How often do you buy a product just for the packaging? How often does it work out (the product itself)?
Very rarely! I’m not too drawn in by packaging, and a lot of times, I am suspect of anything that might seem like it’s trying to appeal based on its packaging!
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I admit, it’s part of the reason I bought YSL Rouge Volupte #17 Red Muse on Saturday. The other part being it’s a good red lipstick. 😉
If I every buy something just for the packaging, an YSL lipstick might be just that thing. They are truly gorgeous!!
I agree!
I know I am! When the packaging is pretty, then I have to have it.;)
95% of the time….I answered this- in the question…what made me fall in love with makeup.
It’s the packaging. Not matter how good the product is or how cheap it may cost, if the packaging is not there, forget about it. If the product take it out of the packaging, and it is in a tube of lipstick or on a metal pan for blush/ eyeshadow…you have no way really of knowing the brand IN GENERAL…
I am lusting for all those Japanese brands because of the packaging.
It is all eye candy for me…..and I only buy the brand names so the quality is irrelevant.
Almost never, because I’m usually looking for something specific (color, texture, finish) and look more at that than packaging or brand..
I say “almost” because Tokidoki eye shadows totally drew me in with the cute little heart/skull compacts and I ended up buying 3 of them 🙂 It worked out well because I love them!
same here!
almost never, but tokidoki’s just tooooooo cute, I ended up buying their eyeshadows, blushes and brushes, just for the fun of it:)
Oh God, all the time. I splashed out on a lot of Etude House and Liz Lisa stuff just because they were so princessy as well as a Paul & Joe fairytale set even though it didn’t get good reviews.
I fall for the packaging wayyyy tooooo often! 😐
Sometimes, partly because I do repurpose. I’m using an Anna Sui lip balm tin as a pill case, for example, and it works really well.
I think there’s a difference between being a makeup collector and a makeup hoarder. I fall into the latter category. I LOVE makeup and I want to use what I have and I also want to have all of the colors/textures to use. Consequently, I’d never be a person to buy makeup just to look at and never use. I know that’s more extreme than the question is asking about, but I think it definitely relates. Plus, I’m a poor college kiddo and I’d rather buy something that’s amazing quality but has lack-luster packaging over a poor performing product with intricate packaging, or even over a well performing product with intricate or beautiful packaging since that tends to drive the price up.
Sometimes I buy for the packaging alone with out considering the contents, most often packaging that I can find another use for after the product is spent. Powder compacts and containers are a favorite of mine. Clinique used to have the best packages for re-purposing, I still have at least a half dozen tiny green pot gloss jars and I still use them for holding earring backs, Vaseline, blended lipstick and pills. The silver tone shadow cases that open like matchboxes, are perfect for q-tips or gum and are etchible. So when I can I do buy the pretty packaging, and if the product is good, even better.
Hardly ever… I’m more interested in the content than the packaging itself
Never. I buy makeup and other products for the contents, not the packaging, with the possible exception of something that is packaged in such a way as to be really convenient or function really well. I don’t like a lot of the LE packaging that MAC has come out with over the years – I find most of it to look cheap and tacky and I resent paying more for LE packaging since it’s not a motivating factor for me. The packaging for Venomous Villains a few years ago is a good example – it looked cheap and childish (I’m a grown woman, for crying out loud, and don’t want to be using stuff that looks like it came from Mattel!)
I never buy products for packaging. It seems like a waste to me. I care about the product, not what it comes in. As long as the product is secure, I don’t want to waste money.
If I’m already interested in the product and it has nice packaging I’m more likely to purchase it, but if it’s a mediocre product or something I don’t need I won’t buy it just cuz of the packaging. On the other hand if I don’t like the packaging I’m less likely to buy the product even if it’s good quality.
I’m only drawn to packaging when it comes to MAC lipsticks. I also have to like the lipstick color as well.
I wish I had your self control when it comes to pretty packaging lol! I’m such a sucker for pretty makeup! Especially special packaging. MAC gets me every time lol
Packaging plays little part in my decision, but I do like pulling out a glamorous lipstick case if doing touch ups say in the loo while out at a fine dine.
While I wouldn’t buy a product just for the packaging, if it does have something that I will use, I might buy an attractively packaged product.
