Abstract

The topic which we decided to choose was “The factors influencing women’s purchase power
of cosmetics” and through research we came up with some very important factors that are
essential to a company’s sales of its cosmetics. Firstly, how companies accentuate their
advertisements to inject in women the concept of beauty and furthermore, construct a vivid
perception of fake beauty. So, to find out the extent of influence brands have on women we
conducted a survey on a sample of 100 women. We provided them with a questionnaire that
mainly asked them of the brands they use more frequently; the feelings they get after applying
make-up, how frequently and what products do women use for makeup and so on. These
questionnaires helped us to generate conclusions about what women perceive of themselves with
and without makeup.

Introduction
Nowadays, if a person looks upon the sales and profits a cosmetic shop is earning then one
comes to realization that it’s beyond his comprehension. This implies that the cosmetic
companies are enjoying huge profits every year, and astonishingly this figure is elevating and is
grossing over previous figures each year. More precisely, the cosmetic companies grossing over
7 billion dollars a year, according to a YWCA report. Surprisingly, these companies are aiming
to improve these figures by targeting a huge segment of women with attractive and appealing
cosmetic advertisements. Now the question comes how they manage to do that?
These advertisements conceive a stereotyped image in the minds of women so a comparison is
inevitable. This results in a negative self-image of women as they tend to believe that, without
make-up, their looks are un-appealing and not worthy of looking at. Thereby, make-up is the
solution to this problem.
Is there any relationship between advertisements and cosmetic usage? Is it directly
proportional?
In the book by a sociologist Jean Kilbourne, ‘Can’t Buy My Love’ has deeply studied the impact
of advertisements on people. She explains that there is a direct relationship between the
increased expenditure on cosmetic advertisements and the purchase decision by people. People
are approached by these advertisements with the intention to sell them no matter what measures
they take to degrade them from their perspective of themselves. Consequently, women become
susceptible to pre-conceived notions and, in this case, they feel pressurized to upgrade
themselves to satisfy the pre-conceived image that has been created by advertisements.
Women are, now a days, feel dis-satisfied with their appearance, according to YWCA. A study
in 2002 written in the ‘Journal of social and clinical psychology,’ stated that women convey
more discontent with their appearances after watching advertisements. Now the companies
delineate a prefect image of women who apply make-up and accentuate their flawless skin to
appearance that is being used to construct a confident self-image of women. Consequently,
women become insecure and purchase more branded cosmetics, to eliminate that insecure factor
from their lives just, to convince a fake confident personality that would not come into being in
the first place without that make-up. Hence make-up is an essential part of their life.
Furthermore, companies are determined to make women being acclimated to their new concept
or idea; that is the concept of retouched images. This means that they are emphasizing a better
version of an already existing beauty. They make their models to wear exceptionally expensive
and branded make-up to make them look even prettier. By disseminating this fake retouched
image of ‘women in make-up’ they are confirming it for the audience that without make-up their
outlooks can never be exceptionally upgraded. This factor created such a hype that a UK
advertising watchdog had to intervene to protest against the retouched image that led to
misleading. Women develop unrealistic standards that are often difficult to meet. It’s quite
debilitating for women to keep up with retouched images and supersede their existing and
satisfying figure with an exceptionally standardized figure. This increasingly fake image of
beauty through make-up can encourage women to purchase expensive and branded make-ups to
show themselves off.
There are tremendously huge brands who are specifically making cosmetics as their major source
of income. Brands like Chanel, Huda Beauty, Mac, L’Oréal and other significant and
insignificant brands whose primary focus is to increase their sales by targeting maximum
relevant audience profile. These huge brands have become so accomplished in their targeted
image that majority of the population, among which some might not have bought a single
product from them, know about them and wish to buy from them.
On contrary, apart from advertisements, women’s attitude towards make-up is also heightened
due to their own personal likings. In life you might have come across women who are vulnerable
to such delicate hobbies even before their exposure to advertisements. It is primarily because
they are nurtured in this way. They develop doing make-up as a hobby and, later on, as a
profession.
Furthermore, another tactic which the brands use is the trick to spread positive word of mouth.
This is where they trick the audience by employing famous bloggers or celebrities to do the work
for them. These bloggers post videos on social networking sites like snap chat and Instagram to
convince the audience of the brand’s quality and effectiveness for example, Lisa Eldridge who is
a make-up artist with perfectionist skills to highlight flawless skin. These bloggers inject a
positive image of the brand to market the brand’s product for which are paid, too.
As a result, women manage to develop a firm belief in make-up that they actually indulge in this
conceived image of beauty. They wear make-up as they believe that it enhances their beauty and
boosts their confidence. An image created by brands through its marketing; so deeply inculcated
in them that consider make-up as a part of their identity.

TOPIC OF THE RESEARCH

We will be conducting our research on the possible elements that can affect the makeup and
cosmetics buying experience of young girls.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

One needs to have a plethora of confidence to counter the problems and challenges of life with
courage. There are plenty of ways to boost up self-confidence. Practicing different physical
exercises and pursuing a positive attitude towards life are great ways to boost up one’s belief in
himself. Dressing can be a major part in that as it makes a man’s external presentable. It is not
only about the person’s inner self but the tendency to carry oneself to express it from the external
can play a crucial role. It does not matter how strong a person is from inside if it’s external does
not justify and make a powerful impact then the internal is of no use. And in this study, we will
be forging a link between cosmetics and the self-confidence it may bring in a person’s life. Can
makeup be a crucial factor in building a person’s self-confidence and self-esteem? Can makeup
add to the existing level of confidence of the user? These are the questions we will be under the
discussion and the survey has been taken on the basis of these questions.

OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH

 To find out the possible variables linked with makeup and cosmetic usage
 To ascertain different potential factors that may influence the purchasing decision of the
customers while buying cosmetics

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Our aim is to understand the importance of our topic and to see people’s response towards our
topic. After discussion with our Assistant Professor Sarah Ahmed we decided our topic that is
“the factors which can influence the buying process of the consumers of cosmetics”.

SAMPLING METHOD
We decided to use survey method to do the research for our project. This method allowed us to
get to know direct responses and feelings of people about our respective topic. The questionnaire
provided 14 simple questions which were available to be answered as per desired as there are
multiple options given furnished with an open option too so that a customized answer might be
adjusted if needed. It helped us to assimilate some credible data regarding the research problem
which helped us carry out an improved statistical analysis. We used questionnaires as our
instrument.
The survey method is commonly used in both descriptive and correlation studies and helps solve
many cases in less time and of course in less depth. A survey asks people to report their own
behaviors or personal opinions. A survey is a study of the prevalence of certain beliefs attitude or
behavior, based on people’s responses to specific questions. Surveys are widely popular in
western world. The vague thing about the survey method is that it is the opinion of a particular
group of people you are taking as a sample and therefore it can’t be taken as the opinion of the
whole public as we can’t take the opinion of the few and show it as of the general perception.
You frequently would have read surveys and their results in the newspapers or internet or heard
of them being reported on television as it is the matter of general routine.

QUESTIONNAIRE PATTERN
The questionnaire contained 14 questions preceded by 4 options along with an open option for
the customized response the sample might want to provide.

SAMPLING SIZE
We took 100 random samples of girls aged between of 18 to 25. And our recommendations and
conclusions are based on the results of our survey which was conducted personally by our group
members. Moreover, our findings are interpreted on the basis of our hypothesis.

METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION

We used the primary data for this study and gathered information regarding our research topic
through direct interaction with the consumers.

LITERATURE REVIEW

1. RESEARCH ON THE POTENTIAL FACTORS THAT CAN IMPACT

CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR WHEN SHOPPING FOR
COSMETIC PRODUCTS, 2014
Three people A,H.Hemanth Kunmar, S.Aenith and Franklin John carried out a thorough on the factors
that can influence consumer buying behavior while they are shopping for the cosmetics products. They
prepared 500 questionnaires to conduct their study and they gave them to the people who used cosmetics
products on frequent basis. There were different peripherals used to analyze the findings as descriptive
statistics, standard deviations to analyze the demographical aspects.

FINDINGS
They found out the sales persons on the cosmetics shops played a key role in the decision making of the
consumers as they were in a position to showcase the information and interesting details about the
products. The consumers were flattered by the products which were patronized by the salesperson in an
effective way.

2. A RESEARCH BASED ON THE CONSUMER PREFERENCES AND

CONSUMPTION BEHAVIOR, 2014
Faheem Ahmed, Reshma Nasreen and Abdullah Bin Junaid wrote an article about the consumer
preferences and consumption behavior of the cosmetics users in India. They conducted this research on
120 shoppers from different markets. The research was carried out on the basis of Quota inspecting
strategy. The different techniques to analyze the data effectively were Cross arrangement, Post Hoc
Tucky, Correlation and ANOVA.

FINDINGS
The findings showed that the youth was getting well aware and well informed about the products they
were using. Their consumption was based on the conscious selection of brands and products they found
useful for them.

Conclusion
Our research helped us gain some insight on the topic of women and makeup, i.e., why only a
few of them are interested in applying makeup whereas some women do not prefer makeup at
all. It helped us to understand why some women think makeup helps them beautify their skin
while others think that it reduces their natural beauty.
According to our survey, 64% of women wear makeup and the reason they give for using
makeup is that it helps boost their confidence, makes them feel much prettier and more
refreshing and energized. Whereas, 11% of the women were in not in the favor for using makeup
because they feel less confident rather they feel much better and more satisfying without
makeup. Furthermore, according to those 11% women, the ingredients used in production of
cosmetic products may harm their skin due to sensitivity issues.
There is a wide range of makeup products readily available in the market that females use
including eyeliner, foundation, lipstick, concealer, highlighter, and so forth. So much so, there is
a wide range of choice available within choices among cosmetic products. According to our
survey findings, the amount of makeup women wear may vary on the occasion. Also, the women
that completed our survey opted for the option that some of them use makeup daily, whereas,
others do not use makeup on such a regular basis. 40% of females said that Beauty Bloggers
motivate them to buy a new makeup product and 32% of the women felt motivated by
celebrities. Moreover, 41% out of our total sample women spend 2000-3000 rupees monthly on
purchasing cosmetics which is the maximum percentage.

LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The survey was conducted in the Emporium Mall, Johar Town so we could target only a specific
class of women there. Hence, we were unable to get responses from women belonging to diverse
classes.