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Monday, November 16, 2015

In which Millihelen makes me grumpy again (Or: you're not smarter or better because you spend more on makeup)

This time it's not the actual post written by Millihelen, which is perfectly reasonable, but the response from the commenters that irritated me. Jezebel links to an article that points out that the difference in price between lower and higher end makeup isn't due to differences in formulas/ingredients, but to other factors like packaging, displays, customer service (sales associates and return policies), availability of testers, etc. So far so good. I would guess that prestige and brand image make as much difference as any of those more concrete factors, but still.

Then you go into the comments section and it's as though you're reading a post about why the beliefs of a certain cult (let's call it Sephorism) are false, and all the comments are written by devout cult members (Sephorites).

The majority of the comments seem to be some variation of, "Duh! Expensive makeup is better! That's why it costs more!" or anecdotes about this one drugstore thing that sucked, therefore all drugstore makeup sucks, or this one high end product that was awesome, therefore all drugstore makeup sucks. These comments betray a basic lack of understanding of the point of the article. As Jane Marie emphasizes in the comments, the point is that the more expensive products are not higher quality.

There's a measure of classism built into beliefs like these. People like to say that they outgrew drugstore makeup or that they deserve better because they work hard, which implies that people who still (choose to or have to) pay less are immature or undeserving.

Here are some excerpts of misguided, confused, or just plain wrong comments:
"For instance, a Nars eyeshadow has more intense pigmentation than anything offered at mass. The milling is finer, so the product is silkier, and applies and blends more smoothly." [Ed: No, not "anything." Just no.]
"If ingredients account for 15% of the cost, then a $30 foundation (which using the 15% average, would have $4.5 worth of ingredients) is still better than an $8 one ($1.20 worth of ingredients). I don’t think you understood your own article." [Ed: The article says that the ingredients account for "no more than 15% of the cost," which does not mean that the cost of the ingredients scales up with the increase in retail price of the product.]
"As someone who exclusively used drugstore makeup for a long time before switching over into high end stuff, I absolutely will not buy that they are the same quality. Yes some brands are worse than others, but you take a brush to a Covergirl eyeshadow vs a MAC one and if you can’t tell a difference you’re blind." [Ed: Sample size too small to be statistically significant.]
All you have to do is look critically at reviews of more and less expensive brands, and you will see that there is just as much variation in performance of very expensive products as there is in cheap products. Including MAC. And Nars. (Gasp!) One of the biggest benefits of looking at more expensive brands is that there is often a larger variety of colors available. Because the prices are higher, the brands can offer options that don't sell as well, whereas at the drugstore they will tend to focus on just the most popular shades. I know this well as a very pale person, and it's a much bigger problem for people at the darker end of the spectrum. But that, again, is about variety, not quality. I write all of this as someone with an unusual curiosity and skepticism about these things and as someone who has, consequently, done a lot of research comparing makeup at different price points - both by reading about them and by testing things myself.

If you want to spend more on something, that's fine. Not everything I own is super cheap. Maybe you like the fancier or sturdier packaging or you enjoy chatting with people working at Sephora. (The testers and return policies seem less legitimate to me as reasons for price increases, since CVS has a good return policy, and many Canadian and UK drugstores provide testers.) Do what you want, but don't develop a superiority complex over it. These companies want you to believe that you are spending your money more wisely and treating yourself to something better when you're doing it. That is the whole point of the way they market this shit. (There is a whole other rant that I am going to set aside for now about the current cultural trend of presenting luxury as some kind of necessity or human right and how that seems to be a particularly troubling element of contemporary capitalism.) Just know where your money is going and why and don't be a dick about it. That's my preaching for the week.

(I was going to post about this last week when I originally read it, but it irritated me so much that I couldn't articulate much other than: ARRRRGH CAPITALISM! BRAINWASHING! LUXURY BULLSHIT! WHERE CRITICAL THINKING??? It seems like the comments are slightly more balanced by now, but only slightly.)

21 comments:

  1. I agree with you completely, there are good and bad products both on the luxury and drugstore ends of the spectrum. I often choose to buy a high-end product because I'm drawn to the beautiful design or an unusual color, but I also use a lot of drugstore products in my everyday make-up routine, and I think they perform very similarly. It's so funny that we all want to feel like we're spending our money wisely when we splurge on luxury items - even though it's more about how these products make us feel versus their objective quality.

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    1. Yes, the design and the variety are definitely factors. I know we want to believe that we did the right thing when we spend lots of money, but I think it's better to try to be honest with ourselves. It's not the spending money I object to - just when people have these condescending or willfully ignorant attitudes about it.

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  2. Yikes. Have these people never read Temptalia and seen a Chanel or Dior product receive an F? I actually do think eye makeup is the one area where drugstore brands need to step up their game, but that doesn't mean that EVERY high-end eyeshadow is superior to its drugstore equivalent! NARS in particular is notorious for patchy shadows, so it's kind of funny to see that one person defending NARS shadows so ardently.

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    1. I got a kick out of that NARS comment too. I would argue that NARS makes some of the worst, most expensive eyeshadow out there.

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    2. I used to feel that way about drugstore eyeshadow, because there are a lot of major duds in the most prominent brands (Covergirl, Revlon, etc.). But I wonder how much of it is absolute numbers rather than percentages (excuse my imprecise math language). What I mean is, because there are fewer choices overall at the drugstore, there are fewer excellent eye shadows, whereas there are tons of higher end brands, and so more good higher end eyeshadows. I'm not prepared to do the calculations, though, myself. Anyway, I haven't had too much trouble finding great eyeshadows under $10 once I started looking!

