With the new Dior Addict lipsticks I was almost paralysed with indecision because there are just so many colours in the line (54 at launch). Finally, I just plumped for the one Kate Moss is wearing in the advert (thank god for Kate).
This got me thinking; do you like a huge amount of choice in a range, or is too much choice overwhelming? I similarly found the Boadicea The Victorious line difficult to navigate, because there are so many different fragrances in the line that all sound quite similar from the notes. Michael Boadi's new fragrance enterprise, Illuminum, is a much tighter line with only 8 fragrances in it (the new Duchess of Cambridge is said to have worn the White Gardenia Petals from this line on her wedding day).
From a cosmetics company point of view, a wide range may be a good thing because it means that a customer is likely to be able to find the colour (or scent) that they are looking for, and it also means that if a customer likes one of your products, they've got plenty of others to choose from if they decide to buy more. It can backfire though as it means that a line does need to hold more stock in order to keep all the choices available; there's not much point in having 40 colours to choose from if you only ever have 20 of them in stock. This is something that Le Metier de Beaute suffered from in the UK. It's also quite a risky strategy: Rock and Republic launched a huge cosmetics line all in one hit, admittedly unfortunately right at the height of a global recession hitting, and withdrew it from physical shops within a couple of years, and from the UK altogether.
For me, I think about twelve colours or fragrances in a line launch is the optimum number. It's enough to give choice, but not too much to be overwhelming.
Do you prefer lots of choice in a range, or do you find it to be too much?
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I could not agree with you more.
ReplyDeleteA fifty-strong colour collection is totally overwhelming for me. With the Dior Addicts, I had a look, swatched a few colours and ended up buying the first pink I thought would suit me (I was wrong, but never mind).
There are only so many colours that I can physically swatch at any one time and, bearing in mind that counter staff can make some of us feel uncomfortable, the effect can be deterring rather than encouraging sales.
Nx
I agree that it can be overwhelming when it comes to some products. But on the other hand, I don't think it could be overwhelming when it comes to foundation shades :)
ReplyDeleteI often think that brands give too much of choice about the wrong products. How many shades of red lipsticks do you really need (for example)? On the other hand, how can there be only 5 different foundation shades? Do they really think that all women fit into 5 different shades? At least some European brands have quite poor shade range and even I'm not able to find the right one though I am light but they mostly miss my undertone (I'm pink, and all shades out there are with yellow undertones). Lol.
Too much choice kills the choice, that's a fact!
ReplyDeleteAn excellent post. I don't do too well with too much choice. I actually haven't managed to pick a Dior Addict lipstick precisely because there are so many, I can't actually find one that I like in the sea of testers. When visiting the Hourglass counter I was struck then buy how compact the line was and I find that makes it much easier to navigate.
ReplyDeleteFor someone with counter fear, too much choice will often make me walk away. I can't find what I want on my own and so I sense someone will actually speak to me! I find it's a bit like menus in restaurants, less is usually more!
Absolutely! Very reason I didn't purchase from this gorgeous range. I honestly couldn't choose! X
ReplyDeleteI appreciate choice when it comes to things like base products but agree that sometimes it is a lot.
ReplyDeleteQuality rather then quantity as they say!
I only swatched a few DAs but went for the tangerine one from the summer collection as I didn't have anything like that.
That is why I like the seasonal collections as they have an idea/theme to focus products on so you usually get a well edited selection of items.
Sorry for the overuse of actually in the comment above!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree about the foundation selection. That's one area where plenty of choice is a good thing!
I agree with you all about foundation - why is this the one thing in most ranges where there isn't a decent choice? I appreciate brands like Becca that do make an effort to have a good range of foundation/concealer colours.
ReplyDeleteYes it is great that Becca have that great choice if shades in foundations. However with Lip colours that number is far too many. Maybe they see what sells and discontinue the rest. Clever marketing I suggest
ReplyDeleteI'm torn on this question, which is an excellent one. Having 54 lip glosses to choose from borders on ridiculous. I would prefer to navigate smaller lines, but I find that the brands that offer less usually target warmer and medium skin tones. Those of us at the "extreme" end of the spectrum (very fair and women of dark color) are left with fewer choices. Chanel has a pretty big makeup line, but I can't get a foundation match--all too dark or yellow or brown. And almost all of the Chanel quads and Dior quints are unwearable for me. Too warm.
