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A Critical Discourse Analysis of

Cosmetic Products for Women and

Men

ALIKI ANNA SOUTA

English Studies (Linguistic Option)

Bachelor of Arts with major in English Studies 15 Credits

Autumn Semester 2018 Supervisor: Soraya Tharani

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Table of Contents

Title page

Table of contents Abstract

1 Introduction & Aim 2 Background

2.1 Critical Discourse Analysis and Gender 2.2 Language and Gender

2.3 Masculinity 2.4 Femininity

2.5 Aristotle’s Three Proofs of Persuasion: Ethos, Pathos and Logos 2.6 Marketing

2.7 Semiotics: Colour and Font 2.8 Previous Work

3 Design of the present study 4 Results

4.1 Lexical and Grammatical Results 4.2 Semiotic Results

5 Discussion

5.1 Grammatical Analysis 5.2 Connotation of Language

5.3 Aristotle’s persuasive methods and cosmetics 5.4 Semiotic Analysis: Colour and Font

6 Conclusion Reference List Appendix

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Abstract

By making a CDA the linguistic and semantic features in cosmetic products are going to be examined. For the purpose of this study, 99 products, from two companies, are analysed in order to find out if the marketing teams of the companies are using different linguistic and semiotic features in order to persuade their target group. Theories of masculinity and femininity are presented and the relationship between gender and language is analysed. Furthermore, Aristotle’s theory about the three proofs of persuasion ethos, pathos and logos is discussed. After analysing and discussing the data that have been gathered in relation with the background theories, significant differences are noticed on the products for the two genders. In the research appears that the two genders are targeted in different ways and that different linguistic and semiotic features are used for each gender.

Key words: masculinity, femininity, gender, semiotic, linguistic, CDA, colour, font,

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1. Introduction and Aim

Skincare products used to be focused on women, but nowadays most of the cosmetic

companies are launching more and more products that are specifically targeted for man usage. Nowadays, it is not a taboo for a man to use skincare products and as years pass the number of men who use these products is increasing. A product for a woman cannot be designed and advertised in the same way as a man’s product. Different persuasive features are used to attract the two genders and make them purchase the products. For the purpose of this research, skincare products for men and women from two different cosmetic companies L’Oréal Paris and Clinique have been analysed to discover the difference between men’s and women’s products when it comes to persuasive language methods, linguistic and semiotic tools. In this report the packages of the products have been examined and lexical and semiotic features have been analysed. The research will be limited to moisturizers and face washes. The most suitable way to make the research is with Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). Strauss and Feiz on Discourse Analysis state that “the goal of a CDA is to make visible the invisible injustices and show power asymmetries” (2014, p333). CDA is used to examine the way language contributes to social reproduction and social change by exploring power in various linguistic settings. Are the companies’ marketing teams and advertisers using different language for female and male customers in order to influence and persuade them into buying the products? Is there a linguistic differentiation depending on the targeted gender? These are the questions which will be covered in this paper.

The aim of this paper is to study the language usage and the semiotic features in cosmetics products, separately for women and men, in order to seek the distinctive gender differences. The focus is to research if the linguistic and semantic differences that exist on the packages of face washes and moisturizers of the two genders, conform to what is generally expected about women and men.

2. Background theory

2.1 Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Gender

Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is the broad, interdisciplinary methodological approach to language and society that focuses on discourse as social practice (Strauss & Feiz, 2014, p314). CDA is a form of research that focuses on the relationship between discourse, society, power and ideology and focuses on what is ‘hidden’ behind the words. Discourse is the process of putting the world into words- and how we use and choose them reflect both cognitive

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conceptualizations and socio-cultural motivations (Strauss & Feiz, 2014, p315). There are two type of CDA analysis, a micro-based analysis and a macro-based analysis of discourse.

Discourse from the CDA perspective consists of linguistic forms in text “and disclosures in addition to the relevant surrounding semiotic resources, e.g., photographs, font size and style, distributions of text and graphics, diagrams and other graphics representations, elements of attire and physical appearance, turn taking practices, gestures and facial expressions” (Strauss & Feiz, 2014, p316). Micro-level analysis includes linguistic features such as “adverbs, verbs of knowing and understanding, logical connectors, pronouns of inclusion, pronouns of

exclusion, metaphor and figurative language, euphemisms and dysphemism’s, and other linguistically central stance-marking elements” (Strauss & Feiz, 2014, p.316). The analysis of the linguistic features that were mentioned above, combined with the surrounding semiotic media may express macro-level messages of “power, control, racism, hegemony, dominance and discrimination (Strauss & Feiz, 2014, p316).

One of the main researchers in the CDA field is Foucault, a French philosopher,

historian of ideas, social theorist, and literary critic. His focus is on how power and discourse are linked to knowledge and how knowledge is produced and used in a society. Often power is connected with identity and gender and how power is identified in text or oral discourse. A critical approach to language and power can help us get past the surface of everyday

experience and go deeper into understanding of each other. Alysson Jule writes in her eBook,

A Beginner's Guide to Language and Gender, that “CDA is a central way in how researchers,

in the field of gender and language, consider how or when the masculine or feminine is constructed as powerful. If it is the masculine that is viewed and understood as powerful, then this affects the interpretation of conversations in the first place” (2017, part 1, np). Strauss & Feiz state that “controlling the minds of others for the purpose of perpetuating such ideologies of power is discursively achieved, through the contextual features of the discourse as well as the linguistic forms (2014, p321).

