The relationship between container colors and the beauty benefits of skin care products

Abstract

AbstractThis study explored the best color selections to match the benefits of beauty products based on rankings obtained from an experimental perception of different skin care product containers. Gender (64 males, 75 females) and cultural (76 Taiwanese, 63 Malaysians) differences were also compared, aiming to explore color associations and emotional bonding by using psychophysical testing methods. A survey of 205 market samples showed that nearly half of the existing skin care product containers had a white body color. White appeared frequently on containers for skin whitening, firming, exfoliating, antiaging, and antiacne products. However, skin moisturizing products used an equal amount of white and blue on their containers. The psychophysical experiment results showed that participants felt that white best matched skin whitening products, red matched skin firming and antiaging products, blue matched skin moisturizing products, black matched exfoliating products, and green matched antiacne products. Neither gender nor cultural differences were found to be significant. Comparing the results with color emotion studies, it was found that (1) for color emotion weight, firming products were related to heaviness, whereas whitening products were connected to lightness; (2) for color emotion heat, whitening, moisturizing, exfoliating and antiacne products were aligned with coolness; and (3) for color emotion activity, product container colors were not related, except slightly for firming products. These findings suggest that psychological responses to color meaning are context‐ and experience‐dependent, meaning that selection of colors to match beauty benefits is based more on people's expectations of the products than their color emotion response.