Dry Shampoo Price Comparison

I ran out of yet another bottle of dry shampoo last week, and I started to wonder whether using dry shampoo was becoming an overly expensive habit. I'm not sure if I use more per spray than most people -- I really douse my second-day hair in that stuff.

So I wanted to know whether I could find a cheaper alternative to my Batiste Dry Shampoo, which I've been repurchasing for years.

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I looked up the list of dry shampoos from CVS, Target, Sephora, and also threw in a few popular dry shampoos to do an ounce by ounce cost comparison. From least to most expensive, here's what I found:

1. Suave Dry Shampoo Keratin, 5oz, $2.74 -- 0.548 dollars per oz

2. Suave Professionals Dry Shampoo Spray, 5oz, $2.74 -- 0.548 dollars per oz

3. Suave Moroccan Infusion Dry Shampoo, 5oz, $2.84 -- 0.568 dollars per oz

4. Dove Dry Shampoo Invigorating, 5oz, $3.94 -- 0.788 dollars per oz

5. Vidal Sassoon ColorFinity Dry Shampoo, 4.9oz, $3.99 -- 0.814 dollars per oz

6. Not Your Mother's Clean Freak Refreshing Dry Shampoo, 7oz, $5.99 -- 0.856 dollars per oz

7. CVS Dry Shampoo, 5.5oz, $4.79 -- 0.871 dollars per oz

8. Herbal Essences Naked Dry Shampoo, 4.9oz, $4.99 -- 1.018 dollars per oz

9. Pantene Pro-V Blowout Extend Dry Shampoo, 4.9oz, $4.99 -- 1.018 dollars per oz

18. Batiste Dry Shampoo, 5.05oz, $5.5 -- 1.089 dollars per oz

10. TRESemme Fresh Start for Fine/Oily Hair Dry Shampoo, 4.3oz, $4.99 -- 1.16 dollars per oz

11. TRESemme Fresh Start for Dry/Prone to Breakage Hair Dry Shampoo, 4.3oz, $4.99 -- 1.16 dollars per oz

12. Pantene Pro-V Blowout Extend Dry Shampoo, 4.9oz, $5.99 -- 1.222 dollars per oz

13. Pantene Pro-V Original Fresh Dry Shampoo, 4.9oz, $5.99 -- 1.222 dollars per oz

14. TRESemme FreshStart Volumizing Dry Shampoo, 5.7oz, $6.99 -- 1.226 dollars per oz

15. Lee Stafford Original Dry Shampoo, 5oz, $6.79 -- 1.358 dollars per oz

16. Garnier Fructis Volume Extend Instant Bodifier Dry Shampoo, 3.4oz, $4.99 -- 1.468 dollars per oz

17. Got2B Rockin’ It Dry Shampoo, 4.3oz, $6.79 -- 1.579 dollars per oz

19. Nexxus Styling Aid Youth Renewal Rejuvenating Dry Shampoo, 5oz, $7.99 -- 1.598 dollars per oz

20. Psssssst Instant Dry Shampoo, 4oz, $6.49 -- 1.623 dollars per oz

21. Garnier Fructis Volume Extend Instant Bodifier Dry Shampoo, 3.4oz, $6.29 -- 1.85 dollars per oz

