Beauty SLEUTHS

How far would you go to track down the WORLD’S MOST COVETED BEAUTY PRODUCTS? For these women, time and money are NO OBJECT, finds George Driver

- George Driver

Would you pay ₹24 lakh for a lipstick? Would you fly to Paris for a single perfume? Would you buy an entire make-up range dedicated to Sharon Osbourne just because it’s MAC? For a covert community of beauty collectors you never knew about, it’s the norm. Self-appointed curators of vast collections of beauty products, these are the women taking pay day hauls to the next level. Willing to cross continents, spend annual salaries and transform their homes into storage facilities, no length is too great when it comes to hunting down the next addition to their prized collection. Every spare moment is spent on the hunt, curating Google Docs to log their purchases and responding to endless eBay notifications. These completists might look like any other beauty lover but, behind closed doors, they’re collectively spending millions acquiring what they believe will be the antiques of the future.

It’s an underground movement that’s growing: 2016 saw one of Marilyn Monroe’s lipsticks sell at an auction for $18,000 (₹12,96,000), while this year a pair of Sharon Tate’s used false eyelashes was snapped up for more than $4,000 (₹2,88,000). Why, you ask? Beauty products, whether associated with an A-lister or not, hold a romance and fascination that people are willing to pay for. But it’s not just about the money. Sleuthing out an original 1955 Dior Crystal Obelisk lipstick holder in mint condition requires an almost athletic level of competitiveness and commitment. As vintage make-up dealer Linda Bee puts it, “People like to own things no one else owns.” Add the intangible emotional attachment that beauty products wield over us and you have a potent driving force for amassing some of the most impressive collections in the world.