Project 2
Project 2
Primary research
on
THE TREND OF USING SKINCARE PRODUCTS AMONG ISBA FEMALE
FRESHMEN AT BANKING ACADEMY
Teacher: Nguyen Thi Ngoc Bich
Student: Nguyen Thuy Anh
Class: CO2D
Course: Project 2
Hanoi, 28/07/2023
The trend of using skincare products among ISBA female freshmen
Primary research
on
The trend of using skincare products among ISBA female freshmen
at Banking Academy
by
Nguyen Thuy Anh _ CO2022
Class: CO2D
Lecturer: Nguyen Thi Ngoc Bich
Course: Project 2
Hanoi, 28/07/2023
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The trend of using skincare products among ISBA female freshmen
STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP
Declaration
I declare that the attached work is entirely my own, and I have given due
acknowledgment as required by International School of Business (ISBA).
I understand that the work submitted may be reproduced and the purpose of detecting
plagiarism.
Signed _________________ Date: 28/07/2023
Plagiarism
By signing the declaration, you are stating that you have not plagiarized.
Use the following as a checklist.
⬜ This work is entirely my own.
⬜ I have not copied another student’s work.
⬜ I have not copied or used in any way material from a text, journal, website, or
other published source without acknowledgment (including non – English
sources).
⬜ I have cited and referenced fully and correctly as required by the ISB where
applicable.
⬜ I have not reworded material from another source and presented it as my own.
⬜ I have not used this work in a previous class (self-plagiarism).
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The trend of using skincare products among ISBA female freshmen
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT..............................................................................................................................5
I. Introduction..........................................................................................................................6
III. Methodology.......................................................................................................................8
V. Discussion of findings........................................................................................................11
5.2. The most popular brands of skincare chosen by ISBA female students................12
VI. Recommendation.............................................................................................................14
VII. Conclusion.......................................................................................................................14
REFERENCES.......................................................................................................................15
APPENDICES........................................................................................................................17
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The trend of using skincare products among ISBA female freshmen
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 2: The most popular brands of skincare chosen by ISBA female students ……...….10
Figure 4: The percentage of spending purchased for skincare per month ……………….…11
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The trend of using skincare products among ISBA female freshmen
ABSTRACT
Skincare products are becoming more and more popular with people in general and
especially skin care has become a habit of women in particular. The purpose of this study is
to investigate the trend of consuming skincare products by female freshmen at International
School of Banking Academy (ISBA) in Vietnam, in terms of the degree of popularity of using
skincare products and the decisive factors related to purchase. A survey in the form of
questionnaire was conducted, which included 100 randomly selected participants. Paper
questionnaires were handed out to participants with seventeen questions about trends in the
consumption of their skincare products. The results demonstrate that most female students
opt to use skincare. In addition, the purpose of use is to nourish the skin and beautify it. It is
also indicated that product quality, price, and reviews are three factors affecting the
repurchase intentions of the participants. For the significance of the paper, these findings not
only develop a sophisticated understanding of the trend of using skincare products but also
contribute to providing knowledge of the consumption of skincare products by female
university students.
5
The trend of using skincare products among ISBA female freshmen
I. Introduction
In the present time, the trend of consuming cosmetics products in general, and skincare
products, in particular, is increasing significantly with the large number of people using
cosmetics. On average, Vietnamese people invest about 8 USD to 17 USD/person/month in
cosmetics. According to a report in January 2020 about using skincare products among
women shoppers in Vietnam, approximately 53% of females used skincare products on a
daily basis, and 14% of those who use them from two to three times a week (Nguyen, 2021).
Besides, people have better living standards and lifestyles thanks to technological
advancements, science, society, economy, and education, so people are becoming more
conscious of beauty (Mai and Hoang, 2016). Therefore, to meet their needs of them, the
business and the brands improve and try to create new products.
Among the targeted groups of customers, female university students account for the most
significant proportion. The first reason is moisturizing: Thanks to ingredients containing
nutrients, skincare products extracted from fruits will help moisturize the skin, reduce oil
secretion that causes skin tightness, and reduce dryness most effectively on winter days.
Besides, they are also the group of young people who want to minimize signs of aging,
polyphenols in some fruits are effective antioxidants, help fight age, and prevent the aging
process of the skin. This is one of the most reasons why most girls want to avoid it.
Especially, using skincare helps protect the skin from harmful agents from the environment.
Harmful agents such as pollution, sunlight, radiation, and cigarette smoke ... can lead to skin
damage. Meanwhile, the nutrients in the fruit may help minimize these harmful effects
effectively.
