When your job entails shopping for, learning about, researching, and test-driving beauty products almost 24/7, it's par for the course that you become the point person for all questions, conundrums, and "should I

or shouldn't I buy this" quandaries. (Luckily, I'm in the right profession, and there's nothing I love more than discussing the world of beauty and what I do or don't think is "worth it.") And now, since we're entering the height of buying and gifting season, I've been getting more questions than ever. 

Since every beauty product is marketed as if it's a life-changing fixture you absolutely need, it's hard to know what products are actually worthwhile and what's truly worth investing your hard-earned money in. Of course, no beauty product is *actually* life changing. And let us be clear: We never want you to feel like you need a shopping cart filled with 20 products to feel worthwhile or beautiful. However, we do find beauty really, really fun (we hope you do too!), and it can be a fun form of self-expression or even self-care—bubble baths and face masks, we're talking about you! 

Even though some people will most definitely disagree with me (we all have different preferences, skin types, and budgets, after all), I'm sharing the products I routinely tell people to pass on from an editor's point of view. (Also, for what it's worth, I've picked up a lot of this intel and influence from actual experts like makeup artists, derms, and estheticians.) Below are nine popular beauty products I always pass on and what I recommend adding instead. Keep scrolling!