Here comes another study saying one company’s products are better than someone else’s. Like most of these studies, it all sounds pretty darn convincing. But wait; let’s consider the fine print before we go shopping…

You may have seen recent media reports that a study in the very proper British Journal of Dermatology revealed that using Olay’s Pro-X products improves wrinkles just as well as prescription tretinoin (the active ingredient in the topical medications Renova, Retin-A, etc.). The big deal being made is that Olay Pro-X, a “non-prescription brand” that’s readily available, has come up with an anti-wrinkle skin-care routine that can be considered “as effective as the leading wrinkle brand regimen at half the price”. And they’re guaranteeing it, too, which only confirms how much faith they have in the results (but these days, who doesn’t guarantee their products?).

The study was the comparative type, and involved 196 women between the ages of 40–65. Half of the participants used Olay Pro-X products and the others used a cream containing 0.02% tretinoin. The majority of participants used the products for 8 weeks, at which time the results were tabulated. The headline conclusion was that in just 8 weeks, the Pro-X routine worked just as well as tretinoin. But wait, there’s more…

On the surface, the results sound very impressive, but before you speed to your local Walgreens or Rite Aid to fill your basket with all things Pro-X, consider this: the study, like so many things in life, has critical fine print that cannot be ignored.

Here’s what Olay states in their ads and on the company’s Olay Professional Web site, “The prescription [meaning tretinoin] takes 24 weeks to see full results and longer term comparative results may be different”. So after all the hype, Olay’s study really just showed that Pro-X isn’t as effective as tretinoin because, as it seems, they published results prematurely.

We know tretinoin can take 24 weeks (6 months) of consistent use for positive results, and that the results continue to improve the longer a person uses tretinoin. Olay must know this too, or they wouldn’t have the fine print disclaimer needed to meet the standards of the journal this study was published in.

Interestingly, they mention that a small number of women in the study continued their regimens for an additional 16 weeks, meaning they used either Pro-X or tretinoin for a total of six months. The results? Only that “both groups continued to improve” and that the overall wrinkle reduction was 20%, but they didn’t indicate if the women using tretinoin had even better results (I am betting they did). Wouldn’t it be great to speak to some of the women who participated in this study? I wonder how many of them are still using Pro-X?

Estee Lauder has a new anti-wrinkle product (I know, what a shock; add this to the other 300 anti-wrinkle products they sell from their various lines). Perfectionist [CP+] Targeted Deep Wrinkle Filler ($39.50 for 1 ounce) is said to be a “powerful daily treatment for your deepest wrinkles”. It’s designed to be used on lines around the eye, creases in the forehead, furrows between the brow—anywhere you have lines that don’t go away when your face is expressionless.

This type of product isn’t anything new. Estee Lauder’s defunct Prescriptives brand offered a version of this product years ago in their Magic line, Lancome had their Touche Optimage Line Blurring Concentrate, and Lauder-owned Good Skin (sold at Kohl’s department stores) sells TriAktiline Instant Deep Wrinkle Filler. All of these are silicone-based serum-like products that serve as a soft spackle for wrinkles and large pores. You pat the product into and over creases, and they have a superficial, temporary filling effect. How long results last depend on the formula and, more critically, how expressive you are. And of course, none of these products have even a fractional ability to work like Botox or dermal fillers, but that’s another story.

We’re about to review this new Perfectionist product on Beautypedia, and although we don’t typically try products before we review them (we prefer to focus on the ingredient list, product claims, and research rather than personal experience which doesn’t help thousands of women know what really works) I decided to give this a go. At age 36, I have some minor lines around my eyes and wanted to see how Perfectionist would work to “push up” my wrinkles, as the copy on the packaging reads.

I followed the directions provided and dispensed a small amount of this wrinkle filler into my lines, gently patting to smooth the excess. This filler has a texture that is very much like spackle, so I instantly felt like I was doing some serious patchwork under the bright lights of my bathroom. Perfectionist feels supremely silky and sets quickly to a soft, powder-like matte finish laced with subtle sparkles, which I didn’t care for. The filling effect was impressive. It really did a good job of smoothing superficial lines—definitely better than my usual moisturizer.

