An array of summer beauty products. Photo courtesy of senior Phoebe Drazsnzak.
As San Luis Obispo High School students are enjoying their summer vacation, makeup wearers are shifting to their summer makeup routines. However, many have found that beauty products can be overly expensive. With the growth of social media marketing, products are easily popularized, and people feel pressure to buy them, even though they often come with a large price tag.
Are they really worth the cost?
“I don’t think makeup is worth the price most of the time, simply because I think some brands will charge extra because of their name, not necessarily because of the quality of the product,” said senior Emilie Kalenian.
While some choose to go for name brand products, others have found that dupes can be just as good or better than the original product.
“I would say for summer I go for a good mixture of both brand name products and dupes. For mascara, I go with drugstore brands, but for blush and concealer I prefer brand name products from Sephora. The feeling of luxury that comes with expensive products is a big factor,” said senior Juniper Patrick-Miernicki.
Makeup is marketed heavily towards women and is a lucrative market. The revenue of the U.S. cosmetic industry is estimated to amount to about $49 billion dollars a year.
Products marketed especially towards women are often very expensive. For example, an average foundation from Sephora could be more than forty dollars for a small bottle. Blush could be thirty to forty dollars depending on the brand. Popularized lip glosses can cost $25 dollars for a half ounce tube.
“Makeup and how much you spend on it is a very personal choice, but I do feel that there is a pressure to wear makeup because it allows you to present yourself without any ‘imperfections.’ I feel this pressure has come from social media, because it is based solely around how you look. Women are pressured to appear incredibly feminine through products that can enhance your features, like mascara, eyeliner, and lipgloss,” said senior Romy Ray.
Women overall wear more makeup than men, largely because for men, there isn’t as much of a societal pressure to do so.
Products marketed towards women often cost more than the same products targeted towards men, known as the “pink tax.” Hundreds of products have been found to have a pink tax.
Along with summertime, the cost of buying new cosmetics these days can leave people questioning. Beyond the price is a bigger social pressure, but makeup is meant to make everyone feel good, makeup or no makeup, dupe or brand name, it’s all okay!
Source: consumerreports.org
