It is inevitable that we are all predisposed to trust a product because of its "brand name". My previous post showed that it is not enough to use a wonderful skincare product and to be happy with the results that that product produced, we must all know that it was a CHANEL skincare product that gave them these amazing results. Had their skin been by Clean and Clear would those double C's (not interlocking, of course) been stamped on their forehead? The answer we all will conclude is "no". Why must product labels play such an important role in the brands that we trust, or even brands that we would never give a second look? I noticed on many blogs that we decide to RAVE about finding a good "drugstore" foundation, as though we all would never expect such a thing. Is it true that Revlon's Colorstay foundation compares to MAC's Studio Fix Fluid and for just a fraction of the cost!? NO, it couldn't be =O! I hope you all recognized the sarcasm here... of course this is possible, of course we do not need to pay for a name brand, and yet we all are guilty of doing this.
I happen to own both foundations, I also happen to have a friend of very similar skin tone, and this friend happens to be very guilty of being a brand name snob (it is safe to assume she won't be reading this post). I had to test my hypothesis because I am only a consumer by day, I am a scientist by night. My friend and I planned a girls night out and it was not uncommon for me to do her make up for such a night. She fumbled through my drawers of makeup and decided which products I would use to doll her up. Not surprisingly,all of the products that she chose were MAC products. Even with suggestions against certain products and recommendations towards others she insisted that it was the MAC products that she liked the best. In the midst of singing loudly along to our Lady Gaga CD and the fog of hairspray around us, my friend did not realize that she was being "made up" with drugstore brands! Did she love her makeup look? Of course she did!
So, why do we buy the products we buy? If this blog was about psychological market research I would be able to point to statistics that show the decisions we make are deep rooted in... something. But, it's not. I think that when it comes to make up we are snobs. It is true that a high end makeup counter will devote three employees to one customer to make sure their experience is delightful, at a drug store you would be lucky to get anyone's attention and even then would head no advice given by them. So what does this all create? A status that you pay for quality, that you only accept the best.
So what do you think? Is it appropriate to buy a name brand simply because of the name? If money wasn't an issue would you reach for the exact same product with a generic label?
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I must be honest and say that I have been guilty for doing the exact same thing. I usually reach for the more expensive brand and bypass the generic because I believe that if its more expensive it must be better. Just as the old saying goes, "You get what you pay for," and if its more expensive, then i'll get the best quality. Its a mental thing and I am definately trying to get over it by trying different brands, cheap or expensive. As long as I look good, no worries.
ReplyDelete" Is it appropriate to buy a name brand simply because of the name? If money wasn't an issue would you reach for the exact same product with a generic label?"
ReplyDeleteThat's a good point that you brought up. I usually go for the generic label because it's cheaper and I know it's just as good. Yet, if both the generic and the name brand were the same price, I would probably go for the name brand because, as ~Soul Expression~ quoted, "you get what you pay for". Even though I do think that the name brand is made better and you do get what you pay for, generic is cheaper and I'm a cheap person so I settle for "good enough". I think it's okay to go for the name brand if you care about quality but for the people that go for name brand just for the label and to show it off, they're just rich snobs.
Also, just thought I'd mention that I laughed when you said, "a high end makeup counter will devote three employees to one customer to make sure their experience is delightful, at a drug store you would be lucky to get anyone's attention and even then would head no advice given by them". That's so true!!!
Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah. Gaga ooh la la.
ReplyDeleteBut really, what an interesting thing to ponder. I mean, I couldn't tell you which foundation was better because I quite obviously don't use foundation, but the tendency towards brand names is something that's worth mentioning and even worth studying. It can't all be chalked up to advertising. But it can't always be tied to brand loyalty or friend recommendation either.
I think the previous commenter was on to something - if I were choosing a new brand of something, I would first limit the options down to which ones applied to my aesthetics (whether it be the actual product or its packaging/advertising aim) and then aim for the one that seems priced around average or preferably just above average because I wouldn't want to spend a great deal of money for something that I could get for less, but I also wouldn't want the knock off generic brand - especially if someone else was going to see me using it. Issue is, what if the generic knock off brand really did equal the "average" name brand that I sought to brand myself after?