Here’s the part where things started to go downhill. I reasoned that most women using this product are likely to apply it before makeup. After all, why bother with the cosmetic effect of filling lines right before going to sleep? You want your lines to be less apparent during the day, right? So once Perfectionist had set, I pulled out a Lauder foundation and applied it around the eyes. Imagine my surprise when the makeup looked TERRIBLE over the area where Perfectionist was applied. Lauder’s liquid foundation looked patchy and, as the day went by the skin around my eyes looked cracked and crepy—Perfectionist + foundation actually made me look older! How depressing is that?

Back at the office, I tried several other foundations over the Perfectionist Wrinkle Filler. Any liquid or cream-to-powder foundation with any type of silicone in it didn’t look good. In fact, the combination made wrinkles and even minor lines more apparent. When I applied a silicone-free foundation (Laura Mercier’s Oil-Free) over Perfectionist, the result was great. This combination kept the lines filled while actually allowing the foundation to look better than it does when used alone. The problem is that the majority of foundations, concealers, and most tinted moisturizers sold today contain one or more forms of silicone. You shouldn’t have to give up your favorite foundation or concealer in order to experience the benefits (however temporary) Perfectionist offers.

Oddly enough, the aforementioned TriAktiline Instant Deep Wrinkle Filler from Lauder-owned Good Skin works beautifully with foundations and concealers that contain silicone.

One more comment: Lauder isn’t known for offering fragrance-free skin-care products, and Perfectionist is no exception. After a few days of applying this product around my eyes, I experienced stinging and tenderness on my skin and in my eyes. Both issues went away as soon as I stopped using this product, which has a much stronger scent than what anyone should be applying so close to their eyes (and what woman who purchases this product to fill wrinkles isn’t going to try it around her eyes?)

We routinely receive emails (lots of emails) from new and longtime readers asking us to review a specific brand or product. It never ceases to amaze us how many brands are out there that we’ve yet to review—given the millions of products available, you’d think no one in the world would have a single skin-care complaint!

Lately I’ve received a series of emails from readers that leave me shaking my head at the audacity some of these cosmetic companies have. These women who write to us have the best intentions of finding products that work for them, but they’re increasingly up against some of the most ridiculous claims and prices we’ve ever seen. I wasn’t a bit surprised when I explored some of the products these women were intensely curious about…and found out that they were terrible in most respects. Good thing they checked with us first, but imagine all of those who don’t and wind up financially and emotionally down when the wow-factor claims don’t show up in the mirror. One more reason why, as Paula states, “You need a Cosmetics Cop!”

 But back to these emails I field daily…the more I thought about it, the more I couldn’t put my finger on why even well-informed, Paula-educated consumers still get curious about products with miraculous claims and stratospheric prices. For example, one of the messages asked about a serum with placental enzymes that cost $200 for an ounce. Not only was the price outrageous, but the formula, quite frankly, sucked. Alcohol was a major ingredient, and it contained irritating plant extracts, too. Of course, placental enzymes (which come from animals, not people) have no effect on skin, but that’s fodder for another blog. This woman must’ve felt that the price and claims added up to something special, because she honestly wanted to know if this serum was worth abandoning the one she normally uses from Paula’s Choice. That’s a hard question for me because after reviewing thousands of products, I know the value of our formulations but at the very least if a woman is going to make a change it should be for the better, not for worse. 

I know women are always looking for the best products. They always want to know if some secret ingredient or formula really exists. The perpetual lure of advertising and dollar signs makes us second-guess ourselves. Is the grass really greener if only we spend a lot more money? With so many products vying for our attention, it’s easy to let our hopeful human nature to take over regardless of how much it costs. That’s not the most rational or pragmatic approach, but in the midst of seeing things we don’t like about our appearance (wrinkles, sagging skin, discolorations) who isn’t tempted to ignore reality and wish for the fantasy? I imagine many women, despite being consistently disappointed by products that don’t work as claimed, remain hopeful because of the boost they get from feeling as if they are doing something to address their appearance. It may not be the best thing and it may cost much more than it realistically should, but simply making the effort and refusing to give up has to count for something, right?