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  3. I see privilege and ignorance displayed in these sort of comments/lifestyle values. Anyone who has ever struggled financially as an adult would be more discerning. And anyone who tested more than a handful of the original NARS shadows know that the quality is inconsistent at best and often rather poor. If you believe that the price placed on an object is quality-based, you're not stopping to question the companies who manufacture these things and blindly accepting their claims to be the bestest ever.

    The School of Life has a YT clip on why we abhor cheap things as a society (https://youtu.be/DFfHGGhCxCM). It's a simplistic overview but there are a few statements in there that are worth gleaning for greater awareness.

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    1. Privilege and ignorance indeed! :)

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    2. I think that people also don't realize that the prices for these things are very carefully calculated as part of their marketing. You raise the price so that people will think it's better - if you drop it below a certain threshold, people will think it's no good, because it's not "worth" enough, regardless of what actually cost to produce and promote, etc. And then there are things like Louboutin makeup. There's no reason for those prices (the crazy packaging isn't that valuable) except to appeal to people who want to be able to say they spent $50 on a bottle of nail polish. (Apparently I still have more ranting to do.)

      And thank you for that link! I hadn't seen that video. It's fantastic. I may have to post it, because I think more people should understand these things, and we can't all spend our time reading Marx. :)

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  4. I love this post! I agree about mass vs. class market. I also love the insight into the luxury lifestyle being marketed as necessity. That's such bullshit and totally dovetails with the rise in narcissism in our culture. You are awesome. :)

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    1. Thank you! I'm glad so many people agree. I was beginning to feel alone reading those Jezebel comments!

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  5. This is like, post-hoc superiority complex justifications for expenses these people convinced themselves were worthwhile because, as you rightfully say, these companies want you to believe that the expensive choice is the better choice. The luxury cosmetics market fascinates me- it's a huge market and it's one of the few luxury goods markets that's not completely inaccessible for lower incomes (not that I would argue that $30 lipsticks or cosmetics in general are broadly accessible). And I think there's a huge variety of reasons behind desiring a higher end product over a drugstore version: the packaging, the name, the experience of the purchase, having something that is socially deemed "really nice," whatever. My first few non-drugstore makeup items were Big Deals (and considering the costs, all subsequent ones really were too). I don't know how much of this "Sephorism" (great word) comes from elitism, and how much of it might be discomfort with the idea that the "betterness" they're paying for, the level they get to stand on above others, isn't real. I'm not really sure if it's even necessary to believe that an expensive product is of higher practical quality just so long as you believe that it's fundamentally BETTER- that it puts you on that imaginary pedestal above what the plebeians use, because you paid for it. Mmm, right, classicism.

    I stopped reading Jezebel years and years ago because it struck me as a mouthpiece for women who wanted to prove they were in some way better than other women, and white feminism. Doesn't look like it's changed.

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    1. Thank you for the essay! And thank you for reading my essay! That's something I've heard frequently about why companies make so much money from luxury cosmetics. Apparently brands like Chanel or Burberry make far more from their cosmetics than clothing (and accessories are somewhere in between or maybe as lucrative as cosmetics, I forget). Many thousands of people who want to own Chanel can afford a $36 lipstick, but only a much smaller number can afford the fashion, and the lipsticks add up to more in the end.

      I met some really wonderful people through commenting on Jezebel, but I stopped reading the site several years ago. Then Millihelen popped up and sucked me in as a hate read. But apparently they are getting rid of Millihelen in the shake up that is taking place soon (now?), so I might have to go back to hate reading xoVain instead.

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  6. Also, wow, "elitism," not "classicism," not talking about high antiquity. DONE GOODBYE

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    1. To be fair, I have definitely known some classicists who were also elitists. ;)

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  7. I'm totally ok with only responding in all caps and single words. Sometimes people are just stupid enough to send you into a frothing rage. Well deserved in this case. There are some things I enjoy spending the money on, but the price is irrelevant to the quality of the item. Generally the things I like to spend money on are the things I can't find in the drugstore.

    Seriously all you have to do a search for "drugstore dupes for high end products" to see that price doesn't always equal quality. Granted you have to be cautious about the dupes, because sometimes people say something is a dupe and it's pretty clearly not, but some things really are the exact same product in different packaging.

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    1. Especially when you look at brands owned by the same company (like L'Oreal). Sometimes you can look at the ingredients (and even packaging) of products that appear in the Maybelline or L'Oreal lineup AND in the Lancome or Armani lineup, and they are identical. Yet people will still claim the more expensive one is better. If you read detailed reviews, of the higher and lower end versions, they will also have the same pros and cons - because they are the same!

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  8. Or! You could buy indie eyeshadow and REALLY marvel at the pigmentation...
    I read in one of those women's magazines once that Avon spends the most money on R&D for skincare...I'll stick to that!

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    1. I hadn't heard that about Avon - interesting! I do think they really make some great products. I just wish they hadn't started pushing the MLM side of their business so much.

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  9. My favourite non opaque lipsticks are an asian drugstore brand that costs <$5 apiece and they're way better than Dior Addict or whatever nonsense sheer lipsticks other brands have thrown at us. I mean, I covet Armani, but I'm fully aware I don't need to and it's somewhat silly and L'Oréal makes the same shit in L'Oréal anyway.

    Drugstore makeup was not so good in my youth that I can remember. I remember coarse powders and lipsticks with that gross smell but nowadays there is brilliant make up everywhere.

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