Are Luxury Moisturizers Worth The Price?
Posted on September 27, 2007 by Melissa
Filed Under Shopping
Cosmetics and beauty products were a hobby of mine. An extremely expensive hobby that helped get me into debt. I have tried many of the expensive face moisturizers out there. As recently as just last year I was using up the last of my Crème de la Mer moisturizer ($125 for 1oz). That was the most I had ever spent on a single jar of moisturizer.
I really enjoyed the “high-end” moisturizers you get at department stores or from Sephora (my old addiction). They were soothing and comforting and somehow special. I never knew why exactly but I felt they were better than their less expensive counterparts. They just *were*. After all, my skin looked great! It must have been because of those luxury products, right?
When evaluating my spending habits I started looking at what I was getting for my money in these moisturizers. Was it really the expensive and exotic ingredients in these high priced products giving me that nice skin or was it the fact that I was simply using a quality moisturizer at all? Was it worth the extra cost?
Paula Begoun, famous cosmetics reviewer, gives her take on the La Mer Crème I love so much:
The reality is that this very basic, and I mean really basic, cream doesn’t contain anything particularly extraordinary or unique, unless you want to believe that seaweed extract (sort of like seaweed tea) can somehow be worth this much money, or that it can in some way heal burns and scars. According to Susan Brawley, professor of plant biology at the University of Maine, “seaweed extract isn’t a rare, exotic, or expensive ingredient. Seaweed extract is readily available and used in everything from cosmetics to food products and medical applications.”
Creme de la Mer contains mostly seaweed extract, mineral oil, petrolatum (similar to Vaseline), glycerin, waxlike thickening agents, plant oils, plant seeds, minerals, vitamins, more thickeners, and preservatives. How expensive can it be to stick some seaweed and vitamins in a cosmetic? According to the cosmetics chemists I’ve interviewed, it costs pennies, not hundreds of dollars.
So maybe the ingredients weren’t all that exotic after all. Based on this evaluation I have to assume that the price tag of $125 isn’t due to the cost of the ingredients. If it doesn’t cost significantly more to make than its competing products then why was I paying a significantly higher price?
Let’s look at a few ways the industry helps to create the perception of added worth.
Brand Distinction
Did you know that many of the brands you are familiar with are owned by the same major companies? Brand recognition adds value, especially for new products. Through developing distinctive brands these companies can target key consumer groups and price the products appropriately. Products for a luxury line like La Mer will be priced at luxury levels (who knows what the actual manufacturing cost is). Within a single company you might find that a product from an inexpensive brand is virtually the same as a product from an expensive brand. Coincidence? Try comparing some of the L’Oreal Paris and Lancôme products.
Here are two parent companies with their brands below:
Estee Lauder: Aveda, Bobbi Brown, Bumble and bumble, Clinique, Estée Lauder, Jo Malone, Lab Series, La Mer, MAC Cosmetics, Origins, Prescriptives
L’Oreal: Kérastase, L’Oreal Paris, Maybelline, Biotherm, The Body Shop, Cacharel, Kiehl’s, Lancôme, Shu Uemura, Dermablend, La Roche-Posay, SkinCeuticals
Fairy Dusting
“Fairy Dusting” refers to the practice of adding minimal amounts of special or desirable ingredients to a product to make it more attractive to buyers. This can include ingredients associated with the hottest trends (like green tea) or age-old treatments (like olive oil). This method is often misleading and is used to get the product from the store counter to the bathroom counter as quickly as possible.
Dusting can be done in several ways, like:
- Adding enough of an effective ingredient, like retinol, to get it listed on the label but not enough to make it beneficial. Sure, it has retinol, but the levels of it are so low that you won’t see the noticeable results you expect from that ingredient. This practice can help keep costs low while allowing them to charge more for the moisturizer.
- Adding a little of an ingredient that hasn’t been shown to be effective but makes the product more attractive. Examples of this might be skincare with rose oil, lavender, or even yogurt. These ingredients are added to spark interest. “My mother always said rose oil was good for my skin and I love the fragrance so this must be good.” Just by adding these ingredients they can raise the perceived value of their product even if there is no science to back the use of those additions.
