Behind The Beauty Super Brand: Who Owns What?

This is the third installment of my make-up manufacturing and superbrands secrets series. In this post, I will tell you who owns what - which conglomerates have control over the smaller brands. Keep in mind that this market is always changing so who owns what today, may not own it tomorrow. 

L'Oréal

Founded in 1909 by advertising mogul Eugène Schueller, French personal care and research company L'Oréal is a popular international superbrand. L'Oréal's diverse portfolio is abundant with world-wide brands that covers all the lines of cosmetics including make-up, skincare and haircare. Their brands cater to men and women of all ages and races. They even have professional labels for those working in the beauty industry. L'Oréal also indulges people with longer purse strings with their luxury range of L'Oréal Luxe. Their brands include L'Oréal Paris, Lancôme, IT Cosmetics, Giorgio Armani beauty, Yves Saint Laurent, Biotherm, Essie, Ralph Lauren fragrances, Keihl's, Shu Uemura, Cacharel, Viktor & Rolf, Helena Rubenstien, Urban Decay, Clarisonic, Diesel, Guy Laroche, Garnier, Softsheen Carson, Maybelline, Paloma Picasso, Redkin, Biotherm, The Body Shop, EM Michelle Phan, Kérastase, Stella McCartney, Vichy, Dermablend, Decléor, La Roche Posay, Ombrelle, Maison Martin Margiela, Innéov, Skinceuticals, Roger & Gallet, Sanoflore, Magic, Créateurs de Beauté,  Carita, Sanoflore, PureOlogy Research, Yue Sai, Drakkar noir, L'Oréal Technique, IT Cosmetics, L'Oréal Professionnel, ARTec, Innate, Kéraskin Esthetics, Matrix Essentials, Mizani, Elvive.

Behind The Beauty Super Brand: Who Owns What?

Coty, Inc

In 1904, François Coty founded Coty, a global beauty company which covers make-up fragrances and skincare and is manufactured in many facilities all over the world. Did anyone else associate Coty with products that would make your eyes fall out? I did. They have come a long way since their bargain basement products - they are all slightly less cheap now and less likely for consumers to be hesitant about their cosmetics. Their brands include Bourjois, Rimmel, Calvin Klein perfumes, Natica, Chloé, Lady Gaga, CK One Color, Bottega Veneta, Chopard, David & Victoria Beckham, Tjoy, Marc Jacobs, Davidoff, Astor, Manhattan, Guess, Joop!, Tonino Lamborghini, Nicole By OPI, Adidas, Balenciaga, Playboy, Beyoncé, Miss Sporty, NYC New York Color, OPI, Vespa, Celine Dion, Stetson, Jovan, Roberto Cavalli, Katy Perry, Cerruti, Vivienne Westwood, Enrique Iglesias, Jennifer Lopez, Kate Moss, Nikos, Pierre Cardin, Halle Berry, Lancaster, Madonna, Philosophy, Vera Wang, Tim McGraw, Sally Hansen. As of late 2014, Coty acquired Bourjois. 

Behind The Beauty Super Brand: Who Owns What?

Avon Products, Inc

Avon is an American international manufacturer and corporation specializing in the candid selling techniques of beauty and personal care products. Beginning in 1886 as a two man door-to-door company, Avon was initially established as the California Perfume Company. Avon's brands are easier to navigate than others as they are contained within their monthly brochures. As well as celebrity endorsements within Avon, brands include Mark, Anew Beauty, Smooth Minerals, Extra Lasting, Nailwear Pro, Anew Men, Anew, Avon Elements, Solutions, Cearskin, Planet Spa, Foot Works, Advance Techniques, Avon Care, Skin So Soft, Moisture Therapy, Naturals, Color Trends, Supershock.

Behind The Beauty Super Brand: Who Owns What?

Kryolan

Kryolan launched in Berlin theatres in 1945. It has since expanded to an international market and is well known for their special effects and high defintion make-up for film and television.  Kryolan own and manufacture all of their own cosmetics. They also have a silent interest in Illamasqua, the brand synonomous for illusion and masquerade. Illamasqua is owned by marketing agent Julian Kynaston but his products are largely manufactured by Kryolan. It was difficult to find out if Kryolan has shares in Illamasqua or if they have interests in other brands so this is all that is available now. 

