Using a variety of female celebrities, infomercial producers have once again created a huge market where none existed. That’s not to say that make up products didn’t exist. They did. And they were a multibillion dollar industry long before anybody ever thought of infomercials.
Starting in the early twentieth century with the advent of movies and their subsequent side affect – beautiful stars! – make up companies have been designing products to make average looking women look better. Or at least think they look better. Make up has been a staple of upscale department stores and high priced boutiques right from the very beginning of the retail business. Even in the early days, make up products had their own departments. Salesgirls were hired who exhibited a youthful, sparkling appearance. They would grab women by the hand, lead them to the sales counter, apply a bit of this, a dab of that and a puff of something else for free and then make the sale. Early products were marketed in the usual manner – for their value in improving your appearance and their price.
The first make up celebrities in the pre-infomercial era were not the stars that women were trying to emulate but the heads of the Hollywood make up departments who made the stars look so glamorous. And so the likes of Max Factor, make up master to countless female celebrities (and men too, by the way) and the most successful line of make up products were born. Later on the celebrities themselves, sensing a huge cash return for the use of their face, put themselves on various lines of make up products available in stores. When their looks faded, when their careers stopped humming along, the make up products disappeared as well.
And then came infomercials. All of a sudden there was a way to get women interested in buying make up products over their TV sets and was it ever successful! Sensing right from the outset that the products had to be celebrity driven, producers came up with a way to market their products to women all over the world via the TV set. Faded and fading stars from the music business, movie business and TV business jumped on the bandwagon to sell make up and other beauty supplies to American women by the truckload. Here’s the hook that they used: the make up infomercial and the products were not completely celebrity driven. The celebrity was merely there to endorse the products supposedly used on her over the years to keep her looking younger and more beautiful. But the product itself was created by, bore the name of and was demonstrated by the make up artist who had labored for years applying make up to countless beautiful celebrities. The make up artist was not a beauty herself but a “regular” woman who merely worked on celebrities. Hence, the housewife watching in Des Moines, or Chicago or anywhere was not made to feel ugly or less than glamorous.
In fact the celebrity was usually somewhat demeaned on make up infomercials as they would often appear on the show without any make up on. You would be channel surfing and a close up shot of a celebrity you know would appear on the screen and you’d stop, you’d notice she didn’t look so good. You’d wonder what happened and you’d start watching the infomercial. And you’d hear her talking endlessly about how her appearance, her look, her beauty was predominately the successful work of the artist and her line of amazing products while the artist was applying make up to her face and transforming her right before your very eyes.
And furthermore, YOU!, Miss American Average Woman, could have these same products that celebrities have been using for years to make movie magic happen, the secret stuff known only to Hollywood insiders, delivered right to your door in a few days for the low, low price of…well you get the idea. What a concept! Don’t get the beautiful celebrity, with the face of an angel, to sell the product. Have the average looking make up artist sell the product while the beautiful celebrity is transformed from average looking to gorgeous right before your eyes! And of course, the celebrity was an equal or even majority partner in the profits from the line, picking up millions along the way for a days work, sitting in a comfortable chair, in air conditioned splendor, having make up applied to their faces. As the man said – Only in America!
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The importance of cosmetics in a woman’s life cannot be questioned. From daily wear makeup products to ultra glamorous beauty kits, cosmetics have surely found a secure place in every woman’s personal care kit. The exhaustive range of cosmetics include foundation, lip colours, eye shadow, face powder, concealers, bronzers and a host of other products. Women have, since time unknown, used cosmetics to enhance their beauty. But that is not the only use these ‘magic products’ have. Cosmetics and makeup products are also used extensively to cover up blemishes and imperfections such as fine lines, wrinkles, blemishes, scars, dark circles and even bruises in the most effective manner. If you know the art of using cosmetics, you can accentuate your facial features such as the cheek bones, lips and eyes and grab the attention of all onlookers.
Cosmetics are popularly used by women of all age groups and hailing from all walks of life. From super models to housewives and from socialites to airhostesses, cosmetics are indeed used universally. No wonder they are a ‘must-have’ item in every woman’s purse and most women would rather not leave the house without some basic make up items such as a lip gloss, a face powder and an eye liner to touch-up whenever required.
