U.S. is second cheapest market for beauty products, says study

By

Robin Driver

Published
Jan 11, 2021

According to a report published by cosmetics price comparison platform Cosmetify, the U.S. is one of the most affordable markets in which to buy beauty products, coming in second only to Canada.  

 
Entitled “The Cost of Beauty Around the World,” Cosmetify’s report is based on the comparison of the prices of five iconic beauty products in 50 countries around the world.
 
Tracked products included Chanel No 5 Eau De Parfum, MAC Cosmetics Retro Matte Lipstick, Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Makeup SPF10, Anastasia Beverly Hills DipBrow Pomade, and NARS Sheer Glow Foundation. The prices of the products in each market were then converted into GBP and totaled for comparison.

The cheapest beauty market was found to be Canada, where the total price of all five products came to CAD$337, or £197.​74, followed by the U.S., where the total was US$265, or £201.​67. Third place was taken by Turkey, with a total of £214.​43, while Mexico and Malaysia came in fourth and fifth, with totals of £216.​90 and £217.​24, respectively.
 
At the other end of the scale, China, where buying the five products would set you back £316.34, was identified as the most expensive beauty market. Thailand (£300.​68) and Taiwan (£290.​26) were the next most expensive markets, while the United Arab Emirates (£267.​54) and Denmark (£261.07) rounded out the top five.
 
Cosmetify also named the most and least expensive markets in which to buy each individual product. The U.S. and Mexico were the cheapest markets for Anastasia Beverly Hills DipBrow Pomade, which costs US$21, or £16, in the two countries. The price of the product was highest in the Netherlands, where it costs €26.99, or £24.27.
 
Canada was found to be the cheapest market in which to buy both Chanel No 5 Eau De Parfum and Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Makeup SPF10, which cost CAD$172 (£100.​92) and CAD$52 (£30.51), respectively. By comparison, the most expensive market for the fragrance was China (£174.​34), while Taiwan was the priciest market for the Estée Lauder product (£52.70).
 
China was also found to be the most expensive market in which to buy NARS Sheer Glow Foundation, which sells for £56.20 in the country. The product was cheapest in Malaysia, where it is priced at £33.31. Finally, the price of MAC Cosmetics Retro Matte Lipstick was the lowest in Turkey, where it sells for the equivalent of £11.18, and highest in Thailand, where it is almost twice as expensive, at £22.12.