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A STUDY ON FEMALE BABY BOOMERS AND THEIR VIEWS ON BEAUTY

October 2012

THE PREMISE!!In September 2012, BOOMbox Network conducted an online beauty survey, culling respondents from its own network of baby boomers bloggers and influencers. The premise was to find out how women over the age of 45 REALLY feel about “beauty” at their age, more precisely, how they feel about their own beauty and about the advertising/marketing that targets them. In the following pages, you will find the summary of the data and a selection of the comments submitted in the open ended questions and additional comment boxes. !

The BOOMbox Baby Boomer Beauty Survey

THE DEMOGRAPHICS!!Keep in mind that this sample set consisted of women ages 45+ in our network of bloggers and influencers. While these women are not your average “Jane”, they are the ones who actively voice their opinions and preferences online and are recognized as bona fide influencers in their respective circles:!

85% have a household income of over $75,000!83% have completed a college education!56% are self-employed and 24% work full-time!75% are married (17% are divorced)!67% were between ages 45 -57, 26% were between 58-67, 7% were 68 or older!

The Sample Set’s Demographics

Tell us about that feeling. Is there something or someone that triggers it? What other words would you use to describe the feeling of being beautiful?!!This open-ended question resulted in many similar/consistent answers to give us a portrait of the Baby Boomer’s feelings about her own beauty. Here are the highlights:!!1.  The importance of HAIR, and then of MAKEUP: an overwhelming amount of responses included

the mention of hair: Having a good hair day, having hair freshly colored/cut/styled. Having makeup on was also a great contributor to having our respondents feel beautiful, but it took secondary place after hair. Asked about regular use of the following products, 94% of respondents use hair care (shampoo & conditioner), 67% use hair styling products and 65% use hair color. !

“I feel beautiful just after a shower, when my hair is styled and my makeup is freshly applied”!!2.  A loving HUSBAND or loved ones: Feeling loved correlates closely with feeling beautiful. This is

the second most often mentioned trigger to feeling beautiful. !

“Sometimes I’m told I look radiant and this correlates to being well-loved”!“I feel beautiful when I am with my family and they tell me they love me”!“My husband always makes me feel beautiful”!

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Q. What makes you feel beautiful?

3.  A good night’s SLEEP: sleep is consistently mentioned and feeling rested or not is a very clear indicator to a Boomer woman’s feeling about her beauty.!

“Getting enough sleep is key for me…when I don’t sleep well for a number of nights, I’m very much affected. I look in the mirror and I see an old person”!“Getting enough sleep is a huge factor in how beautiful I feel, followed closely by my weight and fitness level”.!

!4.  WORKOUT & EAT right: another recurring theme. These midlife women feel best when they take

care of their bodies too: !!

“I feel beautiful when I work out regularly and feel fit and at a good weight, eat well”!“I feel beautiful when I am healthy and fit”!

!5.  The (GIRL) friends: Being around friends, especially girl-friends seems to have a way of

rejuvenating and relaxing and making women feel beautiful.!

“I feel beautiful when I am with friends, enjoying myself”!!

What makes you feel beautiful? (cont’d)

Q. Think of someone whom you feel has true beauty… It can be anyone, friend, family member, co-worker or celebrity. How would you define her true beauty? This open-ended question aimed to broaden the question beyond self. !!!!1.  The consensus is loud and clear. CONFIDENCE is a definite determinant of beauty: !

“Those I know who are truly beautiful are all in possession of one thing – confidence”!“True beauty is women who are confident in their own skin they care for their physical bodies but are also working on their inner beauty”!

!2.  NATURAL beauty is appreciated, especially as women grow older. Repeated references to “natural”

included: !

“Naturally beautiful. Not fake, plastic-surgery-beautiful. And of course, beautiful inside as well”!“Natural, easy, subtle”! “She’s natural and doesn’t appear to work overly hard to look that way, but she looks groomed and polished and takes care of her appearance”!“Natural looking, light makeup, natural hair coloring (even when it’s not natural), fit...”!

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Think of someone whom you feel has true beauty…(cont’d)

3.  INNER beauty. Though it sounds like a cliché, boomer women appreciate what’s underneath all the makeup and artifice: !