ReplyDeleteThere are some people on this earth (me!) who look ghastly in warm colors, and I don't believe Bobbi Brown when she says that everyone needs to wear yellow foundation. Yuck. Why would I want to look jaundiced? I'm pink, and I don't want to hide my natural coloring.
So it's hard to say. In a well-edited line like Edward Bess or Ellis Faas, I can wear only a handful of items because the majority of them are warm. But given that the predominant skin tone in humans is yellow followed by olive, that makes good business sense. We pinkies are out of luck.
So I like a lot of choice throughout any line, as limiting to dozen color options in any one product (lipstick, eyeshadow, nail polish, etc.) would not be enough for me.
Hi Zuzu's Petals. That's an interesting point - the more extreme/unusual your colouring is, the less likely you are to find suitable colours in a limited cosmetic line. I do find that lines that have a lot of different colour cosmetics (like Dior) still can fail to cater for the variety of skintones.
ReplyDeleteIt's a real shame that Prescriptives ceased to trade. For cooler skintones, the options are really limited: 3 Custom Colour caters for cool skintones, and I think Chantecaille does okay too (there are certainly pale/cool foundations and cooler colour cosmetics).
That would be an interesting post to read - which brands you find match and cater to your skintone.
Great post-- I find Clarins skincare line impossible to understand. Everything sounds essential for everyone, but then again it all sounds exactly the same. Overload! 54 colors is so many, but I'd rather have Dior's approach over Mac. At least Dior's will be around long enough to sort out.
ReplyDeleteI too have been paralyzed in choosing any more Dior Addict lipsticks to try because of the vast colour selection which is only exacerbated by my having to shop online. It is true though that most companies have serious improvements to be made in terms of foundation shade ranges. I am hugely frustrated by the lack of fair shades and I know there are those out there that are even paler than I am.
ReplyDelete> That would be an interesting post to read - which brands you find match and cater to your skintone.
ReplyDeleteIt would be a short post! Actually, I do have a few, so I should consider a post, since surely there are others out there looking for the right skin match. I have done surprisingly well with Becca and MUFE and Jane Iredale. Chantecaille Alabaster (the lightest shade) was too yellow.
The multitude of choice is why I rely on the beauty blogging community!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the Dior thing, I chose the shade Kate wore after seeing it on you! If left to my own devies I would never have known what to choose when faced with so many.
ReplyDeleteI think part of reason I love the Tom Ford line so much is that 12 is such a reasonable number of lipsticks. I remember all the names, covers most colours and it calls to the collector in me (am determined to own them all!). Hopefully, his makeup range will be similarly well edited.
When I head to MAC I find it too overwhelming and it takes so much more work to focus on the product I need.
The only exception to this has already been mentioned, base products. Chanel drive me mad by failing to cater for pale, pink toned ladies by not having their full range available here in the UK and I imagine it is just as difficult at the other end of the spectrum.
I also find too many choices to be overwhelming. That could prevent me from buying.
ReplyDeletei get overwhelmed easily. If there is too much to choose from, i am more likely to come home with nothing because I cant decide.
ReplyDeletehmmm... lots of choices give me better chances of getting the product that's perfect for my skin tone :)
ReplyDeleteA beauty insider once told me that a famous line that everyone loves with a huge selection never sold well in department stores because of this. The customers were so overwhelmed with the colors that they often went to a counter with a smaller collection.
ReplyDeleteI like to see a small selection BUT it needs to have a seasonal collection to go with it or it gets really boring.
Yes, I can definitely see how ranges as large as the Dior Addict line can be overwhelming.. it took me days to narrow down which ones I wanted!
ReplyDeleteAnd... when I did, I found that the 2-3 shades I wanted the most are not even in stock here (note, none of the 3).
So yeah, that can be very disappointing and I see how one could turn to another brand with a more reasonably sized selection!