introduction to design studies - final paper
TRANSCRIPT
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Introduction to design studies – final paper Done by: Sarah lee Shan Yun
Research Question:
How does the design of Lancôme’s Hypnôse mascara seduce the
female consumer by indicating feminine ideals?
(Fig. 1) Lancôme 01 Hypnôse Mascara, photograph, accessed 31 Mar 2015.
<http://web.raxbeauty.com/image/data/product/Lancome/100877007002.jpg>
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Introduction
Founded in 1935 by Armand Petitjean in France, Lancôme is an 80-‐year-‐old
cosmetics brand that epitomizes luxe beauty. It was acquired by French beauty
conglomerate L’Oréal in 1964 and is currently housed under its luxury products
division, L’Oréal Luxe.1 Lancôme boasts an impressive collection of mascara
products that have attracted viral attention by the beauty community. In 2011,
Lancôme partnered with popular beauty vlogger Michelle Phan, garnering over
30,000 viewers to their YouTube channel, featuring Lancôme’s Hypnôse Doll Lashes
mascara2. The Hypnôse line consists of three different products: Hypnôse Star,
Hypnôse Doll Lashes and the classic Hypnôse priced between US$27-‐$29 a tube (see
fig. 2). Available worldwide in most major department and drug stores, L’Oréal
prides itself on its global reach and wide product range, which it says caters to the
“great diversity of beauty”3 in the world.
Given the brand’s immense influence on the industry, what are the
ramifications of the product’s implicit messaging on the minds of female
consumers? The mascara as a designed product holds more truth about the
idealized woman than meets the eye. Its shape, form and function contain many
indications that persuade the consumer to make the purchase. In essence, this essay
will outline how the design of Lancôme’s Hypnôse mascara seduces the female
consumer by indicating feminine ideals.
1 "Lancôme: Makeup, Perfume, Cosmetics, Beauty Care." L'Oréal Group. January 1, 2013. Accessed March 31, 2015. http://www.loreal.com/brands/loreal-‐luxe/lancome.aspx. 2 “Michelle Phan creates The Romantic look with Lancôme Doll Lashes,” YouTube video, 3:39, posted by "Lancome USA," September 12, 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPskOED1cnk 3 “L’Oréal’s model of innovation: strong research" L'Oréal Group. January 1, 2013. Accessed March 31, 2015. http://www.loreal.com/research-‐innovation/our-‐innovation-‐model.aspx
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Formal analysis
Upon first glance, the mascara
tube is streamlined, slightly hourglass
but not voluptuous. The wand of the
mascara separates from the tube and
into a thin brush held by the user by a curved cap. Its bristles are sparse, ideal for
creative “buildable volume” and “custom lash results”4. Its POWERFULL™ brush is a
specially designed feature that contains 1000 sensory bristles that promise “perfect
lash separation without clumping”5. Its smooth black surface hides any stains or
evidence of the mascara liquid, acting as an almost elegant and flattering flask. The
mascara, however, is known for its superior formula -‐ made of a special SoftSculpt™
base which is a fluid texture containing soft, emollient waxes and an exclusive
PC/PA polymer system6. The liquid is described as thin and wet in order to facilitate
layered application. The plastic tube contains 10ml of product, a little less than the
13ml provided by other popular drugstore mascaras. Sealed with a gold-‐rimmed
cap, the product is also stamped with Lancôme’s signature singular rose logo and
capitalized brand name “LANCÔME” with the subtext “PARIS”.
4 “Hypnôse -‐ mascara by Lancôme" L'Oréal Group. January 1, 2013. Accessed March 31, 2015. http://www.lancome-‐usa.com/Hypnose/990516,default,pd.html?dwvar_990516_color=Deep%20Black&cgid=makeup-‐mascara#start=11 5 Ibid. 6 Ibid.
