Sep 28, 2009

Open Forum: Expensive Cosmetics - Are They Worth it?

According to an article in Forbes, some of the most expensive skin care products cost more than caviar but less than gold with an average price of $402 per ounce!(1) The question is, are they any better because of their sleek packaging and supposed state-of-the-art ingredients. Sales of prestige skincare products in U.S. department stores alone reached $2.1 billion in 2004, up 17% from 2000 (2), a staggering amount by anyone's comparison.

According to Dr. Gregory Brown, founder of RéVive, topical application of an epidermal growth factor accelerates the rate of healing of second-degree burns and partial-thickness skin wounds.(3) RéVive's most expensive product, Intensité Volumizing Serum, sells for $600 per ounce and uses a bioengineered molecule called keratinocyte growth factor. Brown justifies the expense by saying the reason his products cost so much is because they use growth factors obtained from recombinant-DNA technology. Celebrity beauties such as Madonna are said to use his products.

Estee Lauder sells a line of skin care under the Re-Nutriv moniker with a price range of $85 - $900.(4) Lauder owned Creme de La Mer is well over $100 per ounce.(5) I have tried numerous products from both the Re-Nutriv and La Mer lines and while they are extremely luxurious products, the formulations, at least that of the Re-Nutriv line, are very similar to other Estee Lauder products sold for much less. Are they worth it? It depends on what your take is on such things. The Re-Nutriv line contains some expensive ingredients such as gold and pearl. As an Estee Lauder fan, it is difficult for me to say the products are overpriced. However, I use Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Recovery Complex, $47.50/1 ounce, which I consider to be quite expensive. While there are far less expensive serums available, I have found this particular one works best for me so I continue to purchase it.

It must be kept in mind that part of the retail price for any product is the research, development, ingredients, packaging, marketing, etc., that goes into said product. Products containing the newest ingredients will usually cost more than previous products the company sells. When a new "it" ingredient starts getting press, many companies rush to develop a new product with it or update a previous product to include it.

Mastey de Paris, on the other hand, markets a number of skin and hair care products for less than $40 with mostly naturally derived ingredients. They avoid using the fluff and trendy ingredients found in so many product lines and instead stick to what is actually known to work. Mastey doesn't have the expenses associate with brands that are sold at department stores; this results in a line of products that work extremely well and at a reasonable price. I have used Mastey products for years and love them.

We all like the idea of some new magic ingredient that will do this or that. But the newest ingredients generally have little to no research backing up the claims. Many of the research studies done on new ingredients are done in-vitro and therefore their effects on skin are not fully known. Many of the studies are done by the company who manufactures the ingredient which is not as impartial as outside research studies.

So, how much is too much to pay? That all depends on your bank account and how important name brands are to you. There are many excellent products out there at all price points. It all comes down to how much are you able/willing to spend and whether or not a product works.

(1) Forbes http://www.forbes.com/2005/04/20/cx_vg_0420feat.html
(2) NPD Group
(3)
July 1989 in the New England Journal Of Medicine
(4) Estee Lauder
(5) La Mer

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