I think it’s safe to say, if you were to look inside any woman’s purse you would find at least one cosmetic/beauty product— lip gloss, eye liner, pressed powder—if not more. Women don’t leave home without “it”. In fact, a study performed by Superdrug, a U.K. cosmetic store, reported 70 percent of women don’t leave the house without their makeup essentials, and 50 percent of those women wear makeup 24/7. What’s more is 40 percent of woman won’t even go to a friend’s house or see a co-worker without makeup on. Makeup seems to do more than offer enhanced beauty or a cover-up for blemishes; it appears to function as a crutch as well.
The deceiving thing about cosmetic purchases is they can often get lumped in with the grocery budget, i.e., while purchasing household items such as toilet paper and laundry soap, or grocery items such as blueberries and bread, shoppers also throw mascara or lip gloss into the cart. As a result, money spent on cosmetic/beauty products doesn’t seem to amount to much. However, Daily Mail (U.K.) said the average woman spends approximately $180 every 12 months on cosmetics, a total of $13,000 in her lifetime; more specifically, $1,466 on lipstick, $3,120 on mascara and $2,274 on eye shadow. So that $8 mascara and $10 lip gloss, plus the money spent at the cosmetic counter for other beauty paraphernalia can really add up.