A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and EconomicsThis work project should be inevitably deemed as a practical approach to a marketing problem - the low consumption of make-up in Portugal, established by a L’Oréal study, dated of 2007. An exploratory quantitative research provided the general idea that the absolute consumption of make-up in Portugal should only be considered feeble when compared to other beauty products, i.e., perfume and facial treatment. Also, and perhaps more important, the notion that the main issue was the fact that make-up is not considered to be a product to be used on a daily basis but rather on an occasional one, especially in the ages of 15 to 28. I then resorted to methods of qualitative research which accommodated several reasons for this. By performing a number of in-depth interviews to women within these ages, I was able to reach the following recommendations, regarding the marketing of make-up in Portugal: the advertising should relate it more to skin care routine and protection; it should also focus in showing different make-up looks, more in line with the Portuguese women/culture; and, very important, make-up companies should invest more in a better distribution of their products in the non-selective channel. A later focus group discussion confirmed these conclusions. Nonetheless, I recommend further studies on the prejudice against make-up that still persist within the Portuguese women, in order to reach the solid growth potential the make-up market evidences in this country
