Is price tag on a jar of moisturizer an indicator of how effective it is?
Wednesday, Jul 23,
2008, 11:24:53 AM
This is an old-age question. The question is even more complex today
because many moisturizers claim to do more than moisturize. From
sunblocking to peeling dead skin cells, today's moisturizers come with bells and
whistles that a simple-minded drug store lotion cannot emulate.
Sisley's Emulsion Ecologique costs hundreds of dollars, while an equivalent amount of
Lubriderm costs less than $10 and both relieve dry skin. So will cooking
oil, but who wants to smell like food?
Price is certainly closely tied to the
aesthetics of a moisturizer's packaging, fragrance and marketing message.
Who's to say that the effect they produce on our psyche isn't as important as
their formulation?
On the upside, products that fail to produce any results over time eventually
fade from cosmetics counters.
One last factor is personal preferences for particular textures and
fragrances. Given comparable performance levels, there's no qualtitative
measure that can explain why one brand is preferred over another.
