The Cosmetics Racket: Why the Beauty Industry Can Get Away with Charging a Fortune for Makeup

[Joanne98]

By Anneli Rufus, AlterNet
Posted on September 11, 2010, Printed on September 12, 2010
http://www.alternet.org/story/148140/

Worth $50 billion in the U.S. alone, with Asia a close second and gaining speed, the $170 billion beauty industry conspires to convince women that our fates depend on our looks which depend on what we spend. In this equation, ugliness -- as society sees it -- can be remedied like a disease, if you just spend enough. Refuse to buy? Your face and fate are your own fault.

But is a MAC Haute & Naughty Lash mascara really worth $18? When industry meets beauty, what does "worth" even mean? Are cosmetics' ingredients so rare and precious and labor-intensively processed as to merit these prices?

No -- we're just being bamboozled by huge markups, says cosmetic chemist Perry Romanowski, one of the minds behind BeautyBrains.com, a site that answers users' questions about science and cosmetics.

"Some skin-care products you can buy in Sephora cost about $2 to make, but then are on sale for $300. Other skin-care products can be made for 50 cents and are sold for $2," says Romanowski, whose many books include Beginning Cosmetic Chemistry. And although the actual percentages of the markups is a trade secret that companies don't reveal, "in general, these products are not using ingredients so expensive that they would warrant the cost. No anti-wrinkle cream is worth $150. In fact, any product over $25 is a waste of money.

http://www.alternet.org/reproductivejustice/148140/the_cosmetics_racket%3A_why_the_beauty_industry_can_get_away_with_charging_a_fortune_for_makeup/

[LiberalLoner]

1. Most women look at me like I'm nuts when I say Wet and Wild has

some very good quality makeup, pretty much equivalent to high-end brands, but it's true. The packaging isn't so great, but hey for the price...the eyeshadows in particular are some of the best I've ever used.

[bettyellen]

3. Milani liquid eyes is a great penicil, LOL.

[lildreamer316]

15. Makeupalley

is a great place to learn what brands,and what products from what brands, are really good. Wet and Wild is popular there. The liner #666 (yes really) is a fave universal lip liner that matches most lipsticks.
There was also a good run on their bronzers and I have a very fave lipstick from them.
Go check out Makeupalley for good, HONEST reviews of any beauty product you want to buy.

[LiberalLoner]

17. Yup, been using MUA for years and I love love love it! n/t

[bettyellen]

2. the sad fact is people are kinder to you when you look good. they are nicer, you get paid better...

it's not just women buying into this, because it actually has a huge impact on how the workd treats you.
when i'm feelign down i generally dress and make myself up better just so Ill be treated better. it works. it sucks to accept it, but both men and women are superficial.

[FirstLight]

4. I buy cheap makeup too

I love the smell of the dept store makeup counter though... been a long time since I could afford that stuff, and even so I could never justify spending more than a couple bucks on lipstick!

I can't leave the house without some kind of 'fixing up'
...I tell the kids I do it so the zombiemom doesn't "scare the humans" :rofl:
(under eye concealer, blush and lipstick is the bare min - all cheap stuff)

my mom calls it "finding her face in the jar"

I openly admit it is mostly just vanity...but if it makes me feel less like an unemployed slob when I go to the store, that's my vice.
:D

[monmouth]

7. I go online and order Avon, delivered right to the door and the best

moisturizer and bath/shower gels ever. I love Imari and the pkg. with talc, fragrance, cream is a little over $20. I'm always asked about the fragrance and complimented.

[madrchsod]

5. the most expensive thing in perfume is...

designing the bottle and the box.second is the marketing.third is the actual stuff in the bottle

perfume strips in the magazines are made with a five gallon bucket of perfume slurry. take some of that stuff and add a little alcohol and there ya go...

[SocialistLez]

11. I haven't bought perfume in years

It gives me headaches.
I sometimes like certain perfumes but perfumes in general give me a headache.

There is a guy who comes to my job just about every day and his aftershave makes me want to jump off a bridge.

[LiberalLoner]

18. I love perfume but I don't buy it - instead I buy perfume oils from e-bay - they

smell wonderful (to me) and I can have a big wardrobe of fragrances that last years, for half of what one bottle of perfume costs. :) I love beating the system and getting what I want for less. :)

[davidinalameda]

6. it's called paying for the name

not the product

same thing with designer clothes and accessories

how many people care about the quality of those cheap ass Coach bags

they just want to be seen carrying one

[Skittles]

14. Coach bags are SO freaking UGLY

[msongs]

8. why do women smear colored mud on their faces? nt

[izquierdista]

9. They need to copy men?

[vduhr]

13. My question too...

I don't wear makeup. I just can't understand the reasoning behind makeup - smearing grease on my face to look good?

[SocialistLez]

10. I'm more worried about the chemicals in the make up...

I plan to look into Origins products.
I found out some scary stuff about my current acne-treating products.

[notadmblnd]

12. We know it's a big ripoff, but with a little research you can find decent products for little

Like the oil I use in my hair, 40 dollars at the salon. It's called Morrocan oil. Online I get twice as much for 15 dollars under the name Agadir oil.

[lildreamer316]

16. ..and Sally Beauty Supply has it even cheaper

it's called Argan Oil there.