22. Fudge Urban Dry Shampoo, 5.07oz, $10.99 -- 2.168 dollars per oz

23. TONI & GUY Dry Shampoo, 5.2oz, $14.99 -- 2.883 dollars per oz

24. Sexy Hair Big Volume Dry Shampoo, 3.4oz, $9.99 -- 2.938 dollars per oz

25. Umberto Dry Clean Dry Shampoo, 4oz, $11.99 -- 2.998 dollars per oz

26. Lush No Drought Dry Shampoo, 4.6oz, $13.95 -- 3.033 dollars per oz

27. Toni & Guy Cleanse Dry Shampoo, 5.2oz, $15.99 -- 3.075 dollars per oz

28. Tigi Dirty Secret Dry Shampoo, 6.3oz, $19.49 -- 3.094 dollars per oz

29. No-Poo Quick Cleanser, 5oz, $20 -- 4 dollars per oz

30. Alterna Cleanse Extend Translucent Dry Shampoo, 4.75oz, $22 -- 4.632 dollars per oz

31. Sachajuan Dark Volume Powder, 6.8oz, $32 -- 4.706 dollars per oz

32. Oscar Blandi Volumizing Dry Shampoo Spray, 5oz, $25 -- 5 dollars per oz

33. Oscar Blandi Pronto Dry Shampoo Invisible Spray, 5oz, $25 -- 5 dollars per oz

34. Oscar Blandi Pronto Dry Shampoo Powder Spray, 5oz, $25 -- 5 dollars per oz

35. Drybar Detox Dry Shampoo, 3.5oz, $20 -- 5.714 dollars per oz

36. Drybar Detox Dry Shampoo for Brunettes, 3.5oz, $20 -- 5.714 dollars per oz

37. Ojon Full Detox Rub-Out Dry Cleansing Spray, 4.1oz, $24 -- 5.854 dollars per oz

38. Klorane Gentle Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk, 3.2oz, $19.5 -- 6.094 dollars per oz

39. Clean Original Dry Shampoo, 2.9oz, $18 -- 6.207 dollars per oz

40. Peter Coppola Dry Shampoo, 3.5oz, $24 -- 6.857 dollars per oz

41. Oscar Blandi Dry Shampoo Spray Blonde, 3.2oz, $23 -- 7.188 dollars per oz

42. Oscar Blandi Dry Shampoo Spray Brown, 1.4oz, $11 -- 7.857 dollars per oz

43. Bumble and Bumble A Tint of Brown Hair Powder, 4.4oz, $36 -- 8.182 dollars per oz

44. Bumble and Bumble A Bit of Blondish Hair Powder, 4.4oz, $36 -- 8.182 dollars per oz

45. Bumble and Bumble White Hair Powder, 4.4oz, $36 -- 8.182 dollars per oz

46. Bumble and Bumble Soft Black Hair Powder, 4.4oz, $36 -- 8.182 dollars per oz

47. Alterna Caviar Anti-Aging Dry Shampoo, 2.65oz, $22 -- 8.302 dollars per oz

48. Oscar Blandi Dry Shampoo, 2.5oz, $21 -- 8.4 dollars per oz

49. Clean Dry Shampoo, 0.95oz, $10 -- 10.526 dollars per oz

50. Stila Cosmetics Fragrant Hair Refresher-Crème Bouquet, 2.6oz, $28 -- 10.769 dollars per oz

51. Bumble and Bumble Pret-a-Powder, 2oz, $26 -- 13 dollars per oz

And here is the list broken down by store:

