Olay Beauty Poll Finds Out What Women Want

Leading beauty brand Olay has revealed the ultimate beauty secrets of New Zealand women, in an effort to get to the bottom of what women want from beauty brands.

 

The Olay Regenerist Beauty Poll* - a comprehensive and independently analysed 'beauty census' - asked more than 1,000 women aged 18 years and older to give their views on everything from beauty spending habits, attitudes to cosmetic surgery, to whether beauty products live up to their claims.

So how do Kiwi women fare when it comes to looking good? More than half of women (57%) say that when it comes to keeping up appearances, they are motivated to look good for themselves. However, Gen Y is most likely to be motivated to look good for the benefit of, or to impress, other people such as their partner, colleagues or girlfriends.

And how do Kiwi women choose to look good? Make-up is a popular choice for Kiwi women, with a third (30%) saying they wear make-up at least once a week - yet surprisingly, only four out of 10 (38%) wear it every day and a further 32% wear make-up less often than once a week or never. But when they do wear make-up, almost half of Kiwi women (49%) admit they do not always remove their make-up before going to bed.

What Kiwi women do keep top of mind though is their bank balance. Four out of 10 New Zealand women spend less than $20 each month on beauty products, while nearly a fifth (18%) spend between $20-$29. A further 20% spend between $30-$99 while only 3% splurge more than $100 per month on their favourite make up products.

Cost doesn't necessarily represent quality to Kiwi women, either. Only 2% of Kiwi women believe the most expensive products to be the best, while more than half of respondents (51%) find less expensive beauty products to be at least as effective as their more pricey counterparts.

So what does entice Kiwi women when it comes to choosing a beauty product? More than half of women say "visual proof" of a product's efficacy when demonstrated by 'before and after' shots would convince them to buy a product, while more than 4 out of ten (43%) New Zealand women say the fact a product was clinically proven to work through research would be enough to make them trust an anti-aging skin care product. A recommendation by a friend or family member was enough evidence for a third (33%) of women, with a trusted brand name sufficient for a tenth (11%).

And while Kiwi women enjoy friends and family keeping them real when it comes to looking beautiful, interestingly a fifth of women have undergone a cosmetic procedure such as face lift, botox, collagen, chemical peel, micro-dermabrasion or laser skin re-surfacing. Further to this, 17% of women say they would opt for microdermabrasion, 11% would try a facial peel and 9% would choose laser skin resurfacing. Botox was favoured as a future option for 6% of women and 3% say they would consider a facelift.

Auckland psychologist Sara Chatwin says the results show that New Zealand women are struggling to feel good about themselves and seem to find that makeup gives them a 'perk up' or a confidence fix they need.

"While this may not be a bad thing, you do have to be aware that wearing makeup might just be masking other issues. It was a little alarming that the wearing of makeup was linked to feeling more confident about themselves," she says.

"On a more positive note, it's great to see NZ women investing in skin care for protective and anti-aging reasons and that women are careful about getting involved in surgeries before they are needed, which is great. Surgical options are always available but must be thought through carefully and undertaken for the right reasons," says Chatwin.

Chatwin says it is great to see that Kiwi women were taking care of their skin for themselves: "It's very wise to do things for ourselves first. If we feel good in our skins we are more able to cope with and look after the needs of family members and friends."

The survey was carried out in conjunction with the launch of Olay Regenerist Night Resurfacing Elixir - which is said to deliver results comparable to a professional light chemical peel within seven days.**

 

*Olay Regenerist Beauty Poll
**Based on a randomised split face study conducted with 92 women over 14 days