Looking for Your Dream Mascara? Me Too

Mascara! I’m a bit embarrassed to admit this but buying mascara is by far the most overwhelming product purchase for me. No purchase should bring such anxiety and confusion but this one does it for me, and thank god I've set $12 as my price cap because the premium department store brands are a whole different beast to battle.

So, how do I go about navigating the homogeneous landscape? Typically it begins with seeing girlfriends with great eyelashes and then asking them what kind of mascara they're wearing. Unfortunately I forget 100% of the time so then I turn to commercials which I’m not afraid to admit influence me, and this is coming from somebody who works in the marketing industry (Note: no other GenXer would ever be so honest). I rarely read fashion magazines or beauty sites; I used to frequent makeupalley.com and only recently have I become interested in Nylon magazine so I feel rather removed from the beauty Influencers. Those TV ads though are what pulls me in... beautiful models with big bold eyelashes that extend beyond their eyebrows. They all look equally amazing regardless of the brand. Long ago the claims began as 2X as thick or 100% longer but now I'm seeing 700% longer... no !@#$ing way that is even possible, yet these brands continue to outdo one another with outrageous claims and eyelashes that all look equally amazing. 

So, what's a girl to do? As I stand there motionless with eyes glazed over just staring blankly for a bit I notice that the friendly CVS staff are keeping a close eye on me thinking I’m looking for a five-finger discount, when in reality I’m looking for commercials deep in my frontal cortex. Drew Barrymore, the talented and cute actress and face of Cover Girl, comes to mind, so does some girl in sexy black clothes on a motorcycle using Maybelline's Falsies. I think to myself "Falsies, that's a cute name, I'll try that today" and maybe next time I’ll go for the one that's on sale and the time after that the one in the new square tube packaging because that one has nice design (they're usually cylindrical tubes). 

I am not brand loyal when it comes to mascara but I'd like to be. Now is the time for mascara brands to step up to the plate and claim their position in the marketplace so that if I can't tell a difference in their product quality, I can look for a difference in their brand personalities and then select my mascara based off the one who taps into my values most. From what I’ve seen, all mascara brands seem to exist as the lover or rebel archetype, but I’m not a lover nor a rebel so how do they plan to relate to me? As many brands across a range of product categories seek authenticity today, I don’t yet see that any mascara brand has tapped into that value yet. The curvy full-sized woman who uses Dove soap... what kind of mascara does she wear? The powerful executive in a pencil skirt who only has time to apply once in the morning... what kind of mascara does she wear? The athletic hiker who’s looking for a man but doesn’t want him to believe she ever wears makeup... what kind of mascara does she wear? I think you get my point by now. Women are complicated and we all have different needs and wants. 

My advice to brands is to learn what your target values most and then deliver a product that taps into that value... all while differentiating yourself from your competition. Only when you tap into my values will I become loyal.