CVS

1. Not Your Mother's Clean Freak Refreshing Dry Shampoo, 7oz, $5.99 -- 0.856 dollars per oz

2. CVS Dry Shampoo, 5.5oz, $4.79 -- 0.871 dollars per oz

3. Pantene Pro-V Blowout Extend Dry Shampoo, 4.9oz, $5.99 -- 1.222 dollars per oz

4. Pantene Pro-V Original Fresh Dry Shampoo, 4.9oz, $5.99 -- 1.222 dollars per oz

5. TRESemme FreshStart Volumizing Dry Shampoo, 5.7oz, $6.99 -- 1.226 dollars per oz

6. Got2B Rockin’ It Dry Shampoo, 4.3oz, $6.79 -- 1.579 dollars per oz

7. Batiste Dry Shampoo, 5.05oz, $7.99 -- 1.582 dollars per oz

8. Psssssst Instant Dry Shampoo, 4oz, $6.49 -- 1.623 dollars per oz

9. Garnier Fructis Volume Extend Instant Bodifier Dry Shampoo, 3.4oz, $6.29 -- 1.85 dollars per oz

10. Toni & Guy Cleanse Dry Shampoo, 5.2oz, $15.99 -- 3.075 dollars per oz

Target

1. Suave Dry Shampoo Keratin, 5oz, $2.74 -- 0.548 dollars per oz

2. Suave Professionals Dry Shampoo Spray, 5oz, $2.74 -- 0.548 dollars per oz

3. Suave Moroccan Infusion Dry Shampoo, 5oz, $2.84 -- 0.568 dollars per oz

4. Dove Dry Shampoo Invigorating, 5oz, $3.94 -- 0.788 dollars per oz

5. Vidal Sassoon ColorFinity Dry Shampoo, 4.9oz, $3.99 -- 0.814 dollars per oz

6. Herbal Essences Naked Dry Shampoo, 4.9oz, $4.99 -- 1.018 dollars per oz

7. Pantene Pro-V Blowout Extend Dry Shampoo, 4.9oz, $4.99 -- 1.018 dollars per oz

8. TRESemme Fresh Start for Fine/Oily Hair Dry Shampoo, 4.3oz, $4.99 -- 1.16 dollars per oz

9. TRESemme Fresh Start for Dry/Prone to Breakage Hair Dry Shampoo, 4.3oz, $4.99 -- 1.16 dollars per oz

10. Lee Stafford Original Dry Shampoo, 5oz, $6.79 -- 1.358 dollars per oz

11. Garnier Fructis Volume Extend Instant Bodifier Dry Shampoo, 3.4oz, $4.99 -- 1.468 dollars per oz

12. Nexxus Styling Aid Youth Renewal Rejuvenating Dry Shampoo, 5oz, $7.99 -- 1.598 dollars per oz

13. Fudge Urban Dry Shampoo, 5.07oz, $10.99 -- 2.168 dollars per oz

14. TONI & GUY Dry Shampoo, 5.2oz, $14.99 -- 2.883 dollars per oz

15. Sexy Hair Big Volume Dry Shampoo, 3.4oz, $9.99 -- 2.938 dollars per oz

16. Umberto Dry Clean Dry Shampoo, 4oz, $11.99 -- 2.998 dollars per oz

17. Tigi Dirty Secret Dry Shampoo, 6.3oz, $19.49 -- 3.094 dollars per oz

18. Oscar Blandi Volumizing Dry Shampoo Spray, 5oz, $25 -- 5 dollars per oz

19. Peter Coppola Dry Shampoo, 3.5oz, $24 -- 6.857 dollars per oz

20. Oscar Blandi Dry Shampoo Spray Blonde, 3.2oz, $23 -- 7.188 dollars per oz

21. Oscar Blandi Dry Shampoo Spray Brown, 1.4oz, $11 -- 7.857 dollars per oz

22. Oscar Blandi Dry Shampoo, 2.5oz, $21 -- 8.4 dollars per oz

Sephora

1. No-Poo Quick Cleanser, 5oz, $20 -- 4 dollars per oz

2. Alterna Cleanse Extend Translucent Dry Shampoo, 4.75oz, $22 -- 4.632 dollars per oz

3. Sachajuan Dark Volume Powder, 6.8oz, $32 -- 4.706 dollars per oz

4. Oscar Blandi Pronto Dry Shampoo Invisible Spray, 5oz, $25 -- 5 dollars per oz

5. Oscar Blandi Pronto Dry Shampoo Powder Spray, 5oz, $25 -- 5 dollars per oz

6. Drybar Detox Dry Shampoo, 3.5oz, $20 -- 5.714 dollars per oz

7. Drybar Detox Dry Shampoo for Brunettes, 3.5oz, $20 -- 5.714 dollars per oz

8. Ojon Full Detox Rub-Out Dry Cleansing Spray, 4.1oz, $24 -- 5.854 dollars per oz

9. Clean Original Dry Shampoo, 2.9oz, $18 -- 6.207 dollars per oz

10. Bumble and Bumble A Tint of Brown Hair Powder, 4.4oz, $36 -- 8.182 dollars per oz

11. Bumble and Bumble A Bit of Blondish Hair Powder, 4.4oz, $36 -- 8.182 dollars per oz

12. Bumble and Bumble White Hair Powder, 4.4oz, $36 -- 8.182 dollars per oz

13. Bumble and Bumble Soft Black Hair Powder, 4.4oz, $36 -- 8.182 dollars per oz

14. Alterna Caviar Anti-Aging Dry Shampoo, 2.65oz, $22 -- 8.302 dollars per oz

15. Clean Dry Shampoo, 0.95oz, $10 -- 10.526 dollars per oz

16. Bumble and Bumble Pret-a-Powder, 2oz, $26 -- 13 dollars per oz

Random

1. Lush No Drought Dry Shampoo, 4.6oz, $13.95 -- 3.033 dollars per oz

2. Klorane Gentle Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk, 3.2oz, $19.5 -- 6.094 dollars per oz

