Thank you all for sharing your thoughts and taking the time to post responses in this thread.
At first I posted this and was worried that it may have come across the wrong way, as it did unfortunately in the other thread where I perhaps, should have taken into the account of others' feelings when I suggested that MAC may not be all that and have not clarified why I defended my use of the word "hype". It was because I realized I could be hijacking the thread and try to avoid further off-course discussion.
I am certainly not trying to attack anyone's beloved hobby or trying to make them feel bad about it. After all, it is a very glamorous, pretty one that some had taken care in which to invest their time, money and effort. I'm not suggesting that those who have the disposable income to buy things from LE collections that they are mentally ill or unthinking zombies. There are people who have been loyal to MAC for reasons only they themselves know, and I'm not so arrogant to try to tell them that the only reason they buy is because of marketing.
I also apologize to those to whom I have come across as some kind of snooty know-it-all, trying to condescend to the rest of the forum. Maybe it was my English? It's actually my second language so I am always using a more formal version of it to avoid misunderstandings. Perhaps it came across a bit blunt online. But if I really were such a person who thinks she's above everyone else in intellect, I would not have taken the time to type out such a long article to start a discussion.
On Specktra, we are all equals. We are all women and men of common sense, and some have also attended or are currently attending college. We can see this in the posts in this thread for instance, where members have kindly contributed tips on how to cut back on purchases, expressed their feelings on this topic, shared their knowledge (a couple of which explore subjects that I think are even touchier than the original post's, such as self-esteem issues in women) from classes and other sources, and their experience from working with MAC. There are those who have taken an introspective look at their purchasing habits, assessed whether they are affected by hype and share it with the rest of us, which takes courage. It is because of Specktra's knowledge and the willingness to share it that makes it such a great place in which to spend time.
In the end, the original posts in this thread were not typed up with the intention to disrupt the harmony of this forum. It was not written for those who are well established in the hobby of MAC and are happy to be so. This was written for those of us who sometimes wonder: To where has my money gone? Why do I have impulses to buy things only to regret them later? Why do I check Specktra more often than I check my email? Why are my spouse/family/friends always bringing up how much MAC I buy in such a grave manner? Why am I suddenly so loyal to one particular brand?
It's all glamorous fun and make up games, until someone runs into credit card debt, or even in one case skipped utility bills. Hopefully this thread and its contributers will help some of us understand a bit better why we buy in such a way.
To answer to a few specific posts:
florabundance: A friend of mine who is a grad student in the field of anthropology (as oppose to I, lowly undergrad
) suggests that if you are interested in such research, you can check out business anthropology courses.
annie333: Unfortunately I don't know much about how returned products affect MAC, and I try not to talk about things I don't know much about. Maybe someone here who has an idea about the cost of returned products to the company and/or the measures companies take to deter product returning can share with us?
TUPRNUT: I personally don't think the direct advertising approach would work well for MAC. To elaborate, one of the charms of MAC is that LE collections' information is rarely just out there on print or TV. They usually come in the form of a beauty editor's "discovery" or recommendation, or through blogs and forums which seem to outsiders provide "exclusive" information.
This seemingly stumbling across information not only enhances the word-of-mouth appeal and trust, but also gives customers a feeling similar to having exclusive access to a club, kind of like being a fashion insider and as someone "in the know". It adds to the prestige (and fun factor) of the brand. This is probably why in recent years Sephora followed by starting the "beauty insider" program and distributing "insider's scoop", instead of just calling it a "customer loyalty program" and "newsletters". If MAC were to go the direct approach, it may lose some of its glamor and prestige.
Also with print ads it is easier to keep track of how many LE collections they come out with (example, some keep magazines and thumb through them time to time), as oppose to coming across one or two blog posts or threads about each every other week. If you start seeing the same brand coming out with different products every week, throughout the year on say, a billboard near where you work, you may start to perceive the brand as fickle, gimmicky, or even desperate. Once customers decide its overwhelming, LE collections stops being special.