2.2 Language and gender

There is a strong relationship between language and gender. First of all, it is important to make clear that sex and gender do not have the same meaning. Sex is biological, while gender is socially constructed. In the book of Mooney, Language, Society and Gender it is stated that “Women and men can demonstrate their identities in various ways too; that is, it is not the case that all men (or all women) share the same fundamental qualities simply because they are of the same biological sex. Instead of assuming biological categories, referring to socially

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constructed genders allows us to make different distinctions and to talk about people as being masculine or feminine” (2015, p109). Sex has limited influence on gender. In fact, all women and men do not have to behave in a similar fashion just because they cohere to the same biological group. Gender is accomplished through how people behave, talk and act. Litosseliti and Sunderland state “It may be argued that since power and masculinity are correlative, interactional power can only be achieved by using masculinist strategies in speech” (2002, p74). Coates explains that “gender identity is seen as a social construct rather than as a ‘given’ social category” (Coates, 2004, p6). Often, the language that is used from women or to

describe women is more emotional and descriptive. On the other hand, the language that is used for men is briefer and words that show power or serenity are used on men’s discourse or to describe a man. Allyson Julee explains in her book, A Beginner's Guide to Language and

Gender, that “Being feminine and masculine in the heteronormative sense involves particular

modes of consumption. As such, advertising creates a need for genderedness: gendered identity is singled out as what need to be enhanced. Clothing and cosmetic companies in particular depend on gendered identities to sell their products. (Jule, 2017, part 1, np).Scott Kiesling who is the author of, Men, Masculinities and Language, states in his book that “the most prominent feature claimed for men's language and masculine language is power and hierarchy” and that “all of the men, to greater or lesser degrees depending on the situation, employ a ‘cool’ stance” (2007, p662,p665).

2.3 Masculinity theories

In the Cambridge Dictionary, masculinity is defined as “the characteristics that are

traditionally thought to be typical of or suitable for men”. According to Kimmel and Aronson, the authors of Men & Masculinities. A Social, Cultural, and Historical Encyclopedia, the meanings of masculinity vary over four different dimensions. First of all, masculinity is different depending on culture. In some cultures, men are considered to be masculine when they are more stoic and they are also encouraged to prove their masculinity. On the other hand, there are cultures that “prescribe a more relaxed definition of masculinity based on civic participation, emotional responsiveness, and collective provision for the community’s needs”. Secondly, the definitions of masculinity change and vary according to the time period

discussed. It has been confirmed that “historians have explored how these definitions have shifted in response to changes in level of industrialization and urbanization, position in the larger world’s geopolitical and economic context, and with the development of new

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the beginning of the 20th century in USA differ from the meaning adopted today. Thirdly, over the course of a man’s life the definitions of masculinity are changing. As Kimmel and Aronson write “Both chronological age and life-stage require different enactments of gender”. For example, a boy at the age of 10 defines and interprets what is masculine in a quite

different way than a man at the age of 30. Lastly, there are different definitions of masculinity in the same society at the same time; several meanings coexist. Based on the above mentioned reasonings, it is hard to give one definition of what masculinity actually is. There are different meanings of masculinity according to the culture, time and person that defines it. That is why most of the time the term is found in plural. “By plurazing the term, we acknowledge that masculinity means different things to different group of people” (Kimmel & Aronson, 2004, p503-4).

One of the main theories is the hegemonic masculinity. Coates states, in the book

Women, Men and Language, “Men align themselves with hegemonic masculinity through

their choice of topics (cars, fights, sport), through their emphasis on achievement (in fighting or sport), through their construction of a tough image through the use of swear words and the appeal of violence. Male inexpressivity is recognized as a major feature of contemporary masculinity” (Coates, 2004, 141). Hegemonic Masculinity is usually connected with dominance, authority, power, coolness and strength. According to Goddard and Patterson “[m]ales are seen as logical, rational, aggressive, exploitative, strategic, independent and competitive” (2000, p32). Alternative masculinities represent a challenge to the hegemonic form. Coates further mentions that “There has been a shift in men’s view of themselves-a shift from seeing themselves as unmarked representatives of the human race to focusing on

themselves as men” (Coates, 2004, p5). A couple of decades ago, the masculinity of men who were using skincare products like moisturizers, would be questioned. Nowadays however, in most countries even though men are still associated with power and dominance, using skin care products has become more acceptable and does not put into question the masculinity of men.

2.4 Femininity theories

For the same reason that was mentioned above, on the definitions of masculinities, the term of femininity is usually found in plural. It is hard to define femininity, since the definition of it differs according to the culture, time, place and person who defines it. In the Cambridge dictionary femininity is defined as the fact or quality of having characteristics that are

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traditionally thought to be typical of or suitable for a woman. Coates states that “Dominant versions of femininity today position women as gentle, caring, maternal, attentive to their appearance and above all, nice” (Coates,2004, p139). Dominant or hegemonic femininity is always open to challenge from alternative femininities (Coates, 2004, p140). Multiple femininities exist but there is a dominant theory though and that embodies social actions to femininity that “include compliance, dependence on others, cooperative ability and

conservative sexuality” (Charlebois, 2011, p22). Furthermore, traits that are traditionally seen as feminine are sensitivity, empathy and gentleness.

2.5 Aristotle’s three proofs of persuasion ethos, pathos and logos

According to Worthington, in his book Persuasion: Greek Rhetoric in Action, there are three ways of persuasion: Ethos, Pathos and Logos. Firstly, he explains ethos by writing, “For Aristotle the use of ethos, moral character, as a means of persuasion consists in creating through the speech a character which will induce the required degree of trust on the part of the hearer” (Worthington, 1994, p34, 35). In other words, ethos appeals to the character of the writer or the one who tries to persuade people and he/she needs to refer to how credible and knowledgeable he/she is on the subject and give proof of his/hers experience on the field. Secondly, “pathos is defined broadly by Aristotle (Rhetoric 1356a, 1377b) as ‘creating a certain disposition in the audience’” (Worthington, 1994, p26). With the usage of pathos, the writer appeals to the emotions of the receiver. The purpose of using pathos is to create emotions and to persuade or even manipulate the audience by using a language that is more emotional and creates feelings. Worthington states that “in practice, ethos and pathos are closely connected, for one effect of ethos, as well as inducing a degree of trust, is also to produce a feeling of goodwill in the audience towards the speaker, so that the projection of the appropriate character achieves more subtly the effect sought by explicit appeals for a

favorable hearing” (Worthington, 1994, p35). Lastly, Worthington writes for logos, “the main vehicle for persuasion was rhetoric, a techne whose subject-matter covered the wide range of activity of the Greek word logos, which could mean ‘word’, ‘speech’, ‘argument’,

‘reasoning’, and more, and which included everything from small grammatical details, to large matters of composition, structure and argumentation” (Worthington, 1994,p46) . In other words, with the usage of logos the writer appeals to logic by presenting facts, figures and logical arguments. The persuasion methods mentioned above can be adopted by a marketing team in order to persuade the costumers into thinking that their products are the most suitable to buy.