For instance, I’ve been lusting after the Nars Luminous Moisture Travel Set as the packaging in photos look good (though I haven’t seen it in person) but I haven’t, yet.
I can’t say I have ever! Until recently I didn’t have much disposable income set aside for frivolous purchases so packaging isn’t a good enough reason. I’ve been tempted though.
I´m not ashamed that sometimes I do.
I have a little more makeup than I really need, so, buy some things just for the cute and beautiful packaging seems ok to me. Prettify my collection, I think. Almost like a guilty pleasure.
This week I bought Yves Saint Laurent Rue de Babylone Blush for the Parisian Nite Collection just for the packaging, because pink doll shades aren´t the best for my yellow undertone skin, but I jus´t can´t skip that luxury heart golden packaging anyway. Either way, for my lucky, it is a quality product.
I don’t usually choose just based on packaging, but if it’s a great product in great packaging I’ll be happier to fork over a little more money. The only thing that’s breaking that habit for me is the Tarte Colored Clay palette, because I’ve always been a sucker for agate, and that thing is beautiful!
I think I’m more prone to buy a lotion or body wash with alluring packaging. Even if the product isn’t always 10/10, it still seems like a treat to use because it looks fancy. Products like that make great gifts too. (I know I always love to receive something in pretty packaging!)
However, for anything that I actually use on my face, I would never buy it for the packaging alone. I always do my research before I commit to new makeup or facial skincare. It’s a bonus when a great brand can create pretty packaging though! (Like Too Faced or Tarte)
I’m an artist, so I love design. I’m a sucker for cute packaging. 🙂 Luckily, it’s not hard to pass on things that don’t perform well, because there are so many great reviews out there! (Thank you!) I usually pull out my phone and do a review search for anything I’m considering if I’m out shopping.
Yeah, same here. I do pass if the quality is awful, but the packaging greatly influences my purchasing if I know the quality is good too. I also pull out my phone for reviews if I only stumbled across it then and there. Lol.
I never buy a product because of the packaging but I have passed on products because of the packaging. Case in point in the Book of Shadows III — and I love Urban Decay products. When I heard it was being released and on sale at Ulta, I ran to get it during my lunch hour. But once I saw how ridiculous and unnecessary the packaging was, I passed.
I’ve bought a lot of makeup products simply for the packaging. I’m such a sucker for nice packaging, haha! But I have to admit, about half of the time, the quality of the actual products don’t live up to the hype which is very disappointing.
Not always, but… I do have a soft spot for Givenchy packaging! 😀
I wouldn’t say it’s my SOLE purpose for purchasing. I wouldn’t buy something with a neat package that I didn’t like the product. I am more drawn to try out stuff in cool packaging, but if the quality’s not there I won’t buy it. I will however pass on something decent with crappy packaging unless I can depot easily.
I rarely buy anything *just* for the packaging, but cute packaging can sometimes tip the balance between two otherwise similar products I’m considering.
Never.
Not often. I don’t want to buy a makeup item just to look at its packaging.
More often than I should. You saved me from Tarte’s Amazonian Butter Lipstick though, because the photos of that tube made my do grabby hands at my computer screen, but the review was bad enough to talk me out of it.
Your review wasn’t enough to talk me out of the Sephora Little Mermaid quad palette though… I never use it, but my heart wanted a piece of that collection
Well, if you look at it and love it anyway, it’s not so bad 🙂 You could remove all of the eyeshadow and press your favorite loose eyeshadows into it? I mean, yeah, waste of what was inside, but if you never use it anyway…
At least that was LE!
I’ve bought a couple of the Vaseline Lip Therapies because they are adorable miniature vaseline tubs. They work well on me, too. Plus, we’re talking about a $2 product, tops. That’s honestly the only thing I think I’ve bought just for packaging.
Never – the product inside has to have some sort of attraction for me! Most of the products that we get here that put that sort of effort into their packaging are too expensive to take a risk on the product being useless!
Especially since most cool packaging is still only plastic and cardboard.
