What considerations do we take into account when choosing cosmetics? Do cosmetics have to be expensive? And is the price a guarantee of quality?
Fifteen, twenty, two hundred and twenty thousand … It is known that a high price does not prevent “high cosmetics” from finding their customers – rather the opposite. So, in 2008, La Prairie released the Priceless Platinum cream at a price of 40 thousand rubles per bottle: the most expensive remedy in the history of this Swiss luxury brand was in high demand even in the year of the economic crisis, and this was the reason for creating the whole Platinum Series. . Today it includes four products, the most affordable of which is a cream for the skin around the eyes worth 16 rubles …
Starting at what price level is a cream considered expensive? Obviously, opinions will vary depending on who answers this question. “We are talking about products that cost more than 7500 rubles,” says Ekaterina Nikishkina, Lancôme brand manager. “If the price of a cream exceeds 13 thousand rubles, then it is already moving from expensive to very expensive, that is, it is considered a de luxe level product.” However, there is no unanimity among consumers on this matter. Some, for example, consider prices too high and more than 1000 rubles per jar. “Especially during a crisis!” – emphasizes Irina, 36, who is able to afford such funds, but sees them as the result of successful marketing, and therefore does not use them. On the contrary, 42-year-old Anastasia is convinced that the prices of these creams are justified by their high quality, as well as the cost of serious scientific research that ensured this quality. She saves money so that she can give herself this gift from time to time: “I like to take care of my skin with luxury cosmetics. For me, this is a way to confirm to myself that I have the right to it!”
dream price
From a rational point of view, only the real effectiveness of the product can explain why we buy it again and again. However, something else is also clear: in addition to the size of our budget, something else is related to the question of the price of self-care – from an area far from material circumstances. And first of all – our aspirations, our attitude towards ourselves. Do we want the very best? Certainly. But, perhaps, we also want that careful care that we once lacked, we strive to make sure of our own worth, to get at least a little joyful magic from the world, which is far from always being generous and caring to us …
If a care product is too affordable, we may begin to doubt its effectiveness. By investing in cosmetics serious funds, we expect to get the most modern technologies, the most effective ingredients, the most comfortable texture. The high price of the cream becomes a guarantee for us: “Here – only the best.” Research, patents, clinical tests for effectiveness… In addition to arguments that convince the mind, expensive creams also affect our emotions: the bottle matches the jewelry, the history of the brand is akin to a legend – this exquisite double “package” doubles our pleasure and pleases pride.
The farther the price of the cream from the “usual”, the more we believe in its unusual, magical power.
“Legends, constant companions of luxury brands, reawaken in us faith in a miracle, as well as in an ideal, omnipotent “I,” says psychologist Yevgeny Osin. “We want to believe that the magic cream is able to turn back time, that it cancels its irreversibility.” And the farther from the “usual” price of the remedy, the more we (unconsciously) believe in its unusual, magical power.
On the day she turned 45, Svetlana gave herself a “precious cream,” which she had dreamed about before: “This age is a special milestone: after it, menopause begins, the skin will lose elasticity … All this is uncomfortable, so the cream with an “unrealistic” price – for me as a talisman, as a secret weapon. He protects me, I believe in his power, so he will definitely work!
intrinsic value
Forbidden Delight
The “indecent” price of a luxurious cream allows us to enjoy the other, dark side of pleasure – to get a secret joy from breaking the ban. Is this cream too expensive? So, to buy it for yourself is “impermissible”, “bad” … But we still allow ourselves to do this – and that’s why we feel so good! Do you think this is too simple an explanation? Ask your unconscious about it…
In today’s world, the concepts of “rare” and “expensive” are almost inseparable. We desire special, rare things, primarily because the possession of them distinguishes us from others, makes us chosen. On the one hand, there is our “I” – the only and precious, and on the other – “the rest”, in which it is difficult to discern individual features. We want to own something unique – and a rare thing becomes more valuable the more it is wanted. Based on this simple and effective formula, cosmetic brands successfully produce expensive products.
Precious cream helps us to reinforce self-love if we feel that we lack it. “The desire to give yourself luxury is often the result of a lack of parental care and attention in childhood,” explains psychoanalyst Marie-Claude François-Laugier*. The less often they looked at us and our face with admiration, the less often they gently touched it, the more actively we will look for an opportunity to compensate for this lack. Expensive mask, serum, cream – like the love of others and our self-respect, enclosed in reliable bottles. “Money spent on self-care, in a symbolic sense, protects us – in the same way that good parents would do,” the psychoanalyst continues. – We spend effort and money to nourish our skin – like a baby. And this gesture benefits not only our appearance, but also our soul.”
* M.-C. Laugier “How to settle accounts with money” (Payot, 2004).