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2.6 Marketing

It is important to address what marketing is, since the research of this paper is based on the appearance of the packaging; and the marketing team of a company is responsible for the packaging and labeling of the products. Cambridge Dictionary defines marketing as the business activity that involves finding out what customers want, using that information to design products and services, and selling them effectively. According to two experts on the field of marketing, Drummond & Ensor “Marketing in its purest sense offers a mechanism that facilitates understanding, communication and the development of products as solutions to actual customer needs. Marketing is an interface between the provider and their customers” (2005, Chapter 1, np). The marketing team is in charge of deciding the desired positioning of the product according to the target group, how the product looks and of the language that is used in order to persuade the costumers to buy it. Nowadays, marketers tend to give a feminine or masculine personality to their products or even the whole brand. By the way the products are launched, the advertisements and the packaging of them, the marketing team is creating a personality of the product according to target group. Currently, marketers use human personality scales to measure gender dimensions of brand personality in the evaluation of positioning or repositioning strategies (Grohmann, 2009, p105).

2.7 Semiotics: Colour and Font

Discourse is used to refer to spoken or written language use, though it can also be extended to include other types of semiotic activity “such as visual images (photography, film, video, diagrams) and non-verbal communication (gestures)”; and combined with the written or spoken language can produce meaning (Fairclough,1995,p54). Language is just one of many semiotic systems. Other factors, like placement of a sign, the typeface used, the color, images and so on, also create and communicate meaning. Because signs are so varied across the linguistic landscape, attention needs to be payed to all these semiotic choices (Mooney, 2015, p90).

Like symbols, each colour represents something and has a meaning, the meaning can vary from person to person and be interpreted in a different way according to the experiences and cultural background. Colours can be used to create an emotion. Akcay, Dalgin and

Bhatnagar examine colour in product choice among college students in their study, Perception

of Color in Product Choice among College Students: A Cross-National Analysis of USA, India, China and Turkey. The authors conclude that colour has a significant role when it

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comes to buying decisions. They analyze the meaning and associations of colour among consumers further and state that “The knowledge of consumers’ color preferences enables marketers to identify the most popular colors and offer product offerings with the right colors”. Colour is an important tool for the marketing team to make a product more appealing according to the target group. The study mentions further that the two genders prefer different colours on the products which they purchase. Khouw (1995) and Funk and Ndubisi (2006), as referred to in the same study, state that “The women might be more color conscious and their color tastes more flexible and diverse then men. Women are more likely than men to have a favorite color. They prefer soft colors and men prefer bright colors”. Combining the results of their research with the results of Mohebbi’s study, The art of packaging: An investigation into

the role of color in packaging, marketing, and branding, I am going to state the connotations

of 10 colors in daily life and marketing. Red is associated with power, energy, love, warmth, sexiness, strength, activeness etc. Gray is associated with elegance, intelligence, coolness, safety, dependability, futurism etc. Orange is a safe color and it represents energy, balance, warmth, adventure, playfulness, warning etc. White is associated with purity, simplicity, innocence, youth, light, cleanliness, truth etc. Black represents power, sophistication, elegance, mystery, sadness, professionalism, absence, death etc. Blue is associated with masculinity, stability, tranquility, trust, confidence, depression, cleanliness, coldness, water etc. Green is associated with health, nature, fertility, renewal, good luck, health, creative intelligence etc. Yellow represents warmth, joy, hope, decay aging, femininity, success, jealousy etc. Purple is the colour that represents royalty, richness, wisdom, ceremony etc. Lastly, Pink is associated with femininity, joy, appreciation, gratitude, socialism etc. (Mohebbi, 2014, p.100 & Akcay, Dalgin and Bhatnagar, 2011, p.43-5 ).

The typeface that the marketing team is using on a product can also create and communicate meaning in combination with the linguistic features that are used. Different typeface is used according to the target group of the product. Bianca Grohmann on her study

Communicating brand gender through type fonts examines whether the type font that is used

on the products effectively communicates brand gender. She came to the result that the type font used to represent a brand, influences consumers’ brand gender perceptions. It is been found that Script type fonts enhanced brand femininity, whereas display type fonts strengthened brand masculinity perceptions (Grohmann, 2016, p 415-16).

2.8 Cosmetics: L’Oréal Paris & Clinique

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body that are intended to improve the objects appearance or quality. The history of cosmetics spans at least 7,000 years back and is present in almost every society on earth. For many years, cosmetics companies focused on women as a target group; the last decade however, the number of men being interested in cosmetics has increased and cosmetic companies are focusing on manufacturing more products for men.

L’Oréal Paris is a French cosmetics company that was founded in 1908. It is the world's largest cosmetics company and has developed activities in the field concentrating on hair color, skincare, sun protection, make-up, perfume, and hair care. L’Oréal is known to provide a large selection of products both for women and men.

Clinique is an American well-known company of skincare, cosmetics and fragrances. In 1968, Clinique launched the first-line of dermatologist developed skin care and has since then managed to be successful and develop over the years. Now, it is one of the most known companies when it comes to skin care products for both women and men.

2.9 Previous Work

Jie Yang has conducted a study on gender differences in advertisements that focuses

specifically on the adjectives and nouns in the language of advertisements. In his research he analyzes the relationship between advertisements and gender and how the two genders are presented via media. He is questioning whether advertisers use different languages in

advertisements for female and male customers, which consequently influences people’s usage of language. The researcher evaluated the advertisements that are found in female and male magazines. Firstly, he divided the words according to the word class that they belong to. Secondly, he divided them to neutral and non-neutral groups and then analyzed if there were any gender connotations on them. Furthermore, he categorized the words according to their commonness in what they refer to, e.g. the words happiness and exciting share the same category of emotion. Then discussed if the categories are believed to be closer to females or males. He states that “in female magazines, nouns and adjectives tend to emphasize or refer to color, relationship, emotion, senses, and art; however, in male magazines words related with quantity, superiority, adventure, strength and achievement are mostly used”. He concludes that advertisements in magazines are creating information about gender differences through their language.

