Join the Fight for a Fair Price in Beauty

When you go online shopping, are you tired of seeing all the prices of big brands on international sites for half the price of what you pay back at home in Australia? Case in point: a Chanel Coco Shine lipcolour is $50 a pop in Australia while in the US it's $32.50 and the UK it's £24 or OPI nail colours (A$19.95, US$8.50 and UK £11).

And even though this pricing disparity is rife across all types of product ranges, it is most obvious in the fashion and beauty industry. I want to support local retailers but it can be hard when my pay packet needs to be stretched out as much as possible to cover ever-increasing expenses.

With the Australian dollar being so strong against all major currencies for the past 2-3 years, online shopping makes it possible to purchase products at international prices but at the end of the day, I'm a touch-and-feel sort of person and prefer to buy products after I've tested it out so if the local distrubitors and retailers can bring parity pricing into the Australian market, I'd happily spend my money here. 

That's why it is fantastic to see brands lowering their prices in light of changes in market dynamics (NARS, Kiehl's, Biotherm, Stila, Declor on all or some of their product ranges over the past 15 months). But we want more, there are many global brands that can afford to lower their rich margins in the Australian market and we'd love to see them jump on this band wagon and treat savvy Australian consumers with respect, rather than as helpless cash cows. 

To this end, a iconic brand is getting behind the cause to bring fairer pricing for the Australian market. Illamasqua has recently set up an online petition to fight for the Australian beauty consumer cause. They've indicated that Aussie consumers can pay up to 61% more for their beauty products than their UK counterparts (and dare I say over 100% than US prices on some products). They have set up an online petition to fight for fair pricing of products in the Australian beauty market.

So people, even if you don't love beauty as much as I do, I'm sure you don't want to see your mum, sister or girlfriend continue to be fleeced of their hard earned money. We'll all thank you if you join me in spending a minute to sign this petition. While you are at it, tell all your friends about this and get them to sign up too!

And to Illamasqua, thank you so much for taking this stance and fighting for us!