Behind The Beauty Super Brand: Who Owns What?

Wertheimer Brothers

In the 1870s, Pierre Wertheimer bought shares the French cosmetics company Bourjois, the inventor of the first dry blush. By 1917, Pierre and his brother Paul owned Bourjois entirely, emphasizing the strong ideology of a family business. In 1924, Coco Chanel approached the brothers to help extend the sales of her perfumes. By the end of WW2, the Wertheimer brothers had full control of Chanel perfumes. Today Chanel is owned by Alain and Gérard, the grandsons of Pierre (Bourjois was sold to Coty in shares in late 2014). They also inherited a thoroughbred race horsing operation from their father Jacques. Together they have interests in Bell & Ross and also own Eres Lingerie, Tanner Krolle, Holland & Holland and a number of French vineyards. They also own a number of fine French ateliers specializing in crafts such as millinery, embroidery and feather & flower making. 

Behind The Beauty Super Brand: Who Owns What?

Shiseido

Shiseido is a major Japanese cosmetics group founded in 1872. It's subsidiaries include Aupres, Ayura, Bare Escentuals, Beauté Prestige International, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Issey Miyake, Narciso Rodriguez, Elie Saab, Azzedine Alaïa, Clé de Peau, d-program, Aqualabel, Za, IPSA, ISO Hair, Joico, NARS Cosmetics, Qiora, Revital, Senscience, Serge Lutens, UNO, UV White, Zotos International.

Behind The Beauty Super Brand: Who Owns What?

FB Beauty & Tam Beauty

FB Beauty formerly owned by the Wormser Group is currently owned by Adam Minto, a business man who also owns Make-Up Revolution and Freedom Make-Up. Make-Up Revolution does not seem to be part of FB Beauty as when placing orders through their website, their PayPal merchant is Tam Beauty (Medichem, a British manufacturer of cosmetics and hospital grade chemicals, was the previous merchant for Make-Up Revolution and Freedom Make-Up). FB Beauty own fragrances including Glee, Love Hearts and The Only Way Is Essex. Beauty brands from FB include Famous By Sue Moxley, Fashionsista, Make-Up Academy, Vivo and Accessorize, the beauty subsidiary of Monsoon, as well as some celebrity perfumes. Tam Beauty is the collection of brands such as Make-Up Revolution, Freedom Make-Up, I Heart Make-Up, Face B4, Colourless Hair Colour Remover, DGJ Organics and Colour On. 

Behind The Beauty Super Brand: Who Owns What?

Revlon Consumer Products Corp

Established in 1932 by Joseph and Charles Revlon and Charles Lachman, Revlon is an American cosmetics and fragrances company. Revlon now has franchises in Almay, Charles of the Ritz, Charlie, Electric Youth, Esquire Shoe Polish, Food Fair, Institut Jeanne Gatineau, Mitchum, Natural Wonder, Ultima II.

Behind The Beauty Super Brand: Who Owns What?

Estée Lauder

Estée Lauder is perhaps the one conglomerate which concentrates solely on make-up and beauty products. Founded in 1945 by American married couple Estée and Joesph Lauder, this company has now expanded into many brands including Too Faced, AERIN Beauty, Aramis, Aveda, Bobbi Brown, Bumble and Bumble, Clinique, Coach, Darphin, Donna Karan, Estée Lauder, Flirt!, Good Skin, Jo Malone London, Kiton, LAB Series, La Mer, Le Labo, M·A·C, Marni, Michael Kors, Ojon, Origins, Osiao, Prescriptives, RODIN, Smashbox Cosmetics, Tommy Hilfiger, Tom Ford Beauty, Tory Burch, Ermenegildo Zegna.

Behind The Beauty Super Brand: Who Owns What?

