Cheapest shops for popular cosmetics

If you want to treat a loved one to their favourite skincare this Christmas, or you're simply looking to stock up on your beauty regulars, our latest snapshot analysis reveals the cheapest shops for a range of cosmetic products. 

We analysed a year's worth of pricing data (between October 2024 and October 2025), including promotional offers but not multibuys, for popular skincare and make-up at 11 retailers to come up with an average price. 

Read on to find out how much you could save by shopping around, and which retailer was the cheapest (and most expensive) for your favourite product. 

The cheapest shops for cosmetics

Our snapshot investigation looked at prices across 11 retailers: Amazon, Boots, John Lewis, Superdrug and Very, as well as supermarkets Asda, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose. Not all products were available at all the retailers we checked prices for.

Only one of the products we looked at (the Maybelline Lash Sensational Sky High Waterproof Mascara at Ocado) was at its lowest price at a supermarket – unless you use a loyalty card. 

Amazon was the cheapest for the highest number of products – nine out of 23. If you plan to shop for cosmetics or skincare on Amazon, check who you're buying from first, as we found counterfeit cosmetics for sale on online marketplaces, including Amazon. We recommend buying only if the product is being sold and shipped by Amazon or directly from the brand. 

We've included the average price at the cheapest and most expensive shops, as well as the average price across all the retailers in our analysis. This should give you an idea of what to pay to get a good deal.

You can jump to the bands you like here: CeraVe | Elemis | Estée Lauder | Garnier | Liz Earle | L'Oréal | Maybelline | Olay | The Ordinary 

• Find out more: the cheapest shops for popular perfumes 

CeraVe 

The two CeraVe products in our snapshot analysis were cheapest at Amazon and most expensive at Sainsbury's, on average. 

The two products stayed at the same price at Sainsbury's (£16.50 and £18.50) throughout our analysis period, making the average price at least 30% more than at Amazon.

Shopping tip: Superdrug was more expensive than Amazon across the year, but still below the average price in our analysis, so it's worth checking the prices at both shops when you buy. 

Elemis 

When buying from a premium beauty brand like Elemis, every saving counts. 

On average, the Pro-Collagen Rose Marine Cream (50ml) was cheapest at Amazon and most expensive at Very. The highest price across all retailers was £98, while the lowest – £59.99 – was at Amazon during the platform's Prime Day sale this year. 

Amazon was also the cheapest shop on average for the smaller Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream (30ml) at £55.17, although stock availability seemed sporadic. Look out for it for less than £58. 

The Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm (100g) was at its lowest price at Boots during last year's Black Friday sale. It was also below £37 during the Black Friday 2024 period at John Lewis and Very, lower than the overall average for the year of £46.12. 

Shopping tip: Black Friday may be over, but there are some discounts lingering on into Cyber Week for Elemis products. We've spotted some below-average prices at the cheapest retailers, so it's worth checking if you like Elemis products or plan to buy them as a Christmas present. 

Estée Lauder  

The Estée Lauder Double Wear Mascara was available at Amazon, Boots and John Lewis during our analysis. At all three shops, the highest price we saw was £29.50. The lowest price in our analysis was actually at Boots – also the most expensive shop on average – where it was £10, but only twice within the year period. 

Shopping tip: A good deal for this product would be finding it for less than the average overall price of £26.19, or closer to the £20 mark for a real bargain. 

Garnier

Garnier products may be relatively inexpensive, but there are savings to be made – particularly for those with a loyalty card. The Superfood Nutri Glow Body Cream was £6.66 on average at Boots for loyalty-scheme members (or £7.19 on average for non-members), but £10 at Tesco. The average prices at Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury's for Nectar holders and Tesco for Clubcard holders were less than the average across all retailers in our analysis. This means it would be a good idea to check for deals at supermarkets, particularly if you hold a loyalty card. 

Shopping tip: Garnier sheet masks make inexpensive stocking fillers. Tesco Clubcard was the cheapest on average (£2.58), and they were regularly reduced to £2.35 or less for members of both Sainsbury's Nectar and Tesco Clubcard schemes. 

