"Men and women expect sex for life"
Cosmetics III: Trend and future researcher Matthias Horx attributes the success of the cosmetics industry to society’s «erotic setting.».
Cosmetics III Trend and futurologist Matthias Horx attributes the success of the cosmetics industry to the "erotic setting" of society.WW Global sales of cosmetics are growing continuously - even during the crisis. How can this anti-cyclical consumer behavior be explained? Matthias Horx: Beauty and "wellbeing" constitute a cocoon of perception in times of crisis. We increasingly turn to self-perception. Here we can still exercise control to a certain extent, "comfort ourselves with ourselves". In trendy language, we call this "small indulgences". In every recession, lipstick consumption rises sharply. This is also due to the fact that people flirt more and take more erotic risks in uncertain times. In a certain sense, reality is "unbounded". Security is no longer important anyway, so I make myself beautiful and go on the prowl.
Why do consumers save so much less on cosmetics than on other products?
These are also the results of investment shifts: People no longer buy expensive designer clothes or cars or other long-term, expensive capital goods, but "quick" products in the lower price range that have an immediate benefit. I can pick up a lipstick or a nice perfume "just like that", it works immediately.
With increased health awareness, the importance of beauty also seems to have increased. Typical for highly developed societies?
This has something to do with the major sociological trends that are changing the "erotic setting" of our lives. For example, we used to be much more monogamous. The majority of the population got married in their mid-20s and then grew older in the family. Today, we are on the love and relationship market for much longer. Often, after divorces, again around 50. And even when we marry and start a family, this no longer leads to a slow decline in eroticism. Today, both men and women expect sex from each other for the rest of their lives. They expect their partner's attraction to last. This is completely new for the male sex, and a lot will change here in the coming years.
Within just a few decades, the "stronger sex", who feared appearing effeminate as cosmetics users, has become a growth market for the beauty industry. Has the advertising industry done a great job here, or do you see other components?
Men now have to be handsome, slim and attractive to have a chance with the young, educated generation of women. A fat wallet alone is no longer enough. This is especially true in middle age, where women are increasingly threatening divorce if men insist on their old, authoritarian roles. You only have to watch one of the new German prime time movies: There's always a strong, 50-year-old woman who separates from her shuffling, overworked husband, who then goes to seed and so on and so forth - stories that life writes. We men would do well to take care of our appearance, otherwise we'll lose what's left of our power.
In ancient cultures, taking care of one's appearance was considered a social privilege. Has a
Has democratization taken place?
The history of mankind is nothing other than a gradual "decline" of the privileges of the ruling caste - privilege becomes democratic right. Today, we all live in a certain sense like princes or kings in past centuries. We have the privileges of travel, of choosing a partner. Our homes and possessions would seem like immeasurable wealth to a 17th century peasant - who made up 70 percent of the population at the time. Of course, the right to erotic self-realization, which large sections of the aristocracy have always enjoyed, also belongs in this context - just think of Catherine the Great or the conditions at the courts of the Sun Kings. Beauty was a privilege of the rich, today it is becoming a productive tool that countless people use to climb the ladder. It works - whether at work or in a relationship.
Couldn't this cosmetics boom soon lead to a glut?
Many people rightly perceive this as a kind of terror. And efforts to become beautiful often lead to ghostly appearances - just think of Michael Jackson. The future belongs more to mental-psychological concepts such as "Become beautiful by being happy" or "Discover your natural beauty!".
Futurologist Matthias Horx: "We are increasingly turning to self-awareness."
Why do consumers save so much less on cosmetics than on other products?
These are also the results of investment shifts: People no longer buy expensive designer clothes or cars or other long-term, expensive capital goods, but "quick" products in the lower price range that have an immediate benefit. I can pick up a lipstick or a nice perfume "just like that", it works immediately.
With increased health awareness, the importance of beauty also seems to have increased. Typical for highly developed societies?
This has something to do with the major sociological trends that are changing the "erotic setting" of our lives. For example, we used to be much more monogamous. The majority of the population got married in their mid-20s and then grew older in the family. Today, we are on the love and relationship market for much longer. Often, after divorces, again around 50. And even when we marry and start a family, this no longer leads to a slow decline in eroticism. Today, both men and women expect sex from each other for the rest of their lives. They expect their partner's attraction to last. This is completely new for the male sex, and a lot will change here in the coming years.
Within just a few decades, the "stronger sex", who feared appearing effeminate as cosmetics users, has become a growth market for the beauty industry. Has the advertising industry done a great job here, or do you see other components?
Men now have to be handsome, slim and attractive to have a chance with the young, educated generation of women. A fat wallet alone is no longer enough. This is especially true in middle age, where women are increasingly threatening divorce if men insist on their old, authoritarian roles. You only have to watch one of the new German prime time movies: There's always a strong, 50-year-old woman who separates from her shuffling, overworked husband, who then goes to seed and so on and so forth - stories that life writes. We men would do well to take care of our appearance, otherwise we'll lose what's left of our power.
In ancient cultures, taking care of one's appearance was considered a social privilege. Has a
Has democratization taken place?
The history of mankind is nothing other than a gradual "decline" of the privileges of the ruling caste - privilege becomes democratic right. Today, we all live in a certain sense like princes or kings in past centuries. We have the privileges of travel, of choosing a partner. Our homes and possessions would seem like immeasurable wealth to a 17th century peasant - who made up 70 percent of the population at the time. Of course, the right to erotic self-realization, which large sections of the aristocracy have always enjoyed, also belongs in this context - just think of Catherine the Great or the conditions at the courts of the Sun Kings. Beauty was a privilege of the rich, today it is becoming a productive tool that countless people use to climb the ladder. It works - whether at work or in a relationship.
Couldn't this cosmetics boom soon lead to a glut?
Many people rightly perceive this as a kind of terror. And efforts to become beautiful often lead to ghostly appearances - just think of Michael Jackson. The future belongs more to mental-psychological concepts such as "Become beautiful by being happy" or "Discover your natural beauty!".
Futurologist Matthias Horx: "We are increasingly turning to self-awareness."
Interview: Luca Aloisi
