The Beauty Industry’s Dirty Secrets
The beauty industry keeps growing, showing no signs of slowing down. Its current global value sits at over 500 billion dollars and is expected to grow another 5% by 2030.
And in a world full of economic bubbles and instability, it’s oddly comforting to know that beauty thrives even in periods of uncertainty.
But here’s the truth no one likes to say out loud:
Behind the glamour and luxury lies a system built on half-truths, inflated narratives, and carefully hidden tricks.
Beauty has become a currency — a requirement, even — in a culture obsessed with looks-maxing and aesthetic perfection. And with demand higher than ever, brands have never enjoyed such a steady stream of paying clients. Children using adult actives, teens contouring like seasoned pros, men wearing boy makeup… It’s a frenzy.
And when there is frenzy, corporations act accordingly.
As someone who has loved beauty all my life — and worked directly with many of these influential brands — I’ve seen more than enough to be wise to the tricks. And what better time than Black Friday madness to help my readers navigate the dirty little secrets of the beauty industry?
Let’s begin.
Companies Only Sell the Beauty
What most clients don’t realize is that very few beauty brands actually manufacture their own products.
In many cases, the formulas belong to their suppliers. Companies then tweak them — a new fragrance, a waterproof version, a long-lasting finish — and sell them as entirely unique innovations.
Meaning:
your favorite luxury product could be nearly identical to a drugstore formula from another brand using the same supplier.
Once you know this, a lot makes sense.
Corporations Who Own Multiple Brands
Owning multiple brands isn’t inherently unethical. Where the problem begins is in the fine print.
When a large company acquires a smaller one, they also buy the formulas. They can then repackage these formulas and sell them across multiple brands at different price points.
That incredible high-end mascara?
It may be almost identical to the drugstore version — perhaps with a different fragrance and fancier packaging.
Which brings us to…
You’re Paying for Packaging First
High-end brands are the guiltiest here.
That elegant compact with the magnetic clasp?
The packaging alone often costs more than double the cost of the product inside it.
Sometimes the decorative box — the wrapping — costs more than both the packaging and the product combined.
Luxury often means:
you’re paying for the box, not the formula.
Reformulations Are Always a Bad Sign
Brands will tell you that reformulations mean:
better ingredients
less irritation
improved performance
But the truth is usually more practical — and far less glamorous.
Often an ingredient becomes unavailable, too expensive, or worse: illegal (think the recent talc issues). And when reformulations happen, you’ll notice two things every single time:
The amount of product decreases.
The price increases.
That’s what “progress” looks like for a corporation.
What Really Happens When Brands Grow Bigger
Whenever a new beauty brand begins having widespread success, one of the major beauty retailers inevitably takes notice and offers them a section or gondola in their stores.
For beginning brands, this feels like a lifeline — access to a wider audience, increased visibility, and a kind of validation that says: you’ve made it.
But along with this opportunity comes a hidden cost.
Large retailers take a significant cut of the brand’s profits. To compensate, many companies begin quietly reducing the cost of their formulations — cheaper base ingredients, less expensive actives, modified textures.
In other words:
the product changes long before the brand ever admits it.
This is why when smaller brands expand nationwide or globally, their original loyal customers often notice something is “slightly off” in the products they once loved.
They’re not imagining it.
Behind the scenes, the formula has been altered to increase profit margins under the weight of retail demands.
Using Rare Botanical Extracts
Higher-end skincare brands love this trick.
They know most consumers can’t read — or don’t know how to interpret — ingredient lists. Rare botanical extracts sound luxurious, but here’s the catch:
They often appear in very low percentages (far too low to be effective).
Some botanical extracts can actually cause reactions.
The ingredient list is ordered by concentration — so if the extract is at the bottom, it’s marketing, not science.
Green tea is a wonderful antioxidant, yes.
But if there’s barely 2% in your cream, do you truly think it will change your skin?
Fragrances Today Are More Chemical Than Ever
Companies hide their fragrance blend under a single word — “fragrance” or “perfume.”
The justification is “protecting intellectual property.” The result?
A legal loophole allowing brands to hide dozens of chemicals behind a single word.
You have no way of knowing what’s in that blend.
This is why, in my opinion, the best skincare is fragrance-free. Not as sensual — but far better for the skin.
Another truth:
brands often add strong fragrance to mask the unpleasant scent of their base formula.
If it smells too good to be true… it probably is.
Gift With Purchase
The beauty giants adore this.
Spend more than you planned, and you “earn” a cosmetic bag filled with samples. But:
samples have no retail value
they’re not customized
you’re essentially paying for things you could have received free on counter
and you’re adding another cosmetic bag to the pile
It’s an old tactic — but still wildly effective — for getting consumers to overspend.
Scarcity in Beauty
Manufactured scarcity is one of the industry’s favorite tricks.
Limited editions. Exclusive drops. “Back by popular demand.” All designed to create:
urgency
hype
fear of missing out
Once the product sells out, demand spikes, and companies can raise the price if they choose.
It’s psychological manipulation, wrapped in a pretty package.
Promising More Than the Product Can Deliver
This one frustrates me the most.
Test studies showing “65% of women saw improvement” mean very little without context. And here’s the basic truth:
Any product you buy off the shelf can only influence the first two layers of your skin.
Your skin has seven layers.
Meaning:
wrinkles
sagging
discoloration
cannot be “erased” by a cream alone. Real change requires:
lifestyle
nutrition
or medical intervention
Creams help — but they don’t perform miracles. Beware of tall tales.
Why I Wrote This Blog
I don’t want to single out specific brands.
The point is not to shame — but to educate.
These practices are everywhere, across nearly the entire industry. And consumers deserve honesty. Beauty should be empowering, not manipulative.
My hope is that this blog helps you navigate the beauty world with more clarity, skepticism, and discernment.
Interested in Learning More?
I just launched my first Educational Collection, featuring four guides for makeup artists — including the brand-new Kit Building for the Professional Makeup Artist.
Inside, you’ll find my thoughts on over 220 products across budget, luxury, and Canadian brands.
If you’d like to explore the Collection, click below.
(All guides available in both English and French.)