Liz Earle 

We analysed the prices of Liz Earle products at Boots and John Lewis. Liz Earle products are also available at a variety of cosmetics-specific shops such as LookFantastic and Sephora, as well as directly from the brand website, but we didn't have pricing data for those. 

Shopping tip: There was very little price difference between Boots and John Lewis for any of the Liz Earle skincare we included, so if you do find it on offer, particularly for less than the average price, then snap it up. 

L'Oréal  

We found substantial savings on popular L'Oréal products. The L'Oréal Paris Age Perfect Retightening Anti-Sagging Collagen Expert Night Cream was £7.90 on average at Amazon, but £15.23 on average at Very – nearly double the price. 

Loyalty-card members got the lowest price on average for the two other L'Oréal products we looked at, while non-members buying at supermarkets were charged the most. 

The L'Oréal Paris Revitalift Clinical 12% Pure Vitamin C Serum (30ml) was the cheapest at Superdrug when using a Beautycard (£19.64 on average) and most expensive at Sainsbury's and Tesco (£32). The cheapest price for the Revitalift serum was £10 (Amazon), but it was more often available for £16. Shoppers at Sainsbury's and Tesco would pay £32 all year round if shopping without a loyalty card. 

The L'Oréal Paris Volume Million Lashes Panorama Mascara, Brown (10ml) was nearly 50% cheaper for Nectar card shoppers than for those buying it without access to loyalty discounts at Sainsbury's (£13 on average). It was also £13 on average at Ocado.

Shopping tip: The L'Oréal night cream dropped below £8 at most retailers at least once in the year, so that would be a good price to aim for if you can hold out. If you can't, try not to pay more than £12. Anything under the £16 mark is a good deal for the Revitalift serum, while less than £10 seems to be a good deal for the mascara. 

Maybelline mascara 

Maybelline mascaras are some of the best-selling mascaras in the shops. They're widely available and relatively inexpensive, but we found some variations in price. 

Amazon was the cheapest place to buy two of the four Maybelline mascaras we looked at. Just make sure you buy from a listing that shows Amazon as the seller and shipper. We haven't linked products unless Amazon is currently showing as the chosen shipper and seller. 

Shopping tip: Supermarkets were the most expensive on average for all the Maybelline mascaras we looked at, but they were also the cheapest for two of them. It's worth a look in the make-up aisle if you're already at the supermarket or doing an online order, but aim to get them for less than the overall average price. 

Olay 

Sainsbury's was both the cheapest and most expensive shop to buy this Olay moisturiser, with Nectar card holders paying almost half the price on average compared with those without a loyalty card.

This was because it was on offer to Nectar holders for most of the period we looked at, and there were no other offers besides loyalty pricing, so shoppers without a Nectar card would always pay £38 at Sainsbury's. £38 was the highest price we saw across all retailers (at Asda, Ocado and Sainsbury's). 

Shopping tip: The minimum price was £18.98, but anything less than around £25 seems to be a good deal. 

The Ordinary 

We analysed the prices of skincare from popular brand The Ordinary at Amazon, Boots and John Lewis.

There wasn't a huge amount of variation in the average price. John Lewis was the cheapest for three out of the four products we looked at, while Boots was the most expensive for all four on average – but not by much. 

There wasn't much difference between the highest and lowest prices for the products during the year, either. This may not be a surprise given The Ordinary's position as a relatively affordable skincare and cosmetics brand. 

Shopping tip: For The Ordinary products, it's best to look at the average price and aim to buy products for less than that. For the 100ml glycolic acid 7% exfoliating toner, aim for less than £7.47, for example. 

Best beauty deals

Whether you want a bit of glam for your Christmas party or you're looking to tick off items from your shopping list, the sales are a good time to find deals on popular beauty products. 

Retailers have been rolling out deals throughout November, and many will continue into Cyber Week and possibly beyond. 

• Find out more: best deals in the sales