What do you think? Are my theories spot-on or did I completely miss the mark? As cosmetics consumers, how vulnerable are all of us to fantastic claims coupled with jaw-dropping prices?

Inorder to compose the summaries of the brands Paula reviews, we have to gather information about the company history and background in order to put the brand’s products into context for Paula and, of course, for the benefit of Beautypedia subscribers. While compiling information for Sally Hansen, I encountered another positively baffling encounter with a customer service rep, which just might be the kookiest yet!

I thoroughly searched Sally Hansen’s website and that of their parent company Coty, Inc. to find some information about the brand—for instance, who is Sally Hansen? Why is she so focused on nail care? How did the company come to be a drugstore mainstay?—and was coming up with zilch. I couldn’t find any information, not even when it was founded and by whom—basic stuff that almost all cosmetic brands put on their websites. Even a search on Wikipedia and Google yielded no results. So I opted to call Sally Hansen’s customer service, explaining that I was doing some research on the brand and wanted to know some background history. Here’s how that conversation transpired:

Me: Hi! I’m doing some research and I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about the Sally Hansen brand. Who is Sally Hansen? How did the company originate? Or can you put me in touch with someone who might know?

SH: Sure! I can direct you to our website. All that information is available on SallyHansen.com.

Me: Actually, I started there, and there’s no “About Us” info on your site at all. Or if it is there, I’m just not seeing it.

SH: Then it should be on Coty.com.

Me: I tried there too, but Sally Hansen isn’t even listed as one of Coty’s affiliate brands. That’s why I thought I’d give you a call.

SH: Well, I guess that site hasn’t been updated in awhile! Can you please hold?

*TEN MINUTES PASS*

SH: Sorry for the long delay. I can tell you that Sally Hansen wasn’t actually a real person, and all the other company history information we have is available at SallyHansen.com.

Me: Okay, that’s helpful. But I’m just not seeing where that information is on your site. Can you tell me the tab you clicked on or the URL of what you’re looking at?

SH: Did you click on Contact Us or Customer Service?

Me: Yes, I’m looking at that page now.

SH: All the company information is listed there.

Me: But there’s nothing there.

SH: Well, then, I’m told that’s all the information we have.

Me: So all the information you have is no information?

SH: Yes, all the information we have is listed there.

Me: But have you looked at the page? There’s nothing there. It’s only the customer service phone number and an email address.

SH: Well, you should send your inquiry via email and someone can get back to you.

Me: Great! Which department receives those emails?

SH: This department. Customer Service.

Me: But aren’t I talking to you now? How would emailing you help?

*EXTREMELY AWKWARD SILENCE*

Me: Thank you for your time.

*CLICK*

So, dear readers, after all that, all I know for sure is that Sally Hansen wasn’t actually a real person. Whether or not that accounts for the company’s gaps in their employees’ logic and the staggering lack of background information they give their customers, I can’t say. But in my experience this kind of doublespeak and nonsense at the customer service level doesn’t bode well for how their products will stand up to Paula’s scrutiny. Either way, look for those reviews on Beautypedia soon!

T he answer to that question certainly isn’t from any cosmetic you can buy. Skin care can do a lot, but eliminating wrinkles isn’t among the benefits of even the best skin-care routines available. What is the real answer besides cosmetic procedures? Photoshop! It will stun some women and come as no surprise to others that the cosmetic industry relies exclusively on Adobe Photoshop (or some other photo-retouching computer program) to demonstrate in ads how effective their products are. They would NEVER rely on their products to demonstrate the dramatic results they endlessly boast you will get if you use their products because they know damn well such miraculous results are impossible.

A clear example of this artifice has popped up in the U.K. and is making news headlines over there. Here’s the saga:

Remember who this is? It’s Twiggy, circa 1969, the iconic, waif model who made emaciation a fashion statement that won’t go away.