3. Stila Cosmetics Fragrant Hair Refresher-Crème Bouquet, 2.6oz, $28 -- 10.769 dollars per oz

Sometimes I can get Batiste at Bed, Bath & Beyond for around $5.50 instead of the normal retail price of $7.99, so that bumps it up to 10th least expensive, up from 18th.

As you can see from the chart above, Sephora dominates the upper range, though Target also sells some products on the expensive side. The bottle with the largest volume is Not Your Mother's Clean Freak Refreshing Dry Shampoo from CVS.

Since I'm already here, I'll give a short review of Batiste. It works well and the effect lasts all day. I tend to spray liberally, so the white powder that shows up, I simply rub it in after waiting a minute or two. I have dark hair and I have tried the dry shampoo for dark brown hair -- I have to say that I do not prefer it. Despite the fact that the powder is brown, it is not the exact color of my hair so I still like to rub it in to blend and distribute it. What inevitably happens is that I come away with brown powder on my fingers, whereas with the normal dry shampoo, the translucent powder on my hands disappears and goes unnoticed. In general, Batiste leaves my hair a little stiffer and one could say, more volumized. Dry shampoo residue stays on my scalp all day, but I assume that all dry shampoos would do that. The thing I appreciate about Batiste is the range of options. Of the ones I've tried, I like the Blush scent the best.

Batiste has been working well for me, but I am not opposed to trying something else. I think the Not Your Mother's dry shampoo will be next on my list.

Review: Yves Saint Laurent Effet Faux Cils Long-Wear Cream Eyeliner in Cherry Black

Things always seem like they come in waves. Recently I’ve had a wave of researching eyeliner again, after a year of contentment with my little gel liner collection. I recently picked up a jar of NARS Eye Paints, which I will review soon. I was also looking into Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Liners and Laura Mercier Crème Liners. I’ve heard good things about the consistency and lasting power of both, but neither have colors that are really appealing to me. The purples? YSL does it better.

The Yves Saint Laurent Effet Faux Cils Long-Wear Cream Eyeliner is a fittingly long name for a product with such nice packaging. As for the actual contents, it is a black base saturated with flecks of purple. The purple is red-leaning and the color lays down nicely. The texture is more gel than cream and is super easy to work with.

The staying power is as good as Bobbi Brown’s, if not better. Bobbi Brown can start to smudge into the bottom outer corners by the end of a long day, but YSL merely fades out. If the day is really long, then the line starts to blur and a little transfers to the top of my lid. But we’re talking upwards of 12 hours at that point.

I’ve had this product for about a year and I have noticed that it has dried out just a smidgen. I make it a habit of storing my eyeliners upside down. While the liner was softer and creamier when I first opened it, it is still easily usable now. It has infinitesimally more drag. But really, we’re nitpicking, and as you can see from the swatches which were done at point of opening, it didn't produce ultra clean edges to begin with.

Left to Right: Bobbi Brown Black Ink, YSL Effet Faux Cils Cherry Black

Conclusion: Will You Reach for It? This is often my gel liner of choice when I’m not reaching for Bobbi Brown Black Ink. It’s hard to mess up, it remains reliably long-lasting, and the color is how I like it – dark enough to be almost inconspicuous, but still purple enough to bring out brown eyes.

Nordstrom and the YSL website both carry all seven colors, though Nordstrom uses different names, calling this shade Black Burgundy. Sephora only carries four shades: this one, blue, bronze, and black. All of three locations price the liner at $28.

