Price of cosmetics is not a pretty sight

COSMETICS: The euro-sterling price difference on the same make-up products is often massive

THE CURRENCY conversion battle is being waged on multiple fronts with few retailers doing business in the Republic able to sidestep accusations of ripping consumers off. Even in such a climate, Kirstie McDermott of Irish beauty blog, beaut.ie, can’t help but marvel at the wild discrepancies between prices at home and abroad when it comes to cosmetics.

“If you look at sterling, and then at dollars, then at euro, you think, ‘wow, we really are getting ripped off’,” she says. In 2006, Ireland had a per capita spend of €133 on cosmetics and toiletry products – a figure that jars with what we all know of women and their make-up habits.

With foundations coming in at a hefty €40 – and requiring replacement biennially – the real spend is probably much higher. But it need not be as hefty as it is; Irish women buying cosmetics locally end up paying well above the international average due to a significant mark-up during the currency conversion process. It’s not as transparent as one would imagine, either. “Because the market’s too small, no company will provide transactional websites,” says McDermott. “You can see what the UK prices are, but you can’t see what it costs here.”

Until, that is, you go to buy. Mac is one of the most popular brands with Irish women – “they just love it”, says McDermott – but the price differential between products here and in the UK is massive. Lipstick retails on the UK website at £12.50 (€13.75) but, at a Mac counter in Ireland, you’ll pay €17.50 so we’re paying an extra €3.75 for each lipstick – and this difference is shown across the board in premium cosmetics brands.

US firm Benefit is stocked in Brown Thomas and BT2, and serves up kitsch packaging with wearable products – as well as a variety of quirky palettes and gift ideas that are ideal for almost any occasion, but a quick look at the prices on its home turf versus those being paid here leaves a very bad taste in the mouth.

Their newest product is entitled Confessions of a Concealaholic, and is a box set of concealing products targeted at your “inner concealaholic”, according to the website. But it might as well be targeted at the depths of your bank account, because a product that costs $36 (€26.30) retails at €39.50 in Ireland – that’s a difference of €13.20 on a single boxed product.

Can consumers do anything to ensure they’re getting the biggest bang for their buck? Most cosmetics websites won’t ship to the Republic, especially if they’re UK-based (although they will ship to Northern Ireland), and those that do are generally based in the US, so customers are liable to pay VAT on any purchases made over €22.

“Strawberrynet.com is a site that we advocate a lot,” says McDermott. “It’s based in Hong Kong, so customers are liable to pay VAT, but the site will actually refund it if you e-mail them the docket – but there’s also a long delivery time, and a chance that they won’t have what you’re looking for.

“We are really screwed, price-wise, here,” she says. “A lot of brands will add up to 30 or 40 per cent. So what we’re seeing is people looking at Bobbi Brown, for example, in Brown Thomas, and calling House of Fraser in Belfast and having their items posted down.”

In fact, the cheaper brands, according to McDermott, are more likely to be closer to reality in their euro-sterling (or dollar) exchange rates. “In any case, it’s less noticeable with cheaper brands,” she says. “But premium, high-end beauty – the prices are incredible.”

And the more popular brands are the ones that are most difficult to find at cheaper prices. Discount websites, such as Strawberrynet, often stock items that haven’t sold in-store or off company’s websites, but their stock is limited. “You don’t see brands like Bobbi Brown or Mac showing up on those sites,” says McDermott. “Really covetable stuff just doesn’t end up online. It can be really difficult to find and I wouldn’t recommend eBay because it abounds with fakes. Often, you just have to bite the bullet and spend the money.”

But the economic decline in the past year has seen people looking to cut their spending budgets – and the cosmetics industry is not immune to the effects of the downturn. “Nobody wants to save on things like foundations – items you wear every day – but people are looking for duplicates, the same colour and same formulation, at a cheaper price.”

While we are increasingly turning to the internet for our shopping needs, cosmetics is one area where trialling a product is, more often than not, a necessity – so unless the customer knows exactly the product they’re looking for, buying online is not a viable option.

Cosmetics brands are aware of this catch-22, and have us exactly, as the best clichés would say, where they want us. “It’s what the market will take,” says McDermott. “And we’ll take it. We refused to take it with fashion and many retailers have taken down the prices, and that needs to happen with beauty too. It’s not to say that Irish women don’t love these brands, because they do – but they’re starting to feel a bit ill-used at this stage, and the brands should take note.”