Expensive Cosmetics – Worth The Money?
Some type of cosmetics have been in use since the dawn of man. Even Cleopatra, one of the most powerful female rulers who ever lived, is better known for her imaginative use of kohl eyeliner than her international diplomatic policies.
During the 1700s, vanity was the name of the game. Everyone who was anyone wouldn’t be seen in public without heavy doses of heavy white powder, rouged cheeks and lips, and colored eyes made possible by dried vegetable leaves and ochre. Portraits from this time period made many of these individuals look almost ridiculous by today’s standards.
Fast forward to the 20th century, and everyone who could get to the corner drug store was wearing cosmetics even if it was only mascara and lipstick. No longer limited to what someone could make at home in the kitchen, cosmetics became mass produced in such quantities that even ladies in rural areas without plumbing had heard about the newest creations of Maybelline and Max Factor.
It took the new color movies to give a real boost to the cosmetics industry, however. Suddenly we could see what made our favorite movie starlets so gorgeous, and it was rarely natural beauty! Once women could see the black mascaras and red lipsticks and dark eyebrow pencils, everyone ran out to buy the same things to look just like Greta Garbo and Elizabeth Taylor.
Suddenly, cosmetic companies were popping up all over. Major department stores rearranged their floor displays to make room – lots of room – for beautiful displays with fancy containers and lovely packaging and gorgeous sales clerks. These large companies competed heavily between each other, and even more so with the already well established drug store brands of Max Factor and Maybelline – the companies that had the original contracts with Hollywood movie studios. Everyone wanted a piece of the action, and they would fight heavily to get it.
With the newly established likes of Estee Lauder and Lancome, women quickly started to think: Is this worth the money? Should I spend $10 on a lipstick when I can go to the drugstore and buy one for $1. 50? Although the large names still were able to keep some market share, many women would reserve this type of spending for special occasions.
Ingredients might be different, but are they really better? When the original cosmetic companies are still selling exclusively in drug stores and mass merchandisers, there’s no wonder that some women are reducing their high end expenditures at the fancy counters and heading back to the drug store to buy what they need at lower prices and excellent quality.
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