“I think beauty is projected from the inside; women who FEEL beautiful ARE beautiful”!“beautiful personality as well as physical beauty”!“My friend has real inner beauty that stems from her feeling comfortable in her own skin”!“Beauty is so much more than simple physical attributes”!

!!And this response summed it all up pretty well: “I am surrounded by beautiful women. They are not covered in makeup… but covered in confidence and smiles. They do not let life defeat them and they do not try to look decades younger than they are. They are classic, chic, strong and dignified.”!!

Surprisingly, older women are not really yearning for the beauty of their youths. To the contrary, they seem to grow more confident in their beauty as they age:!!

4% felt most beautiful in their teens!8% felt most beautiful in the 20’s!28% felt most beautiful in the 30’s!28% feel/felt most beautiful in the 40’s!17% feel/felt most beautiful in the 50’s!

!The “Feel most beautiful” age is when women are between their 30’s and 50’s. Not in their teens or twenties as the beauty and fashion industry would lead us to believe. !!

“I still feel beautiful in my 50s, but in a different way. I feel sexy but in a different way.”!

“I feel increasingly beautiful inside, and out, as I get older and know myself better and trust myself more.”!

“Physically, it was the 30s; psychologically and spiritually, it’s now.”!

“The forties rock!”!

“I always felt like I got more beautiful with age.”!!

Q. At what age did you feel the most beautiful?

Q. Which areas would you like to improve? And are you currently using products for them and which ones don’t you see as a problem?!

Which areas would you like to improve? (cont’d)

Of course, all the areas indicated above have potential for being aesthetically aggravating in an aging woman’s opinion. But, it is interesting to see which are more and which are less of a problem. The “Want to improve but not using products” column can lead to some interesting need-gap revelations: !!

“My biggest concern at this point is brown/age spots on my face. Would love to find a product that makes a difference but no luck yet (at least not products at an affordable price)”!!“Dark spots! Nothing works!”! !“Affordable products to tighten the next area would be great too”.!

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Q. Think about how your ideas may have changed within the past decade or more:

These results directly confront the popular belief that “older” women no longer care about their physical beauty. While some may mourn younger selves, many still prefer to look their very best, especially to combat the feelings of “invisibility” as mentioned by so many middle-aged women. !!It’s especially important to note that many baby boomer women WANT to improve their looks but simply don’t know how. They are not helpless or passive but they do want better information. !

“I am someone who is now using much more product than in the past”.!!“I’m allergic to wheat and soy and need to find products without those ingredients”, “So many products on the market today, it’s tough to parse through them all – without spending a fortune to see what might actually work”!

“Whitening toothpastes, and anti-aging products make me crazy. There are a million gazillion out there and I have no idea what to pick. Even when I think I know the brand I want - then they have too many choices and the options do not explain to me which ones I need. Just tell me if I want to work on X then use Y.”!!“After an ad catches !my eye, I want INFORMATION”!!“I don’t have the foggiest idea of what to do for most of these things [signs of aging]”!!!!

Boomer women want to look their best. AND,"they need information!

Q. Many ads for beauty products feature product claims. How credible do you feel these are?

The longer it takes for a product to prove its claims, the less likely its claims are to be believed. Claims for products that have hard-to-measure results (anti-aging) definitely suffer the most credibility issues. !

How credible do you feel the beauty product claims are?

!“I don't understand how beauty companies can issue such outrageous claims about their products when most consumers know this claims will never translate in reality. How is that even allowed? And how are they allowed all the deceiving photoshopping on their advertisements that imply the results of the given product?”!!!“How would anyone know [if a product works] unless they spent months or years with half their face covered in one thing, and the other half of their face in something else?”!

“I am very suspicious of any claims. I rely on peer advice and actual experience of product. I do not buy "miracle" products either, I am not desperate enough to spend inordinate amounts of money on something that is not backed by hard science.”!!!“Most ads are not credible at all. You have to try the product yourself. I'm sometimes guided by reviews in women's magazines. Ads are ads, inherently biased as the company tries to sell you something.”!!