Review: Inglot Matte Collection AMC Gel Eyeliner in 74 (Dark Purple)

It’s almost impossible to be prepared enough to enter Inglot and be able to leave in any less than an hour, at least if you’re going for the first time. I had list going into the New York store last summer, and upon swatching a little of this and a little of that, I don’t even think I got more than 2 eyeshadows I had planned to get. In hindsight, abandoning my list may not have been an advisable decision because the quality of some of the shadows I got didn’t live up to the Inglot hype.

Out of the 9 items I bought from Inglot that day, this liner is definitely the item I use the most.

This product is rather unlike most other gel or cream eyeliners. It looks dry, but when you dip your brush in and gather some product, your brush picks up what resembles paint. Upon application, it dries down to a matte finish, and although it does not feel uncomfortable on the lid in any way, the texture makes this something that would flake off (as oppose to rub off) if you chipped at it.

The paint-like liquidity coupled with its ridiculous pigmentation means that your hand must be more steady and careful in application. It will go exactly where your brush touches. I often find that my line is thicker than usual when I use this eyeliner. It also stains ever so slightly, so if you use makeup remover to clean up edges like I do, the color doesn’t totally come off.

This consistency gives me the impression that it is messier than normal gel liners on oily lids. After a long day, some darkness transfers under the eye as well as above the eyes when you blink. There is also the flaking factor if you rub your eyes or even just attempt to rub smudges away. Bear in mind that eyeliners don’t last very long on me in general, so this level of performance is still nothing to complain about. If you don’t have a problem with oiliness, you will be impressed by how clean and sharp the lines remain throughout the day.

It is unfortunate that the liner cracks in such an unsightly way in the container, because it really has not affected the performance at all. I am a little skeptical of the container itself – I am not overwhelmed with confidence that it is airtight. I use a square of cling wrap to lay on the top of the eyeliner before I screw on the cap and this may or may not help to keep this product from drying out.

The color is really wonderful -- it is surprisingly difficult to find blue-leaning purples. The sharp, bold lines complement the days when you’re in the mood for a more dramatic look. Overall, this eyeliner is an up and up. It's $12 from Inglot stores or on their site for a gigantic 5.5g container-full.

Review: Laura Mercier Tightline Cake Liner in Deep Teal

For someone who’s one and only requirement for eyeliner is that it stays in place, this cake liner would be an awfully unusual choice.

And yet, the color is so phenomenal  that it might be even be worth leaving around to look at, regardless of whether I ever use it.

I exaggerate. It looks much better on the eyes than as room décor.

Laura Mercier Tightline Cake Liner is completely dry and needs water or special solution to apply. LM sells solution that makes the liner waterproof, but this liner was already ridiculously expensive for the piece of watercolor that it essentially is. I didn’t bother doubling the charge to get the “Activator”, so I suppose if I complain about staying power, I only have myself to blame. There are comparable solutions by other brands that may be less expensive and equally efficacious but I cannot testify to that. (The last time I checked, these kinds of “eyeliner sealants” or “eyeliner transformers” are almost exclusively high end.) All I know is that if you put droplets of LM solution onto your cake liner, you can no longer use water to pick up the pigment from that point on. It seals the cake liner from water, which is a pretty logical consequence if you think about it.

I personally use water, and with a little work, my end result can look just as polished as those of other liners. The finish reminds me slightly of chalk, but it stays much better than that. In fact its performance is pretty solid until the 5th or 6th hour mark when my lids start to get oily enough to interact with the product. After that, it can go pretty downhill. Do not wear this on those 12 to 16 hour days, because touch ups will do nothing. The color will migrate and move around the whole eye area, the clean, sharp edge will disintegrate, and so on.

Above: This is the chalk-looking finish. The color in this picture is not too accurate. It should be greener and darker.

As I mentioned, the application process is slightly more involved than normal. I have a mini spray bottle of water for this (I use drinking water, lest traces of fluoride, chlorine, and everything else in tap water build up on my precious product). Alternatively, you could use your fingers to drop a few droplets of water onto the surface. Mix with eyeliner brush. You’ll get the hang of it soon enough, but here is how I do it: I spray a little water and mix until the water starts to evaporate away, mainly working in one section only – no need to swirl through the whole pan and make a mess. Then I spray a little more and mix again, trying to gather a little pool of concentrated color. By this second time, the pigmentation should be sufficiently high that you won’t get a watery line. Apply carefully. The consistency will be on the watery side, but the pigmentation should be good enough that you have pretty good control of how the line lays down.

