{"id":15123,"date":"2015-04-01T08:30:51","date_gmt":"2015-04-01T00:30:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mywomenstuff.com\/?p=15123"},"modified":"2015-03-31T17:04:05","modified_gmt":"2015-03-31T09:04:05","slug":"rising-prices-affect-spending-habits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mywomenstuff.com\/2015\/04\/rising-prices-affect-spending-habits\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Say: How are rising prices of beauty products affecting your beauty spending habits?"},"content":{"rendered":"
Some time a couple of\u00a0weeks ago, I was looking up the price of Hydraluron serum<\/a> and I noticed that it was now RM109 as opposed to RM80 back in December 2013 when I first used it. Now, I am quite aware that a price increase over time is inevitable, and in the big scheme of things, considering the price of skincare these days, RM109 is still fairly affordable. But at a RM29 price hike, that\u00a0is an over 36% increase, not including the 6% GST (Goods and Services Tax) to be levied.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It’s not just Hydraluron that’s gone up in price. Since I started this blogging lark, a lot of prices of beauty products have slowly creeped up over the years and what was expensive back then is astronomical now, and what was “quite expensive” then would be considered “luxurious” now.<\/p>\n And I just wondered how it has affected you, as the consumer? Have you noticed this slow creep of upward prices and does it influence your beauty spending?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I’ve actually cut back a lot on my beauty spending since the year began. Not so much because of the impending imposition of GST here, but mostly because I felt that I was drowning in too much. Yes, apparently there can be too much of a good thing! LOL! \ud83d\ude00<\/p>\n For me however, it was more of a quantity rather than price issue, because I noticed that for the past 2 years, I do most of my beauty spending online. Sometimes, it’s not because they are always cheaper,\u00a0or because I’m unsupportive of local economy, it was because I just did not have the time to go out to the malls and trawl the counters. There are not many local online etailers that are reputable nor carry the items I want, much to my surprise.<\/p>\n But it hasn’t stopped me noticing the upward trend of prices of makeup and skincare products globally. These days, I’d be hard-pressed to find a good facial moisturiser for under RM100 or a good antiaging serum for under RM200. Yes, I can go to the pharmacy (drugstore) but my skin doesn’t take kindly to pharmacy brand skincare. If you can handle it, kudos! I place great emphasis on skincare so I splurge and it’s actually getting harder to justify that splurge.<\/p>\n When it comes to makeup, I’ve noticed that most department store lipstick now cost upwards of RM100, when previously I could pick one up for less than that. Eyeshadow palettes now inch towards and surpass the RM200 mark and you can barely find anything to buy under RM100 at luxury brands like Dior and Chanel and Guerlain. Estee Lauder lipsticks used to be RM80 just a year ago and the new ones will be RM102 soon. Luxury brands like SK-II, La Mer and Cle de Peau, which belong in their own stratosphere, too have gone up significantly in price over the years.<\/p>\n