Saudis’ 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 Saudi women are constantly evolving.

How much money do Saudis 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

Saudi women’s’ toiletry bags are quite spacious — on average, they contain as many as 22 beauty products. It is no wonder that a typical Saudi woman spends around 3,413 SAR in a year on cosmetics. On the other hand, among these 22 cosmetics, only 7 are in regular use. It could be explained by the fact that 33 per cent of the surveyed women buy cosmetics when they are discounted, in reserve. 17 per cent buy cosmetics when they run out and 50 per cent whenever they feel like it.

How do Saudi women choose their cosmetics? Most of the surveyed women (63 per cent) chose brand as a major factor determining the purchase. Price of the cosmetic is crucial for 58 per cent of the surveyed respondents, and 42 per cent chose ingredients. Less important are influencers’ recommendations (21 per cent) or friends’ opinions (13 per cent).

Considering the fact that most of the respondents consider price so important, it is quite surprising that 48 per cent of women prefer premium cosmetics, more expensive than the regular ones. 44 per cent allow themselves to buy such cosmetics occasionally, and 8 per cent don’t buy them at all. Price seems to be the decisive factor for choosing between regular and eco cosmetics, which became quite popular in recent years. The majority of the surveyed women (54 per cent) declared that they pick green cosmetics only when the price is reasonable. 29 per cent always buy eco cosmetics, and 17 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, 8 per cent of the surveyed Saudi women do not wear make-up at all. Among those who do, 55 per cent wear it daily. 36 per cent does make-up sometimes, and 9 per cent does it only for special occasions.

How much time do Saudi women usually spend in front of the mirror? Among the women aged 18 to 50, 55 per cent spend 5 to 15 minutes on make-up, and 14 per cent less than 5 minutes. One-third of surveyed Saudi 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, Saudi women own 8 lipsticks, 6 lip liners, 6 blushes, 5 mascaras, 9 fingernail polishes, and 8 eyeshadows.

Through the looking glass

In Saudi Arabia, the most popular beauty products are lipstick, mascara, eyebrow pencil, concealer, and blush, and women spend around $909 a year on cosmetics. How about our neighbours?

The Emiratis spend less than Saudis — $694. Their favourite cosmetics, besides lipstick, eyebrow pencil, mascara and concealer, is foundation.

Surprisingly, American women spend much less, around $396 a year. With $505 spent on cosmetics each year, women in the United Kingdom are ahead, but still behind the Saudis.

Men vs cosmetics

How do men feel about cosmetics? First of all, they spend much less money on cosmetics than women — 1,202 SAR, which isn’t close to even half of the average woman’s beauty budget. They also own fewer beauty products (12 pieces), although they only 5 use regularly. What is interesting, 83 per cent of the surveyed men buy cosmetics by themselves — the remaining 17 per cent admits that it is mom or partner who buys cosmetics for them.

Saudi men usually buy cosmetics when they are discounted (51 per cent). 35 per cent buy cosmetics when they run out, and 14 per cent when they feel like buying. The main factor determining the choice for men is the price — 69 per cent. Still, the brand is also important (60 per cent), as well as ingredients (26 per cent).

Saudi men are also likely to buy premium cosmetics — 43 per cent claim that they always buy them and 34 per cent do occasionally. When it comes to eco cosmetics, 36 per cent of the surveyed men declared that they do not care about their ecological aspect. 26 per cent buy such cosmetics when the price is reasonable, and 38 per cent prefer eco products no matter what.

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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 the UK 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.