Beauty Industry: Where Self-Consciousness is a Gold Mine

These major players begin by glorifying picture-perfect (and 100% edited) portrayals of women then essentially taking women's insecurities and churning it out onto their packaging, before plastering it everywhere for unknowing women to see and feel pressured into buying. 

 The most appalling of all is how the industry as a whole has stigmatized the human condition, turning it into something they can cash out on. It is critical to understand that things such as pores and aging are both natural and are the key experiences in being human--not something easily changed by bottled night cream. However, they have created campaigns and marketing strategies that make their majority of audiences think that it is exactly what they need. 

How Conventionally Attractive People Set a Halo Effect

The current trend of endorsing social media influencers is also one of the most effective ways brands sell their products by pandering to women's insecurities. Social media influencers have amassed a large number of following typically for the fact that they are conventionally attractive, which is why many women look up to them. 

So when consumers see their favorite influencer promoting a product saying that it fixed their insecurities or enhanced their perceived beauty, it successfully creates a Halo Effect of the product. Intuitively, the thought process becomes: If this conventionally attractive person says that the product has contributed to their attractiveness, then it must also be able to bring me one step closer to the beauty standard.

Re-evaluating Purchasing Behavior

Oftentimes, women purchase beauty products that they already have a variation of or even something that eventually fails to live up to its expectations. This causes a lot of waste in terms of money as well as products. Most women are probably familiar with having heaps of half-empty beauty products that they no longer use but still refuse to discard. Yet despite this, consumers still repeatedly fall for the advertising traps and cognitive biases. 

Perhaps it is time to re-evaluate purchasing behavior to avoid falling into the consumerism pattern that will most likely end up being wasteful. It is important to focus on the facts of the products such as ingredient contents and benefits. 

Checking customer product reviews is also helpful in making a purchasing decision and as customers are not paid to leave reviews, it can lead to more genuine opinions. Ultimately, it is in our own hands to not fall prey to sly advertisements. There is no way to convince the industry to stop creating polished, curated beauty in advertisements, so it must be up to us to think critically and do what is best for ourselves.

References

Elsesser, K. (2019, October 28). The link between beauty and the gender gap. Forbes. Retrieved September 10, 2021