Are you in a need-to-know relationship? With your favourite beauty and fragrance brands, I mean?
As in, we will tell you what we think you need to know to get your sale (ie not what you really should know).
I can tell you, this is probably exactly how it is. Let's be straight-up and call it what it is - a beauty situationship.
SO WHAT IS A BEAUTY SITUATIONSHIP?
The world of beauty is highly competitive and enormous, with thousands of beauty and fragrance brands hustling for your attention every day. In this sort of an environment, it is not surprising that the brands that make the most noise, work the hardest to harness your desire, and present you with messaging that makes you feel like you need them are the ones who win your dollar. There's a tonne of psychology and cleverness behind it. But also a tonne of manipulation and secrecy.
To the consumer, it feels like you need the product. You will feel sexy. Pretty. More valuable. More youthful. More hopeful. More like you. Or a better version of you.
It's a lot of promise. And maybe there is some value to it for a moment.
But what if behind the hope and promise is a reality that is actually leaving you worse off in the long run?
Less healthy. More anxious. More at risk.
WHAT AREN'T YOU BEING TOLD?
The average consumer shouldn't be expected to know what they don't know. It's fair to assume that we should be able to trust the brands we love to deliver a product that not only lives up to our expectations, but also does no harm.
We expect it of the powers-that-be, too. We imagine there to be a government or industry body that gatekeeps on our behalf, making sure any potentially harmful or questionable ingredients or products never make it to market.
But, truth be told, governments worldwide have very little, if any, to do with the beauty industry and the products you will find in any department store, boutique or pharmacy. And, sadly, industry bodies such as the IFRA don't require beauty brands to adhere to guidelines, and they certainly rarely ever investigate potentially harmful ingredients. In fact, there are hundreds of ingredients being commonly used in the fragrance and beauty products that have been shown in research to be highly likely toxic. For example, musk ketone - a common synthetic musk ingredient found in may synthetic fragrances in some level, which has strong data around its association endocrine (hormone) disruption, and its ability to bioaccumulate in human tissue and in the environment. And diethyl phthalate (DEP) - a very commonly used fragrance fixative that has been shown to cause or contribute to hormonal dysfunction, with potential side effects such as early onset of puberty, infertility, anxiety, obesity and more.
HOW WOULD I KNOW?
You wouldn't know. Unless you know what to look for.
Very few brands are prepared to be transparent around ingredients. And even less are inclined to exclude ingredients that may be harmful.
For us as consumers, it's about about understanding the beauty industry and its lack of accountability, learning a little bit about the ingredients we should be trying to avoid, and choosing brands that support our need to know and our desire for good health and living well.
Because we do need to know.
And situationships are good for no one.