(Fig. 3) Lancôme Hypnôse Mascara, photograph, accessed 31 Mar 2015. <http://www.sephora.com/productimages/sku/s764183-‐main-‐Lhero.jpg>
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The mascara and the female identity
Pierre Bourdieu used the term “key cultural intermediaries” to describe
designers in 19847. They differ from artists in that they have a purpose to create
attractive “artifacts” that sell in the market8. Products have to perform, and that
requires them to carry relevant cultural meaning as an embodiment of the
consumer’s identity. If the preceding statement is so, what can be said of Lancôme’s
Hypnôse mascara and its ideal user? Contrary to the product’s global market reach,
Lancôme as a brand has important origins in France. Its founder, Armand Petitjean,
is described as a “visionary and lover of French elegance and women”9. The
Eurocentric beauty ideal still holds true in the DNA of the brand, in both its product
design and marketing strategies. The mascara’s tube is slim, slender but curvy,
mirroring the popularized body type of the elegant French woman. The subtext
“PARIS” stamped in gold at the bottom of the logo indicates a familiar francophilia
associated with the luxury fashion industry – as opposed to many of the brands in
L’Oréal’s consumer products division, including Maybelline and Garnier10, which
cater to a broader, more diverse market of consumers. The global popularity of
Lancôme’s Hypnôse mascara, especially in China11, is an irony in itself, speaking to
deeper issues regarding global currents and cultural shifts in beauty ideals.
7 "The Sony Walkman." In Design Studies: A Reader, edited by Hazel Clark, by Paul Du Gay, S. Hall, L. Janes, and H. Mackay, 349. English ed. Oxford: Berg, 2009. 8 Ibid. 9 "Lancôme: Makeup, Perfume, Cosmetics, Beauty Care." L'Oréal Group. January 1, 2013. Accessed March 31, 2015. http://www.loreal.com/brands/loreal-‐luxe/lancome.aspx. 10 "All the L’Oréal brands.” L'Oréal Group. January 1, 2013. Accessed March 31, 2015. http://www.loreal.com/brands/brands-‐homepage.aspx 11 "L'Oréal Company Profile -‐ SWOT Analysis. Lancôme for Global Market Growth in Premium Cosmetics sec." Passport, Euromonitor, 45. December 1, 2012. http://www.euromonitor.com/medialibrary/PDF/LOreal-‐Company-‐Profile-‐SWOT-‐Analysis.pdf
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According to Cheryl Buckley, it is important to analyze the role of women as
consumers in the discussion of women and design12. The inherent stereotype that
women are the consumers in a society13 holds true in the beauty industry – most if
not all cosmetic products on a drug store shelf caters to that of female buyers.
Companies exploit women’s obsession with being beautiful, targeting innate
biological yearnings to be attractive to the opposite sex. Long lashes evoke the
power of the gaze and ideas of seduction through eye contact – an association that
marketers often utilize in advertisements and marketing campaigns (see fig. 4 for an
example of a print advertisement for Lancôme’s Hypnôse mascara featuring model
Daria Werbowy). The gaze, in this context, is empowering and heightened,
demanding the attention of the onlooker. The irony holds that most viewers of the
advertorial are women themselves, leaving the seductive tension between the
female consumer and the idealized image presented before them. In a 2012 video
campaign for Lancôme’s Hypnôse Star mascara featuring Daria Werbowy, the
famous cartoon character Betty Boop says, “all stars have a secret, just say it with
the eyes”14. In it, Betty convinces Werbowy, who plays a struggling actress, that by
using Lancôme’s Hypnôse mascara her eyes will captivate the audience and she will
become a great success. These links between beauty and success are not new. Often
times, advertisers create messages and associations surrounding beauty products
and female empowerment. As the social and economic positions of women have
12 Margolin, Victor, and Cheryl Buckley. "Made in Patriarchy: Toward a Feminist Analysis of Women and Design." In Design Discourse: History, Theory, Criticism, 255. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1989. 13 Ibid. 14 Joann Sfar, “Lancome's Betty Boop Hypnose Star Mascara,” YouTube video, 1:50, posted by "Sephora," July 12, 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhtIBTEJfxU.