Thus, the objective of the study was to examine the trend of consuming skincare products
among ISBA female freshmen at Banking Academy where I am studying. This paper, which
is the result of my research project, aims to answer the five following questions: “How often
do ISBA female freshmen use skincare products?’, “Which skincare products brand do they
usually choose to use?”, “What factors influence their decision to choose skincare?”, and
“How much money do they spend on buying skincare products per month?”. Therefore, the
findings of the study would help readers to know more about this issue on the certain
subjects.
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The trend of using skincare products among ISBA female freshmen
Ironically, a lot of research has been done to look into the use of cosmetics, but instead of
providing a comprehensive picture, each study only examines a single aspect of the problem.
In detail, according to a study by Mai and Hoang (2016) used a questionnaire built to survey
313 males between the ages of 20 and 50 on the use of skincare products. The research paper
found that higher levels of skin health attention, body attraction, age and aging process, self-
image, and cognition of using males skincare products would likely purchase more of males
skincare products. In addition, the empirical results indicated that four personal factors of
self-image, skin health attention, body attraction, and age and aging process had significant
effects on male consumer purchase decisions. Also, it is influenced by the views of those
around it because of lifestyle and religious differences or buyers influenced by
advertisements (Souiden and Diagne, 2009). The research focuses on only one factor, the
only aspect influencing the decision to buy cosmetics is personal factors. However, the report
explores the effects, it investigates males, not females, while their needs and perceptions of
skincare products are better.
Besides, Kokoi (2011) showed the purchasing patterns of female products for facial skin care.
In other words, the study focused on the factors that influence one buying decision over
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The trend of using skincare products among ISBA female freshmen
others. Her research focused on comparing the consumption needs of women in two age
groups: the 20 to 35 age group and the middle age group 40 to 60 and sent to 505 Finnish
women for the survey. A total of 138 women in this age group were given answers to the
research question. According to the findings, Finnish women between the ages of 20 and 35
and those between the ages of 40 and 60 exhibited somewhat similar purchasing patterns for
products for their Facial skin. However, a few differences were also discovered, such as in
the attitudes toward the use of natural ingredients in facial skin care products. For instance,
females who had children were more supportive of the use of natural ingredients than females
who did not have children. Although this study investigated the need for skincare products, it
has not looked into the trends of specific subjects like women university students.
Additionally, in three cities in India, about 150 women were invited to participate in a survey
about factors when choosing to buy skincare products (Sabharwal, Maan and Kumar, 2014).
The study said women’s appearance is important to each of them. Even if the appearance is
not as desired, cosmetics are what help women improve, and take care of their skin more. The
research has shown that brand is a key factor that buyers care about. Besides, the author
conducted other important factors affecting the purchase intent of customers are quality,
suitability, and safety for the customer’s own skin. The study has also displayed that the most
commonly used product is a moisturizer and then an anti-aging skin cream that is very
popular with older women. Nonetheless, these research factors were only mentioned in three
cities of one country, India, not in Vietnam.
In conclusion, in spite of the promising outcomes, the previous studies have had certain
weaknesses such as no research on skincare product usage trends among university students
in Vietnam. Therefore, this is the purpose for which I did this research.
III. Methodology
This research project aimed to investigate the trend of consuming skincare products among
ISBA female freshmen at Baking Academy in Vietnam, so the quantitative research was
chosen to conduct to find out the answers for the research questions. Bryman (2012, p.35)
gave the definition of quantitative research as, “A research strategy that emphasizes
quantification in the collection and analysis of data...”. It means quantitative research denotes
amounting to something. And it can be used to identify trends and averages, make
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The trend of using skincare products among ISBA female freshmen
predictions, check the validity of causal hypotheses, and extrapolate findings to larger
populations (Bhandari, 2023). Besides, Payne and Payne (2004, p. 180) stated that:
“Quantitative methods seek regularities in human lives by separating the social world into
empirical components called variables which can be represented numerically as frequencies
or rate”. Thus, the quantitative findings are likely to be generalized to a whole population or a
sub-population because it involves the larger sample which is randomly selected (Carr, 1994).
Besides sampling, data analysis is less time-consuming as it uses the statistical software
(Connolly, 2007).
The data used in this report was acquired from a questIonnaire carried out within ISBA of
Banking Academy. At the beginning, a questionnaire that consisted of fifteen questions
(including: 10 closed questions, 6 partially-closed questions, and 1 open-ended question) was
designed based on my five research questions. In the next step, 100 first-year female students
from the mentioned-above ISBA of Banking Academy were randomly selected, and each of
them was required to complete all the questions. The trend of consuming skincare products
among ISBA female freshmen at Baking Academy in Vietnam in it by filling and circling the
suitable options. In fact, the researcher can gather data from significant participant samples
using the survey method. Additionally, surveys are inclusive in the kinds and numbers of
variables that can be studied, cost little to develop and administer, and are generally simple
for drawing generalizations. (Bell, 1996, p.68).
