There’s no doubt about it, a personal recommendation from somebody you know and trust is the best possible advert. If I am anything to go by, a good recommendation will actually overrule my own personal experience. If someone tells me something is good, if I don’t find it works for me I’ll often blame myself rather than the product or its fan. Continue reading
I am not religious, but I was struck once by something a Catholic priest said on the radio. He was talking about a seminar they had just had on morality. “It’s easy to agree on principles. The arguments start when you get into the details.” Well I don’t know about morals, but that is certainly true when it comes to cosmetic claims. The principle is pretty simple. You are only allowed to sell your product on the basis of legal, decent and truthful declarations. No argument there. The problems start when you actually start making those claims. Continue reading
Looks Like A Drug – Actually A Cosmetic
Just about every concept has been tried in cosmetic somewhere by somebody, so I don’t imagine the idea behind new brand The Ordinary is entirely new. But it is new to me and is certainly not one that anyone has tried before on a big scale. Cosmetic products typically have quite high margins when compared to the cost of actually making the product. The reason that cosmetics are not especially profitable compared to other sectors is simply that while they have unusually low manufacturing costs they have unusually high promotional costs. So it balances out. Continue reading
There have always been people out to separate you from your money and prepared to say almost anything that will work to do so. Since the internet has been widespread there have been many more opportunities for small companies and simply unscrupulous individuals to sell stuff that just doesn’t do what it says. Continue reading
The FDA’ s view on what constitutes the definition of a drug compared to a cosmetic is a longstanding one. A cosmetic is not supposed to either have or to claim physiological effect. This is a reasonable work in definition in so far as it goes. You can pick holes in it if you put your mind to it, but it gets the essence of how most people think of the difference. It has in any case not been something that the FDA gave a lot of attention to. Continue reading
The human body is continually breaking itself down and reassembling itself, even bones. This is a good feature because it keeps everything in good condition. It also means that many problems can be reversed. So for example if you give up smoking the damage it has done is gradually repaired. If you give up soon enough you can even get back to the same life expectancy you would have had if you had never smoked. Even the most virulent of toxins – which cigarette smoke is pretty close to being – can usually be removed. But not all damage is reversible, and tooth enamel is one of the things that is not replaced routinely. If it is damaged, it is damaged for good. Continue reading
The pace of scientific advance over the last couple of centuries has been astonishing. Innovations have poured out of laboratories and workshops transforming our lives forever. Many of these new ideas that have shaped the modern world have also at some stage been used as marketing stories by the cosmetic industry. A great example is Q10. Continue reading
I have only heard about the Beauty Bible compiled by the redoubtable Jo Fairley recently and I haven’t read it yet. In fact I haven’t actually even seen it for sale anywhere. A quick check on Amazon reveals that like the actual Bible, there are various versions so I am not sure where to start. Anyway anybody who names their book the anything Bible is clearly not lacking in ambition for their work. Continue reading
The main reason people use personal care products is for what they do for them. All but the most humble of products have a story they want to tell about the benefits you will derive from them. A product’s claims are its most important attribute. Continue reading
