Written by Elise Yang
My mother in her 20s was an avid “skincare guru,” as we like to call it today in 2024. Her newfound ability as a paycheck-earning adult to enable her shopping impulses definitely spurred this love for self-care, but her enthusiasm was also in no small part due to the oily, acne-prone skin we both genetically inherited. The worst thing I got from her, I’d say. With the immense power of social media circulation today, viral beauty brands such as Glow Recipe, Rare Beauty, Charlotte Tilbury, Rhode, etc. have successively made their way to the forefront of the consumer’s palate in Sephora, while timeless luxury brands such as Lamer, Chanel, and L’Occitane that my mother’s generation was more familiar with are more and more driven out of the spotlight. The chronically empty and trashed product aisles can also be attributed to the persuasive impact of “beauty influencers” on their numerous platforms, promoting the merits and sales of these brands for a lucrative partnership. While Instagram-style advertising and aesthetic “unpackaging” videos have certainly done the trick in tempting that consumerist demon residing in every girl to empty their wallets, do “viral” products really boost the benefits claimed by these influencers? Has the expansion of consumerist promotion in the beauty industry really helped consumers make better choices in their purchases?
Not always.
Packaging Sales Tactic
Aside from the insurmountable hype for viral brands created by popular platforms such as TikToks and Instagram reels, there is always the classic packaging tactic that businesses have used to their advantage since the beginning of time. The packaging form is an effective strategy to amp up competition against other businesses for the maximum marketable share (IJSBAR). It is sad to say that no one truly applies the saying “no one judges a book by its cover” in real life. Product attractiveness on the surface generates significant consumer interest without ever having to consider the true quality within (IJSBAR). Well-designed packaging engages consumers through creative and visually appealing elements, compelling them to make the connection between the assumed quality and surface appeal (Effect of Product Packaging in Consumer Buying Decision). The beauty industry is not excluded from this phenomenon. After all, what truly differentiates vaseline from a cutesy clear lipgloss? Many times over, we have all seen influencers gushing over objectively artistic wrappings of their package without mentioning the money they spent on gift-sized or mini products for twice the marketable price for something of that size. Maybe it brings them joy to apply a floral Gucci lipstick when they look in the mirror, regardless, the utter efficacy of the packaging sales tactic means that you, as a consumer, realistically will not buy at least half of the cosmetics you want without its pretty exterior.
Recycling of Past Cosmetics
Another thing beauty companies have mastered is reusing the concepts of past popular makeup to appeal to a younger generation, more specifically, Gen Z, who are often too young to remember the matte nude Revlon lipstick and khol-lined eyes era of their female relatives. This happens all too often on my for-you page: YouTubers and influencers trying on the “bling” and shiny new thing that supposedly never existed in the history of mankind before, and there would always be some older subscriber in the comments bringing up the old concept or brand that it was recycled from. Give it a new name, and suddenly it becomes the new “it” item. One thing I remember is the icy-blue Dior lip oil when it first launched about a year ago. The shade, consistency, texture, and even product type have all been made and marketed before, yet this new clear-periwinkle “Dior specialty” has stayed on my for-you page for months thereafter as it gets tried on by numerous influencers with the same practiced enthusiasm. Without being swayed by the manufactured ingenuity showcased for many social- media-viral products, I could easily find a remarkable dupe in my local drug store with the same wear-test performance for a fraction of the price. Naturally, the same can be done for many similar recycled products once you curb the temptation of trying something “new.”
End note, this is not to disseminate all viral products under the sun. After learning the insider tricks of researching for the right cosmetics and building my consumer awareness, I have discovered that many viral foreign brands, most specifically East Asian skin/haircare, do yield considerable merits to back up their fame. Social media serves its purpose well in bolstering the expanse of communication and outreach, and this has also contributed to my knowledge of the beauty industry and what products are out there for my needs. The most important thing is learning to identify the marketing tactics of the brand and judge the product quality without external influencers, a skill every beauty guru develops at some point in their life.