European vs Australian Cosmetics and Personal Care products: Are they any better?

April 21, 2021 · News

Dr John Found, (DipChem C Chem MRACI MAICO)

We are all aware of how famous the French are for high quality cosmetic and personal care products. With a price tag reaching an average week’s salary we could be forgiven for thinking of the old adage “you get what you pay for”, but are they really worth the investment?

Do the expensive products perform better?

In a word no. There is no significant difference between a $500 European made moisturiser and a $20 mass market brand from any other region. Some high-end manufacturers use a smoke screen techniques on their ingredient disclosure panels. This involves using a huge number of ingredients which pretty much do the same thing. The thinking here is firstly to confuse anyone who would like to emulate the claims or copy the formula and secondly to impress the consumer that at least some of the ingredients should be able to improve my skin.

So why are they so expensive?

The main reason for the high price point is that high end products use high end advertising and promotion. An endorsement by a celebrity does not come cheaply and associations with famous European design houses is also an expensive pursuit. Sometimes a product contains an extremely expensive ingredient such as a metallised peptide or perhaps caviar or gold flakes, none of which offer much in the way of functionality.

Why do people buy them if they are no better?

Buying an expensive product serves many human traits. We all like to treat ourselves and expensive personal care products serve to pamper and secures us in the knowledge that we have done something good for our wellbeing. There is also the feeling of prestige of using a bathroom decorated with designer brands. Most people like to impress others that they can afford luxury or want to appear successful. Lastly there is outright hedonism whereby a purchaser spends a huge amount of money simply because they can. Classic examples are gold plated cars or diamond studded apparel, neither of these embellishments add anything to functionality of the product but are certainly attention getting.

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