4,300+ Beauty Brands in the US Alone
And there are more coming. Choice is good, right? Until it isn’t like when there are too many gelato flavors to choose from and it’s hot outside and there’s a huge line and the teen server is staring at you, and you just panic and pick one? That’s the paradox of choice taking hold of you.
Today, to find a new moisturizer, blush, or shampoo you’ll end up with 20 tabs open, 5 conflicting TikTok opinions, 2 ingredient scare platforms, 3 friends that love it, 2 friends that hate it, and the rest of your friends and family with all kinds of other opinions. You want to spend what? Sounds like a scam. I heard it causes cancer. They use child labor, right? Just use water. And that’s everything you do before you venture into retail.
Let’s save retail for another day.
We are living in the age of opinion jenga. From influencers to doctors, professionals, celebs, authors, podcasters, and of course your family. Most recommend what they like, what works for them, or what they are getting paid to endorse. The part of the equation that never really enters the conversation? YOU!
Yes, YOU. It’s not in our lexicon to ask about your skin type, your hair texture, your budget, how much time you have, or that you already have 10 similar products at home. KOL (key opinion leaders) are leading with their narrative. Yuck.
Hop into any beauty subreddit and you’ll find fury around how influencers are gifted too much, spoiled, and out of touch. Consumers understand that beauty is an investment, that carries risk (breakout, fallout, or just meh, $ lost) and it’s a recurring expense.
How many times has one of your friends recommended a product that you knew you couldn’t afford? How many times did your friend with the perfect skin and hair tell you to just put olive oil or beef tallow on it and you nod? And in the back of your mind, you are saying to yourself, WTF? I’ll just stick with CeraVe and Pantene for now.
If you’re tired of the beauty maze, stick around. I think we need to flip the narrative.
Welcome to 404 Beauty Not Found.
Bina
