Keeping up with my new years resolution of trying to blog more, here is a topic I've been hoping to write about! I loooove x 100 Emily DiDonato's face - she is in this commercial and other Maybelline related ads, and she is also the face of Armani's Acqua Di Gioia fragrance. At first when I saw that ad, I thought it was Raina (runner-up from America's next top model whom I'm dying to work with!) They have some similarities - but I loooooooooooove their faces. That innocent but seductive, perfect face!
To get back on topic...I forgot and don't know who started this trend of advertising mascara by showing false lashes in the commercial and claiming it to be the results of the mascara...no matter what the model and the artist were told to say behind the scenes in this video ...(which I really enjoyed watching because I would love to work on a beauty campaign! Amazing model, amazing makeup artist!) But... Really?! "It looks like falsies but it's just mascara" but not only does it look like falsies, you can tell they are falsies...! How do you feel about mascara ads using falsies? I for one - really hope that one company would stop this trend and actually ...just use mascara. Hire a model with amazing long lashes!!!! They exist!!! They don't even need mascara so imagine what mascara can do to their lashes!!!
Nowadays it's so hard for me to decide which ones to purchase because all of them cease to convince me anymore...do you remember Sarah Michelle Gellar's Maybelline ad almost 10 years ago? Well since this was the days BEFORE HD TV, there's no way for me to go back in time and scrutinize the ad like I can with all of the current ones (which runs nicely on my 1080p screens!)
It looks like the close-up might have had some falsies in there, but again hard to tell - But the ad is much more believable to me! Maybelline is just an example...you open up a magazine, and you see a mascara ad and BAM it's false lashes.
Then along comes America's Next Top Model in 2003 with the cover girl ads and how it is incorporated into the show - it's genius how they use the products and show it behind the scenes! The thing about the Maybelline behind the scenes...if you pay close attention to the behind the scenes video at 0:51 seconds - 1:24min or try pausing the screen at 1min21 seconds. When she is applying the lipstick at 0:51 - what she is holding in her hand is a Japonesque empty lip palette (that I happen to own too! :D that is exactly what I do with my lipsticks..saves space and oh so light weight!) with lipsticks depotted inside and there is no evidence that the lipsticks are purely Maybelline products - but of course this ad is mascara but...you would ASSUME they only use Maybelline products, provided by the company right? Pause again at 1:24 and the opened palettes - again, other than the mascara she is holding on her hand/advertising, I see a whole bunch of other products that are non-Maybelline. My point here is not to pick on an amazing/accomplished makeup artist, but to point out that what you see advertised is not always what's used in the advertisements...it might be used sometimes in some companies...but it's a known fact that what you see in the ad is not what's being advertised...
Cosmetic companies spend Top Dollar to hire the Top Team to produce those ads to sell products to you; they can do it with a very sizable marketing budget and a team of marketing/advertising experts and hire the best models, wardrobe, makeup/hair & production team. High-end brands, or Drugstore brands - it doesn't make a difference! I'm all about promoting a good product and discovering gems in drugstore brands - especially mascara. It's a hard fact to accept - but drugstore vs. high-end mascara really makes very little difference. I'm leaning towards focusing on finding a few Great drugstore brands in my kit and keeping that ONLY since I gotta toss it every month and after experimenting, I've found comparable results in my experience. Mark-ups in cosmetics are 100% - so when you are purchasing a $30 mascara, the real price of it is $15 - and out of that $15, I don't know the exact breakdown, but I'm GUESSING (this is my professional speculation) that perhaps 20-30% goes towards producing the product, another 20-30% goes into packaging and the rest is going to advertising! So again thinking of that $30 dollar mascara, $15 is the company's profit but a bulk of that is money spent on packaging (including the design, and the unique 'brush' of the mascara) and advertising...so yes, you are paying for $1-3 dollars in just the material of the mascara itself (the stuff/goo inside you are putting on your eyes) even with a $30 dollar mascara.