Groupe Artémis/Kering/LMVH

Salma Hayeck's husband François-Henri Pinault is the son of the man behind Groupe Artémis which owns French grocery and media brands. François has major shares in Kering, previously known as PPR who are responsible for fashion and lifestyle brands such as Puma, Gucci, Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Oscar de la Renta, Yves Saint Laurent, Stella McCartney, and much more. Kering, in turn are the largest shareholder of LVHM (Moët-Hennessy Louis Vuitton). LMVH is the largest luxury goods conglomerate in the world and are behind the likes of own Christian Dior perfumes, Benefit Cosmetics, Acqua di Parma, Guerlain, Make Up For Ever, Kenzo, Fendi, Nude. and more. As a group, they own Sephora, Le Bon Marché and many wine, champagne, and liquor companies. 

Behind The Super Beauty Brand: Who Owns What?

Kao Corporation

Kao Corporation is a Japanese chemical and cosmetics company established in 1887. Their brands include Nivea, Molton Brown, John Frieda, Kanebo Cosmetics and Jergens. 

Behind The Beauty Super Brand: Who Owns What?

Kendo
Kendo is a brand which incubates and acquires many luxury cosmetics brands including Marc Jacobs Beauty, Ole Henricksen, Formula X by Sephora, Bite Beuaty, Kat Von D and Fenty Beauty by Rihanna. It is also worth noting that the same labs used to create brands exclusive to Sephora, namely Kat Von D, is the same lab used by indie and independent brand Jeffree Star. Kendo is a division of the LVMH talent network. 

Behind The Beauty Super Brand: Who Owns What?

Puig
Puig  is a third generation family owned beauty and fashion corporation founded by Anthony Puig in 1914. They own several beauty brands including Carolina Herrera, Nina Ricci, and Paco Rabanne. They also conrol some Jean Paul Gaultier licenses such as Prada, Valentino and Comme des Garçons, and an array of celebrity fragrances including Antonio Bandera and Shakira.

Behind The Beauty Super Brand: Who Owns What?

What about the supermarket and drugstore owned brands? They are more than likely manufactured the same group of corporations. What are your thoughts on the beauty brands owning the smaller ones? 

Secrets of the Beauty Superbrands: Cosmetic Conglomerates

This is a follow up to my post on make-up manufacturing. For those who may not know, large multinationals tend to incorporate a vast amount of brands. This goes for beauty, household, food and media. If you simply want to know who owns what, just click here. Do you ever wonder why luxury and drugstore cosmetics look, feel, smell and perform the same way as each other? Chances are, not only are they owned primarily by the one main corporation, but they may also be made in the same factory and re-packaged as a totally different brand. Why do you think there are so many cheaper dupes for what is fundamentally the product? Why are there are no real answers on this topic on the internet?

Secrets of the Beauty Superbrands: Cosmetic Conglomertates

Earlier this year I tried to find some answers and emailed many beauty brands both large and small. I posed the questions to Real Techniques, Beauties Factory, Urban Decay, Estée Lauder, Inglot, Coastal Scents, Make-Up Academy, No7, MAC, Chanel, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. I did contact many more companies than these; however they were the ones who replied to me - either with answers to some questions or just to confirm they received my email. My questions were:

• Where are your brushes/cosmetics manufactured? 
• Which country are they made in?
• Are your brushes/cosmetics made in a factory that caters to other beauty brands?
• Do you make brushes/cosmetics for other companies?
• Also can you tell me if you are an independent company or are you owned by/shared with another company? 

MAC stated,

“MAC Cosmetics is one of The Estée Lauder Company brands, which is why you may find similarities with the products to other brands.”

Fair enough answer. I already knew that and had contacted Estée Lauder at the same time I contacted MAC. Two steps ahead of you MAC. Estée Lauder replied with,

“The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. does business in over 150 countries and territories around the world. As a global organisation, our products are produced in various facilities worldwide. You can be assured that, regardless of the place of manufacture, all of our facilities follow stringent manufacturing practices and adhere to our high quality control procedures.The Estee Lauder Group of Companies brands include Estee Lauder, Tom Ford Beauty, Clinique, Creme De La Mer, Bobbi Brown, M.A.C., Jo Malone London, Origins, Aveda, Darphin, Aramis Designer Fragrances, Ojon, bumble & bumble and Smashbox”

