Original data
Does expensive skincare work better? What 72 best-sellers show
We analyzed the prices, average customer ratings and review counts of all 72 products in our cross-brand research catalog — 2.87 million reviews in aggregate. The short answer: past the best-seller bar, paying more does not buy a better-rated product.
The headline: price does not predict rating — the correlation is negative
Across all 72 products, the correlation between price and average customer rating is r = -0.32 — weakly negative. Within this best-seller set, more expensive products are rated slightly worse, not better. Products under $20 average 4.54★; products at $40 or more average 4.33★.
| Price tier | Products | Avg rating | Median reviews |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under $20 | 55 | 4.54★ | 31,460 |
| $20–$39.99 | 14 | 4.44★ | 17,570 |
| $40 and up | 3 | 4.33★ | 18,941 |
Two honest caveats. First, this is a curated catalog of best-sellers — weak products were already filtered out, at every price. Second, only 3 products in the set cost $40+, a small premium sample. The fair conclusion is not "expensive skincare is worse" — it is that at the best-seller level, a higher price buys texture, packaging and experience, not higher customer satisfaction.
What skincare actually costs, by category
The median product in the catalog costs $14.99. Sunscreen and toners/essences carry the highest medians; deodorant and cleansers the lowest.
| Category | Products | Median price | Avg rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cleanser | 8 | $13.99 | 4.61★ |
| Moisturizer | 11 | $16.99 | 4.64★ |
| Serum / Treatment | 12 | $13.99 | 4.48★ |
| Eye Cream | 7 | $17.99 | 4.31★ |
| Toner / Essence | 6 | $24 | 4.60★ |
| SPF | 8 | $33.99 | 4.51★ |
| Body Lotion | 9 | $14.99 | 4.56★ |
| Deodorant | 11 | $12.99 | 4.36★ |
Fragrance-free is the norm among best-sellers
76% of the catalog (55 of 72 products) is fragrance-free. Best-selling skincare has quietly converged on what dermatology guidance has said for years about sensitive and reactive skin: fragrance is the most common avoidable irritant, and the market's winners increasingly skip it.
Methodology
Dataset: the 72-product cross-brand research catalog behind the Find My Skin Routine quiz, spanning 8 categories (cleanser, serum, moisturizer, eye, toner, SPF, body, deodorant) and backed by 2.87 million customer reviews in aggregate. Prices are current estimates; ratings and review counts come from public Amazon listings and are re-checked on a recurring basis. Statistics on this page are recomputed automatically from the live catalog on every site build — the numbers you see match the products we currently recommend. Correlation is Pearson's r on price vs. average rating. Selection criteria for the catalog are documented on the how we pick page.
Citing this study: link to this page. The dataset itself is browsable in the product library.