Anti-ageing products and other high-end cosmetics are selling extremely well.
Regardless of the efficacy of such luxury brands, a growing number of consumers
are attracted to the products, apparently tempted by glossy TV and magazine
commercials.
With the growing popularity of pricey items, the cost to become more beautiful is rising amid consumer hopes that cosmetics goods will deliver magical results.
A 29-year-old hotel worker, Kim, has used high-priced products for basic skincare, such as toner and lotion, for about 10 years since her college days.
She used to buy Estee Lauder products but recently changed to the ones by fresh. She bought a bottle of fresh lotion at about 90,000 won ($80) at a duty free shop during a recent overseas trip. With taxes, it may sell in Korea at far over 100,000 won.
“I thought it was expensive. But I had tried a sample before and found it good, so I bought it,” she said.
Kim doesn’t remember how she started to use luxury brands, but she has kept using them. For the last decade, a dozen lower-priced cosmetic brands have appeared. Kim buys sheet masks of those firms but hasn’t tried their skincare products.
“Sheet masks are for one-time use, so it is easy to try them. For skincare, people say the quality of the low-priced items is fine but I just feel like I may have skin trouble if I use them,” she said.
Like Kim, many women prefer high-end cosmetics, mostly imported ones that usually cost tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of won, even if their income is not enough to afford them.
As to the reasons for the preference, many cite trust in the brands. A 34-year-old office worker, Choi Hye-won, who uses an eye cream from Lancome, said, “It seems expensive but cosmetics products use high-quality ingredients. They have been sold for decades across the world and it may mean that many people have recognized their quality.”
But opinions are divided over whether costly products live up to their price. While Kim and Choi think they do, those disagreeing point out the bubble included in the prices.
According to the cosmetics industry, prices are the sum of the ingredients, containers, advertising and taxes, among others. For luxury brands sold at department stores, a commission fee for department stores is added, which accounts for up to 40 percent of the total price.
Partly because of this commission, the price of imported luxury cosmetics goods is three to six times the costs. According to the Korea Food and Drug Administration’s 2009 report, a 50-milliliter bottle of Sisley’s Supremya is sold for 850,000 won while it was imported for 179,000 won. SK-II Facial Treatment Essence (215 milliliters) was 179,000 won after being imported for 41,000 won.
Those involved in the industry say the quality isn’t always in proportion to price but there are reasons that such high prices are set.
“As wine has various grades according to quality, cosmetics ingredients have various grades. Also, as a bean has a different potency according to whether it is made into bean paste or tofu, the quality of cosmetics ingredients differ according to how they are mixed. Each company has its own production knowhow and skill, so I think prices partly reflect the quality,” a director of the Korea Cosmetics Association said
With the growing popularity of pricey items, the cost to become more beautiful is rising amid consumer hopes that cosmetics goods will deliver magical results.
A 29-year-old hotel worker, Kim, has used high-priced products for basic skincare, such as toner and lotion, for about 10 years since her college days.
She used to buy Estee Lauder products but recently changed to the ones by fresh. She bought a bottle of fresh lotion at about 90,000 won ($80) at a duty free shop during a recent overseas trip. With taxes, it may sell in Korea at far over 100,000 won.
“I thought it was expensive. But I had tried a sample before and found it good, so I bought it,” she said.
Kim doesn’t remember how she started to use luxury brands, but she has kept using them. For the last decade, a dozen lower-priced cosmetic brands have appeared. Kim buys sheet masks of those firms but hasn’t tried their skincare products.
“Sheet masks are for one-time use, so it is easy to try them. For skincare, people say the quality of the low-priced items is fine but I just feel like I may have skin trouble if I use them,” she said.
Like Kim, many women prefer high-end cosmetics, mostly imported ones that usually cost tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of won, even if their income is not enough to afford them.
As to the reasons for the preference, many cite trust in the brands. A 34-year-old office worker, Choi Hye-won, who uses an eye cream from Lancome, said, “It seems expensive but cosmetics products use high-quality ingredients. They have been sold for decades across the world and it may mean that many people have recognized their quality.”
But opinions are divided over whether costly products live up to their price. While Kim and Choi think they do, those disagreeing point out the bubble included in the prices.
According to the cosmetics industry, prices are the sum of the ingredients, containers, advertising and taxes, among others. For luxury brands sold at department stores, a commission fee for department stores is added, which accounts for up to 40 percent of the total price.
Partly because of this commission, the price of imported luxury cosmetics goods is three to six times the costs. According to the Korea Food and Drug Administration’s 2009 report, a 50-milliliter bottle of Sisley’s Supremya is sold for 850,000 won while it was imported for 179,000 won. SK-II Facial Treatment Essence (215 milliliters) was 179,000 won after being imported for 41,000 won.
Those involved in the industry say the quality isn’t always in proportion to price but there are reasons that such high prices are set.
“As wine has various grades according to quality, cosmetics ingredients have various grades. Also, as a bean has a different potency according to whether it is made into bean paste or tofu, the quality of cosmetics ingredients differ according to how they are mixed. Each company has its own production knowhow and skill, so I think prices partly reflect the quality,” a director of the Korea Cosmetics Association said
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