TO: The person who regrets every impulse buy. And then does it again anyway.
You Are Not Being Sold Only Products
When you buy a beauty product, you’re buying three things: a promise, an emotion, and the product itself.
Example:
A promise of glowing skin.
The confidence you’ll feel after fine lines disappear, hyperpigmentation fades, and breakouts become a thing of the past.
And the liquid goodness packaged in a cute bottle.
But here’s the thing: the promise and the emotion are usually just a buzzword salad with zero substance.
Companies have become so good at understanding and tapping into our deepest insecurities and desires that they’ve made overspending feel like self-care.
I hope you can look at the following idea with a dose of open-minded skepticism –
We are dangerously close to being able to make people buy or do something online, without the consumer being fully aware of it, or even likely to do it under normal circumstances.
The big fall in our attention spans, lack of focus, on top of endless dopamine hits online are definitely not helping.
We’ve essentially turned into walking, sentient credit cards with little impulse control every time we interact with the digital world.
It’s the perfect shitstorm that pairs flawlessly with the current hyper-consumerism climate.
And we are being further conditioned into it.
On Selling
20-30 years ago it would have been called persuasion and being a great salesperson.
That is not the case anymore.
Behind every beautifully packaged jar or bottle is a mix of marketing tactics designed to tap into your deepest insecurities and desires.
The beauty industry thrives on overpromises, emotional manipulation, and the illusion that you’ll need more to achieve perfect skin.
This post isn’t about bashing beauty brands, since they’re not the only culprits.
What I want to do is give you insights to navigate and understand certain tactics, spend smarter, and tips that really work for your skin.
Not just what’s trending online.
The Overpromise Trap
Beauty brands don’t sell results. They sell you the idea of results.
Every time you see a product promising “poreless skin,” “instant youth,” or “wrinkle reduction by 80%,” you’re not buying science – you’re buying marketing.
The beauty industry thrives on this tactic because they know one thing: if they promise you enough, you’ll believe it – at least long enough to swipe your card.
And when the product doesn’t deliver, we move on to the next, because we’ve normalized to “just keep looking” until we find the right fit.
Insider Tip
As a rule of thumb, when marketing products to consumers, we follow what is known as the marketing rule of 7. Meaning that a potential consumer needs to come across a brand’s marketing message at least seven times before they take action or make a purchase.
So, on average it takes 7 digital touch points before a sale is made.
This means brands need to engineer multiple digital touch points to make sure you’re constantly exposed to their promises.
And that’s where the overhype, vague claims, and exaggerated promises come into play.
And the (pretty much, only) way to do that is through crazy, overhyped, or glorious promises and vague claims.
Fun Fact on hype: Korea’s market is so brutally competitive that even some a lot of restaurants now ditch quality altogether to serve viral abominations, just to get people through the door.
Why Beauty Claims Are Often Misleading
One issue is that beauty products live in a regulatory loophole. Brands can say almost anything as long as they throw in a few disclaimers and/or precautions.
Example:
- “Clinically proven” – could mean a tiny study with 10 participants where the results were cherry-picked.
- “Pore-minimizing” – pores can’t actually shrink permanently. That’s genetics, not skincare.
“Anti-aging” – The term can just mean temporary hydration that plumps the skin, making wrinkles look less obvious for a short time.
Most “anti-aging” claims are just that – claims.
True anti-aging comes from proven ingredients, lifestyle habits, and internal factors, not just a single product.
There are ingredients which have shown promising results in the domain of anti-aging, but check out the ingredients from most mass-market products that claim “anti-aging” and you will soon realize how hype outweighs actual clinical results by a thousandfold.
“anti-aging” in the literal sense would mean to stop, or even to reverse aging. While some people like Bryan Johnson (this guy) are setting records for slowing down their rate of aging, it’s not achieved with regular products alone, and there are infinitely better and proven ways to, at the very minimum, slow down the rate of aging.
Tactical use of Buzzwords
As consumers we LOVE science-y words. And brands know that.
I do too, as much as the next person – even though I know them for what they really are.
“Peptide complex,” “patented formula,” “advanced skin penetration technology” – we’ve all come across these.
Sounds premium and something you’d want on your skin, right?
Without proper concentrations and evidence, they’re just fancy labels.
That’s why every product has the little “results may vary” disclaimer.
Translation: “It might not work, but thanks for the $20.” (or $200)
I originally wrote out 600-word paragraphs for the following 2 sections, but then realized there’s zero need for that.
Most people aren’t interested in intricate marketing and consumer psychology.
2 hours well spent.
So, instead, here’s two short and sweet check lists.
Structured them in a way to be as congruent as possible, without leaving out important details. (Another 2 hours well spent.)
You’ve probably come across these marketing phrases before, but this time I want you to look at them from an insider perspective.
This is what will help you sniff out the BS as long as you are a consumer of beauty and skincare products.
Overpromise Examples
- “Reduces wrinkles by 80%” – Reality: Temporary plumping from hydration, not long-term structural changes.
- “Instant glow” – This is true, but it’s not your skin’s actual “glow”. Often created by mica or silicones that wash off as soon as you cleanse your face.