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changed, more and more women are participating in the consumption of luxury
products with the intention of self-‐prescribing “success indicators” – premium
skincare and beauty products being one of them. Consumers are prey to the idea
that by spending on quality beauty products, more beauty, attention and success
will be achieved by the individual, and thus there is more value in the its proposed
retail price.
The mascara as the perfect marketable commodity
One of the very first marketed mascaras was made of coal dust and Vaseline
(see fig. 5). The young entrepreneur T. L. Williams was inspired by his sister,
Maybel, to create a cake product, packed in a paper box with a tiny applicator brush
used to apply the black powder on to the lashes15. Now known as Maybelline, the
brand’s immense notability for its mascara products still holds true today. It was not
long before the first cream mascaras were developed, packaged in functional plastic
applicator tubes that could be designed and redesigned. The French philosopher
Roland Barthes said, “Plastic is the very idea of its infinite transformation.”16 The
impact of the synthetic polymer on everyday commodities was unsurprisingly
important after its invention in 1907. Goods could be made cheaply and quickly, but
could be pliable and moldable to any configuration the designer seemed fit. As a
result, the mascara became one of the most perfectly marketable beauty products,
15 Baki, Gabriella, and Kenneth S. Alexander. "Chapter 4: Color Cosmetics." In Introduction to Cosmetic Formulation and Technology. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2015. 16 Barthes, Roland, and Annette Lavers. "Plastic." In Mythologies. New York: Hill and Wang, 1972.
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transformable to embody an aesthetic unique to the brand17 – in the case of
Lancôme’s Hypnôse mascara, a slender curvaceous embodiment of French elegance.
It is also critical to note the ability of manufacturers to stamp prominent logos on
such commodities, leading to even more brand presence in the minds of consumers.
In the case of Lancôme, its singular golden rose has become ubiquitous in the world
of beauty due to consistent logo placements over the decades spanning the brand’s
inception.
Yet there is an element of contradiction between the mascara’s cheap plastic
material and its premium price. According to marketing studies, women are more
willing to pay higher prices for the favorite mascaras compared to other beauty
products like foundations, lipsticks and blushes18. An investigation into the source
of this added value and perceived quality would therefore be appropriate. The
multitude array of wand shapes and sizes in the market today is evidence that
consumers recognize value in functionality. Often times, more absurdly designed
products can attract the attention of buyers by standing out in the crowd of identical
cylindrical mascaras (see fig. 6 of Givenchy’s Phenomen’Eyes mascara). The design
of Lancôme’s Hypnôse mascara, however, is distinctive due to its small, slim nature,
which is an irony in itself given the lack of value with its small volume and
minimalist wand.
The mascara also derives a good part of its value from its trademark
formulation. L’Oreal, as one of most competitive beauty firms, prides itself on its
17 Mazzalovo, Gerald. Brand Aesthetics. Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. 18 Bourgeois, Jean-‐Yves. "The Crazy Market of Mascaras." Premium Beauty News. September 30, 2008. Accessed April 21, 2015. http://www.premiumbeautynews.com/en/The-‐crazy-‐market-‐of-‐mascaras,254.
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“Research and Innovation model” (see fig. 7) and its investments in scientific
advancements of its products’ chemistries. An article in the New York Times
revealed that L’Oreal filed 300 new patents in 2002 for its cosmetic and hair
innovations19. The Hypnôse mascara’s SoftSculpt™ Formula is described as
‘exclusive’20 to consumers in its product page boasting a unique polymer formula.
Even without this product knowledge, consumers evidently identify with the idea of
quality through self-‐testing and recurring use, leading to re-‐purchases and added
brand value.
