Here's Why & How You Buy Beauty Products

How important are labels to you? You probably wrinkle your nose at the thought of labels running your life (I know I do). The truth is we live, die, and buy by them. According to a new study from Nielsen, we buy beauty products according to label buzzwords.

Nielson set out to find what beauty label claims consumers find most important, and also what label buzzwords entice us to pay more for a product.

According to Nielsen, whether the labels are true, clear, or reflect regulatory standards, it's not that important to us. The company polled 1,000 adults from every living generation to learn more about what motivates their purchases in the beauty aisle.

Forty six percent of consumers are willing to pay more for a beauty product labeled "all natural," even though the term is vague and unregulated. A product labeled "all natural" could very well be "all chemical," but the label alone is enough to entice buyers.

While we are likely to cough up more dough for an "all natural" labeled product, an overwhelming 57 percent of polled consumers said a label that claims the product is "not tested on animals" is the most important factor in the beauty products they buy.

What we are willing to pay more for, and what we most value in a product label, is not exactly the same. Nielsen's survey suggests that consumers are willing to pay more money for natural products, products with SPF, anti-aging and skim firming language in the label, in that order. However, we most value a product labeled as not tested on animals, contains SPF, is all natural, and is cruelty-free, respectively.

As it turns out, we like a little lip service in our lip products. Consumers want to feel good about product choices, but not at the expense of our budgets. Oh, silly humans.

Still, these findings are important to retailers and businesses. The more beauty retailers know how and why we buy, the better they will hopefully create products and then market them (as opposed to just, say, market).

You can read more about the Nielsen findings here.