The above discussed study is similar to my research since both of them are focusing on gender and how they are represented through discourse. The method that was adopted by Jie Yang, which divided the nouns and adjectives into categories according to the commonness in

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what they refer to, is going to be used in this study as well. Adjectives and nouns that are found on the packages are going to be divided into the following categories, according to their meaning and connotation: emotion, power, senses and adventure. More lexical categories may be added in relation with the data that are gathered.

3. Design of the Present Study

In this research paper, skin care products from two well-known cosmetic brands, L’Oréal Paris and Clinique, have been analyzed. The research has been limited to these two brands because both are targeting women and men. There is a wide range of products in both companies, so the research has been limited to face washes and moisturizers. All the face washes and moisturizers that were presented on the official websites of the companies have been gathered for the purpose of this research, which are 99 in total. From Clinique, 45 products have been examined, of which 13 products are for men and 32 for women. In L’Oréal Paris website, 54 products were examined, of which 22 were for men and 32 for women. All the products can be found on the appendix of this paper and they are named as p1, p2, p3 and so on, where “p” stands for product.

For the purpose of this study two corpora were compiled. One corpus with the products for women and one for men. For many products, the description is written in both English and French but only the English words are gathered and are going to be analyzed. I decided to use CDA rather than corpus analysis. The reason that my research is limited to a CDA analysis is that the research is focusing on analyzing the packages of the products; and is noticed that there are no actual sentences that will make sense in a corpus analysis. Mostly noun phrases and adjectives phrases are used without the usage of verbs in order to compile a sentence. Also, the focus of this research is not to analyze specific words and how they are used in a written discourse context, but how lexical and semiotic tools are used differently in relation to the gender of the target group of the product from the marketers in order to create meaning and persuade their customers to buy it. I will make a lexical and semiotic analysis of the data that were gathered. The language, and specifically, parts of speech like nouns, adjectives and verbs and other elements such as color and font on the packages will be discussed by

analyzing the data of the corpuses and the packages to find out if there is a linguistic

distinguishing of the two genders. The research will be divided in four sections: grammatical analysis, connotation of language, Aristotle’s persuasive methods and cosmetics and semiotic analysis: color and font.

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4. Results

In this section the results of the subject products are presented. The section is divided into two parts the lexical and grammatical results and semiotic results (color and font).

4.1 Lexical and grammatical results

At the labeling of the Clinique products for men, the description is brief and comprehensive. In contrast to the products for women, a rich vocabulary is used to give information about the attributes of the products. On the men’s face washes, the labels are just stating the function of the products. The descriptions of the face washes are: Oil control face wash, face wash,

charcoal face wash. There is only one face wash in which they are providing more details

about the attributes of it. First of all, a synonym for the noun phrase (NP) ‘face wash’ is used, which is ‘cleanser’. Also, many modifiers to the word cleanser are used such us: powder,

anti-fatigue, exfoliating and super energizer. On the women’s face washes the labels are more

detailed; synonyms to the NP ‘face wash’ are used, such us: cleanser, cleansing oil/ foam/ gel,

soap, exfoliator. Those noun or NPs are modified by adjectives or adjective phrases such as: foaming, liquid facial, extra gentle, purifying, and soothing.

On moisturizers Clinique’s team is using a bigger assortment of words than in face washes both for women and men. On men’s moisturizers, instead of the noun ‘moisturizer’ nouns or NPs such as: hydrator, energizer and lotion with modifiers like maximum,

moisturizing, anti-age, super, oil control, mattifying, hydrating and 2in1.

There is a wider range of moisturizers for women on Clinique’s website and as a result there is a bigger variation of words. On the packages of women’s moisturizers many

synonyms of the word moisturizer are used, either nouns or NP’s, those are: hydrator,

moisturizer gel/ jelly/ cream/ lotion, moisture surge, treatment oil, cream. Especially, on

women’s moisturizers many modifiers are used, like: intense, skin fortifying, uplifting,

hydrating supercharged, revitalizing, defense, laser focus night, daily, line smoothing, different, anti-pollution, 72 hours, auto replenishing, stay matte, pore refining, super rescue.

Also, words are made up and used as modifiers for example: repairwear, superdefense,

hydroblur. Instead of using two words to describe the product they are making up a word and

they use it to modify the noun. The products that are made for men are distinguished from the ones for women by writing on the brand “Clinique for Men”.

On L’Oréal Paris website a wider variety of facecare products can be found, comparing to Clinique. On the labels of the face washes for men, many words and phrases are used to

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modify face wash, such as: pure & matte deep exfoliating, hydra sensitive, soothing, pure

power, black charcoal, multi action, red volcano, purifying, ice cool, refreshing, ice cool, hydra energetic, magnetic effect, anti-discomfort, ultra-cooling. On the labels of women’s

face washes, the products are described as wash, cleansing oil or cleanser and modifiers are used to those words, such as: gel cream, detox, non-greasy, purity, brightening daily scub,

gently, foaming gel, age perfect, deep facial.

On the moisturizers for men, when the noun ‘moisturizer’ is not used, L’Oréal uses the following nouns or noun phrases: cream, gel, lotion. The following modifiers are used:

complete anti-ageing, lifting, intense double action, hydra energetic, anti-wrinkle, firming, pure & matte, anti-shine, lasting matte effect, anti-fatigue, 24h hydration, 5action on fatigue, instant ice feeling, active, sensitive skin, tattooed skin, wrinkle decrease, hydra power, refreshing, anti-discomfort. On moisturizers some sentences with verbs can be noticed on the

labels, even though in most of the products the phrases that are used are limited to nouns, adjectives and rarely adverbs are added. Those sentences are: “Helps fight sports”, “Reduces excess oil”, “Hydrates for 24H.”, “Visibly reduces wrinkles”, “Skin looks rejuvenated”. Furthermore, a variation of modifiers is found in women’s moisturizes, such as: re-nourish,

revitalift, extraordinary, intensive, age perfect, anti-wrinkle, extra recovery, hydra genius, aloe water, laser renew, wrinkle expert day collagen, magic blur, blurring, anti-ageing, golden age, intense hydrating, triple active nourish, youth code, hydrating night, nourishing, light oil. It is significant to mention that on all of the products for men, the brand is written as L’Oréal Paris Men Expert. On the women products on the other hand only the brand name

“L’Oréal Paris” is added.

