Make yourself beautiful – Style

Why soap and toothpaste become symbols of wealth – Kommersant Style finds out.

Status items do not have to be in the public eye – this trend from the fashion world has gained such momentum that it has spread to other areas of life, and now it can be seen in the cosmetics business. A “quiet luxury” manicure (expensive, perhaps with Swarovski crystals, shimmering mother-of-pearl, but seemingly absolutely simple and discreet) is nothing compared to the scope that reigns in the world of beauty. Hidden from the whole world of wealth, luxurious means in the literal sense of the word intimate hygiene have become not only in demand, but also suddenly very profitable. It would seem, who needs toothpaste for 5 thousand rubles. Or hand soap for 10 thousand? However, they are needed, and even very many. These hidden status symbols are hidden in the bathroom, never to be seen, and that is one of the elements of their appeal.

Interest in health and personal care products is believed to be at an all-time high since the pandemic. The reason for this growth is clear – then everyone was stuck at home and was obsessed with cleanliness, and therefore there was a request for not just an antiseptic, but a good-smelling, and preferably favorite perfume; on not ordinary laundry detergents, but with the aroma of musk or iris; not just some average air freshener, but a freshener with the function of destroying harmful bacteria and at the same time creating an olfactory effect like in the lobby of an expensive hotel. Aesop, Jo Malone London, Dyptique, Byredo and Molton Brown are real gurus in these matters of expensive personal beauty, not to mention the classics of the genre – soap from Hermes or Bvlgari.

Anna Dycheva-Smirnova, organizer of the InterCHARM beauty exhibition, member of the board of the Russian Perfume and Cosmetic Association, believes that for many consumers, such products are part of “brightening up” boring everyday duties, giving the process of self-care additional attractiveness. “Cosmetics is a companion of a person in all his affairs and hobbies,” she says. “I think that these funds are more not only practical, but also a psychological component.”

Perhaps, quiet luxury will finally be able to defeat the “loud” one – deliberately bright expensive scents of fragrances or lipsticks and eye shadows packaged in designer packages. Predictions for the search and creation of personal comfort are now quite certain.

Irina Kirienko