The rise and rise of budget fashion – think Primark, Peacocks and supermarket
ranges – is seemingly unstoppable, and it appears that beauty is going the
same way. There will always be a place for high-tech, super-premium skincare -
particularly for consumers searching for the elixir of youth - but cheaper own-label
and budget brands are increasingly gaining media coverage and capturing consumer
budgets.
Recent media revelations have hammered home the message that beauty can be achieved
without bankruptcy; Kylie Minogue apparently swears by Pond’s Cold Cream
Cleanser, while Jennifer Aniston is reportedly a fan of Neutrogena’s Transparent
Facial Bar soap. Why would such superstars stick to these products when they can
afford any luxury beauty product they desire?
The age of austerity we currently find ourselves in is one reason that budget
beauty is blooming, but another is the increasing dedication to R&D by manufacturers
to find more affordable ways to include the latest ingredients without passing
the cost on to consumers, meaning they can offer high tech products for a fraction
of the price of the premium brands – crucial in today’s saturated
beauty market.
Take Superdrug, whose Optimum Swiss Apple Overnight Skin Renewal Serum contains
the latest anti-ageing wonder ingredient, apple stem cell, and costs £14.99
(US$24). M Lab also has a serum on the market containing apple stem cell. The
damage? An eye-watering £250 (US$394). Superdrug claims its serum, which
was developed by scientists at the Mibelle Lab in Switzerland, provided a significant
decrease in visible wrinkle depth for 100% of subjects when tested.
Meanwhile, the botox-inspired Rodial Glamoxy Snake Serum, priced at a whopping
£125 (US$196) for 25ml, claims to reduce wrinkle appearance after just 90
seconds, with a massive 52% reduction in 28 days. Skinfluence Syn-Ake Cream, made
by a British company and available online, is currently on offer at £54.95
(US$86) for twice the amount of product, and contains exactly the same Syn-Ake
neuropeptide, which mimics the action of snake venom.
Of course, you’d need to look at the amount of active included in each product
to ensure you could expect similar results, but the maker of the considerably
cheaper product makes the bold claim that if used for 28 days, there will be up
to a 52% reduction in wrinkles and lines. If consumers can get the same active
ingredients in a cheaper product as in a more expensive one, why would they choose
to spend more?
The rise of budget beauty has clearly hit home with the premium brands. While
they continue to launch high-priced products boasting new and innovative ingredients,
many are also launching their own lower-priced diffusion lines – for example,
the creator of the aforementioned (and fairly extortionate) Rodial, Maria Hatzistefanis,
has recently launched Nip + Fab, a body and skincare line she claims offers exceptional
targeted results and instant fixes “with minimum fuss and without the expense”.
Billed as a ‘serious mass market range’, prices range from £7.95
(US$12) -£18.95 (US$30). She clearly realises that just because they’re
spending less, consumers still expect results from their beauty products, and
is covering all bases by launching an affordable range in addition to a premium
one.
With premium brands now catering for the mass market, and the mass market taking
inspiration from the premium, it will be fascinating to see what happens when
(and if) the economy returns to health. If consumers have traded down with their
beauty products, and found that these products are equally as effective as their
more expensive counterparts, then why would they trade back up? If celebrities
are using cheaper products when they can readily afford more expensive ones, there
must be an argument that they are at least as effective as their high-end counterparts.
Only time will tell if own-brand and budget beauty really can take on the premium
market.