Conclusion: Will You Reach for It? I wear this product comparatively rarely if only because of the staying power. If I’m smart about it, I would wear it on days I know will be short. What ends up happening is that I wear it when I have time to spare in the morning and when I feel like teal is the color of the day. But in fact the shade of teal is really on point. It’s nice and dark, very obviously teal, and green-leaning which just seals the deal. I won’t dwell on the color, because I think it was limited edition. However, it’s a testament to the brand’s good taste. Here is someone else’s blog picture of the other nice colors in the line http://pondering-beauty.blogspot.com/2012/01/laura-mercier-tightline-cake-eyeliner.html

A square of this liner is $23 in most places like Laura Mercier online and Sephora, though Sephora's color selection is limited. This is also the case with a few department stores. Bloomingdales notably has the full line of 8 colors and also peculiarly prices them a dollar cheaper at $22.

Review: MAC Fluidline in Dark Diversion

I used to think that MAC was super high end, back when I got $2 of allowance weekly and never spent more than $20 in one go. Imagine the nest egg I would have if I were like that now. That is, the spending habit, not the allowance.

Kudos to MAC for maintaining nice quality packaging and name brand status while their gel liners retail for 15 to the 23, 24 dollar liners of Bobbi Brown, Makeup Forever, et cetera. However, I have to say, this product leaves  me with negative impression of MAC Fluidlines. The pigmentation is just not good.

The texture on this one resembles gel much more than cream. I almost want to describe it as gel ink because there is a sense that you are laying down a stain, as opposed to a layer of product. Well, whatever it’s doing, it’s not very good because I definitely need multiple layers for full opacity.

It’s in the medium range in terms of longevity. It starts to fade at about hour 6 or 7 and can get on the upper lids and lower corners, and get messy-looking as it gets into the night, maybe at 12 or 14 hours. Unfortunately, this color is does not handle messy-looking gracefully. It is red-toned and we just want to avoid that situation.

Dark Diversion is limited edition but gets repromoted every now and then. If you haven’t picked one up, then you haven’t missed out on anything as far as high quality products go. The color is really unique, but I wear it alone without eyeshadow and it just doesn’t do itself any favors as it declines with the day into a weak red-tinted stain.

When available, it is $15 at, you guessed it, MAC (and MAC counters everywhere).

Review: Tarte Amazonian Clay Liner in Bronze

Check out this little cloud! I thought it would be helpful to make a rating system for my reviews, so I came up with a weather theme. If you want to read about the four possible rankings, head over to the About Me > Rating System page!

Today, I am introducing the Tarte Amazonian Clay emphasEYES waterproof liner in Bronze. I have had this liner for about a month, keeping it upside down and in constant room temperature. I don't see any alarming changes in texture, or any indications that it will, so I don't expect this liner to dry up in the near future. Comment below if you want an update on the liner's condition.

This eyeliner came with a double-sided brush. As you can see below, one side is a thin, pointed eyeliner brush and the other side is a small flat shader, most likely for the purpose of smudging or for applying the liner as shadow.

I have to admit that I do not use this brush at all. The brush is beautifully made and the bristles are soft on both ends. However, I think that the pointed tip is slightly too thick.

It seems to "absorb" a lot of the liner, so the liner saturated into the brush gets wasted and I don't get a nice clean line because I have to re-dip my brush multiple times. I think this brush would be good for patting eyeshadow on top of eyeliner. As for the opposite end, I don't smudge my eyeliner, so I never have use for the smudger brush.

This liner is supposedly made of Amazonian clay - and indeed, the texture is noticeably clay-like. I would describe the texture as a thick, smooth paste as opposed to the inky gel of MAC Fluidline. Does texture affect application? Well the product seems to dry slower so you have more time to work with it. You can smooth it over your lashline until you're happy with it. Given that this liner is pigmented and you only need one pass for full opacity, I am satisfied.