Thanks Estée Lauder but that is public information. I want to know what is not typically disclosed. I want answers to my questions! I feel like a female version of Alex Riley when he presented Secrets of the Superbrands for BBC3 in 2011. It was his episode on fashion which piqued my curiosity on brand exploitation and product manufacturing. The scenes which showed Chanel sunglasses being made in a huge factory based in Italy owned by super brand Luxottica were of particular interest to me as they themselves own Sunglass Hut, Persol, RayBan. In addition to manufacturing glasses for Chanel, they also make for DKNY, Armani, Burberry, Vogue and Tiffany! Not only do they blatantly manufacture for all these luxury and mid-range brands plus many more, they also design the sunglasses for undisclosed brands.

For me, this is a testimony that consumers are being browbeaten into thinking they are buying an item which depicts opulence and lavishness, when in fact consumers are paying an excessive amount of money on products that are designed and manufactured by a similar group of corporations. Is this not a form of oppression? I believe it is.

Secrets of the Beauty Superbrands: Cosmetic Conglomertates

Anyway... enough  of my social care standpoint and back to the beauty brands. Where was I? Ah, yes, I was discussing Estee Lauder’s evasion of my questions. Similarly to them, Unilever could not address me exclusively, stating,

“Unfortunately, due to the large number of requests we receive similar to your own, we are unable to provide you with the specific information you have requested. Our website at www.unilever.com has a wealth of information and PDFs - perhaps try using the search engine to find the information you need.”

But Unilever, this information is not available on any website I have looked at. Procter & Gamble gave me a very lengthy response which did not answer my factory specific questions, 

“P&G is a global company with manufacturing and research facilities throughout the world. Although I'm not able to give you the origin of a specific ingredient in a product - we manufacture over 300 products and versions - P&G's safety and quality standards are global standards that apply to all products manufactured by or for P&G around the world.  All of our products and ingredients, no matter where they are from, have undergone safety testing before they go to market. Once in the market, we continually monitor their safety. P&G fully complies with all legal requirements and regulations in each specific country or region. Please be assured, the safety and well-being of the people who use our products is always our highest priority. P&G has one of the most trusted portfolios of brands in the world including Pampers, Tide, Ariel, Gillette, Max Factor and Olay. We are solely focused on harnessing the power of innovation to create brands and services that truly improve the lives of the world's consumers. The manufacture of private label products is not part of our business model. The only P&G make-up brand available in the UK and Ireland is Max Factor.We make a wide variety of products, including some of the world's most well-known brands. To see a listing, please visit the "Worldwide Sites" section of our website at:  www.pg.com/en_US/index.shtml Any further information would be proprietary, but I hope this helps.”

Proprietary? You may as well have said, ‘mind your business.’ No thank you Procter & Gamble. I want to know exactly where my stuff is made, who it is made with and who else gets a slice of pie.

Make-Up Academy, also known as MUA, were of a similar response, albeit much shorter than Proctor & Gamble,

“We are very happy you love our products so much! Other brands owned by FB Beauty are Look Beauty, Vivo Cosmetics and Famous! We design our products in London and they are manufactured in the PRC! We cannot say who else uses the factories we do I'm afraid!”

Thanks MUA, at least you guys were candid in you simplistic language unlike P&G. Why all the secrecy? Well, Real Techniques alluded to an answer for me,

“I’m unable to answer all of your questions due to our privacy policy but I can say that our brushes are made in China.  Thanks!”

It seems the answer falls into the category of ‘superfluous for public knowledge.’ As in this information is wrapped up in policies which may or may not be filtered down from law. But private policies does not always equate to statute so why shouldn’t we know where our cosmetics comes from and what other brands/factories they are shared with? I could rattle the cage more and press for information under the doctrines of freedom of expression and an open internet but I imagine that won’t go down well with all of the above companies. I would likely receive responses containing phrases such as, ‘not necessary for public interest,’ and ‘unlikely to affect common wellbeing.’ 