Not just from the beauty perspective but from a marketing standpoint too, cosmetics have been hailed as the most popular FMCG that are immune to changing market trends and recession – the cosmetic industry is always booming! This has prompted more and more companies and brands to make a foray in to this highly profitable market sector and roll in increased returns on investment. The past decade has witnessed over a dozen reputed fashion labels entering the cosmetics market and launching beauty products to fit every requirement. Today you can find cosmetics of all qualities and price tags available at retail shops located all around the world as well as on online stores!
The best feature of cosmetics is that they are available for a variety of skin types and complexions, which means that you can easily choose the shades of foundation, lip colours or eye shadow that would best complement your skin tone and facial features. From high fashion brands to affordable labels, cosmetics can indeed be bought by anyone who wants to look good and feel great. When used correctly, cosmetics can render sheer magic to your face and personality!
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Did you know that in many top of the range cosmetics, most of the price is actually tied up in the packaging and in the advertising campaigns? And in many of those extremely overpriced cosmetics, you will pay extra for “natural herbal extracts” and other so-called wonder ingredients that sound like the things on your shopping list. How about trying your hand at making your own cosmetics? While the feel and look of home-made cosmetics (and, to a certain extent, the smell) isn’t like those of the bought stuff, you can be certain that you can avoid anything that gives you allergies and you will probably have fun doing it.
The easiest home made cosmetic of all is a face-mask. One that works a treat for dry skin and improves skin tone is… honey. Just plain honey spread over your face (avoid the eye area) and leave it for however long you want, then wash off with plain water. If the honey is not very runny, then soften it with milk or water to apply it. Honey is good for chapped lips – but it’s hard not to lick it off.
For skin that needs a bit of tightening, you can mix egg white with the honey and let it dry. Don’t leave this one for too long, as overdoing it can dry your skin. To prevent this happening, add a little olive oil or almond oil (or any other vegetable based oil of your choice – they all work well to prevent skin drying.
For oily skins, the classic face mask is porridge. Instead of throwing out that last little spoonful at the bottom of the saucepan after breakfast (or feeding it to the dog), keep it in the fridge and use it as a face mask or as a face scrub. Adding sugar (white or brown, as long as it’s grainy rather than powdery) can turn the porridge into an exfoliating scrub.
The very first moisturiser was cold cream, invented by Greek philosopher and doctor Galen. You will need a double-boiler for this. In the business part of the double boiler, melt about 30g beeswax. Add 100 ml olive oil and stir it in thoroughly. Add 30ml soft water – rosewater is best, but plain distilled water is OK – and stir it in drop by drop thoroughly. This bit takes time and patience to get the consistency right. When all the water is mixed in thoroughly, add in some essential oil of your choice.
Another good exfoliant scrub is a paste made of ground almonds. This can be mixed to the right consistency with milk, water or oil, although oil should be avoided by people with oily skins.
Other good mask ingredients include those listed below. Mix and match according to your needs and what you have available.
* Milk powder – contains mild exfoliant acids and is moisturising
* Avocado pulp – rich and moisturising (the skins, turned inside out, make a good scrub); rich in Vitamin E.
* Kiwifruit – contains an enzyme that eats dead protein. This is the real original chemical peel. Don’t leave it on too long or put it on your lips. To get rid of hardened, flaky skin on your feet, spread a paste of mashed kiwifruit over your feet last thing at night, put on socks (two pairs, possibly) and wash them off in the morning.
* Papaya – another fruit with a chemical exfoliant principle.
* Pineapple (fresh, not canned) – still another fruit that dissolves dead protein.
* Yoghurt – contains a mild acid for exfoliation, plus natural moisturisers.
* Cucumber – moisturising and cooling
* Egg yolk – rich in all sorts of goodies – proteins, moisturisers, Vitamin E…
Essential oils are lovely for home made face masks, scrubs, creams and domestic cleaning London products. However, take care with the type of essential oil, as some are too strong to be used directly on the skin (but tea-tree oil can be used directly on the skin for pimples and acne). Read all warnings on the packet carefully.
Nick Vassilev is the founder of successful carpet cleaning London and office cleaning London businesses delivering quality cleaning services to thousands of clients.
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