As you might already know, I'm a strong advocate for being a responsible consumer. Does the company use recyclable materials (post-consumer recycled packaging? if so, what's the percentage?) Does the company do animal testing? Is it certified organic/ are the ingredients obtained ETHICALLY and are the ingredients SUSTAINABLE? Living in a Buy-Buy-Buy Capitalist society, we are constantly bombarded with messages to buy and buy - but the question remains: "Is this mascara worth my money???" So...I guess to conclude this post, I want to take the opportunity to thank the beauty bloggers and youtube gurus who took their time and money to review the products for us! Thanks to their reviews, you don't have to rely on these advertisements! I also really think that bloggers who have blog sales are doing the right thing!!! If you're not going to use it, sell it or give it away if it's sanitary (nono you cannot re-sell mascara..and lipgloss/lipstick is kind of on the iffy line for sanitation reasons - the buyer has to know how to sanitize the lipstick before using) and as long as the products are well-within the expiration date and not expired. I do appreciate reading the reviews, but it's become a real turn-off for me if I see someone buy EVERYTHING out there just to try it out...all the packaging...all that plastic...!! That's why I love P-chan's blog! Instead of sharing 'hauls', she is sharing the products she used up and loves! She gets 5 stars in my books! Seriously...! <3 Don't waste, and think about your carbon foot print and recycle! <3
A few years ago I use to blow $60 on Shiseido's mascaras and mascara base...I probably did this for about a year before I was like...I throw this out every 3 months...quite an expensive habit to upkeep. I'm pretty impervious (for the most part) to mascara ads because it's so obvious that the models are using false lashes! Usually I take the advice or recommendations of users but even then, everyone has a unique experience with the same product so I don't think I could ever pay for a $30 mascara again. I actually really like using falsies now :D
ReplyDeleteit's really expensive! and the thing is, ads (in the past) had me CONVINCED that Dior must be better than CoverGirl! lol~now I can say Dior is good, but CoverGirl is just as good! Falsies seems more affordable, and FASTER to get results than mascara~~! good choice ;P
ReplyDeleteUgh I never had any luck with Dior...and I was silly enough to go through Diorshow AND Iconic! X_X (it's from all the hype, really..)
ReplyDeleteI actually really liked Chanel's Inimitable...in retrospect, it's probably the best mascara I used because it separated my lashes well and lengthened too...but it's $38 over here! I couldn't get over the price. It made me think lesser of the mascara because of it :(
By the way, what mascara's in your kit right now?
:( I still have my Lancome Hypnose Waterproof for brides, but at photoshoots I use Loreal Carbon Black Waterproof in Black or Black/Brown, and I also have LashBlast form Cover Girl (The orange one!)
ReplyDeleteAnother artist I worked with uses Maybelline (I don't know which ones) mascaras and so I wanted to checkout the latest ones, and BAM I saw this youtube video and distracted me lol!
what an interesting post! i really dislike all mascara AD on TV and in prints as all the models wear false lashes before applying mascasra. (please tell me one that doesn't wear false lashes and I'd probably buy that product.)
ReplyDelete@Jojoba: heya! Thanks for readin'~ oh I would prefer to buy an add with a real before/after with the product...but I guess that's not the standard anymore!
ReplyDeleteAww! Thanks Liz! :) I feel super flattered right now! My heart skipped a beat when I saw my name in your post! XD It's great to know someone enjoys reading my posts about my finished items! Haha, I guess majority of the beauty community would usually be drawn to "haul" posts. :p I enjoy the products I buy and I would feel it's such a waste to just toss products after its "testing" phase! Only the fantastic or super rubbish products get reviews on my blog. Hahaha!
ReplyDeleteI totally remembered that Full n soft commercial! I actually ran out to buy it after I watching it!! That's because I was on a "Buffy" craze at that point of time :p Anyway, I never trust mascara commercials. Especially when I see the ad in a glossy magazine. It's super obvious that they're wearing falsies or probably lash extensions. That's like cheating us consumers! Even with some mascara ads adding in a disclaimer stating that false lashes were used , I would still consider it as false advertising. This is a mascara ad and not an ad for false lashes. Same goes for shampoo ads and slimming commercials. Most of it being unrealistic and exaggerated. The only source I trust for mascara reviews are beauty forums or blogs with before and after shots.
@Pchan: aw! I'm super proud of you for using up all those products! good job~ xD I need to use up my products~ the only thing I seem to be using up regularly is my foundation...lol other than that hitting pan and that kind of thing perhaps I just don't wear makeup enough? not a daily thing but either way - as long as products are being used, it's not a waste for buying them! I hate to sound like my mom, but it's so true~ it's money you are throwing away, and then you are creating garbage~! @o@
ReplyDeleteOh oh I totally had that Buffy craze too~ I loved Sarah Michelle Gellar! and Angel together~ <3~ I think I asked my mom purchased that mascara too - it was one of my first few mascaras I ever tried - but it smudged on me so I didn't like it! In college I still saw a gal in my dorm who likes it still! hey as long as it works for you it works~~~! totally false advertisement.....@@!