4.2 Semiotic Results: Color and Font

In L’Oréal Paris products for women, a variety of colors is noticed. Many pastel colors are used like pale pink, green and blue. Also, gold and red can be found on the packages for women. When it comes to the font, a light font is used on the description of the products, but there is a shift from normal to bold in some products. On the other hand, on men’s products it is noticed that only bold font is used in all of the products. The packages of men have darker colors than women; black, grey, orange and blue are the colors that are used mostly on the packages. In Clinique’s products a similar pattern is observed on the coloring and font of the packages. In the products that are used for women plenty of colors are used, but all of them are light; a pastel pink and yellow are used frequently. Also, colors such as pale green, pale

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purple, light blue and white are used. On the men’s products the main color that the marketing team is uses is dark grey; and once each they use orange and blue for the packages. The marketing team of Clinique uses a light font for the description of the women’s products, with the exception of some words that are written in bold. They use bold font in all of the products that are made for men.

5. Discussion

In this chapter the observations presented in the results section above are analyzed and discussed further based on the theoretical and specific background. The analysis has been divided into four sections: Grammatical Analysis, Connotation of Language, Aristotle’s persuasive methods and cosmetics and semiotic analysis: color and font.

5.1 Grammatical Analysis

In Clinique’s products a significant difference has been observed in the linguistic features depending on if the products are aimed for women or men. The descriptions of the products for men are brief and just simply state the function of the product. As shown on the labeling of the face washes p41 to p45, the marketing team focuses on clearly and briefly stating the purpose and material of the face washes by adding modifiers on the noun wash, as for

example charcoal, oil control etc. The only face wash that more linguistic features are noticed on its label is p45, where it is noticed that the noun phrase (NP) face wash is replaced with the NP powder cleanser which is modified as super energizer, anti-fatigue and exfoliating and the purpose of the modifiers is to show the purpose of the cleanser. The descriptions of the products are limited to adding modifiers that show the material and purpose of them. This observation is further confirmed when analyzing the moisturizers (p33 to p40). The same pattern that was used on the face washes is shown on the moisturizers. NPs are used with adjectives or noun adjuncts/ attributive nouns, such as maximum, anti-age, skin, anti-fatigue that modify the nouns hydrator or moisturizer. As can be seen, the description on the labels of moisturizers remain brief. As mentioned in section 2.2, an attribute that is connected with masculinity and men is that the language used by men or to describe men is compressed. As can be observed in the products that were presented above, the marketing team of Clinique follows this rule and does not add lot of linguistic features to the products.

On the products that are manufactured for women, Clinique’s marketing team uses broader variety of linguistic features. This can be seen by examining women’s moisturizers (p1 to p20). It is noticed that one product may be described with more than one NP, as for

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example p11, where the NP 72-hour auto-replenishing hydrator is presented. The modifiers that are used to modify the noun hydrator are showing time (duration) and the purpose of the products. At the same product, one more NP is presented, which is moisture surge. Also, a bigger variety of modifiers is found on the labels women’s moisturizer, for instance in product p8, three modifiers are found; two of them are adjectives different and hydrating that modify the noun jelly, and one is adverb dramatically that modifies different. Furthermore, the noun

antipollution is added. It is observed that on women moisturizers the texture of the products is

usually presented on the packages e.g. gel/ jelly/ cream/ lotion. Also, compound words (words that consists of more than one element), which are made specifically for the description of the products, are frequently used on the labels such as: superdefence (p5), repairwear(p6) etc. The same patterns are used on the face washes for women (p21 to p32). For example, on the label of product p26, four NPs are found. In three of them acne solutions, salicylic acid and

acne medication the same pattern is observed, which is a noun adjunct modifying another

noun. On the last NP Cleansing gel, an adjective is modifying the noun gel. Another example can be found on p29; where three modifiers foaming, sonic, facial are found for the noun

soap.

As it can be seen on the labels of the products, Clinique’s women products have a bigger variation of linguistic features comparing to the men’s products. As mentioned in the Language and Gender theory section, 2.2, the language that women prefer using in general is more descriptive than men’s. The marketing team of Clinique seems to take this into

consideration, based on the results presented above, and gives a detailed description of the characteristics of the products. Of course, it is worth taking into account that there is a larger variation of skincare products available for women, and marketing teams are therefore

probably more inclined to give details about the features on women products than on men’s to differentiate them from each other. Clinique’s marketing team is following the stereotypical image of women, that women prefer a descriptive language. That is why a language with many adjectives, nouns and adverbs as modifiers is used. In contrast, for men a brief description of the products is given that focus just on the basic function of the product. In L’Oréal Paris, a wider variation of products is found in comparison to Clinique, especially when it comes to the men’s products. The following section will discuss whether the marketing team of L’Oréal adopts a different approach than Clinique when designing their products. On the labeling of moisturizers for men (p47 to p60), the marketing team uses plenty of linguistic features to describe it. In figure p55 for example, the following phrases are found: pure power, active moisturiser, daily control, Helps fight spots. Reduces excess oil and

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hydrates for 24H. On the first three NPs, an adjective is modifying an noun. Furthermore,

three dependent clauses with an implied subject,which is moisturiser are presented. Another instance where the variation of linguistic features is shown is on figure p58, where two NPs are presented: wrinkle de-crease and anti-wrinkle moisturiser with vitamin E. Two clauses are found on the package of this figure, the first one is visibly reduces wrinkles, which follows the structure that has been mentioned previously when discussing p55. The second one is skin

looks rejuvenated and has a more traditional structure with a subject, linking verb and subject

complement. As it can been seen, there is a variation of linguistic features used by the marketing team of the company; verbs, adjectives, nouns and adverbs are used. Brief clauses are found to describe better the functions of the products.