The mascara and the created fantasy: links to fashion and lifestyle
The links between beauty and the fashion industry are no secret. The
relationships between the two, in fact, are so strong that they have become
inseparable industries, sharing commonplace during trade shows and major fashion
events. Lancôme has partnered and collaborated with many famous fashion
designers, including Proenza Schouler and Alber Elbaz of Lanvin. Many supermodels
have emerged by landing major beauty campaigns, earning millions of dollars per
contract21. Along with Daria Werbowy (see fig. 4), Lancôme has also featured
actresses Emma Stone and Kate Winslet in their campaigns, creating a universe of
19 Riordan, Teresa. "Patents; A Reinvention of Mascara Goes for Even Thicker Lashes. Also, There's a New Twist on an Old Cream." The New York Times, January 20, 2003, Business sec. Accessed April 21, 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/20/business/patents-‐reinvention-‐mascara-‐goes-‐for-‐even-‐thicker-‐lashes-‐also-‐there-‐s-‐new-‐twist.html. 20 “Hypnôse -‐ mascara by Lancôme" L'Oréal Group. January 1, 2013. Accessed March 31, 2015. http://www.lancome-‐usa.com/Hypnose/990516,default,pd.html?dwvar_990516_color=Deep%20Black&cgid=makeup-‐mascara#start=11 21 Marsh, Julia. "$3 Million Catwalk Catfight: Model-‐poach Suit." New York Post, January 16, 2013. Accessed April 21, 2015. http://nypost.com/2013/01/16/3-‐million-‐catwalk-‐catfight-‐model-‐poach-‐suit/.
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fantasy around the brand. According to Niaomi Klein, “Products are made in the
factory, but brands are made in the mind.”22 These endorsements of high-‐profile
individuals simply re-‐iterate to consumers the associations with the brand and a
luxurious lifestyle, something that the fashion industry is well known for doing.
They represent an unattainable fantasy, what Italian designer Diego Della Valle calls
the “piccolo sogno”23 or the little dream. The Hypnôse campaign not only brings
about associations with brand and luxury, it also emphasizes an unattainable
physical beauty ideal. This is a great irony in itself, as the campaign aims to sell a
beauty product – a good that one purchases to attain physical beauty. It is almost as
if the subject is taunting its audience, daring one to try to achieve the same standard
of perfection. The only obvious answer to the challenge presented is to replicate the
model’s physical appearance by buying the featured beauty product. Consciously,
the viewer knows that buying a mascara is not going to make one a supermodel
overnight, but subconsciously, the consumer is persuaded over and over again that
this sentiment is true. The imagined consumer for Lancôme is therefore, not the
representative model shown in the advertisement or the stereotyped European
beauty that inspires the product’s shape, but the woman who aspires to attain that
ideal – which explains the paradox of the brand’s global popularity especially in
non-‐European markets.
22 "No Logo." In Design Studies: A Reader, edited by Hazel Clark, by Naomi Klein, 201. English ed. Oxford: Berg, 2009. 23 Seabrook, John. "Shoe Dreams." The New Yorker 80, no. 11 (2004): 62-‐69.
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Conclusion
In conclusion, the design of Lancôme’s Hypnôse mascara seduces the female
consumer by indicating societal ideals in a number of ways. Firstly, it does so by
embodying a Eurocentric ideal evidenced by the product’s shape, color and brand
history. It exploits the female tendencies to be attractive, prompting women to
participate in consumption to attain that said ideal. It exploits the existing sentiment
around women and success to further seduce the consumer into paying for its
premium price by positioning itself as a luxury product. It convinces the consumer
of its value by containing high quality ingredients and by being functionally well
designed. Lastly, it seduces the consumer by symbolizing an unattainable yet
aspirational lifestyle.
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Appendix
(Fig. 2) Lancôme Hypnôse Mascara line, screenshot, accessed 31 Mar 2015. <http://www.lancome-‐usa.com/Hypnose/990516,default,pd.html>
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(Fig. 4) Mert Alas, Marcus Piggott, Lancôme Hypnôse advertisement featuring Daria Werbowy. 2014, print advertisement, accessed 31 Mar 2015. <http://www.cincinnatiartmuseum.stores.yahoo.net/frduwhboy.html>
(Fig. 5) First Maybelline pressed cake mascara, 2012, photograph, accessed 21 Apr 2015 <http://ak-‐hdl.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/web03/2012/8/10/11/enhanced-‐buzz-‐16979-‐1344611286-‐4.jpg>
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(Fig. 6) Givenchy Phenomen’Eyes mascara ball shaped wand, 2011, photograph, accessed 21 Apr 2015 <http://www.makeupgeek.com/wp-‐content/uploads/givenchy-‐02.jpg>
(Fig. 7) L’Oreal’s Research and Innovation website page, screenshot, accessed 21 Apr 2015 <http://www.loreal.com/research-‐innovation/our-‐innovation-‐model.aspx>
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Bibliography
Books
• Baki, Gabriella, and Kenneth S. Alexander. "Chapter 4: Color Cosmetics." In
Introduction to Cosmetic Formulation and Technology. Hoboken, New Jersey:
John Wiley & Sons, 2015.