Packaging
My La Mer jar is heavy enough to be a weapon. It looks and feels expensive. The elaborate boxes it came in were nice enough to keep and reuse! I suspect that the packaging might have cost more than the crème. Many of the expensive moisturizers come in beautiful containers and bottles. Companies use packaging to create added worth. Who is going to pay $125 an ounce for a moisturizer in a cheap plastic container? Put it in a heavy glass jar that re-enforces the idea that the crème is worth that much. In this way, packaging is often used as a tool to help achieve the desired price point.
So, is it worth it? Well, that’s up to you. If you like the way it makes your skin feel and are happy with your skin’s appearance then it might be worth it to you. Be aware that just because you’re paying more doesn’t mean you’re getting more and that you can likely get the same results for a much smaller price tag.
I still love the expensive moisturizers (even though I no longer buy them) but I understand they aren’t miracle workers or even substantially better products for improving my skin than what you can find at the supermarket. I love them for their texture, fragrance, and finish and those qualities enhance my experience, not my appearance.
Be sure to check back tomorrow when we will talk about ways to find an alternative moisturizer that works for both our skin and our checkbooks.
Image Source: sunshinecity
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Having worked for a cosmetics company in the past, I can tell you that you’re almost always getting the short end of the stick in regards to cosmetic products. I was surprised to see that my company took a mascara product and slapped one label on it for sale at Saks, Nordstrom, etc. - and a different label, exact same product, for sale at CVS and Kmart. Don’t be fooled - the cost is almost always a direct function of: 90% marketing, 9% bottle design costs, and 1% actual ingredients. I’m exaggerating for effect but basically you’re paying for the marketing of the product, not the cost of the ingredients. Try a bunch of cheaper brands - eventually you may find EXACTLY the same thing in a cheaper package.
To me, it’s worth it to pay more to get a lotion without parabens.
Studies have indicted that these can be harmful and though they have not conclusively been proven to cause cancer and other problems ( I don’t think they have at least, I haven’t checked recently though), I don’t want to take the chance, esp. since I have health probs. that already are associated with toxins and chemicals in our environment.
I think it’s worth looking into these issues and if one feels they have validity to pay a bit more to get deodorant, lotion, cleaners, cosmetics, cleaners and the like, free of these and other toxins. Often their price is not even much more or any more than the other products.
But as far as just regular vs. luxury products, I think in most cases they are quite similar when it comes to shampoos, soaps, lotions, etc. You can ever compare the ingredients and often they are exactly or amost exactly the same!
In any situation, I choose to pay more if my health or safety is involved–those are my priorities. If something is of higher quality and will last longer or will do the job better than I may also choose to pay more too, if I can.
But in cases where it’s not too important to me or both products do a similar job, I don’t let the appeal of the “luxury” item sway me. (At least I try not to, and I think I do pretty well at it usually.)
M - I’m unfamiliar with parabens. I’m going to have to do some research on that today.
I also sometimes buy a more expensive product when it comes to safety or health. I’m not willing to take the cheapest if it’s going to compromise that. But when it’s effectively the same ingredients in the store brand and the luxury brand, I’ll choose the store brand.
Can someone tell me about seaweed prices this year please? If someone tell me about that please Do not hesitate to send me an E-mail on: bailavalentino@yahoo.com ,Thank’s.
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This product seems to be getting some good press and is worth checking out - Skin MD Natural in the UK. It uses a new advanced scientific proprietary formulation which, apparently, has a moisturizing factor 6 times greater than glycerin, the standard humectant (water absorber) against which all others are measured. It is a shielding lotion which bonds to the skin to keep the irritants out, moisture in and protects the skin in a way a normal moisturizer can’t. Well worth a look.
Has anyone tried any knock off cosmetic products?
With the same active ingredients, and strength
without the $100 price tag.
Funny site. I used to work for a department store cosmetics counters in high school, and found out the companies own the lower cost cosmetics as well. If you pay attention, Lancome will come out with a new product and then remarket it under the Loreal tag a month or so later. I have tried La mer, smells nice, sometimes I get free samples when feel like listening to the pitch. My favorite cream is by AVON who owns Estee Lauder! The Anew and Clinical line is amazing! I love the cleanser, cream and peel, and micro dermabrasion. I have tried other lines, but I end up going back to my clinical a few weeks later… very worth the try, I have sensitive, combination 39 year old sun damaged skin, I get compliments on my skin daily when i use avon!