MODERN COSMETICS--ILLUSION AND REALITY 503 MODERN COSMETICSmILLUSION AND REALITY T. J. ELLIOTT, B.Sc., Ph.D.* A lecture delivered before the Society on 25th March 1963. Despite improvements in modern cosmetics, many products still cause •lisappointment to the woman user. Reasons for the discrepancy between advertising promise and product performance are discusserl. ALL NATURAL PHENOMENA possess a physical reality independent of the observer and an appearance or illusion which exists entirely in the mind of the observer. Reality is a primary quality and illusion is derivative if a serious discrepancy arises between these two quahties, it is usual for the illusion to be modified to conform more closely with reality. It would be incorrect, however, to discount the importance of illusion because sometimes its power is sufficient to change reality. The French Revolution arid the American Civil War were both examples of the power of ideas to effect a •change in a conflicting reality. As appearance is subjective, the same reality can present different il!usions to various observers Niagara Falls appears quite differently to a honeymoon couple, a power engineer, or an over-awed schoolboy. This •contradiction does not generally preser•t problems because most of us have .grown used to the idea of living simultaneously in a real world and a make- believe world. Generally we do not bother to query this self-deception unless we become aware of a gulf between expectation and realisation--ther• we begin to feel cheated and dissatisfied. A simple example is the con- tinuing sale of oper• cars in the United Kingdom despite the well-known •characteristics of English weather. The illusion of driving alor•g in glorious sunshine persists in face of all experience to the contrary. But it is imperative that the open car should have a rain- and draught-proof hood, otherwise the illusion would collapse in the face of the wet and cold. In the same way, a wornall who buys a cosmetic is deceived because the product is invested with subjective attributes based on her desire to be more beautiful. She is a willing agent in self-deceptior• and will or•ly protest if the deceit is too blatant. If wornell were allowed to create their own illusions regarding cosmetics, perhaps the gap between illusior• and reality would not be so great but modern selling methods rely on creating ready-made illusions for the customers. *Innoxa (England) Ltd., London. N.1.

504 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS This places cosmetic chemists in a difficult position as they become in- creasingly aware of the widening gap between their products and copy- writers' prose. In the process of making products designed to satisfy the innate desire of women for the beautiful and unattainable, they must learn to work with those who are responsible for creating the illusions. Similarly, the advertisement and sales men must realise that behind their flowing prose and elegant packs is a product which will ultimately be used by the purchaser, a regrettable necessity which should compel them to recognize the importance of technically competent products! In the cosmetic industry the illusions created are so attractive ancI powerful that unless the products are more than averagely competent, a: large number of users will experience disappointment. Unfortunately, the comparative ease of selling cosmetics on illusory merits could lead to a state of comparative technical backwardness in the industry. Leaving aside specialized work on the skin, which is mainly carried out elsewhere, it would be fair to state that most of the activities of cosmetic chemists are directed towards the production of better cosmetics. But the concept of "better cosmetics" can include a whole number of improvements in product stability and shelf life which do nothing to improve their actual application and the appearance on the skin. For example, present-day cosmetic creams seldom exhibit symptoms of emulsion break-down or develop gross bacterial contamination. Cosmetics and toiletties no longer corrode the collapsible tubes in which they are packed. Lipsticks do noir develop rancidity and symptoms of pigment separation in the crayon, These improvements are only designed to enable the product to reach the customer in a better condition, which comes within the designation of shelf testing rather than user testing. Whilst we can be fairly confident of the thoroughness of shelf testing the situation With regard to user testing is much less satisfactory. Once a woman commences to use a product, she is evaluating the illusion- reality relationship. The discrepancy she finds between these two qualities will influence her decision to repeat her purchase or throw the product away in disgust. Our ability to discover from customer complaints the seriousness. of this discrepancy is limited. It would be much better to evaluate the. special features of the relationship for this particular product in advance and to conduct adequate user-testing to ensure that the discrepancies are not abnormal. The gap between illusion and reality is not constant over the whole range of cosmetic products and it is now proposed to examine this variation in greater detail. It is possible to divide cosmetics into three main groups-- skin care, make-up and specialities. As a broad generalisation, the dis- crepancy may be said to vary with the group, being greatest with skin care