But it isn’t her body or the spidery false lashes she always wore that is getting attention today. Rather it is the false, photo-shopped pictures of her appearing in magazine ads for Olay that have appeared all over the U.K.

Here is how Twiggy really looks in person circa 2008 (the photo is from an Elle awards show):

And here is how Olay wants you to believe she looks in their 2009 ads for Definity as a result of using their Eye Illuminator product:

And as advertising would have it here is another example of Twiggy’s photo-shopped visage in 2007 (the one on the left is the picture that appeared in ads for Marks Spencer and the one on the right is the real Twiggy).

Why Did This Make Headlines?

Olay launched their Definity Eye Illuminator Eye Cream this past summer with ads in magazines showing Twiggy’s face smoothed over like spackle does over cracks in a wall. Due to new advertising regulations in the U.K. from the Advertising Standards Authority the entire ad campaign was banned as being misleading (as if the claims weren’t misleading on their own, but that’s another story) and was “socially irresponsible” and could have a “negative impact on people’s perceptions of their own body image.”

Although Olay admitted to “minor retouching” around Twiggy’s eyelid area, her before and after pictures depict what is really going on, and it is hardly minor retouching by anyone’s definition except Olay’s.

But why pick on Olay? This kind of retouching shows up on hundreds of other models in most every single ad in a magazine that exists regardless if it’s cosmetics (false eyelashes pretending to be created by mascara) or clothing, or jewelry. Women and men are doctored up to look perfect. Is there anything wrong with that?

Your Thoughts?

Before I write about my feelings concerning this new development in fashion photography I would love to hear from you. I’m curious to know what you think about all this. Please comment and then I’ll let share my thoughts.

I know I’m about to piss a lot of people off with this blog entry but let me just preface what I want to get off my chest by saying I am an environmentalist and have been for years. I live in the Pacific Northwest and as a community and personally we have been ecologically aware for decades. I know polluting our world is a serious problem and we all need to do everything we can to reduce our carbon footprint, but I have had enough with the fear mongering, propaganda, and outright brainwashing the organic and natural skin care product lines throw at consumers. Even mainstream companies have gotten in on the act (L’Oreal actually advertises their Everpure hair-care line claiming it is better because it doesn’t contain sulfates, which is a bunch of crap because all of their other products from Garnier to Kerastase contain sulfates. Why didn’t they stop selling those if sulfate-free is so much better?).

Let me just say this up front: skin care products are not killing us, causing cancer, or any other dire condition. Women have no more higher incidence of cancer then men (breast cancer doesn’t count as men don’t have estrogen in the first place and women don’t get prostate cancer for obvious reasons as well). The insane, misleading information about mineral oil, petrolatum, parabens, and even toluene in nail polishes is just bizarre. The research doesn’t exist to prove any harm is being done, not even remotely. Not to mention natural and organic products contain problematic ingredients that effect the environment and our health as well.

I’m not sure how this all got started but the natural organic fanatics want you to be very afraid and, of course, only buy their products because they are pure and won’t harm you (forget the fact that there isn’t any research showing their products are effective and that many aren’t all that natural in the first place). Even more obnoxious is their blatant hypocrisy. I am fairly certain almost every single owner, employee, or lobbyist for any organic/natural cosmetic company in the world uses computers, talks on cell phones, drives cars, flies in airplanes, mostly lives in cities, and myriad other things that are far more problematic for the environment and health then any cosmetic could ever be. Breathing auto exhaust fumes and adding to landfills with outdated cell phones and computers (and all manner of outdated electronics) are where the concern should be, not the cleanser or moisturizer you are using.

