Abstract

The market for natural makeup has been substantially increasing, primarily because many consumers believe that natural makeup is healthier and higher quality than unnatural makeup. However, perceived health hazards of unnatural makeup have been debunked, and, while there is no evidence disproving the perceived quality superiority of natural makeup, the manipulability of chemical ingredients suggests that unnatural makeup would be superior. Therefore, the question arises as to whether consumers choose natural makeup not because it is actually superior in quality, but because society has led them to believe it is healthier and more effective. A blind consumption test involving four popular brands of lip gloss - two natural and two unnatural - was conducted to determine whether consumers actually prefer their self-identified favorite makeup brands and how influence from the natural product movement affects how closely their self-identified preferences match their blind consumption preferences. Ultimately, it was found that consumers’ self-identified preferences rarely matched their preferences under blind consumption conditions, regardless of how influenced they were by the natural product movement. Thus, the results suggest that makeup consumers make decisions predominantly based on their emotional perceptions of certain brands, as opposed to actual sensed quality differences between makeup products; and, while the natural product movement may be one factor that affects consumers’ perceptions of makeup brands, it is by no means a sole or primary influence in forming consumer opinions.

Saturday, August 20, 2016

Narrowing the Focus

Week 2 (08/15-08/21)

One of the most valuable lessons I learned in AP Seminar is the importance of going into research with an open mind, and, once again, my original perspective on a topic has been challenged.

As an active consumer of cosmetic products, I have always been bombarded by the ideas that natural products are better than synthetic ones and that chemical additives are, well, "evil." My esthetician religiously preaches the use of products "without chemical fillers," and my older cousin Erika has become so paranoid about the potential health detriments posed by synthetic ingredients that she is moving toward making all her makeup and personal care products from scratch at home. Until now, I too have always thought that "natural" meant healthier and higher quality.

Nevertheless, after researching and expecting to find articles on harms of drug store makeup brands, I have found that the fear of chemical additives is actually quite unwarranted. While many companies use minute concentrations of chemical additives to enhance the quality or functionality of their products, scientific testing by the FDA and other organizations has shown that such small quantities have no adverse health effects. The bad rap the industry receives is based on testing of these chemical additives in much larger quantities in animal studies, studies which shouldn't even be relevant to cosmetic products.

Consumers, however, have been increasingly drawn toward "natural" makeup products, and an increasing number of companies are focusing on creating and marketing natural cosmetics. As part of a larger "green consumer" societal movement, people generally buy "natural" or "organic" under the premise that such products are better for their personal health, the environment, and are higher quality.

The apparent contradiction between consumer beliefs and scientific reality was what ultimately led me to narrow down my focus. I'm going to explore whether or not, with marketing ploys removed, consumers still prefer natural cosmetics over synthetic ones. Such research will be valuable because it will help determine whether consumers actually prefer natural products (in terms of quality), or whether they are simply succumbing to marketing ploys or societal pressures.

Although conducting my own research is still far off, I have brainstormed some compelling ideas this week. Currently, I see myself gathering different brands of makeup, a couple high-end that take pride in being "all natural" (e.g Jane Iredale and bareMinerals), a couple high-end brands that use chemical additives (e.g. Clinique, Dior, and M.A.C.), and some drug store brands that also contain chemical additives (e.g. Maybelline and Covergirl). I would create a test group and apply each type of makeup to participants, asking which sample they like the best. All samples would be stripped of branding, and participants would not know whether each makeup is natural or unnatural, so the results would determine whether consumers actually detect superior quality in natural makeup, or whether they simply buy natural makeup because they feel pressured to do so.

Obviously, my topic is still too broad in that I have no clue what specific type of makeup I am going to study (e.g. foundation, eyeshadow, etc.). Also, I may have to choose a specific type of "natural" marketing to include in my study (e.g. choosing to explore the effects of negative attacks on unnatural makeup to promote natural makeup as opposed to looking into the effects of pushing the positives of natural makeup, or vice versa). As far as continuing the refining process, I think that the process will happen naturally as I continue reading, compiling sources for my annotated bibliography, and gaining a clearer picture of my own research method.

