Article analysis 'Educating the Eye of the Beholder--American cosmetics abroad'
In recent times, use of American cosmetics has been propagated as a sign offreedom and autonomy. A woman is shown wearing US made lipstick andpurchasing American products as evidence of their new found freedom. Mediasuggests that we can measure the "progress and success of developingnations in the global economy by highlighting the promotion and consumptionof American beauty products in South American rain forests and elsewhere."It indicates that with globalization, American beauty products are now inmassive demand around the world but not exactly because of quality butbecause they signify something important for women- progress andemancipation. An afghan woman buying American cosmetics is touted as theultimate sign of freedom for once oppressed section of population.While it appears that supply and demand of American cosmetics is increasingaround the world, it is also true that it took American cosmetic industry afairly long time to carve its niche in foreign markets and educate thepeople about American idea of what's good and beautiful. But it was mainlybecause of the fact that American market itself wasn't aware of itsdomestic idea of beauty until after the Second World War. Before this time
In other words, while people began accepting theidea of a fun loving free woman, they still couldn't relate to thoseforeign faces clad in local clothes. an inexpensivequality face cream that had captured a major market share. Peiss has explained howthe demand for American cosmetics was created and how it is being sustainedin foreign countries. The article offers comprehensive and highly useful review of the cosmeticindustry's expansion to foreign market. American cosmetic firms then decidedto give more autonomy and power to local subsidiaries so they could bettercater to the needs of the local consumers. "Once American firms had found themselves, so to speak, they quickly beganworking the idea of expanding their wings to foreign markets. Author has carried out thoroughresearch on the subject to bring us some enlightening facts about thedemand for US produced cosmetics around the globe and the effort andstrategies that went into creating that kind of demand. The author has done a commendable job in targeting a macroeconomic sectionof the cosmetic industry that is rarely discussed. "In India, Pond's ads appeared in English language newspapers, andgenerally followed the format and language of the company's advertising inGreat Britain, although with more exegesis than would have been necessaryfor British or American consumers. Max Factor followed suit and by then end of1937, its exports to Europe and Latin America formed more than 25 percentof its total sales. Pond's workedwith the same strategy and entered Canada, Latin America and Europe andalso began looking eastward. Peiss learns thatwhile in the United States every woman uses cosmetics, in some traditionalsocieties like India, only women from upper middle class can afford foreignproducts. These images were successfully adapted by manufacturers,druggists, and beauty salons to promote the sale of skincare products. Pond's had a good marketing strategy working in the US i.
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