EDITOR’S NOTE

“W HAT PRICE BEAUTY?” Doyouknow wherethatexpression actually comesfrom? Ididn’tuntil20minutesago,whenIaskedGoogle— whichis(scarily?) becominghow I solvejustaboutanyproblem. Turnsout,at least according to mycomputer, WhatPriceBeauty? isa 1925silent filmstarring abunchofpeopleI’ve neverheard of andpartiallysetina beautysalon calledthe House of Magic. TheHouseof Magic! Let me say,forthe record, thatshouldIeverfind myself the owner ofa salon,I’mgoingtonamemyplacetheHouseof

Magic.Butwe’re notheretotalkabout salons; we’re heretotalk aboutdrugstores, and theprice ofbeauty.Ihave aparticularfondnessfordrugstores,perhaps becausemyfirst job,atage15,was atHappyHarry’sdrugstore,inNewark,Delaware.

WhenIworkedlate and thestorewasempty,

Iwouldwalk up anddown theaisles, movingbottlesand cartonstothefrontoftheshelves(there wasanamefor thisthatIcan’trecall;maybe

Googleknows?), listeningtosongsplayingonthe speakersystem froma localradiostation,daydreaming aboutmyboyfriend,andwondering when Iwouldbe grownupenoughtounderstand what all of thoseproductsontheshelveswere for.Andwould Ireallyneed themall? Asit turnsout, Iwouldn’t.ButIrecognized earlyon thatadrugstore is its own houseof magic.Andiftherewas magicinthosebottles andcartons backwhen Iwas 15, there’sa lotmore magic now.Times havechanged;formulations

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM

@KVANOGTROP

haveevolved;consumershave becomemore savvy.Wehave morechoices, moreproducts, moreresearch,andSephora!

Butdrugstoresremainpracticalbeauty’sbest entry point.We knowthatyouarepassionate about skincare becauseyouask usaboutitallthe time.We knowthatyoucareaboutprice—and youwantthings thatwork.Andso, for this month’sissue,weconsultedfivetop dermatologiststofindout their favorite(affordable, effective) drugstoreskin-care products,for every skintype. You’llfindtheirrecommendationsin“SpendLess, GetMore”(page65).

Or,ifyoudon’t feel liketurning thepage,you couldtype,“Whatkind of morningcleanser shouldIuseonmycombinationskinthat doesn’t cost morethan$7?” intoyoursearch bar.But I’m notsureevenIwould relyon that.

HAVE YOU LISTENED TO REAL SIMPLE’S FREE PODCASTS? We have four of them— on everything from negotiating household conflicts (The Labor of Love) and navigating the confusion of your 20s (Adulthood Made Easy) to handling irritating personalities (I Want to Like You) and boiling down kitchen basics (Things Cooks Know). There are new episodes every week. Go to realsimple. com/podcasts and listen for free.