Q. When it comes to the majority of advertising by beauty and grooming brands, how do you feel about their advertisements?

“How do you feel about beauty product ads?” (cont’d)

The vehemence of the opinions expressed by our baby boomer respondents begs to be noted. Credibility and relatability of advertisements for beauty and grooming products are at very low levels and hinder the connection with the midlife female consumer. See the comments to this effect: !!“I dislike the airbrushing and editing of images. I dislike the manipulating of live images with lenses and lighting.”!

!“I know when a claim is false, or I know how to research and/or compare it with another product for reference. In other words, don't try to BS me. My primary complaint in advertisements is the brand

using an obviously younger model than the market they're supposed to be targeting.”! !“The models never represent anyone in my age group and so how can I believe that an anti-aging product works on a twenty-something model with perfect skin and access to all the best cosmetic treatments?”!

!!“Listen, I'd love to look like the models in their ads, but -- HELLO? -- most of the models used are like teenagers. I'm not stupid enough to believe I can use that product and look like a teenagers.”!!“Can't aspire to a photoshopped model. Most models are well under my age.”!!“I do not understand why more companies do not select models or real life situations for the over 50 women. This demographic is so large and the potential so great. I cannot identify with most of the ads for products I need. It would be so great to see a campaign for the average over 50 woman who is professional...maybe she is a grandmother, but she is leading a vibrant, active life. We need transitioning advice and just cannot find it anywhere for our real lives. Using over 50 celebrities is OK, but we all know they have more income than we do....what is wrong with using actual women??”!!“I do resent the anti-aging products using young models who can't possibly have wrinkles yet!”!

More about “How do feel about beauty ads” "(cont’d)

Q. What are your likes and dislikes about beauty and grooming product advertising?

Quite apparently, middle-aged women would like to see the use of people their own age (87%), as well the use of “real” people (86%), in beauty and grooming product advertisements. They are quite indifferent to the use of celebrities. But certainly, they are expressing a clear preference for being marketed to with a representation that is closer to their reality. One recurring “theme” that emerges is how this group of women are really wishing for more and better information about the beauty products than what they currently see in most advertising in this category.!!

Likes and dislikes about beauty product advertising? (cont’d)

“I wrote a blog post called "Fifteen Shades of Gray" about letting my hair return to its natural color. Here's a short link: http://wp.me/p1NlBZ-VO I note and applaud the use of models such as Cindy Joseph, who, with her long silver hair, is simply stunning. A young reader commented, reminding me of another model of a certain age—the exquisite Carmen Dell 'Orefice. So people—and not just in my demographic—are paying attention to this topic.”!!!“I like ads that use models from the demographic being targeted. Using a young woman to tout acne products? appropriate.. using that same young woman to sell wrinkle cream? not so much.”!!

“When young people are used for anti-aging products it makes me disbelieve the claims.”!“Everything is photoshopped now anyway. You can't believe what you see.”!!!“I understand the use of younger women to sell a product. I too love beauty. In today's photoshop world however I have become immune to claim of beauty through image. I know that the model's PMS pimple was airbrushed out, that her waist was whittled in and that any potential flaws have been eliminated. Unfortunately it makes for a homogeneous look that we just don't care about after a while.”!

Q. Tell us about your preferred sources to learn about beauty products: Word-of-Mouth, either through family and friends, through beauty stylists or via the opinions of a trusted blog, is still the best source of reference. !!And, though magazines are suffering from various ailments of late, and whether women enjoyed the advertisements seen within the pages (see previous slides), their editorial content and/or the ads were still mentioned repeatedly as a favorite source to learn about new beauty products. !

In conclusion?

We have presented the findings from our survey. Now, we invite you to make your own interpretation, to draw your own conclusion. !!In our opinion, the Baby Boomer females, by their sheer volume, will demand a new order for the democratization of beauty. !!Let’s see if the beauty brands are listening. !

We are happy to provide more information, the raw data, or present our findings in a more formal fashion via webinar or other online presentation. !

Thank you!

To get your questions answered: Anne-Marie Kovacs Co-Founder & Principal Tel:312.985.7533 AMK@BoomboxNetwork.com