Argentina’s Cosmetics and Toiletries Sales: 2007
Total Market: $2.3 billion
1. Hair Care: $570 million
2. Fragrance: $333 million
3. Men’s Grooming: $325 million
4. Skin Care: $324 million
5. Premium Cosmetics: $217 million
6. Makeup: $150 million
The Knife’s Edge
“Argentinean girls are amazing. They are the most beautiful women in the world and I cannot wait to come back.” So said pop star Robbie Williams during an interview with local journalist Diego Maradona. Ask anyone in Buenos Aires why this is the case and the answer is always the same: “It’s in the genes.” However, according to a book called The Masks of Argentina, written by Luis Majul, plastic surgery may be the reason why. One in 30 Argentineans has had plastic surgery. Add up all of the procedures—facelifts, liposuction, hair transplants, breast implants, etc., says José Juri, Argentina’s leading plastic surgeon, and the only country that possibly carries out more operations as a proportion of its population is Brazil. The U.S., France, Italy and Spain all lag behind, despite being far richer, according to the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. In fact, within six months of the crash, a period when spending in supermarkets went down by 40 percent, plastic surgeons—as well as fitness clubs and beauty salons—were all reporting that business was booming again.
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