My makeup is a beautiful calming morning process for me. It feels almost like a tea ritual with the care and beauty that shows in each step. I enjoy the process of choosing colors and textures and then carefully applying the satiny powders with a soft, exquisitely crafted brush. A beautifully housed eyeshadow greatly adds to the experience, so yes packaging is very important to me because of how I use makeup. I don’t want to feel stressed later in the day about running makeup, so quality is important, but my primary goal is to immerse myself in the application.
I like your view of makeup a lot.
Never; I always go for the product itself, not the packaging!
I wouldn’t typically buy something for solely the package that I may not be able to use. The only exception was a Claire’s lipbalm, because it wasn’t crazy expensive and it had an owl on it, and I have an owl problem :D. I bought that not knowing the taste, and I’m quite picky… but it turned out to be an amazing not too sweet grape :).
About other products, if it makes me even a bit curious, I can be convinced into buying the thing with nice packaging.
More often than not. I’m drawn to products that are beautifully packaged, especially if they’re made by Guerlain. I guess luck’s on my side, because I love and enjoy every single product I own. 🙂
I already have a hard time justifying buying makeup. I love it, but I don’t wear it very often, so its more of a frivolous treat. I like a nice looking package as much as the next person, and its interesting to see different companies choices in aesthetics, but if the packaging alone jacks up the price of a product, and the product isn’t that great to begin with, it feels like a waste. Makeup is what I’m buying. It is the product, it is meant to be worn. Not to be kept hidden away while the pretty container is on display (unintentional dropping of mad rhymes) . If an $18+ product performs like a $12- product, it doesn’t instill a lot of confidence in me about the company’s priorities. I wont hold it against an indie company if they cant afford anything fancy yet!
Rarely, if ever. We’re all somewhat affected by packaging. I know Smashbox Master Class II is a really good palette but I’ve come across a lot of criticism of the flimsy packaging being a turn off. Whimsical or sophisticated packaging may likewise be a turn on. Ultimately though, the product is what I’m after and I’ll change the packaging myself if I have to.
Sometimes. Last thing I bought for the packaging was Poudre Signee de Chanel.
Yes, but I’m more of a ‘wow that’s so sleek’ rather than ‘wow that’s so cute’. I bought the UD Naked Basics Palette mostly because of how compact and efficient it looked. When Christine’s review described it as ‘credit card sized’ I was sold. Fortunately I’ve forced myself to actually use the damn thing now and I’ve found I like it for what it actually does too.
I always have to talk myself out of NARS eyeshadows (which I haven’t generally been wowed by) because I love the tiny compacts the singles come in. I think it’s because they’re rectangular, because MAC and UD single eyeshadow packaging is meh to me, even though it’s just as functional (arguably more so because you can see the colour).
I’m sure I’ve been guilty of it a couple of times, but it’s not what draws me in. The only aspect of buying something because of packing is functionality. If, for example, a pressed powder is notorious for shattering in your purse, I won’t buy it no matter how sleek it looks. Everytime I hear someone talking about their YSL lipsticks, the first thing they say is how beautiful the packaging is, but that’s not enough for me to drop the money on it.
Rarely. I do admire packaging sometimes, but I won’t typically buy something because of that.
More often than I ‘d like to admit and depending on the brand. I know I don’t “need” these products because if I have a few with some variation, my “needs” are met. However, when I fall in love with the packaging from a brand I love I decide to splurge even when I am repeating colors. It’s actually kind of sad and I worry about myself. Lol.
i don’t buy things based off of packaging either, i could careless about what it looks like since it just gets stuffed in a drawer when i’m done using it all i care about is if the product is good. Although benefit, tarte and urban decay packaging really turns me off because it seems very juvenile to me.
I would never buy a product that I wouldn’t use just for the packaging. But I definitely prefer sleek, compact packaging. (MUFE, Nars.) I won’t avoid, but I won’t gravitate towards something if I think it’s too flashy or cutesy for me. (Ysl, UD.)
I don’t think I’ve ever bought something for its packaging. I tend to buy things I know will work for me and have worked for other people, if it has pretty packaging that’s just a bonus!
Ultimately, I buy because of the colour or of a swatch I’ve seen on the internet. But good or original packaging absolutely pays tribute to my buying process. For instance, I bought my YSL Rouge Volupte lipstick because of the quality and colour, however the luxurious outer tube made me want to photograph it and blog about it and show it off basically! xo