The descriptions of the face washes for men (p61 to p68) are extensive and the linguistic patterns that are used on moisturizes are, also, observed on face washes. For

instance, on products p61 the following phrases are mentioned: pure & matte, deep exfoliating

wash, anti-blocked pores and removes impurities and shine. On the last clause the subject wash is implied, and the nouns impurities and shine are the objects the clause. Deep

exfoliating wash is an NP, in which exfoliating is modifying wash and deep is a modifier on exfoliating. Anti-blocked is an adjective that modifies pores. Another example of the

linguistic variation of the products can be found on the label of product p65. An adjective phrase is detected: hydra energetic. Also, two NPs can be found; the first one is purifying face

wash, on which purifying is modifying the noun wash and the second one is facial hair softener, on which a noun adjunct is modifying a noun. There are two clauses on this product: eliminates impurities and softens and conditions stubble. It is noticed that the same pattern

with an implied subject, as seen in p61, is applied in these clauses as well.

L’Oréal Paris’s marketing team uses a variation of parts of speech both for the face

washes and moisturizers. Plenty of clauses are used and usually the subject of them is implied both from the linguistic features before but from the context as well.

On Clinique’s products has been observed that the linguistic pattern that is used on the packages is different for the two genders. Whether that is the case for L’Oréal, as well, is going to be found by examine the products that are manufactured for women. There is a variation of moisturizers for women (p69 to p91). On the moisturizers it is noticed that on some of them just one NP is used to describe the product and on others more details are given on the description. For example, on product p81 one NP is used youth code, when on product p82 there is a bigger variation on language and the following phrases are found: triple active

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the moisturizers a verb is used for the description of them. Furthermore, it is noticed that compound words are used on the description of women’s moisturizers such as: revitalift (p71) and extraordinary (p86). The word revitalift is found in lot of products and is a made-up word from the marketing team of L’Oréal.

On the face washing products for women (p92 to p99) it is observed that the marketing team is a variation of linguistic features in contrast with moisturizers that linguistic features were limited. For instance, on product p97 the following NPs are found: gentle daily cleanser,

softer, smoother, more supple skin. On the first NP two adjectives gentle and daily are

modifying the noun cleanser. Also, a clause is added, which is Cleanses without over-drying. On all the labels of the products a detailed description of its utility is given. Different part of speech is used, even verbs without being in the context of a clause or sentence are used as for example on the labeling of product p93: cleanses, purifies, mattifies.

Loreal Paris’s marketing team uses a different approach on the packages of women’s

moisturizers. In all of the products a variation of linguistic features is used, except from the moisturizers for women, where the use of words was limited. It is hard to say if they are using a different approach for the two genders when the grammatical/linguistic features are

discussed. There is no a significant difference on the grammatical features that are used like it was noticed on Clinique’s packages. The two genders are distinguished when the context is discussed, something that is going to be analyzed further on, but not when the linguistic features are analyzed. On the other hand, in Clinique the quantity of the use of the language is different for the two genders. As it was mentioned above, the language on women’s packages is more descriptive that the language that is used for men’s packages that is extremely brief. It seems like the marketing team of Clinique takes into consideration the stereotypical thought that brief language relates to masculinity and descriptive language is connected with

femininity, as it was mention above2.2. In most of the products of Clinique for women no verbs are used, instead a lot of nouns and adjectives are used. Many of NPs may occur in one product, e.g. in product p14, and they make sense even though they are no verbs and subjects to structure a whole sentence and to make the text coherent. Independent phrases do not make sense on their own, but they do if read with knowledge of the context. For men the description is brief and is limited to maximum two NPs. On the other hand, L’Oréal Paris does not seem to share the same belief as Clinique, since a “rich” language is used both for women and men; with plenty of NPs, a variation of adjectives and lot of verbs that were added on clauses to make the utility of the product more clear for the consumers.

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5.2 Connotation of language

Previous studies, one of which assesses the 2.9 section Previous Work/Theory , have shown that the language used for the two genders has different connotations. As discussed in this report, language used for men is associated with power and adventure. For women, on the other hand, the language is associated with emotions and senses. These categories have been shown to be associated with masculinity and femininity, as shown in2.9. This part discusses whether the same categories can be found embedded in the face care products that are analyzed in this study.

After analyzing the labels of Clinique’s products, it is observed that the use of words has different commonness for women and men. An example of this is demonstrated by

product p1 (moisturizer for woman), where the word intense is used and on the corresponding product for men p33, where the word maximum is used. The word maximum is connotated with power, on the other hand the word intense has a more emotional connotation. Another example of how the language that is used for men and women differentiate can be found whilst analyzing the anti-aging products. In product p36 the moisturizer for men is modified as anti-age, whereas all of the women’s products that are supposed to have the same function words are described with words such as: repairwear(p2), dramatically different (p7),

turnaround(p4), treatment (p20), even better (p15), solutions (p16). The words that are used

for women are giving the feeling that women need to be fixed; whilst the word anti-aging shows prevention. On women’s products, expressions such as super defense (p5), super

rescue (p19) and extra gentle (p24) are used. Similar products for men use the expression super energizer (p37, p41). The expressions that are used for women connotate that they have

the need to be protected and show sensitivity. In contrast, the expressions that are used for the description of men’s moisturizer shows strength and activity.

When the connotations and meaning of the words are discussed in Loreal’s products, a differentiation of the two genders is observed. In products that are manufactured for women and the products’ purpose is anti-aging the following words are used: revitalift (p71, p74, etc.), renew (p74), youth code (p81), age-perfect (p72, p76, p78). These words can be connotated with women and their need to be fixed in some way or connoted with renewal. Men’s products that have a similar function, the following words are observed: vivalift (p51, p48), complete anti-ageing (p48), antiwrinkle (p51). As shown, the description of the

products is connotated with prevention of anti-aging. Furthermore, several expressions or words that are used for men’s products connotate with power and activity such as: hydra

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power (p55). In contrast, women’s products use words and expression such as: purity (p95), active nourish (79) and fine flower (p92). These are words that can be associated with senses.

