Dollar General
The beauty and personal-care area was very prominent when we first walked in, as well as one of the most well-lit and organized sections.
As we got closer, we spotted the Believe Beauty section.
The Believe Beauty collection features everything from lipsticks and pencils to foundation and eye shadow paletes, all for no more than $5.
"The formulas in this line are the equivalent of those that would cost up to $19," Scott Oshry, Maesa's chief marketing officer, told Drug Store News.
However, upon closer inspection it looked like several of the most popular items were completely sold out, including the velvet matte liquid lipstick.
Several of the skincare products were also completely gone, including the foundation, highlighting stick, and tinted moisturizer.
However, there were still plenty of mascaras available for purchase, retailing for $2.99.
There were also several eye shadow palettes, which included a mix of colorful hues and neutral tones. Despite the low cost, the packaging still looked chic and high-quality.
We also found a few remaining bronzing powders and contour palettes.
Dollar General also had a select assortment of name-brand cosmetics like Maybelline and CoverGirl at discounted prices.
Next, we visited a CVS store in Manhattan's Financial District.
CVS currently holds the title of largest pharmacy chain in the US.
Source: Business Insider
The beauty aisle was tucked away in the back, though we found a few standalone displays scattered along the way, like this one for Physicians Formula products ...
... as well as this display for Wet n Wild.
CVS carries a significant amount of mass-market name brands, including Neutrogena and L'Oreal.
However, many of these mass-market displays appeared overstocked and marked with discounts.
In an effort to push its e-commerce business (and perhaps to get rid of excess product) CVS announced earlier this month it would give away bags of free beauty products to online shoppers who spent $30 or more.
Source: Allure
In an attempt to diversify its product assortment, CVS has recently added a few specialty brands like Jouviance and La Roche-Posay, which retails for slightly higher than the mass-market brands.
Toward the front we also found this display for Bliss products, which featured trendier items like this holographic foil sheet mask.
"Many women have shifted to higher-end and niche brands, and increasingly buy beauty products from online startups or outlets like Sephora and Ulta Beauty," reporter Sharon Terlep wrote in a recent article for The Wall Street Journal. "Fighting back, CVS and Walgreens have looked to expand their selection while paring mass-market beauty names."
Ultimately, while the CVS displays were better stocked, they seemed pretty untouched and the packaging was fairly standard and unimaginative compared to Dollar General.
The evolution of drugstore beauty remains to be seen for now, as CVS turns its focus to building out new health initiatives following its acquisition of Aetna in November 2018, and to renovating select stores.
Source: Business Insider
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