Are you buying your skin care products to make your skin glow with radiance? You may want to rethink that one. A new study by the University of the Basque Country shows that people who use skin care buy products primarily for emotional reasons.
The study, which was carried out on facial creams and body creams showed that while both the emotional and utility aspect of cosmetic brands have a significant impact on consumer satisfaction, that the emotional component has a greater effect. One of the main positive emotions aroused by beauty products include “the sensation of well-being gained from eliminating or reducing feelings of worry and guilt”, the author of the study explains.
For the study, 355 randomly selected women aged between 18 and 50 were surveyed. They were asked to evaluate various aspects of their perceptions of the functional and emotional factors of the cosmetics they used, as well as their degree of satisfaction with them. Consumer satisfaction was found to be greatest when the cosmetics brand helped to strengthen positive emotions through the perception of ‘caring for oneself’ and removing feelings of worry and guilt about not taking care of one’s appearance. Researchers found that the design of containers and packaging also impacted buying decisions.
While there are a lot of skin care products that deliver questionable value, many others offer benefits to skin. Separate those with value from those with hype and get both emotional AND real benefits from your skin care products.
