Monday Beauty Poll
By Glinda
For a bunch of ladies (and possibly men, I assume nothing!) who are interested in beauty, it certainly doesn’t apply to pageants thereof. A full 42% of you hate beauty pageants, which was the highest vote-getter. The next was a paltry 23% of former beauty pageant viewers, and 20% who are OK with adult participation, but not so much when it comes to the little ones. And it seems that only one of you really likes beauty pageants, and you, beauty pageant enthusiast, are free to have your opinion!
Lately I’ve been thinking about how much money I spend on cosmetics. I tend to buy pricey stuff because I personally feel I am getting a better product. Many places/people tell me that isn’t necessarily the case, but I have found in life that odds are that the more expensive something like a piece of clothing is, the longer it will last me. Which makes me draw the conclusion that it is a better product. Same thing with purses, jewelry, and numerous other items.
July 25th, 2011 at 7:03 am
Huge cosmetics companies have been feverishly buying up other, smaller, trendier cosmetics companies in order to corner greater and greater amounts of the market share, and their pace has escalated over the last 20 years or so. To do that successfully, large conglomerates buy up (or launch, an older tactic) as many brands at as many price-range points as possible. Each conglomerate will own and produce several “lines” in the luxury, mid, and lower price ranges: it’s a smart business tactic. No matter who you are, you can purchase what they produce in a product line that suits your aesthetic and budget easily; and in return, the cosmetic conglomerate wins by taking up more and more of the “shelf space” and limiting threats by competitors (they can simply buy those competing lines up and assimilate them). If the extra “pretty” makes you feel great each time you use it, it’s well worth the extra expense.
To do this and remain cost effective, what they produce has to be pretty uniform. There really is not much variation in the manufacturing of the actual products. If they have a lab in a particular city, and they own 14 companies which make mascara products sold at various price points, it wouldn’t make financial sense to use that lab to specially formulate 14 different types of mascara lines, each with unique formulae. It would be much more feasible to make, say 4 different mascara formulae (varied for things like shade, water resistance, ingredients like fibres) and then use those different “recipes” by putting the product in different packaging. In the end, the tube you buy for $50 actually contains the same mascara as the tube you can buy for $7, in a much less chic container or perhaps in a simple black or brown shade as opposed to a variety of colours. This applies to all products in the variety of lines: foundation, powders, bronzers, moisturizers, primers, nail polishes, lipsticks/gloss/indelibles/stains whatever.
For the sake of exclusivity, things like pigment use or concentration, or range of colours, are one of the ways they give each trademark product line its own special “branding” (you might not find the particular shade of smokey plum shadow in Maybelline, but you will find it in Lancome, let’s say–exactly the same product, slightly different shade that’s not so easily found in all lines). Another way they “brand” each product line is with packaging. Truly beautiful packaging or innovative packaging which makes the product more pleasurable to use will help each product line look different–and the more exclusive packaging will always cost more. But in the end, there is not much variation in the cosmetic products themselves, when you compare line to line in the conglomerate brands: you can usually get the same product packaged differently–pay full price for the Estee Lauder brand, or pay a small price for the same product in the Jane brand.
So “you get what you pay for” doesn’t really apply here–unless you’re buying for specific shades or specific packaging. Or unless you value “indulging yourself” (for any reason) over bottom-line functionality (and there is nothing wrong with that).
July 25th, 2011 at 7:49 am
Most of my current products come from e.l.f. – the whole product line is $1-$5 and is as versatile and long lasting as some of the pricier stuff I’ve used before. And it’s cheap enough that I can try out any new color I want with minimal budget reworking.
July 25th, 2011 at 11:46 am
I recently purchased an AHA cleanser on amazon that was a third of the price of a high end brand. But I’ve never found a drugstore eyeshadow I like as much as big names.
( and I’ve looked). My night cream is the drugstore Roc, except after waxing, then it is La Mer. Generally, the more advertised, the less I like it.
July 25th, 2011 at 12:04 pm
thanks Aurumgirl, love your writeup. I think the only item where I specifically see a difference in a higher priced item is “Diorshow” mascara. It looks 20% better than drugstore mascara, but a tube lasts 60% longer for me than the drugstore stuff, so it equals out price-wise.
July 25th, 2011 at 4:39 pm
Aurumgirl pretty much summed it up. If I find a product I like I will stick with it, and because I will peruse the cosmetic section of any shop that has one, I have tried a lot- I cannot honestly say that a high end product brings me any more joy or just plain use than a low end product
July 26th, 2011 at 9:46 am
Certain products, I will buy cheap no problem. I use covergirl tinted moisturizer and mascara, and I love buying bright, cheap nail polish. My gel eyeliner is maybelline. As for skin care, I was my face in Cetaphil and use DML moisturizing lotion, which are both super cheap.
But when it comes to things like foundation, I go high end. If for no other reason than because I can’t try on foundation in a drug store. It took me a long time to even find a department store foundation I like (I use the Chanel vita-lumiere, since it’s one of the few that won’t go cakey on my very, very dry skin). I also like higher quality eyeshadows, since I find they go on easier and stay on better.
July 26th, 2011 at 5:11 pm
I buy drugstore because I do not know enough about makeup to justify the high end product… like a person who knows very little about cooking buying the hamburger patties rather than the filet mignon. I’m sure there is a quality difference, but the price differential is great enough to make it not worth my time at this point in my life. Also, I feel like I’m more easily taken advantage of if I try to buy up in an area in which I am not very literate. I’d rather just spend cheap and get cheap than spend middling-to-lots and risk getting cheap because I don’t know better.
July 26th, 2011 at 10:19 pm
I go with whomever has a color I like in a formulation I like (lipstick rather than lip gloss, for instance, or eye shadow rather than the creme or stick), price usually be damned. The only time I really get picky is my mascara. I have hard contact lenses and sensitive eyes. I’ve tried the $2 Wet’n’Wild and I’ve tried a $50+ Christian Dior. No matter the formulation, the’ve all caused me agony in the end – except good ol’ Maybelline Big Lash.