28 January 2010

Skin Branding?!

The beauty industry is certainly given a bad rep. Cosmetic companies are being categorized as profit driven industries that attempt to manipulate the general public to feel that they NEED to be something that their not. It is true that advertisers abuse the use of unrealistic models and desirable women to sell their products, but I don't entirely see harm in using products to enhance the beauty that we already have. Cosmetics companies have no intention of morphing our faces in to something cookie-cutter and predictable, I find just the opposite. With the use of cosmetics you are given the ability to stand out and show your individuality.

I came across an article online regarding a Chanel skincare line. This line includes a headband that you wear at night that embosses the Chanel logo on to your forehead... it is truly items like these that attach a "superficial" stigma to the beauty industry.







The designer of this line, Ryan McSorley, exclaimed, "Just as we can define ourselves through the brands of clothing we wear, or the brand of mobile phone we have, we can now define ourselves by the brand of skincare product we use. If you are using skincare by Chanel, you want people to know that your skin is by Chanel, in the same way that Chanel handbags have clear branding, why shouldn't our skin?" I believe it is with ideas like this that the beauty industry has obtained it's bad reputation. While I see the cosmetics industry as one that attempts to help people find beauty within themselves, others are marketing it as something used as a status symbol, just to show the world that you are superior to them.

8 comments:

  1. This is ridiculous. Coming up with this idea is one thing. but actually discovering that there are enough girls willing to do this and market it is another, this really says something frightening about our society.

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  2. I agree with Clarisse, this is insane!
    When I read the sentence, "you want people to know that your skin is by Chanel" my jaw dropped. I can just imagine now on the red carpet with celebrities that not only will they be asked, "who are you wearing?" but also, "who is your skin by?"
    These girls are basically wearing a billboard on their forehead. If girls really have to be 100% name brand all the way to their skin, and make sure everyone knows it, then there's something wrong with them.

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  3. I also agree with the other comments made before. People are becoming more conformed to thinking that they have to buy certain brand names to feel like they "fit in" or "look beautiful" when that is so not the case at all. You can look just as beautiful by buying a cheaper brand from Walmart. It's not about the brand, I belive it's about the person.

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  4. I agree with all the comments above. People are continuously trying to find their identity through society and began to lose sight of individuality. If you conform to what society depicts a person to be, it only diminishes your originality.

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  6. Other the other hand you could see this as a new area to show off your individuality. As with tattoos you could have customizable prints to your liking. This might just be the starting point to something new. What may be strange now might be normal for our kids. You just never know.

    The marketing theme its starting is probably fairly cheap to start and if it catches on it could be a new way of spreading around brand names. You see make-up you like on someone and don't know who makes it...boom its right there on there skin.

    I don't necessary agree with the skin stamp but it doesn't surprise me in the least. There are some crazy marketing out there.

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  7. I'm curious what kind of market group Chanel might be interested in selling this to. When I think of beauty products, I typically consider the working woman, and frankly I just don't think this kind of thing would fly in the work place.

    But, when you consider pre-teens and adolescents, it completely starts to make sense. They are the target group for temporary tattoos - not 25 year old women - so why not for something like this? They would find it cool even, probably without much concern other than the general stigma of Chanel being an important status symbol if they desire to be trendy and chic. That's what's kind of frightening, in general but also particularly when you factor in the price.

    But who knows? Maybe it'll catch on like wildfire; why stop at cosmetics when American Eagle, Abercrombie & Fitch, and other notable stores also have telltale insignias that could be instantly recognized even when plastered on someone's forehead? This could be advertising paydirt. But I hope that Chanel knows until then, for the women 20 and up, it might just look like someone fell asleep on their handbag...

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  8. THIS IS CRAZY! You want people to know your skin is by Chanel? How about you dont want pimples? Isn't beautiful skin enough. I cannot believe what this world presents weekly. I wish I could say I'm surprised, but I'm not. This is the same type of superficial attitudes that lead kids of younger generations to become depressed, suicidal or anorexic. The people that actually find this interesting are who I'm worried about. This isn't going to market to older women that have been Chanel's loyal customers, it is a market to teenage girls who are concerned with images like this and cool ways to modify your body LIKE THIS! I was a fan of Chanel, but if they truly want a product like this out there I might have to stop buying their things.... (sniff). =( I dont support this at all.

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