The consumer is an emotional being, as we know, his purchases are guided by emotions. At MS Beautilab, beyond the efficacy studies and sensory analyses conducted, we wanted to evaluate the emotional response generated by the application of two new lipstick textures. Because of their instinctive, raw, and instantaneous nature, emotions are complex to evaluate. A comprehensive approach was needed to analyse them as accurately and robustly as possible.

We therefore combined three components: expressive, subjective, and physiological, in our study carried out on a multi-ethnic panel of 22 women. For the expressive part, we worked with Patrice Bellon from the company CosmetoScent, which is equipped with the Face Reader device. This tool makes it possible to measure facial expressions, based on the recognized method of FACS (Facial Action Coding System, developed by P. Ekman) and to convert them into six universal emotions.

This evaluation revealed that both lipsticks generated: surprise, fear, and joy. Through the subjective component, carried out from psychometric questionnaire and verbatim analysis, we were able to show that lipsticks decreased the share of unpleasant emotions and that the following cosmetic benefits were associated with them: aesthetic rendering, comfort, ease of application, agreeableness, and improved self-confidence. Finally, the physiological component, which consisted of a recording of the heart rate, revealed a decrease in it.

The correlation of all these results highlights that these two new lipsticks provide surprise, associated with joy and well-being (fear having possibly been generated by the apprehension of the test device). This study is rich in lessons to address the psychocosmetology associated with makeup and meet the expectations of consumers in their quest for pleasant emotions.

Read the entire ZOOM#21 by clicking here

By Christa Risselada, Cosmetics Efficiency Assessment Manager at MS Beautylab – 11/2021