Treating Yourself Comes with a Price Tag
Although I have never bought anything from Glossier, their trademark pink bubble wrap and stylized G are as familiar as a striped Sephora bag. Founded in 2014, the beauty brand emphasizes no-makeup makeup and good vibes. Their curated whimsy is evident from a glance at their website-- a dialogue box pops up with the message that says “We even make emails!” and invites you to sign up not as a customer, but as a friend signing up for an exclusive club.
The tagline of Glossier is “A Beauty Brand Inspired by Real Life.” But the brand’s appeal seems to be not so much about real life, as much as the life we wish was real. Its sister site, Into the Gloss, rose to prominence for The Top Shelf column, which features fashion influences, models, writers, and actresses dishing on their top shelves. The column is glimpse into the proverbial medicine cabinets of women like Leandra Medine and Grace Coddington, a glimpse into their beauty artifacts, the perfumes and moisturizers and lipstick shades they never leave the house without.
It’s a clear case study of a growing trend in beauty -- seemingly effortless beauty that actually requires a hefty commitment of time and money. Throughout the quarter I will be examining our obsession with skincare, and the fraught path to achieving that elusive and sought-after glow. Our concern with wellness now affects how we care, and buy, for our skin. Skincare is no longer a product, but a process -- cleanse, exfoliate, scrub, moisturize, mask, protect, treat, repeat. Evidence of this can be seen in America’s obsession with K-Beauty products, luxury skincare products selling out at Sephora, and yes, the Top Shelf.
While the regular Top Shelf column is far removed from real life, it’s less glamorous and seemingly more relatable sibling is the ITG Top Shelfie. ITG invites its nearly half-million Instagram followers to post their #topshelfie, and chooses one to feature each week. This column is described as a way to “focus on the beauty routines of Into The Gloss’ lovely, accomplished, and loyal community of readers,” and looking over them, I wonder about that tagline. Inspired by Real Life. The #topshelfie features a particular kind of reader: She is probably white, lives in a cosmopolitan city like NYC or LA. She is young. She probably has a Le Labo candle. She is beautiful without makeup, or maybe with makeup so subtle we don’t notice. She is excited about her career as a fashion writer, ceramicist, pilates instructor, or freelancer.
And, most importantly, she has money to spend on beauty.
I analyzed the ten most recent #shelfies, identifying the skincare products mentioned, and calculated the cost of each routine. I focused on skincare, what these women do to their skin before they even put on makeup, in keeping with the philosophy that your skin is your most important feature.
What I found was that the “real life” claimed by the brand is one with plenty of discretionary income to spend on beauty products. The costs of each routine varied -- the cheapest was $76.49 for five products, and the most expensive was $841.90 for seventeen products. Excluding these two extremes, the average cost of a routine was still $478.78. A rough estimate of spending this amount every three months to refill products amounts to a yearly total of $1,915.12 on skin care products. This estimate does not include any kind of makeup or beauty routines such as facials or manicures, although those were mentioned frequently in #shelfies as well.
I became curious. In 2015, the Daily Northwestern stated the average salary of a Northwestern Weinberg graduate was $50,331, meaning spending this amount would be shelling out 3.8 percent of your salary on skincare. However, this 2012 Atlantic article points out that the average American making between $50-70,000 annually has $14,400 of discretionary spending a year, after necessities such as housing and food. This means that $1,915.12 represents 13.29 percent of a middle-class, “treat yourself” budget.
It is not as hard as it should be to imagine spending $2,000 on beauty products in a year -- enough money to be Sephora VIB Rouge status twice over. Society demands that women be beautiful, Glossier and ITG define beautiful in terms of glowing, youthful skin, but this comes at a cost. When I look at a #shelfie, I see a vision of a life uncomplicated by questions of money and cost -- a life of only beauty.
The breakdown of each #shelfie is below.