Moreover, in women’s products words that are connoted with something supernatural like

extraordinary (p94) and magic blur (p78) can be found.

To sum up, in both of the companies it is observed that the language that is used for products that are manufactured for women is connotated with women’s need to be fixed and protected. Furthermore, words that connotate emotions and senses are used for women’s products. On the other hand, the language that is used on the labeling of products that are produced for men is associated with power, activity, prevention and strength. It has been mentioned on 2.3 and 2.4 that these attributes have been connected with the dominant theories of masculinity and femininity.

5.3 Persuasive methods. Logos-ethos-pathos

On this part, the persuasive language that the marketing teams of the companies are using is going to be discussed by using Aristotle theory about Logos, Ethos and Pathos.

The results for women’s products are going to be presented below for each of the persuasive categories. On most of the products the marketers present facts and figures in order to

persuade the target group that their products are the most suitable to purchase. Some examples that show that the marketers of Clinique and L’Oréal Paris are trying to persuade women by appealing to logic are presented below: 72Hour hydration (p11), anti-pollution (p8),

antioxidant (p19), SPF 20 (p5), enzyme powder (p31), charcoal cleansing gel (p27), salicylic acid (p26), manuka and acahia honey (p70), collagen (p75), calcium (p91), detox wash (p93)

and rose and jasmine (p92) etc. By presenting figures and facts that show the ingredients that are included on the products and the purpose of it, the marketers are using the persuasive method of Logos.

Ethos can be used by the marketers in order to convince their target group by using language that shows how credible and knowledgeable they are. In the products that are

discussed on this research, it is noticed that the marketers are trying to prove the credibility of the companies by using words such as: smart (p20), wrinkle expert (p75, p91). By using the words smart and expert, the marketers are trying to show that they have knowledge in the field and that they are credible.

In most of the products the marketers are trying to create emotion in order to persuade the consumers. Especially on the ones that are manufactured for women, a big variation of emotional language is used. Some examples of appealing to emotion can be found below:

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even better (p15), dramatically different (p7, p8 etc.,), super rescue (p19), extra gentle (p24), age perfect (p69, p70, p77, p97 etc.), revitalift (p71, p74), magic blur (p78), purity (p95), extraordinary (p83, p94) etc. These words are added on the description of the products in

order to create an emotional response, which in this case is the purchase of the products. As it can be seen above, most of the products for women are using logos and pathos in order to persuade their consumers, ethos is used less on the packages of the products.

Aristotle’s three persuasive methods logos, ethos and pathos are used on the labeling of men’s products, as well. Logos is often used, especially on Loreal’s products. For instance: spf 25 (p37), blue light defense (p37) , oil control (p39), wrinkle-decrease (p58), 24h moisturizer (p53), anti-sebum complex (p52), air-gel technology (p54), eliminate impurities (p65) etc. By adding scientific terms and words that show the attributes of the products the marketers are managing to appeal to logic.

Ethos is found on all of the products that are produced for men. The marketers of

Clinique are adding in all of the packages that are made for men: Clinique For Men. Also, L’Oréal Paris marketers are including the phrase ‘men expert’ on the logo of their products.

The marketers are managing to persuade the consumer about their credibility and their knowledge on the cosmetic’s field, by adding those phrases on their label.

Lastly, pathos is added in some of men’s products, but mostly in L’Oréal Paris, as in

Clinique the language that is used is brief. Examples of pathos are: super energizer (p45,

p37), hydra sensitive (p47), pure power (p55), hydra energetic (p60, p67 etc.), turbo boost (p60), magnetic effect (p67), instant ice feeling (p54), hydra power (p59) etc. Most of the packages that are produced for men have lot of attributes that show logos and pathos, but all of them are shown to have attributes of ethos. The credibility of the companies is shown in all of the products that are made for men.

To sum up, the products that are produced for women by Clinique and L’Oréal Paris are showing mostly attributes of logos and pathos; and rarely of ethos. On the other hand, in men’s products the same companies are focusing on showing ethos in all of the products; logos and pathos are often seen on the packages as well.

5.4 Semiotics: colour and font.

As it has been mentioned above, on section 2.7,semiotic factors such as colour and font when combined with the right linguistic features are creating meaning.

Colours are associated with genders and feelings and that is why the marketing teams of the companies choose the colour of a product according to the target group that they want and the

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message that they want to communicate. Clinique and L’Oréal Paris are using similar colours on the packages for both genders. On men’s packages, the majority of the products have as a basic colour, gray. As has been mentioned above on the list of the associations of colours, grey is associated with elegance, coolness and intelligence. Other colours that are often used on men’s products are blue and orange. Both of them are bright colours and it has been found that bright colours are preferred from men. Blue is connected with masculinity, stability and coolness. Lastly, orange is a colour that is linked with energy, balance and adventure. It is noticed that the colours that are used for men are associated with attributes that are linked with masculinity such as, adventure, energy, coolness and stability.

On women’s packages, almost all the colors that are used are light, with only exception the colours red, black and deep blue, which are rarely observed. The colours that the

marketers used more frequently for women are pale pink, pale yellow and white. Pale green, blue and green are also found. Pink is associated with femininity and joy and yellow with royalty and wisdom. White is connected with purity, innocence and simplicity. Green is linked with nature, fertility and renewal and lastly red is connected with love, energy, warmth and power. It is not surprising that the marketers are using pale colours as it has been noticed that soft colours are preferred by women. Also, the majority of the colours that are used are associated with characteristic that are linked with femininity as for example: joy, purity, innocence, fertility etc.

L’Oréal Paris and Clinique are using script type fonts for the products that are

manufactured for women. As it has been mentioned on section 2.7, this kind of fonts, are linked with femininity. There are some exceptions, where a twist from script type font to display font is noticed and that is when the marketers wants to emphasize a feature of the product. Masculinity is associated with display type fonts; as it can be seen both companies that are discussed are using that kind of font on the packages for men. Examples of the font on packages of both women and men are provided below to clarify the difference further. (More can be found in the appendix).

