Shopping splurges can be intoxicating and rewarding — who would know better than the rich and famous? Below, 25 women including Mariah Carey, Lady Gaga, and Jennifer Lopez share their most extravagant purchases, on everything from beauty products to fashion, food, and automobiles. Whether it’s a luxe bathtub (see: Oprah), diamonds, or a perfectly structured Hermès bag, these are the luxuries they love most.
Alexa Chung
“I tend to splurge on fancy dresses because I always think I’ll get a lot of wear out of them, but it’s false logic. You should really spend more money on the things you wear every day, like jeans.” —Time Out New York, March 2013
Pat McGrath
“For my beauty splurge, I go to amazing spas around the world. I’m a spa-holic.” —Time, September 2017
Jennifer Lawrence
“I’m saving a lot, but the one thing that was ridiculous but that I could afford, was when I was in Hawaii. I had this coffee that was amazing. It cost like $100 to ship one bag home. I was like, ‘I’m just going to do this,’ and I did.” —InStyle, December 2013
Behati Prinsloo
On her biggest accessory splurge: “A Prada bag. I spent $4,000 — and used it once. So bad.” —Life & Style, February 2014
Mariah Carey
“I just love diamonds. It really depends on the stone, I can’t pick a favorite diamond cut. That’s like picking a favorite piece of sand on the beach.” —People, November 2015
Hailey Baldwin
“I think the most expensive thing I’ve bought thus far is my Rolex. I got it a couple of months ago and next to it is a diamond bracelet I also bought myself. Why a Rolex? I just wanted a nice watch, I think it’s something you can wear everyday and have forever. Like this will still be cool in like ten or 20 years.” —InStyle UK, October 2016
Janet Mock
“La Mer’s The Concentrate is a splurge, but I swear by it as part of my PM skin-care routine” —Essence, August 2017
Gigi Hadid
“I think that if you’re going to splurge on something to use at night, it should be the lotion that you use after you wash your face at the end of it all — make it something that will actually take care of your skin. I use Chanel Hydra Beauty Crème Riche, and earlier today I used a SK-II Facial Treatment Mask — I looked like a murderer … it was so cute. [Laughs] I took a selfie and sent it to my friend.” —Into the Gloss, February 2015
Diane Kruger
“The biggest fashion purchase I ever made I thought about for six years. I’m not kidding. All my life I wanted to own an Hermés Constance bag, and when I signed with Calvin Klein, I decided this was the time that I could afford it. I truly broke a sweat when I paid for it.” —Glamour, January 2011
Taylor Swift
“All the girls who were mean to me in middle school, like, idolized the Plastics. I think I chose that car [a Lexus SC430 convertible] as a kind of rebellion against that type of girl. It was like — you guys never invited me to anything, you guys are obsessed with that car and that girl and what the Plastics wear and how they talk and you quote them all the time, but I’ve been working really hard every single day. And instead of going to parties I’ve been writing songs and playing shows and getting these really small [pay checks] that have added up and now I get to buy a car — and guess which one I’m going to buy? The one that the girl you idolize has.” – The Guardian, October 2012
Iris Apfel
On her first major purchase: “I’ll never forget it. It was a brooch I found in a basement shop in Greenwich Village when I was 11. I didn’t have a penny, so I saved and I saved. I would return to visit it. When I finally had 65 cents, I proudly went over there and haggled over it. I still have it, by the way … I didn’t [wear it]! I didn’t have anything to wear with diamond jewelry, so I’d take it out and pet it.” —Allure, May 2014
Jennifer Lopez
“I was driving a Honda hatchback that Keenen Ivory Wayans had given me when I moved out here when I was a Fly Girl [dancer on In Living Color]. And I had been driving it to every audition. And when I got, I think it was a regular series, I bought a car — a Mercedes. And it was a huge deal, though I was signing the lease to the car and breaking up with my boyfriend the same week. We were in the dealership and I was crying.” —Hollywood Reporter, May 2016
Fergie