Shelfie 1:
Belif's Aqua Bomb: $38
Perricone’s High Potency Face Firming Activator: $125
Tarte’s Wonder Lipsurgence: $12
Routine Total: $175
Shelfie 2:
Glossier Milky Jelly Cleanser: $18
Lather Sweet Almond Exfoliating Cream: $25
Lather's Pink Grapefruit and Ginger Illuminating Cream: $22
EOS Shave Cream: $3.49
Sonia Kashuk's Pink Innocencia Body Lotion: $8
Total: $76.49
Shelfie 3:
Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve: $15
Pai Fragonia Instant Hand Therapy: $30
Mater Charcoal Tea Tree Soap Bar: $14
Dr. Hauschka Clarifying Toner: $37
Regenica Rejuvinating Dual Serum: $250
Skinceuticals CE Ferulic: $163
Skinceuticals Age and Blemish Defense: $90
Remede Alchemy Moisture Emulsion: $105
Skinceuticals Tinted Sunscreen: $34
Dr. Hauschka Liquid Roll On Rose Deodorant: $24
The Healthy Deodorant: $14
Lucky Tiger Head to Tail: $18
Alba Botanica Unscented Original Body Lotion: $10
Benadryl Anti-Itch Spray: $8
Total: $812
Shelfie 4:
Naturopathica Aloe Cleansing Gel: $34
Naturopathica's Lavender and Honey Balancing Mist: $25
Caudalie's SOS Thirst Quenching liquid: $49
Ursa Major Face Balm: $36
Vitamin B Oil Cleanser: $42
Dr. Jart Demaclear Milk Peel: $42
Herbivore Blue Tansy AHA+BHA Mask: $48
Shaffali Volcanic Ash Mask: $46
Alchimie Forever Kantic Brightening Moisture Mask: $60
Herbivore Lapis Oil: $72
Grown Alchemist Orange Peel and Vanilla Hand Cream: $15
Raw Sugar Mango Coconut Body Butter: $10
Total: $479
Shelfie 5
Glossier Milky Jelly: $18
Tatcha Camellia Cleansing Oil: $48
Dr. Lancer Polish: $75
Skin Laundry Gentle Wash: $69
Epione Eye Serum: $140
Sunday Riley Good Genes: $105
Tatcha Ageless Cream: $185
Total: $640
Shelfie 6
Mario Badescu Glycolic Foaming Cleanser: $16
Cetaphil Cleanser: $6.49
Clinique Clarifying Lotion 1: $24
Nip and Fab's Glycolic Fix Night Pads Extreme: $15
Dr. Jart Ceramidin Liquid: $39
Cicapair Tiger Grass Cream: $48
Herbivore Lapis Balancing Facial Oil: $72
Odacité Black Cumin-Cajeput Oil: $32
Tea tree oil: $9
Peter Thomas Roth Pumpkin Enzyme Mask: $58
Dr. Jart Vital Hydra Solution Sheet Mask: $6
Biore Ultra Deep Cleansing Pore Strips: $6
Foreo Luna: $169
Total: $500.49
Shelfie 7
Glycolic Peel Mask from Caudalie: $39
Glamglow's Supermud Clearing Treatment: $69
Mario Badescu Azulene Calming Mask: $18
Glossier's Moisturizing Moon Mask: $22
Glossier Milky Jelly: $18
Acure Brightening Facial Scrub: $10
Ole Henriksen Grease Relief: $15
Glossier's Soothing Face Mist: $18
Hyaluronic Acid + B5 from The Ordinary: $6.80
Glossier Priming Moisturizer: $25
Dr. Jart’s Water Drop: $36
Total: $276.80
Shelfie 8
Bio-Oil: $20
Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm: $48
Sunday Riley Blue Moon Balm: $50
Eve Lom’s Morning Time Cleanser: $60
Nuxe Reve de Miel: $19
By Terry Baume de Rose: $60
Glow Tonic by Pixi: $15
Dr. Gross' Extra Strength Alpha Beta Peel: $148
The Ordinary Buffet: $14.80
Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 Serums from Deciem: $6.80
Tidal by Sunday Riley: $65
Clinique Moisture Surge: $39
Zelens Daily Defence Sunscreen: $85
Clinique Super City Block: $24.50
Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate: $72
Luna by Sunday Riley: $105
The Ordinary’s 100% Organic Cold-Pressed Rosehip Seed Oil: $9.80
Total: $841.9
Shelfie 9
Caudalie's Instant Detox Mask: $39
Glossier's Milky Jelly Cleanser: $18
Caudalie’s Moisturizing Toner: $28
Aesop's Oil Free Facial Hydrating Serum: $73
Boscia’s Oil-Free Daily Hydration Moisturizer: $36
Chanel UV Essentiel SPF 50: $55
Aesop's B and Tea Balancing Toner: $55
Boscia's Oil-Free Nightly Hydration: $36
Tata Harper's Replenishing Nutrient Complex: $48
Caudalie's Beauty Elixir: $49
Total: $437
Shelfie 10
Bioderma: $17
Philosophy’s Take A Deep Breath Oxygenating Eye Cream: $42
Fresh’s Soy Face Cleanser: $38
Rodin Olio Lusso: $170
Paula’s Choice Resist Brightening Essence: $42
Ren’s Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask: $55
Omorovicza’s Deep Cleansing Mask: $120
Origins’ Drink Up 10 Minute Mask: $26
Total: $510