單一成分精華的利與弊🌹Talk Beauty

你認識平價品牌 The Ordinary 嗎？☊ 文章有音檔 ☊

今天的文章比較進階，所以這一小段希望可以幫助讀者理解。

The Ordinary 是一個有趣的子公司，母公司為 Deciem，多年前以平價在保養產業掀起一股潮流，公司形象圍繞化學和成分教育，類似的品牌如雨後春筍冒出，養了一群對成分相當挑剔的消費者（雖然這個現象其實在歷史上也發生過，例如香奈兒五號瓶的設計、倩碧的三步驟保養）。但近市場成熟，新的問題也漸漸顯化，本篇文章指出了過度消費和極簡風保養的矛盾對比現象。

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😍 本週六有新的IG保養貼文～私訊巴奈一朵玫瑰花「🌹」把你加入美妝好友圈（Close Friends）

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單一成分精華的利與弊

We all know the pros, what about the cons?

✏️本篇文章難度偏高，單字和慣用詞解釋在註腳

When The Ordinary, a subsidiary¹ to skincare company Deciem, became a sensation a couple years ago, it kick-started a trend promoting skincare education and ingredient transparency. Savvy² consumers turn to the “skinthusiasts” — a portmanteau³ of “skincare” and “enthusiast” — for insights⁴ into the world of INCI lists. 

INCI stands for International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients, or in layman’s term - a skincare ingredient list.

The Ordinary’s frosted⁵ dropper bottles offer little to no information on the actual benefits of the products. Looking inside one of their brick-and-mortar⁶ stores, you are greeted with a minimalist and sterile⁷ design with few shelves. The concept behind its slogan “the abnormal beauty company” is not entirely new. It reminds me of Clinique’s famous 3-step routine in the late 1960s. Cleanse, exfoliate and moisturize. Three fool-proof⁸ steps with pared-down⁹ plastic packaging. It was a stark¹⁰ contrast against the glass bottles of thick creams at the time. Simplicity resonates with¹¹ regular consumers who also want a good bang for their buck¹². A 30ml product from The Ordinary retails as low as USD $6. 

Minimal ingredient lists come with a conflicting¹³ phenomenon. To achieve a skin goal, you need a network of supporting actors¹⁴ and formulas. Shoppers find themselves applying multiple active ingredients, hoping to achieve one goal. Instead of skin care the industry is now marketed as self care. People’s routines grow longer and steps more complicated. Skin experts have started to push back, as people are reportedly having more sensitized skin due to lengthy beauty regimen¹⁵. Those who do not keep up with¹⁶ the latest trends online or lack the time to do research, find themselves lost in the maze¹⁷ of ingredient jargon¹⁸ and a 10-step Korean skincare routine.

Rather than mixing several single-focus¹⁹ serums at home, it is better to have a well-formulated²⁰ concoction²¹ of active ingredients designed to work together. Consumers should not need to play chemists at home to effectively care for their skin.

歡迎來到《巴奈英文電子報》的小角落《Talk Beauty》，在這個特別報導我們用英文討論美妝和相關產業，包含美妝保養知識、行銷、市場觀察、趨勢分析和文化的比較，喜歡的話可以跟親朋好友分享！

文法角落：文章有五處使用複合形容詞，例如 brick-and-mortar，你能找到另外四個嗎？😉 歡迎私訊我討論~

1. subsidiary (n) 子公司

2. savvy (adj) 精明的

3. portmanteau (n; french) 一字多義

4. insight (n) 內幕、見解

5. frosted (adj) 霧面磨砂處理的（表面質地）

6. brick-and-mortar (adj. 象徵法) 實體的（店面），原指磚頭與水泥

7. sterile (adj) 無菌的，此指極簡單風格的

8. fool-proof (adj) 很簡單的，連傻瓜都會的

9. pared-down (adj) 簡單的，沒有花俏且不必要的東西

10. stark (adj) contrast (n) 常見搭配字，鮮明且強烈的對比

11. A resonates with B 有共鳴

12. a good bang for one’s buck 物超所值

13. conflicting (adj) 相互矛盾的

14. actor (n) 參與者、角色

15. regimen (n) （養生）法、道

16. keep up with 跟上（潮流、新訊）

17. maze (n) 迷宮、迷陣

18. jargon (n) 艱深難懂的行內話

19. single-focus (adj) 單一目的的

20. well-formulated (adj) 配方好的

21. concoction (n) 混合物