Are We Going Through Beauty Burnout?

While the burgeoning industry brings with it the luxury of choosing from multiple options, it's becoming counterproductive for a beauty consumer

- Sukriti Shahi

A couple of weeks ago, while on a morning call with my team, I realised I had nothing new to pitch; ‘must be the creative block,’ I thought. And as I frantically searched for an idea skimming through different online platforms, I realised I wasn’t convinced with any. How many times can I recommend the best shampoo for dry hair or moisturisers for oily skin to my readers? I’m exhausted and I believe so is an average beauty consumer. While I used to jump at the news of another global brand foraying into the Indian market, I now wonder if simpler times with just a couple of drugstore options were better and more gratifying? Welcome to the times of beauty burnout.

Elaborate beauty routines, new product formulas, and the aesthetic industry as a whole are being sold to us as self-care–a way to feel confident and pamper ourselves. However, it’s leaving the consumer drained–the struggle to reach a decision whether or not you need a product and if you do, then which brand to go for? Or whether you need to invest in a full-size tube or if a budgeted option is as effective as its expensive counterpart? The result is often a wrong choice, an expensive, overhyped purchase or an altogether abandonment of the idea of buying the product.