Secrets of the Beauty Superbrands: Cosmetic Conglomertates

I imagine these answers because something tells me that the larger of the multinationals - and I mean the Big Kahunas of this multi-billion dollar industry, are closely linked to government. That’s right, just like the banks and media houses of this world which own your money and your news, also own the so-called private corporations that you buy your make-up and household items from. So the legislature owns, or at least part owns what you are consuming. That would explain why I was receiving answers about individual company policy. Speaking of policy, Beauties Factory also used this as their excuse for not disclosing such information,

“Thanks for your email but due to client confidentiality that is not the sort of information we would share.”

Beauties Factory did mention that re-branding is one for their services and kindly sent me a pricelist should I choose to place an order of make-up with my name and logo on it. At least there is a little bit more transparency with Beauties Factory. Urban Decay also went a step further and touched on the issue of public information,

“Thanks for reaching out to us. Unfortunately, that information is not public knowledge. All of our information regarding manufacturing is located on the products packaging. Is there something you were looking to avoid in our products? Why were you looking into this information? Maybe we can find another way to help you.”

So when that did not satisfy my curiosity, I explained my reasons for speculation on manufacturing and received this back,

“Our cosmetics are manufactured in many places throughout the world. If I find out the information on each product you would have to check on the packaging. Unfortunately, we can't give out specific locations. As for if our factories cater other beauty brands, that is not public knowledge and honestly, we are not privy to that information.”

Seems like a repeat of your original message Urban Decay. At the time of this message, Urban Decay had just been acquired by L’Oreal, an eminently large corporation, which would explain why this subject is such an enigma. Perhaps the big conglomerates are afraid we will boycott them if private speculation turned into public awareness. I know I would - and not because of the high price they suggest to their retailers, but because they cannot be upfront with loyal customers. For me, hiding such information on the manufacturing of their goods and who they share a factory with does seem unethical. Unethical in the sense that customers are paying £37/$52 for an Urban Decay Naked palette and £4/$6 for what is essentially the same palette from Make-Up Revolution. Does that not seem unconscionable to you? It does to me. That is outright mistreatment of the customers.

Let me put this into a different context for you. When researching fashion brands, Alex Riley interviews culture and fashion journalist, Dana Thomas and questions just how unattainable Louis Vuitton clothes and accessories really are. Dana’s response is provocative and certainly made me wonder about the illusion that fashion houses have created for the consumers,

“It’s seen as that (unattainable) through its marketing but it’s actually very accessible. In 1977 Louis Vuitton only had two stores and now it’s an enormous business. It’s a delicate balance of selling masses to the masses whilst still remaining exclusive to the rich.”

Dana then discusses The Pyramid Model,

“You have a pyramid. At the top you have the very beautifully made, exclusive, limited amount of product. They will make anything you want. From there you have the middle range which you can walk into the store and buy. It’s still very well made with beautiful fabrics. Then you have the bottom range where the money comes in where they just sell masses of stuff - could be perfumes, wallets, belts, scarves, umbrellas, key chains, sunglasses. That’s how they’ve managed to keep the Sultan of Brunei, Hollywood stars, Royalty as customers as well as selling to the Chinese secretary who wants to put the bag on her desk to show that she afford a Louis Vuitton bag.”

This is a very interesting analysis. Now think of Dana’s pyramid from a beauty industry perspective - The Make-Up Pyramid, if you like. Starting with the luxury brands at the top including Tom Ford, Chanel and Dior. Next there is the higher end of mid-range brands, for example, MAC, Urban Decay and Sephora. The third portion of the pyramid is the lower end of mid-range, or higher end drugstore/pharmacy brands such including Bourjois, Real Techniques and Revlon. At the bottom you have discount brands such as Make-Up Revolution, Make-Up Academy and W7. How many of those higher end brands have eyeshadow palettes, blushers, foundations and lipsticks which can be classed as dupes for the lower end ones? It is possible that discount products are made by the same hands that created the luxury brand, or at least have appeared on the same conveyor belt. What is obtainable for some is not for others and this all depends on your budget as well as your personal preference as a consumer. By having duplicate products at a lower price, this makes the once unobtainable Chanel blusher a much more accessible product if it has a Bourjois price-tag. Same goes for Urban Decay Naked 2 palette being rebranded as W7 In The Buff. By factories and brands rehashing the same product with different packaging, it will fly off the shelves, making the company a huge amount of money. This appeases the consumer with the smaller budget as they believe they have found a luxury item at a fraction of the cost. It also pacifies the consumer with the bigger budget as they have the original opulent item, perhaps attributing to their already existing ostentatious lifestyle. Whether you have a buying style that is grandiose or on sale, brands and factories alike appear to be misleading no matter where you buy from. The top of The Make-Up Pyramid is where you build the cult status of a product which reflects back to the customers. The rest of the pyramid is where this status image at the top milks the consumers for their money.

