ethnography

October 16, 2014

English

Professor

Word Count:

The Ethnography

This past Saturday I went into a MAC makeup store for the first time. As I walked inside, I noticed that the advertisements outside we’re very colorful. There was one woman with a bright blue eye shadow and the lady next to her had a red lipstick that really stood out. The store itself is just black so the advertisements outside really stood out. Once I walked in, I stood near the lipstick counter since that was my focus. Near the lipstick rack, there were no advertisements at all. On the other hand, there were about 40 lipsticks with the top off. The lipsticks allowed you to clearly see the color; they even allowed you to try them on. Most of the girls/woman that picked up the lipsticks ranged from about 15-45 years of age. The first women I observed came along with her significant other. She went for the brightest colored lipsticks first such as red, red-orange, and pink. At first she would get the lipstick, put some across her forearm, then observe the color for like 5 seconds. First she put some of the pink lipstick on her forearm, I’m assuming she liked it and then tried it on her lips. She turned to her significant other and said, “Doesn’t this make my teeth look a little bit dirty when I smile?”. The lady put the pink lipstick right back and continued on with the rest. When she tried on the red lipstick, her attitude completely changed. She acted as if she found a treasure she’s been looking for all her life. The lady would make a kissy face, then she would smile. She made different poses to see how her lips looked in every pose. After being able to experience the lipstick on her lips, the lady came to conclusion and purchased it.

The second girl I observed was a teen that looked about 17 years old. The teen stopped and was amazed by all the colors. I can tell the lipsticks caught her attention because she walked around the whole store without stopping, until she came across the lipsticks. She glimpsed at almost half the lipsticks, and then looked at the price. After looking at the price, she left. The third observation I made really caught my attention. This teen was about 19 year old. The teen looked at the lipsticks and tried on the one that was really red. Once she looked in the mirror she told her friend “Ew this color doesn’t look good with my skin tone, it’s too bright and I’m dark”. I thought this was an interesting phrase because I didn’t know woman had to be a certain color to wear red lipstick. I chose these 3 observations from 3 different women because the rest would walk by, stare for 2 seconds, and keep walking. These three women conveyed a message to me. Why do women wear lipstick? Who convinces them to get the lipstick? Why MUST they have it? Most ads make you feel like you need it; perhaps your lips will look just like the ad on the billboard. The first girl from my observations made a comment about the pink lipstick not looking good on her. Since MAC is a well-known company, it’s almost as if the ads set out expectations for women to look good. The second observation from the teen that looked 17 years old portrayed a social issue with her economical status. She walked around the whole store, but only the lipsticks caught her attention. After looking at the price, she walked out. Maybe she thought $15 for a lipstick wasn’t worth it, or she didn’t have the money for it. Some people wish to have certain products because everyone else has them, but it’s not something they can afford to spend on. Since the lipstick is $15, is it because of the quality of the lipstick or the fact that it’s well known? Last but not least, the teen that mention red not going with her skin tone because she was “too dark”. I know most of us like to look good but who said a darker skin tone doesn’t go with red lipstick? If it were concealer you were trying to match with your skin color, then it’s understandable. Overall, ads are almost like expectations we live up to in the makeup world. Whether women realize it or not, most do it to meet expectations, to look a certain way, or just purchase what everyone else has. People feel like they need to have certain items, such as makeup, because it may look appealing but they don’t need it. Maybe if it weren’t for the popular ads, you would’ve never bought the lipstick if you had never seen it or heard of it.