Beauty that's cute; beauty that's cause-worthy

How do we justify our makeup buys? Reputation may have a lot to do with it and if we know enough about makeup technology, then pigmentation and resilience as well. But if we do a psychoanalysis of our own shopping habits, we find that we are attracted to beauty products because of factors that go beyond brand recall and smudge-proof capabilities.

Marketing 101 would tell you that amazing packaging sells  even the most rancid-selling fragrance or the lousiest overpriced cotton T-shirt. But sometimes you get lucky and get a good product along with amazing wrapping.

TBlush hour: Pop-out colors combine with crested-embossed clear casing.

The kitsch cliché

Despite its Spanish-inspired name and aesthetics, makeup brand Majolica Majorca is from Japan. It’s actually a Shiseido brand (which now also includes Nars, Bare Escentuals and Decléor under its umbrella), which means that there is high-tech innovation infused amid all the sweet sparkle. No surprise, really, considering Japan’s proclivity for everything cute, kitschy, and shimmery  from bug-eyed cartoon characters to uber-detailed plastic food to beribboned Marie Antoinette-style hairdos. Majolica Majorca is no exception. The name itself already suggests a taste for kitsch: it supposedly comes from the legend of a mythical bird that transformed “from an ordinary being into something beautiful and grand.” But it’s really the packaging that tugs at your cute inclinations. Rotund crowns in matte gold, complemented by impressive-looking crests, intricate filigree and flowery script font, stamp the packaging of each product. If not, then it’s embossed on golden powder cases or clear plastic casings. Its packaging is obviously meant to entice the younger set, along with the brand’s pop-out colors (corals, bright pinks and peaches for blushes; shimmery turquoise, aqua and emerald for shadows and luscious corals and hot pinks for the lip glosses). And their affordable prices: nothing above P1,000. Which is quite a steal given all the golden ornamental décor.

Market theory: Shiseido’s newest brand Majolica Majorca hopes to attract a younger market with its packaging, colors and affordable pricing — nothing above P1,000.

The principle purchase

Majolica Majorca’s cuteness factor appeals to our underlying propensity for anything unconventional but another brand, Human Nature, tugs at our heartstrings in a completely different way. Established only in 2008, Human Nature is fast becoming the first name in locally-made organic and natural skincare and cosmetics. And this is one brand that, as its logo prominently displays, appeals to your heartfelt sensibilities for its causes as much as what it puts into its products. These days, the words “100-percent natural,” “biodegradable” or “cruelty-free” is almost always a green light for purchase. And Human Nature has all of these, not just in principle, but prominently displayed on all their products.

Their latest line is called CommPassion, a set of lipsticks made of passion fruit seed oil derived from the harvests of the passion fruit farming community of the Gawad Kalinga Pueblo Antonio community in Catigan, Davao. One hundred percent of the profits from the sale of each Passion Fruit Hydrating Mineral Lipstick goes to fund the development of the farm, the establishment of a processing facility, and to the reassurance of many an individual’s livelihood. Human Nature also commits to purchasing the oil at a fair trade price and is trying to find ways to incorporate the oil in upcoming product lines, one of them the new Velvet Passion Mineral Eyeshadow.

Passion play: Human Nature’s newest 100-percent natural lipstick and eyeshadow line contains passion fruit seed oil and is set to help a passion fruit farming community in Catigan, Davao.

Just like the lipstick, the Velvet Passion Mineral Eyeshadow is 100-percent natural, 100-percent free from harmful chemicals and is cruelty-free. Enhanced with passion fruit seed oil and natural vitamin E, these eye swipers contain no talc, mineral oil, carmine, silicone, artificial oils and synthetic fragrances. In short, nothing toxic to either your body or the environment.

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Majolica Majorca is available at SM Makati.

The Passion Fruit Hydrating Mineral Lipstick and Velvet Passion Mineral Eyeshadow under the Love Minerals line by Human Nature is available through Human Nature dealers and branches and at all Beauty Bar outlets in Metro Manila.