Speaking of continuing to compile sources, there are a few main areas I should focus on. First, I need to make sure I have enough sources justifying that unnatural makeup is not harmful to health and that the chemical composition of it may actually be superior to natural makeup in some cases. These sources, when combined with articles that articulate the green consumer movement in the cosmetic industry, will show the contrast that makes looking into the issue interesting and significant. To set the stage for my own research, it would also be helpful to find data on what brands of makeup consumers are actually buying. Comparing the numbers of people who buy each brand in reality with the data I collect in my study will determine whether or not consumers are being significantly swayed by the marketing. Through continuing to find sources, I'm hoping to narrow down the brands and type(s) of makeup I will use in my study. Also, if I find that there is a specific marketing strategy common to multiple types of "natural" makeup companies or particularly prominent in the green consumer movement, I may focus in on that for my research.

Ending on an enthusiastic and less technical note, I am super excited to continue exploring cosmetic marketing! The thought of my personal study already has me itching to find out the results. :)

(824...sorry, I just got super into this post)




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4 comments:

  1. mrslyndsayhaagAugust 22, 2016 at 7:29 AM

    Audrey, first, please never apologize for getting into your research. Nothing brings me more joy and fulfillment than seeing students excited and enthusiastic about their research.

    I like your approach on narrowing your topic: see what's out there and refine accordingly. My only critique would be that you don't become obsessed with the idea of narrowing more and more. You could find that you've already found a pertinent gap, so only narrow if it's absolutely necessary.

    Finally, I like how you already have a clear plan and strategy moving forward for compiling and organizing sources. Think of how you got to that plan as a way to help your classmates come up with similar strategies, as it can be an overwhelming task.

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  2. UnknownAugust 22, 2016 at 4:36 PM

    Hey Audrey, it is awesome that you bring up the way your previously held notions changed, because that shows that you have a unique research topic that actually interests you. I believe that if you did not find this topic interesting, then you would not have admitted that your perceptions were challenged.

    You have certainly made lots of progress and the best course for you is to follow what we talked about in class. I feel that you could make lots of progress by looking for the effects of branding of make-up on consumers. By making one group choose what they think is the highest quality make-up out of a set of un-branded makeups and comparing it to a “control group” that chooses between branded makeups. Another group that you could add to these two groups is a group where you have consumers match unmarked products to their brands. This could potentially give you more to work with when coming up with your results. Although this is still far off, I do think it would be hard to make your methodology objective and reproducible. So do you have any plan to make this project less subjective?

    Even though natural makeup vs. synthetic makeup is a terrific topic, I believe that looking at branding is something that could definitely get you where you want to be by the end of the school year. On top of that, you can expand your findings from the branding of makeup to other academic fields—showing the significance of branding in our modern day consumer market.

    You don’t need to worry, you have plenty of time to get where you want to go, you are in a great spot. I am definite that by the end of the week, once you start reading more research papers, you will be able to come up with an even more concrete research topic.

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  3. UnknownAugust 22, 2016 at 8:36 PM

    Audrey! I am loving the direction that you are taking this topic -- you seem to have figured out the right mentality moving forward.

    It also seems as if you have put a lot of thought in your research process. However, do you have a specific sample in mind? Are you going to pick people that frequently use makeup or are you going to randomly sample? You may want to do some more research on the existing conversation first but I think you should keep this in mind.

    Furthermore, you mention about using unmarked products in your research; yet, I also think that it would possibly be compelling to see the direct effects of branding by presenting the branded products to see which one is more appealing to the consumer. In fact, this article from Calpoly touches on the topic: http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1098&context=grcsp

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    Replies
    1. mrslyndsayhaagAugust 23, 2016 at 8:53 AM

      Sergio! What an awesome resource you pulled for Audrey. Loving the sense of community.

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