Emotions play a central role in the formation and retention of experiential memory, linking products to affective valence and facilitating memory encoding (Krishna, 2012). Previous research has demonstrated that remembered pleasure is a stronger predictor of future behavior than immediate, in-the-moment pleasure (Kahneman, 2000). Numerous studies, particularly in food and tourism research, have highlighted the influence of emotional memory traces on consumer decision-making.
In the cosmetics industry, the ability to anticipate consumer behavior is critical for successful product launches, reformulations, and cross-cultural adaptation. The objective of this study was therefore to develop and validate a dedicated methodology for measuring the affective trace generated by cosmetic experiences.
A total of 196 female consumers evaluated 35 cosmetic products across skincare, hygiene, makeup, and fragrance categories, with each participant testing six products. Emotional responses were collected via questionnaires administered after one week of use and again after one month, following a longitudinal approach used to assess temporal coherence in experiential evaluations (Kahneman, 2000; Giuffrè, 2025).
Results revealed three distinct emotional dynamics over time: increasing, stable, and decreasing intensity. These patterns demonstrate the sensitivity of the methodology and its capacity to capture meaningful discrepancies between immediate emotional impact and affective memory. Future research should examine the moderating effects of consumer profiles, cultural context, and product category.