South Africans’ 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 South African women are constantly evolving.

How much money do South Africans 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

South African women’s’ toiletry bags are quite spacious — on average, they contain as many as 19 beauty products. It is no wonder that a typical South African woman spends around R5,468 in a year on cosmetics. On the other hand, among these 19 cosmetics, only 7 are in regular use. It could be explained by the fact that 43 per cent of the surveyed women buy cosmetics when they are discounted, in reserve. 34 per cent buy cosmetics when they run out and 23 per cent whenever they feel like it.

How do South African women choose their cosmetics? Most of the surveyed women (76 per cent) chose price as a major factor determining the purchase. Brand of the cosmetic is crucial for 53 per cent of the surveyed respondents, and 32 per cent chose ingredients. Less important are influencers’ recommendations (20 per cent) or friends’ opinions (16 per cent).

Considering the fact that most of the respondents consider price as the most important factors, it is not surprising that only 32 per cent of women prefer premium cosmetics, more expensive than the regular ones. 39 per cent allow themselves to buy such cosmetics occasionally, and 29 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 (67 per cent) declared that they pick green cosmetics only when the price is reasonable. 23 per cent always buy eco cosmetics, and 10 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, 13 per cent of the surveyed South African women do not wear make-up at all. Among those who do, 26 per cent wears it daily. 64 per cent does make-up sometimes, and 10 per cent does it only for special occasions.

How much time do South African women usually spend in front of the mirror? Among the women aged 18 to 50, 45 per cent spend 5 to 15 minutes on make-up, and 13 per cent less than 5 minutes. 42 per cent of surveyed South African 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, South African women own 5 lipsticks, 3 lip liners, 3 blushes, 4 mascaras, 6 eyeshadows, and 6 fingernail polishes.

Through the looking glass

In South Africa, the most popular beauty products are mascara, foundation, lipstick, eyebrow pencil, and eyeliner, and women spend around $323 a year on cosmetics. How about other countries?

Although their favourite cosmetics are similar to South Africans, Nigerians spend less than money on beauty products — $237.

American women spend much more, around $396 a year. With $505 spent on cosmetics each year, women in the United Kingdom are far ahead.

Men vs cosmetics

How do men feel about cosmetics? First of all, they spend much less money on cosmetics than women — R2,750 a year, which is close to just half of the average woman’s beauty budget. They also own fewer beauty products (10 pieces), although they only 6 use regularly. What is interesting, only 65 per cent of the surveyed men buy cosmetics by themselves — the remaining 35 per cent admits that it is mom or partner who buys cosmetics for them.

As opposed to South African women, men usually buy cosmetics when they run out (55 per cent). 22 per cent buy cosmetics when they are discounted, and 23 per cent when they feel like buying. Same as women, the main factor determining the choice for men is the price — 61 per cent. Still, the brand is also important (48 per cent), as well as their own preferences (45 per cent).

South African men are also less likely to buy premium cosmetics — 25 per cent claim that they never buy them and 39 per cent do only occasionally. When it comes to eco cosmetics, almost half of the surveyed men declared that they do not care about their ecological aspect. One-third buy such cosmetics when the price is reasonable, and 21 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 Faithful To Nature, Lookfantastic and AliExpress, 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 South Africa 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.