- “Anti-aging for all ages” – A lazy marketing catch-all. What works for a 20-year-old isn’t the same as what works for a 50-year-old. (duh)
These terms leave a lot of to be desired.
Especially from a clear-skin chaser perspective. But when the rules and regulations are so lax, we can’t hope for better.
Because of that it makes it impossible to know for sure, every time, when a claim is an overpromise or not.
Best I can do is to give you a few pointers what to look out for.
How to Spot an Overpromise:
- Beware of over-the-top claims: Phrases like “breakthrough” and “revolutionary” usually have no real evidence.
- Demand transparency: Are they showing you proper studies or just vague promises?
- Research the active ingredients: If a product relies on buzzwords without disclosing concentrations, it’s a red flag. This goes beyond just bottled products (think treatments, red light masks, etc.)
Obligatory note: sometimes, they really are not overpromises. None of them have to be. But in an industry this cutthroat – where consumerism is constantly being redefined and fetishized – the scales tip massively in favor of hype and exaggeration.
PS: I’ve tested hundreds of products over the years – not just for what works, but for what’s full of sh*t. That’s why Save My Skincare is built to help you instantly spot overpromises, marketing fluff, and empty routines.
Price goes up by $100 soon.
Point is – don’t fall for the shiny bullshit promises on the packaging. Most of them are designed to get you to spend, not to give you real results. The beauty industry’s secret weapon is your belief in their overhyped claims. The sooner you stop buying into them, the better your skin – and your wallet – will be.
The “You Need It All” Myth: Encouraging Overconsumption
Did you ever get the feeling that your skincare routine isn’t “complete” until you’ve bought one (or three) more things?
Think – a booster, an activator, a layer-enhancer.
That’s by design.
Companies have perfected, and thrive on making you feel like you need a full collection to see results.
And it works. Just look at the explosion of 10-step “Korean” skin routines.
Spoiler: most Koreans haven’t ever heard of it.
We’ve been convinced that more is always better.
Brands push the narrative that more steps, more layers, more must-haves will unlock next-level skin, even though most people would see the same (if not better) results with a simple, effective routine.
Again, if you’re tired of all this BS that’s happening online -> SMS.
And again, these tactics are engineered to train you into spending without thinking.
Great for creating customer loyalty and business in general.
Pretty sh*tty practice from a moral standpoint.
And then there are the never-ending product launches – limited editions, influencer collabs, seasonal must-haves. I could write an entire post about that, but in short –
Scarcity + urgency = impulse buying
Minimalist skincare is growing for a reason. People are tired of marketing overload and endless consumption cycles.
I’m not here to pretend capitalism doesn’t exist. Brands are here to sell, consumers are here to buy, and modern marketing will always be a game of persuasion.
But that doesn’t mean you have to buy into every trend.
People are sick of their attention constantly being (involuntarily) pulled in ten different directions the second they open a social app on their phones, with a big side of marketing barrage barf.
It’s not healthy.
It never was. And it never will be.
Yet we’ve normalized and don’t see anything wrong with this kind of behavior.
Think of the last time you ended a scrolling session on TikTok feeling “satisfied”. How many useless ads and undercover marketing messages did you come across?
Did you put your phone down feeling happy, or anxious and in a state of overwhelm/irritation?
That’s creeping skinxiety you’re feeling.
And It’s not your fault – it’s the result of nonstop exposure to conflicting advice, perfect skin edits, and product FOMO designed to make you doubt yourself.
Because at the end of the day, good skincare isn’t about owning it all.
It’s about knowing what actually works for you.
With all that said – where do we go from here?
Breaking the Loop
The main point of writing this post was to give you insights into how the current online skincare and beauty landscape looks for us on the consumer side.
As you can guess from my writing, my stance is that it’s very bleak.
We’re constantly force-fed marketing messages, overpromises, and FOMO.
But, there is a tiny ray of hope.
People are finally starting to wake up and smell the bs.
And if I could pass just one idea to you, it would be this:
→ You can spend smarter and build a filter for your purchases.
It’s not just about protecting your money. More than that – it’s protecting your time and attention.
In particular, protecting our attention online is crucial to being a mindful consumer.
(And a normal, sane individual that is able to make their own decisions, for that matter.)
What you end up doing with that knowledge is up to you.
Spotting the BS doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, once you know what to look for, it’s painfully obvious.
Red Flags to Watch For
Ultimately, what you need to know is how to cut through the hype and smell the bs:
Final Thoughts
The beauty industry profits more, the more you feel like you’re always one product away from perfect skin.
But here’s the thing – perfect skin doesn’t exist.
It’s a subjective term coined by the industry to portray a certain thing that looks a certain way that we now call “perfect“
I have a gripe with that term – since that is also very subjective, but more on that in the next post.
Update: post is live. You can read it here.
Obvious spoiler: perfect skin doesn’t exist.
Less obvious spoiler: it can exist – just not in the way brands want you to believe.
What does exist is marketing that preys on your insecurities, convincing you to keep buying, hoping the next thing will be “the one.”
If that clicked, you’ll probably like what’s next in the newsletter.
Take a step back. Think critically. Spend intentionally.
Because the best skincare routine isn’t the one with the most products.
It’s the one that actually works for you.