• Barthes, Roland, and Annette Lavers. "Plastic." In Mythologies. New York: Hill
and Wang, 1972.
• Margolin, Victor, and Cheryl Buckley. "Made in Patriarchy: Toward a Feminist
Analysis of Women and Design." In Design Discourse: History, Theory,
Criticism, 255. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1989.
• Mazzalovo, Gerald. Brand Aesthetics. Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave
Macmillan, 2012.
• "No Logo." In Design Studies: A Reader, edited by Hazel Clark, by Naomi Klein,
201. English ed. Oxford: Berg, 2009.
• "The Sony Walkman." In Design Studies: A Reader, edited by Hazel Clark, by
Paul Du Gay, S. Hall, L. Janes, and H. Mackay, 349. English ed. Oxford: Berg,
2009.
Newspaper articles / journals / documents
• "L'Oréal Company Profile -‐ SWOT Analysis. Lancôme for Global Market
Growth in Premium Cosmetics sec." Passport, Euromonitor, 45. December 1,
2012. http://www.euromonitor.com/medialibrary/PDF/LOreal-‐Company-‐
Profile-‐SWOT-‐Analysis.pdf
15
• Marsh, Julia. "$3 Million Catwalk Catfight: Model-‐poach Suit." New York Post,
January 16, 2013. Accessed April 21, 2015.
http://nypost.com/2013/01/16/3-‐million-‐catwalk-‐catfight-‐model-‐poach-‐
suit/.
• Riordan, Teresa. "Patents; A Reinvention of Mascara Goes for Even Thicker
Lashes. Also, There's a New Twist on an Old Cream." The New York Times,
January 20, 2003, Business sec. Accessed April 21, 2015.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/20/business/patents-‐reinvention-‐
mascara-‐goes-‐for-‐even-‐thicker-‐lashes-‐also-‐there-‐s-‐new-‐twist.html.
• Seabrook, John. "Shoe Dreams." The New Yorker 80, no. 11 (2004): 62-‐69.
Websites
• "All the L’Oréal brands.” L'Oréal Group. January 1, 2013. Accessed March 31,
2015. http://www.loreal.com/brands/brands-‐homepage.aspx
• Bourgeois, Jean-‐Yves. "The Crazy Market of Mascaras." Premium Beauty
News. September 30, 2008. Accessed April 21, 2015.
http://www.premiumbeautynews.com/en/The-‐crazy-‐market-‐of-‐
mascaras,254.
• “Hypnôse -‐ mascara by Lancôme" L'Oréal Group. January 1, 2013. Accessed
March 31, 2015. http://www.lancome-‐
usa.com/Hypnose/990516,default,pd.html?dwvar_990516_color=Deep%20
Black&cgid=makeup-‐mascara#start=11
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• "Lancôme: Makeup, Perfume, Cosmetics, Beauty Care." L'Oréal Group.
January 1, 2013. Accessed March 31, 2015.
http://www.loreal.com/brands/loreal-‐luxe/lancome.aspx.
Videos
• Joann Sfar, “Lancome's Betty Boop Hypnose Star Mascara,” YouTube video,
1:50, posted by "Sephora," July 12, 2012,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhtIBTEJfxU.
• “Michelle Phan creates The Romantic look with Lancôme Doll Lashes,”
YouTube video, 3:39, posted by "Lancome USA," September 12, 2011,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPskOED1cnk