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The trend of using skincare products among ISBA female freshmen
9%
27%
Less than 2 times
22% 2-3 times
4-5 times
6-7 times
More than 7 times
24% 19%
According to Figure 1, 27% of the total students used skincare products more than 7 times a
week while the percentage of consuming skincare less than 2 times a week was only 9%.
45
40.2
40 37
34.8
35
30 27.2 27.2
25 22.8 21.7
20 17.4
15 12 13.2
9.8 10.9
10
5
0
ee al a
sa
y ea hy ce na hl
's gi ge er
s
r ré m iv ic oi ge ba ei
isf 'O er Po N V h o ie O n th
In
n L od e- C tr K La O
Bi och l a's N
eu
R P au
La
Figure 2: The most popular brands of skincare chosen by ISBA female students
It is clearly seen from Figure 2, the majority of female students used the brands L’Oréal,
Innisfree, and La Roche-Posay with numbers of 40.2%, 37%, and 34.8% respectively.
Figure 3: Decision factors for purchasing skincare products
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The trend of using skincare products among ISBA female freshmen
77.2
80
60 50 51.1
44.6
40
18.5
20
0
e it y d rs ct
s
r ic al an se u
t p
qu Br s u od
uc ct ou pr
ro
d u vi ng
P od re yi
Pr f p
bu
t so pl
e
en eo
m f p
m
Co ero
d b
s an um
w N
vie
Re
As can be seen from Figure 3, more than 70% of students’ decision to purchase skincare is
based on product quality.
12% 10%
58%
According to Figure 4, the population of ISBA female students expenditure about 200,000 to
500,000 VND accounting for 57% of the total.
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The trend of using skincare products among ISBA female freshmen
V. Discussion of findings
The findings presented above are by no means capable of covering all the aspects of ISBA
female freshmen’s trend of consuming skincare products due to the fact that they came from
only one university and in quite a limited scope. Nonetheless, students in ISBA of Banking
Academy are those who come from a variety of cities or provinces in my country. Besides,
they also have the diversity social backgrounds. Thus, I firmly guarantee a certain level of
generalization of the data that I have collected from my questionnaire.
Therefore, in order to maintain and preserve the beauty of the skin for a long time, skin care
must be carried out daily. It both nourishes the skin from deep within and protects it from
external environmental factors.
5.2. The most popular brands of skincare chosen by ISBA female students
According to the results of Figure 2, page…, it seems that most of them prefer to use skincare
products of L’Oréal, Innisfree, and La Roche-Posay than other brands. In detail, there are all
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The trend of using skincare products among ISBA female freshmen
popular cosmetic brands in Vietnam and around the world. These brands are all highly
appreciated for their quality and effectiveness in skincare. L’Oréal is a long-standing French
cosmetic brand specializing in providing beauty care products from skincare, and hair care to
makeup, so it is highly appreciated by users. La Roche-Posay is also a brand belonging to the
famous cosmetics group L’Oréal and is especially famous for its skincare products for people
with sensitive and acne-prone skin. Products of this brand are highly appreciated for their
cleanliness and benignity, even for people with difficult skin that is easily irritated. Next is
the cosmetic brand Innisfree, a famous Korean brand. In recent years, people often want to
use natural products and Innisfree is one of the brands that uses natural ingredients such as
volcanic ash from Jeju Island to create benign skincare products (Innisfree, n.d).
In short, thanks to the popularity of the brand and products made from natural, benign
ingredients, it has helped attract the attention of women.
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The trend of using skincare products among ISBA female freshmen
To sum up, 200,000 to 500,000 VND is a reasonable amount of oney that ISBA female
students can spend to buy skincare products.
VI. Recommendation
Based on the mentioned-above discussions of the results, it is easily found out that how to
evaluate the quality of skin care products as well as how to choose the right product is not
good. Thus, there are some following solutions that help ISBA female first-year students to
choose good and appropriate skin care products. First of all, need to determine your skin
group correctly. Choosing the right cosmetics for the skin is just as important as if you want
to cure a disease, you must use the right medicine. For example, if the skin is dry, you should
choose products with ingredients containing vitamin E; vitamin A has good moisture
retention. If it is oily skin, choose gel products instead of creams. Using the right products for
that skin type improves skin condition better than using products that are not suitable for the
skin. Another way is to read what ingredients are written on the product packaging. In fact,
understanding and evaluating the ingredients in cosmetics is a simple way to judge whether a
cosmetic is right for your skin and needs. Recognizing and understanding the beneficial as
well as harmful ingredients to the skin is really an advantage when it comes to skincare.
