Custom Palettes: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
- Calissa Cathcart
- Nov 23, 2020
- 4 min read
Youtube video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh3ck1yAiAw
My Mom and I seem to always have a cycle of gift-giving; every year, I like to buy her a new eyeshadow palette. Then, the next year I get the same palette back with all the colours she hasn’t used, for which I use until it's empty.
The Dilemma
This is a very common issue for many - you love most of the colours in a palette, but end up throwing away the rest. Buying single eyeshadow colours is an option, but it is much more expensive than buying twelve colours together, even if you don’t use a few in a set. A research study by Vaseline has shown that women waste an average of over 5,000 cosmetic products, with a value of $300,000 (crazy, we know!) over their lifetime. In addition, the study showed that most women only use a fraction of the products they own regularly, deeming the majority of women “beauty hoarders”. Why are these numbers so high? Unused products are the main culprit, and expiration dates are a huge factor in disposing cosmetics. Most liquid cosmetics (like foundation and mascara) only have a three month to one year lifetime, and powders only last between six months and two years.
More cosmetic companies have introduced custom palettes to tackle this waste problem. I decided to try it out and document my findings. So, I went to Sephora looking for refillable palettes… I could only find two brands that offered them in-store as many refillable programs are only offered online.
I found Anastasia Beverly Hills and Make Up For Ever. Make Up For Ever has an extensive custom line where you can mix face contouring (such as blush, highlighter, bronzer) and eyeshadow shades in the same palette. Anastasia offers only custom eyeshadow palettes, which is the brand I decided to try.
Buying Process
I grabbed an empty palette, then chose four colours I liked (plus an additional one to swap in). When one purchases four eyeshadow refills, they get the palette for free, and a significant discount on the shades. In total, the palette with four colours costs $42, with an original value of $72. This is pricey, considering how consumers can get a full palette of fourteen shades for $60! Indeed this is a large drawback of custom packaging as they are more expensive upfront than regular palettes since the palette itself is made to last. However, this refilling process costs me less in the long run because I only have to pick up a $16 shade instead of buying a whole new $60 palette when I want to try a new colour.
When I was shopping, I also noticed the display being quite messy, which doesn’t advertise a premium brand very well. When I was trying to find the colours I wanted, an associate came to help and apologized for the mess. She explained that the display is hard to maintain and keep organized, since all the shades are easily mixed up. This is because customers are the ones finding and putting away the shades they find, and not necessarily replacing them in the proper ‘bucket’.
Less Product Waste
There is no product waste with respect to the eyeshadow colours (except the little tin) and the palette which can be reused. Choosing only colours one would regularly use greatly reduces the likelihood of the makeup reaching expiration. I also enjoy having a smaller palette, as it’s travel-sized and convenient to carry around. As a result, it pushes me to be smart and intentional with my colour choices. This additional process is exactly what living sustainably stands for: consuming products in a thoughtful manner.
All! The! Packaging!!!
A huge downfall I noticed with this system is the amount of packaging used! As you can see in the video, I bought five colours and the empty palette. Each colour had a plastic cover around it, and the black ‘envelope’… both of which are not recyclable. This is unfortunate, because it defeats the purpose of reducing waste. If someone is willing to pay a premium to eliminate product waste, they are also expecting sustainable packaging. If I were to buy a single-use palette on the other hand, I only have one box of packaging to dispose of… so which is really causing more waste?
Moving Forward
The two problems I have explained above can be solved through better design and implementation strategies. I believe a cosmetic bar, or hidden drawer type set up would solve both problems, because only associates would have access to the products. This would eliminate the need for the black envelope packaging, since customers would be ‘ordering’ their shades. This would also solve the disorganization issue, and would increase sanitation due to limited access.
In retrospect, although this customizable palette system has its benefits and drawbacks, this is certainly going in the right direction of reducing product waste and promoting conscious consumption. Next, brands have to follow-up with reducing their waste in packaging to truly be effective in this new system. With the increased demand of sustainable products and packaging, innovation will only get better from here!
**This blog post is not meant to criticize any brands named. We are using these as examples of the current refillable cosmetics available and describing our observations.**
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