“Wearing nice lingerie makes me feel really glamorous. I love to splurge on that.” —Daily Mail, February 2011
Kerry Washington
“I really love massage — that’s my favorite splurge, I’m a big massage girl. Growing up, it was really about mani-pedis. I didn’t grow up with a lot of money, but my mom always had her nails done. And my mom’s not a high-fashion person, she’s a retired college professor, really very classically elegant. But she always had her nails done. I think for her, it was less about looking a certain way, although obviously it made her look polished, but it was more about her time and trying to be good to herself. That little bit of massage, that little bit of elegance, that little bit of her saying ‘I’m going to do something special for me,’ as a working mom and a professional who could barely carve out time for herself. It was her saying, ‘This is my time.’” —Beauty Launchpad, August 2016
Gwyneth Paltrow
On what kind of splurge is actually worth it: “Something that will stand the test of time, like a classic Chanel jacket, that you can pass down to your daughter.” —Marie Claire, August 2014
Kourtney Kardashian
“Interior décor is my guilty pleasure. If I’m going to splurge on something, it’s more for my home than for clothes.” —The Coveteur, January 2014
Leandra Medine
“Drunk Elephant’s C-Firma Day Serum is $80 and brings out my natural pigment, or whatever, so my sweet justification is that it’s much cheaper than a beach vacay.” —Man Repeller, January 2017
Rachel Roy
“I bought a pale blue dressing gown with tea-colored lace at a vintage store in Hollywood called Golyester. They specialize in 1920s-1950s dressing gowns and that is one of the most historical and exquisite pieces I own.” —Brit and Co., August 2017
Emily Weiss
“I splurge on candles. I’m addicted to Diptyque Tilleul.” —The Zoe Report, February 2015
Jordin Sparks
“I’ll splurge on Toblerone. I love Toblerone with the Swiss chocolate and nougat in it.” —Shape
Martha Stewart
“If you came to my house, you would find very little by way of indulgence. It might be a can of sardines. I found some that are supposed to be the best in St. Barths, and so I bought a bunch of cans, but they’re like $17 per can. I have one left. That’s an indulgence for a while. It also might be pickled herring or hard-boiled eggs. It depends on what I’m in the mood for. But I don’t have one kind of thing. It’s not like I go wild over chocolate or anything like that.” —Shape
Roxane Gay
“I bought a new car. I bought this particular car because it was easy to seamlessly listen to Lemonade in the car … I knew what I wanted and how much I was willing to pay and I was more than happy to walk out of the dealership without a new car. That is freeing. This new car was a ‘splurge.’ I didn’t need it. That’s new, being able to splurge. It’s weird. I never thought such a thing would be possible. I mean, I’m a writer. I am also not a ‘car person.’ But my other car is very big and hard to park and I was just over it.” —her Tumblr, June 2016
Kiernan Shipka
“I hate constantly being in heels, but I’m only 5’4”, so Stella McCartney’s giant creepers are perfect. I like the extra lift, and they’re pretty giant! If there’s one item I’ll splurge on, it’s a bold shoe. It can really elevate an outfit, so you can wear pieces that are in your comfort zone but then just kind of give it that extra kick with a fun shoe.” —InStyle, July 2016
Lady Gaga
“The three most expensive items I’ve ever purchased, including an actual house: my sable, a strand of diamonds, and my Mikimoto pearls.” —Harper’s Bazaar, February 2014
Oprah Winfrey
“I still have a nice bathtub. I major in bathtubs. I spend my time looking for the best possible bathtub a woman can buy. … You know where it came from? I will tell you. Honestly. It came from the fact that I was raised with my father in, like, an 1,100-square-foot house where we all shared the same tub. And when I would go back home, after having been in hotels and seeing that there are nicer tubs in the world, and there’s that little tub with a ring around it, where Comet could no longer clean the ring around the tub — and it was my job to clean it — because it has been permatized, I vowed if I ever got my own place, I was going to get myself a good tub!” —Vogue, August 2017