Festive Sale Skincare: Compare by Ingredients Before You Add to Cart

Sale prices tempt you into buying whatever's cheapest or has the most reviews. A better way to decide is to compare what's actually in the bottle. A discount on something that doesn't suit your skin is still a waste.

We don't list prices here because they change by the hour and differ between sellers. Instead, here are ingredient-by-ingredient comparisons you can open before you buy. Each page compares two products from published ingredient lists.

Compare popular pairs

• Minimalist vs The Ordinary: niacinamide 10%
• Minimalist vs The Ordinary: alpha arbutin 2%
• Minimalist vs The Ordinary: retinol
• Minimalist vs The Ordinary: salicylic acid 2%
• Minimalist vs Plum: vitamin C

Browse every product we've scanned in the product finder, and filter for "No fungal-acne triggers found" if that's your concern.

What the comparison pages show

• A pore-clog score based on rated ingredients, weighted by where they appear in the list.
• Whether the formula contains ingredients that Malassezia (fungal acne yeast) can feed on.
• Which ingredients are different, so you can see where a difference in price might come from.

An example of why it matters: when we scanned serums, The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% came back with no known triggers, while Minimalist Niacinamide 10% listed lecithin, an emulsifier that is on our fungal-acne list. That's not a reason to avoid one. It's a reason to read the list if you're sensitive to it.

Scanned sunscreens

Sunscreen is the product people most often buy in a sale and use every day. Here's how the ones we've checked came out:

Our scan only covers ingredients, not how well a sunscreen protects. For that, see how SPF is tested in India.

Before you buy

1. Buy from the brand's official store or a seller you trust. Sale season is when counterfeits show up.
2. Don't stack five new products. Add one at a time.
3. Check actives against what you already use with the routine conflict checker.

When it arrives

Look at the batch code and manufacturing and expiry dates. If the printing looks different from what you've seen, the seal is broken or the product smells off, don't use it. Our guide to checking a cosmetic is original and the batch code checker walk through it. A batch code can tell you when something was made, but it can't prove a product is genuine on its own.

Specific sale pages: Amazon Great Indian Festival checklist and Flipkart Big Billion Days. Sale dates are as reported by publishers; check the retailer for the latest.

Quick answers

Is it safe to buy skincare in online sales?

Generally yes from official brand stores and authorised sellers. Be careful with unfamiliar sellers and prices far below usual.

Is a more expensive product better?

Not necessarily. Compare the ingredient lists and concentrations, not the price.