Malaysians’ cosmetics preferences

The first mentions of make-up date back to ancient Egypt. Even then, people used the prototype of eyeliner, and both men and women wore make-up. Since that time, cosmetics and the perception of make-up itself have diametrically changed. Nowadays, trends come and go every season, and the preferences of Malaysian women are constantly evolving.

How much money do Malaysians spend on cosmetics yearly? Which factors determine the purchase of cosmetics? How do men and women feel about eco cosmetics? And how do we compare to other countries? Picodi.com analysis team answered these and other questions related to the cosmetics market.

Beauty has its price

Malaysian women’s’ toiletry bags are quite spacious — on average, they contain as many as 14 beauty products. It is no wonder that a typical Malaysian woman spends around RM1,338 in a year on cosmetics. On the other hand, among these 14 cosmetics, only 6 are in regular use. It could be explained by the fact that 39 per cent of the surveyed women buy cosmetics when they are discounted, in reserve. 27 per cent buy cosmetics when they run out and 34 per cent whenever they feel like it.

How do Malaysian women choose their cosmetics? Most of the surveyed women (67 per cent) chose price as a major factor determining the purchase. Brand of the cosmetic is crucial for 44 per cent of the surveyed respondents, and 35 per cent chose ingredients. Less important are influencers’ recommendations (31 per cent) and specialists’ tips (24 per cent).

Considering the fact that most of the respondents consider price as the most important consideration, it is not surprising that only 24 per cent of women prefer premium cosmetics, more expensive than the regular ones. 46 per cent allow themselves to buy such cosmetics occasionally, and 30 per cent don’t buy them at all. Price is also the decisive factor for choosing between regular and eco cosmetics, which became quite popular in recent years. The majority of the surveyed women (73 per cent) declared that they pick green cosmetics only when the price is reasonable. 16 per cent always buy eco cosmetics, and 11 per cent don’t have any interest in the ecological aspect of beauty products.

Mirror, mirror on the wall…

For many women, make-up is an integral part of the morning routine. However, one-fourth of the surveyed Malaysian women do not wear make-up at all. Among those who do, less than one-third wears it daily. 38 per cent does make-up sometimes, and 35 per cent does it only for special occasions.

How much time do Malaysian women usually spend in front of the mirror? Among the women aged 18 to 50, 35 per cent spend 5 to 15 minutes on make-up, and 30 per cent less than 5 minutes. 35 per cent of surveyed Malaysian women take much more time doing make-up — as much as half an hour.

An average women’s make-up bag contains many products, including some of the same kind. Statistically, Malaysian women own 7 lipsticks, 3 lip liners, 4 blushes, 3 mascaras, 4 eyeshadows, and 3 fingernail polishes.

Through the looking glass

In Malaysia, the most popular beauty products are lipstick, foundation,  eyebrow pencil, powder and blush, and women spend around $313 a year on cosmetics. How about our neighbours?

Singaporeans spend more than Malaysians — $427. Their favourite cosmetics, besides lipstick, foundation,  eyebrow pencil, and blush is concealer.

Surprisingly, New Zealand women spend much less, around $233 a year. With $396 spent on cosmetics each year, women in the United States are far ahead.

Men vs cosmetics

How do men feel about cosmetics? First of all, they spend much less money on cosmetics than women — RM723 a year, which is close to just half of the average woman’s beauty budget. They also own fewer beauty products (8 pieces), although they only 4 use regularly. What is interesting, only 68 per cent of the surveyed men buy cosmetics by themselves — the remaining 32 per cent admits that it is mom or partner who buys cosmetics for them.

As opposed to Malaysian women, men usually buy cosmetics when they run out (55 per cent). 24 per cent buy cosmetics when they are discounted, and 21 per cent when they feel like buying. Same as women, the main factor determining the choice for men is the price — 68 per cent. Still, the brand is also important (55 per cent), as well as ingredients (21 per cent).

Malaysian men are also less likely to buy premium cosmetics — 45 per cent claim that they never buy them and 29 per cent do only occasionally. When it comes to eco cosmetics, 42 per cent of the surveyed men declared that they do not care about their ecological aspect. 46 per cent buy such cosmetics when the price is reasonable, and 12 per cent prefer eco products no matter what.

Would you like to cut down on the cost of your cosmetics? Now it is possible thanks to Picodi! With our cashback feature activated before each purchase in stores such as Watsons, Sephora and Sasa, you can enjoy beauty products for cheap!

Methodology

This report was based on survey results conducted among 9300 people in 44 countries in June 2020.

Public Use

Would you like to share information about preferences toward cosmetics in Malaysia and other countries? Feel free to use all the data and infographics presented in this report for both commercial and non-commercial purposes as long as you indicate the author of the research (Picodi.com) with a link to this subpage. If you have any questions, please contact us: research@picodi.com.