Open Forum: Cosmetic Sales Down

For obvious reasons the skin care market has not been as robust as it was prior to the recession. Various reports indicate that consumers are either not buying higher-end skin care products as often, if at all, or are instead choosing less expensive mass market products.

Keep in mind Estee Lauder manufactures Good Skin, Flirt, and Grassroots which are available only at Kohl's department stores in the US. These products have nearly identical counterparts to other Lauder brands such as La Mer, Clinique, Estee Lauder, Aveda, Origins, Ojon, etc. The various products I have tried from Kohl's are extremely well formulated products (as are most Estee Lauder manufactured products) and costs quite a bit less. The Good Skin All Firm Rebuilding Serum is a favorite ($26.00) as is the All Bright Moisturizing Sunscreen ($14.00). My absolute favorite Estee Lauder product, Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Recovery Complex, on the other hand is $47.50.

A similar situation exists for Lancome which is actually owned by L'Oreal. There are numerous L'Oreal products available at mass market drug and grocery stores that are very similar to the much more expensive Lancome products. L'Oreal owns brands such as Kiehl's, Biotherm, Redken, Armani, etc.

As anyone knows who reads this blog, Mastey de Paris is one of our absolute favorites. A small company, Mastey produces some great hair and skin care products at reasonable prices (although they have raised their shipping charges). Mastey de Paris Moiste Facial Moisturizer comes in a 3.38 ounce tube for $28.00 and the Mastey de Paris Velvetant Skin Renewal Complex with AHA comes in a 3.38 ounce tube for $18.00. They also have a more expensive skin care product Mastey de Paris Rejuvene Cellular Recovery which retails for $40.00 and comes in a two-ounce jar.

One of the main differences I have noticed between a company's expensive and less expensive products are scent. Even among Estee Lauder products, the Re-Nutriv line has a scent that just seems more luxurious than other Estee Lauder products. Re-Nutriv, of course, costs substantially more. Scent is a more expensive part of a product. Scent is something people seem passionate about, they either love strongly scented products or prefer a light or unscented formula. I don't mind scented products as long as it isn't overwhelming. I tend to prefer lightly or unscented products though.

Newer products or products reformulated with the newest, trendy, ingredients will tend to cost the most. Copmanies say this is because of the research and development costs for developing new products. Again, however, there are many lower cost products with the very same ingredients.

Lacura is a skin care line sold by Aldi grocery stores. The products are made in Germany and many sell for less than $10. The Lacura day cream won awards in England and the products seem to be quite popular. This only proves it is possible to make quality skin care products that actually work and do not cost a small fortune.

Whether you buy from a drug store or a fancy department store, there are many amazing products available at very reasonable price points. It isn't necessary to spend a fortune to get a great product. In this day and age of higher cost and recessions, cosmetic companies need to realize that in order to retain our business they must either start producing more affordable products, maintain their current prices or develop newer products at better price points.

Organic Apoteke Rejuvenating Face Cream

I received a sample of Organic Apoteke Rejuvenating Face Cream. This is an organic line of skin care similar to that of Aveda, Origins, and Grassroots. However, Organic Apoteke products are certified 100 percent organic.

This product is gel like and easily spreads, sinking in very quickly. The scent is quite strongly herbal but fades gradually after a few hours. The scent may be a bit strong for some but I didn't feel it was at all offensive. I prefer unscented or lightly scented products as strongly scented products tend to bother me.

This product contains Palmitoyl Oilgopeptide which I think is great. Though peptides are still being researched to prove their effectiveness it seems that many of the higher end products are including them for their potential anti-wrinkle, skin firming, and moisturization benefits.

I am not usually a fan of so called organic products simply because they aren't always ideal for my sensitive skin. I've found many organic products will "ball up" on my face and/or not absorb very well. I found that this product balled up on my face if I touched it and didn't seem to absorb all that well. While not an inexpensive product line, the prices seem comparable to many of the other department store brands.

This face cream is available from the Organic Apoteke website, Macy's, Whole Foods, and various other stores and websites. A 1.7-ounce jar costs $45.00.

Ingredients: Rosa damascena distillate*, Helianthus annuus seed oil*, Cocos nucifera oil*, Glycine soja oil*, Prunus amygdalus dulcis oil*, Cera alba*, Rosa damascena oil*, Butyrospermum parkii butter*, Citrus paradisi seed extract*, Glycerin (vegetable)**, Xanthan gum**, Palmitoyl oilgopeptide**, Potassium sorbate**, Sodium benzoate**, Sodium dehydroacetate, Sorbic acid**, Citric acid, Cymbopogon martinii oil*, Daucus carota oil*, Triticum vulgare germ oil*, Cananga odorata oil*.
* Certified organic
** Derived from organic botanicals

A Note from SkinCareJunky

The majority of the products I test are samples provided to me by the kind people at various cosmetics counters or they are items that I purchase and regularly use. Nothing is provided to me by companies for the specific purpose of writing reviews. The new rules for bloggers about disclosure requires that anything that is provided by PR people must be disclosed as being such. This is in order to help make certain that the reviews by the various bloggers are accurate. My reviews are based on my perception and opinion of a product and I do my best to be as accurate about them as possible.