Secrets of the Beauty Superbrands: Cosmetic Conglomertates

Enough of my own theory and back to the brands as mentioned earlier. Rest assured that Inglot are 95% transparent,

“95% of INGLOT products are manufactured in the EU, mainly in our state of the art facilities in Przemyśl, Poland. We are an independent company and we do not manufacture for other brands.”

Coastal Scents were also very forthcoming,

“Thank you for your interest in our cosmetic line. Coastal Scents offers a wide range of products that are manufactured in the USA as well as other areas of the world. Our line of Mineral Makeup is manufactured within the USA along with many of our fragrance and essential oils. Our Gel Liners, Finished Makeup Palettes, Foundations, Liquid Liners, and Lip Smacks are manufactured in areas of Asia such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China. We offer our Made in Africa line, which includes products that are all-natural and come directly from Ghana, Africa. Coastal Scents partners with other countries to manufacture products to be able to offer our customers the lowest pricing possible. All products are made under FDA guidelines and none of our products are tested on animals.”

There is ambiguity in that word ‘partnering.’ Does that mean you use the same factory as other brands? Who knows? I can only hypothesize on the matter.

Chanel told me they would forward my message on to the relevant department. I received nothing. Boots contacted me of behalf of No7 who said they would get back to me in three days. That was 10 months ago.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you thing brands should disclose whether or not they share a factory with other brands? Do you think this is up to the brand or the factory to inform the consumer if a luxury £30 bronzer is the same £3 one from the drugstore, only with a little clever re-packaging? Do you think it is time the big beauty superbrands let the secret out? I do! 

Secrets of the Beauty Superbrands: Cosmetic Conglomertates

*Disclaimer:

I am not brand bashing, nor am I trying to create dolmens for the beauty industry. I just simply wanted answers to my questions. I love make-up and cosmetics in all forms and I welcome all brands into my make-up collection. I have had these queries for a few years now and I thought I would share them in the hopes I could get start a conversation with like-minded people and also the beauty industry itself. 

Question Everything: Manufacturing Makeup

Remember in school there was one annoying kid that held up the class by all of his/her questions? Well that was not me. I am now 28 and I have personally and professionally developed into that curious kid. Within my state of regression, I am  reminded of something Marc Bolan once said, "I think I am a child. Everything blows my mind." I don't know if it's my age (quarter-life-crisis), how I was raised, my expanding lawyer student brain, my husband's conspiracy minded influence on me over the past 6 years or simply being a woman and putting 2 and 2 together and coming up with 5; but I question everything which I deem unsatisfactory. I do not complain for the sake of it, nor do bathe in negativity. Quite the opposite really. However, I do believe that when you pay for a product or service, there should be a reasonable standard of customer care and transparency in how they conduct their business. Question Everything. 

I think I am a child. Everything blows my mind." - Marc Bolan

When I see advertisements such as toothpastes promoting their whitening qualities with before and after images, I get an urge to write to them to point out how misleading they are. More than likely, they know they are being misleading as the law allows them to advertise in a way that will make the consumer gobble it all up and shell out their cash for a product that they believe will give them that Hollywood smile. The delusion that such companies depict in their advertising is a far cry from the reality. The delusion is that you will have perfect pearly white teeth if you use said product. The reality is there is a minuscule amount of the active whitening agent in said product so unfortunately, you will not achieve results similar to George Hamilton’s perfect grin. For that smile, you need to see a dental professional. That is what the beauty companies don’t tell you. Read the label and check for yourself. A percentage may not be on the packaging but the less there is of an ingredient, the lower it is down the list. Question Everything. 