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The trend of using skincare products among ISBA female freshmen
VII. Conclusion
In summary, I fully hope that the findings of my study are capable of promoting the similar
interests concerning the consumption of women’s skincare in general and ISBA female first-
year students in particular. These subjects, as I have found out from the limitation of my own
research, are extremely worthy of further and deeper investigations. While investigating the
trend of consuming skincare products among ISBA female freshmen at Baking Academy, I
recognize that there would also be a variety of students’ age groups, genders, or personal
views, which affects directly the results of the study. Thus, broadening the scope of the
survey would be likely to bring up new and unconventional results awaiting reasoning and
explanation. Therefore, I hope that there would be more studies in the future to thoroughly
examine other aspects of this topic.
(295
REFERENCES
Bell, S. (1996). Learning with information systems: Learning cycles in information systems
development. New York: Routledge.
Bhandari, P. (2023) What is quantitative research?: Definition, uses & methods, Scribbr.
Available at: [Link] (Accessed:
09 July 2023).
Bryman, A. (2012). Social research methods. New York: Oxford University Press.
Carr, L. T. (1994). The strengths and weaknesses of quantitative and qualitative research:
What method for nursing? Journal of Advanced Nursing, 20(4), 716-721.
[Link]
Innisfree (n.d.) Natural benefits from Jeju Island, Innisfree [online]. Available at:
[Link] (Accessed: 26 July 2023).
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The trend of using skincare products among ISBA female freshmen
Junaid, A.B. and Nasreen, R., 2012. Determination of consumer behaviour amongst
millennials in dermaceuticals (skin care products). International Journal of Marketing
Studies, 4(3), p.88.
Kokoi, I., 2011. Female buying behaviour related to facial skin care products.
Kotler, P. and Levy, S.J., 1969. Broadening the concept of marketing. Journal of marketing,
33(1), pp.10-15.
Khuong, M.N. and Duyen, H.T.M., 2016. Personal factors affecting consumer purchase
decision towards men skin care products—A study in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance, 7(2), pp.44-50.
Nguyen, M.-N. (2021) Vietnam: Frequency of using skincare products 2020, Statista.
Available at: [Link]
skincare-products/#statisticContainer (Accessed: 23 June 2023).
Padel, S. and Foster, C., 2005. Exploring the gap between attitudes and behaviour:
Understanding why consumers buy or do not buy organic food. British food journal,
107(8), pp.606-625.
Payne, G., & Payne, J. (2004). Key concepts in social research. London: Sage.
Sabharwal, V., Maan, S. and Kumar, S., 2014. Women buying behaviour and consumption
pattern of facial skin care products. International Journal of Management and
SocialSciencesresearch.
Souiden, N. and Diagne, M., 2009. Canadian and French men's consumption of cosmetics: a
comparison of their attitudes and motivations. Journal of Consumer marketing, 26(2),
pp.97-109.
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The trend of using skincare products among ISBA female freshmen
APPENDICES
QUESTIONNAIRE
on
the trend of consuming skincare products among ISBA female freshmen
My name is Nguyen Thuy Anh. I come from CO2D class at ISBA of Banking Academy. I am
doing a study on the trend of consuming skincare products among ISBA female freshmen at
Baking Academy in Vietnam. This questionnaire is designed to help me acquire information
for my research project. I highly appreciate your contribution to my research by answering
the questions in it. Please complete it and return by July 22nd, 2023. Thank you so much.
17
The trend of using skincare products among ISBA female freshmen
6. What kind of cosmetics do you use? (You can choose more than 1 answer)
A. Micellar cleansing water (nước tẩy trang)
B. Cleanser (sữa rửa mặt)
C. Toner
D. Serum
E. Moisturizer (kem dưỡng ẩm)
F. Mask (mặt nạ)
G. Sun cream (kem chống nắng)
H. Facial mist (xịt khoáng)
I. Others (Please specify the reasons):__________________
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The trend of using skincare products among ISBA female freshmen
10. How much money do they spend on buying skincare products per month?
A. Less than 200,000 VND
B. From 200,000 to 500,000 VND
C. From 500,000 to 1,000,000 VND
D. More than 1,000,000 VND
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The trend of using skincare products among ISBA female freshmen
H. Neutrogena
I. Kiehl’s
J. Obagi
K. Laneige
L. Others (Please specify the reasons):__________________
17. How do you think using skincare products is effective for users? (Rating from 1 is
not effective to 5 is effective)
Not effective Average Effective
1 2 3 4 5
THANK YOU
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