There are some products which will always be flying off the shelves no matter how highly priced they keep getting. Beauty products fall into this category.
In light of the National Budget read yesterday, Kenyans will now have to spend more on cosmetics and beauty products due to the 10% excise duty charge levied upon these products.
Cosmetics range from lipstick, lip liners, skin foundation and powders, eye shadow and pencils, mascara and so on. While beauty products include skin lotions, shampoos, hair styling products and perfumes.
The sale of these cosmetics and beauty products has been on an all time high owing to a boom in the local beauty industry. We are seeing more Kenyans appreciate careers as make-up artists, hairstylists and skin care specialists. We are seeing a greater demand for masters in beauty and cosmetology from the Entertainment industry, Film industry and Wedding/events industry. Industries and individuals are so thirsty for a taste of this beauty fad that price hikes do not deter them at all.
I recently went down river road and was awed by the number of beauty shops lining the busy stretch. All the matchbox sized stalls were stocked to the roofs with all sorts of cosmetics and beauty products. Some shops even had stunningly beautiful ladies welcome you from the streets and offer you a free make up tutorial.
For my ‘African freckles’ those black spots on my high cheek bones, I was offered a snail cream. Yes, a cream extracted from snails! It is said to be the best from Japan and if used twice daily for one month, my skin would be spotless and beaming. All at a very pocket friendly price, the offer was quite tempting indeed. I took it, and I am still waiting for the miracle.
Since ancient days, women have gone to great lengths to achieve flawless beauty. The Egyptians would use coal to enhance the beauty of their eyes and ward off evil spirits. In Europe, Leeches were placed on the skin to suck off blood leaving the lady with a paler look which was considered stunningly beautiful. Well, it comes as no surprise that we now have beauty spa’s where little fish make our feet super smooth, bird poop in body lotion and snail extract as a face cream.
Clearly, the beauty industry is unshakeable and the most innovation takes place within it. However, while it is wonderful to enhance our natural beauty let us be careful in the type of products we pick from the shelves and slather on our skins because there are definitely a myriad of counterfeit products flooding the market, some even containing harmful skin bleaching chemicals.
Get professional advice on what products to use based on you unique skin type and stick to the time tested stuff that work best for you, of course from legitimate sellers. Always remember, once the damage is done then the cost of beauty will become even costlier than you ever imagined.