Image taken from The Daily Mail

For decades we have been inundated with words like, ‘diet,’ ‘sugar free’ and ‘low fat’ on billboards, in magazines and on supermarket shelves as way to change what we eat. Obesity levels skyrocketed throughout the Western world and so these apparently healthy food choices resonated with the average consumer wanting to lose weight. These seemingly healthy alternatives are, in fact, either laden with sugar or contain a manufactured product resembling a solid lard-like substance to bind the product together. Question Everything. 

Image taken from www.coachcalorie.com

This even affects food that is not labeled as ‘fat free’ as some brands of ice-cream do not actually contain ice-cream. Instead, your household brands are using reconstituted skimmed milk rather than cream.  I don’t know about you but I’d rather have the real thing than put refined sugar, processed flavourings and artificial sweeteners of any description into my body. In truth, the diet industry is not concerned about your weight or your health. It is a business. Actually it is multi-billion dollar industry that more than likely feeds into your Government’s wallet or is already an established state-owned organisation. This means the very administration which appears to be passing legislation in order to force global corporations to be more honest, are actually the ones behind the industry. That is crazy. Why? It is all to do with money and control. Make money for the big guys (and gals) at the top, and control us mere customers by overwhelming us with ‘facts’ so that we consume with the belief that we are fixing the problem. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Question Everything. 

Image taken from www.web2carz.com

It is only now, after years of making bad choices that people are starting to wake up to these scare-mongering phrases and instead, choose to actually put good, nutritional food into their body rather than junk designed to look like food. The internet has a had huge impact on this collective consciousness as we feel more empowered to make an informed decision on what we put into our bodies. At the click of a button, we can discover foods which contain good fats. Thanks to YouTube and blogs, we can share the knowledge of the dangers of aspartame. We can discover how to maintain a healthy lifestyle by making small changes rather than one big unrealistic overhaul which advertisers seem to unfairly promote. By sharing this knowledge, we can empower one another to make better choices. With familiarity and empowerment comes intelligence and strength allowing us to fight back to the big conglomerates pushing their synthetic laden rubbish in our faces. We can say no. But we need more than internet information to make a bigger changes in order to progress. We need to totally revolutionise how people think and feel - but it is a start.  All of this is of course, just my own humble opinion. Question Everything. 

We can do it.

Whoa! That was a big digression... What I am trying to say is that we have the capacity to query everything that multi-national corporations (and beyond) provide. So why are we not posing our doubts with everything? We should be questioning everything that we feel uncomfortable with which impacts on our health, our education and our money. Whether that is for a product or service that we are unsatisfied with - we should raise those issues to the service provider. Question Everything. 

"Question EVERYTHING!" - George Carlin.

One area which I feel really lacks in transparency is the beauty industry. Another multi-billion dollar corporation designed to help us look and feel our best by toying with our self-esteem. So imagine this... you go make-up shopping to your local department store in search of some new beauty toys. You have worked so hard this semester so you deserve a little treat for yourself.  You stop buy the Chanel counter to buy yourself the latest powder blush which at a whopping £31 each is making both your bank account and your mum cry at the very thought of spending that amount on a little pot of rouge (yes it's beautiful but come on, your rent is due and the fridge is empty). You sorrowfully deny yourself 3 of the luxuriously beautiful 'joues contraste' in shades orchid rose, star dust and reflex, and you  walk out of shop passing the drugstore brands. Sure it wouldn't hurt to have a look would it? Oh, what's that Bourjois? You have similar shades to the Chanel ones. Oh, and you're cheaper too? But how can this be for £7.99 each for identical products? Yes, that's right, Bourjois own Chanel. Bourjois equivalent of Chanel being rose pompom, prun intense and ambre d'or. Question Everything. 

Going to shamelessly plug a previous post - after all this is a beauty blog at heart so must keep in context. Click here for comparison review of these two products. 

Yes, alot of beauty bloggers already know it's no secret that many brands are sisters of one another and usually owned by a huge leading multinational. But in case you, my reader, did not know, here is a comprehensive list for you to follow to keep in mind for future purchases. 

And remember... Question Everything.