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6. Conclusion

To conclude, 99 cosmetic products have been gathered in order to examine if there is a differentiation on the language that is used for the two genders. After analyzing the data that was found on the website of Clinique and L’Oréal Paris, I can conclude that the language that is used on the product of these companies variates according to the gender. In Clinique it has been noticed that the use of the linguistic features varies both in context and quantity; since on the labeling of the products it has been observed that the products that are manufactured for women have more descriptive texts, in comparison with the ones for men. In L’Oréal Paris the difference on the quantity of linguistic features was not significant. Furthermore, in both companies the language that is used for men is connotated with power, activity and

prevention. On the other hand, the language that is used for women is connotated with a feeling that women need to be fixed and to be protected. Also, a more emotional language is noticed on the packages of the products that are manufactured for women. Moreover, it is been observed that both companies are using the persuasive methods of Aristotle logos, ethos,

pathos. Lastly, semiotic features such as the colour and the font of the products have been

examined and it has been noticed that there is a significant difference on the colours that are used for women and men. Pastel and colours that are associated with attributes shared with femininity are used on women’s products. In the same way the colours that are picked for men’s packages are associated with characteristics that are shared with masculinity.

The results of this study show that the two genders are being targeted in different ways and that different linguistic and semiotic features are used for each gender. Since this research has been limited to two companies, further studies on the field can be done and more cosmetic companies and products can be examined to have a more complete image of the field.

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Reference List

Akcay, O., Dalgin, M., & Bhatnagar, S. (2011). Perception of Color in Product Choice among College Students: A Cross-National Analysis of USA, India, China and Turkey, Vol. 2 No. 21. 42-48. International Journal of Business and Social Science, Vol. 2 No. 21. 42-48. Retrieved from

http://www.ijbssnet.com/journals/Vol_2_No_21_Special_Issue_November_2011/6.pd f

Cambridge dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/

Charlebois, J. (2011). Gender and the Construction of Hegemonic and Oppositional

Femininities. Lanham, Md: Lexington Books. Retrieved from

https://web-a-ebscohost-com.proxy.mau.se/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzM1NDkzN19fQU41?sid=2

c980f1a-96c3-4a2e-b391-b605fb3aad33@sdc-v-sessmgr04&vid=0&format=EB&rid=1

Clinique Official Website. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.clinique.com/

Coates, J. (2004). Women, Men and Language (Third ed.). Harlow, England, New York: Pearson Longman.

Drummond, G., & Ensor, J. (2005). Introduction to Marketing Concepts. Oxford: Routledge. Retrieved from

https://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzE2NjIwNl9fQU4

1?sid=40900cb8-47e8-4433-9af8-77415fec77c2@sdc-v-sessmgr06&vid=0&format=EK&lpid=NavPoint-1&rid=0

Fairclough, N. (1995). Media Discourse. New York and London:: Arnold.

Goddard, A., & Patterson, M. L. (2000). Language and gender. London, New York: Routledge.

Grohmann, B. (2009). Gender Dimensions of Brand Personality. Journal of Marketing

research., 105-119. Retrieved from

https://www-jstor-org.proxy.mau.se/stable/20618874?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents

Grohmann, B. (2016). Communicating brand gender through type fonts. Journal of Marketing

Communications, 403-418. Retrieved from

https://www-tandfonline-com.proxy.mau.se/doi/full/10.1080/13527266.2014.918050?scroll=top&needAccess=t rue

Jule, A. (2017). A Beginner's Guide to Language and Gender (Second ed.). Bristol: Multilingual Matters. Retrieved from

https://web-a-ebscohost- com.proxy.mau.se/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=980d51b3-935e-454a-8063-

14d0c38555e0%40sdc-v-sessmgr04&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=1512256&db=nlebk Kiesling, S. (2007). Men, Masculinities and Language. Language and Linguistics Compass,

653–673. Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1749-818X.2007.00035.x

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Kimmel, M., & Aronson, A. (2004). Men & Masculinities. A Social, Cultural, and Historical

Encyclopedia (Vols. Volume 2 K-Z). ABC-CLIO Inc.

L’Oréal Paris Official Website. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.loreal-paris.co.uk/

Litosseliti, L., & Sunderland, J. (2002). Gender Identity and Discourse Analysis. John Benjamins Publishing CO. Retrieved from

https://books.google.se/books?id=QpZOS8rMTr0C&printsec=frontcover&hl=sv#v=o nepage&q&f=false

Mohebbi, B. (2014). The art of packaging: An investigation into the role of color in packaging, marketing, and branding. International Journal of Organizational

Leadership, 3, 92-102. Retrieved from

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Mooney, A. (2015). Language, Society and Power: An Introduction. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis.

Strauss, S., & Feiz, P. (2014). Discourse Analysis: Putting Our Worlds Into Words. New York, London: Routledge.

Worthington, I. (1994). Persuasion: Greek Rhetoric in Action. London: Routledge. Retrieved from:

https://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzgwMTQ3X19BT

g2?sid=4c6728fb-25a3-4bbf-8e4a-de2cae4a0f02@pdc-v-sessmgr03&vid=0&format=EB&rid=1

Yang, J. (2010). Gender Differences in Advertisements –A Study of Adjectives and Nouns in

the Language of Advertisements. Retrieved from:

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APPENDIX

CLINIQUE FOR WOMEN (MOISTURIZERS)

p1. p2. p3.

p4. p5. p6

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p11 p12 p 13 p14

p15 p16 p17 p18

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CLINIQUE FOR WOMEN (FACE WASHES)

p21 p 22 p23 p24

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p 29 p30 p31

p32.

CLINIQUE FOR MEN (MOISTURIZERS)

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p35 p36

p37

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CLINIQUE FOR MEN ( FACE WASHES)

p41 p42 p43

p44 p45

LOREAL MEN Expert

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p50 p51 p52

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p56 p57 p58

p59 p60

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p64 p65 p66

p67 p68

LOREAL PARIS WOMEN

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p73 p74 p75

p76 p77

p78 p78 p79

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p84 p85 p86

p87 p88 p89

p90 p91

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p94 p95 p96 p97

References

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