But back to skin care. I want to remind all of you that I have a ton of research on my web site about all this, including these links:

http://www.cosmeticscop.com/skin-care-facts-preservative-problems-risks-benefits-of-parabens.aspx?filter=itemtype%3acontent

http://www.cosmeticscop.com/skin-care-facts-sodium-lauryl-sulfate-sodium-laureth-sulfate.aspx

http://www.cosmeticscop.com/skin-care-facts-mineral-oil-safety-nonirritating-moisturizer.aspx

If you want to send this rational, documented information to your friends and family that would go a long way to helping them make better decisions about what skin care and makeup products to buy. Right now I am just overwhelmed and the voice of reason is drowned out by the endless garbage (brain pollution) the natural/organic cosmetic industry can’t help spilling into the minds of women like an oil slick that can’t be cleaned up. Just in case you’re still not willing to believe that cosmetics aren’t killing us, below are some rational, voice-of-reason quotes from respected sources.

“FDA believes that at the present time there is no reason for consumers to be concerned about the use of cosmetics containing parabens.”

— Food and Drug Administration

“[The 2004 Darbre Study] did not prove that parabens cause breast tumors. The authors of this study did not analyze healthy breast tissue or tissues from other areas of the body and did not demonstrate that parabens are found only in cancerous tissue.”

— National Cancer Institute

“There is no sound scientific evidence that cosmetics as they are typically used cause cancer.”

“Parabens have a long history of safe use and have been specifically recognized as safe by the FDA.”

— American Council on Science and Health

“… The technical accuracy of the initial reports [linking parabens to cancer] have come under challenge,” noted Sandra Porter, Clariant. “Recent reports published and available in the public domain indicate that there is no conclusive evidence of harmful effects from parabens in cosmetics at typical usage levels.”

— Household and Personal Products Industry Magazine

I also want to share this letter I received from a physician on this issue; it succinctly sums up the manipulation we suck up like water in the desert without any benefit:

Paula,

First of all thank you for speaking up about a topic that has been very important to me for a long time. In fact I created a blog simply to address this issue: http://parabenmyth.lexli.com/
My frustration with philosophies such as this stem from the fact that I treat patients with breast cancer on a daily basis, and am very cognizant of what is good or not for them. I have spent a long time researching the paraben issue and found the same conclusions as you have. Such negative, panic provoking tactics against ingredients has almost become a norm for a number of “big beauty” marketers. Unfortunately, it works on consumers who may be unaware of the whole picture, and in many cases do not have access to in-depth scientific facts. To condemn an ingredient just because it might, possibly, might, remotely mimic, seem like, maybe etc. is incredibly unjustified. The evidence linking paraben absorption via skin care products, mimicking estrogen and in turn affecting breast cancer rates is extremely farfetched at best. I suspect your chances of taking in estrogen like substances is higher from food intake of animal and plant products, such as cow’s milk! But, obviously certain negative marketing, using scant scientific findings and manipulating it is much more potent at molding the human mind than presenting the facts. I applaud you on your ability to go against the flow and try to reach the truth.

An article in the November 16, 2009 issue of Special Chemicals reported on a study consumer products company Beiersdorf had published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology revealing why your arm pits and other parts of your body can become unpleasantly odiferous. It seems the aromas you might experience in the locker room of your local gym, on a crowded bus at rush hour, or when your partner hasn’t gotten around to bathing after mowing the lawn (so gross) is all about a single protein molecule. The Beiersdorf scientists in Hamburg (which is a lovely city by the way—and not smelly at all) found the components of sweat responsible for being stinky are transported to the surface of skin by a special transport protein. Once this protein brings these components of sweat to the surface and is decomposed by bacteria on skin you get a wafting, un-aromatic body odor.

Even more interesting, depending on their region of origin, 30 to 100 percent of the Asian population have no problem with body odor as it is experienced by persons of European descent. Beiersdorf researchers discovered that this transport protein found in sweat is inactive in most people of Asian descent. I mean really, who would have thought?

Beiersdorf researchers are no doubt excited to start working on further research that would enable them to develop new forms of deodorants. When you think about it, there hasn’t been a new form of deodorant for decades. Come on Beiersdorf, we’re counting on you!

As Twilight fever continues to sweep the nation with the release of New Moon last month ($230 million in ticket sales and counting!), it’s hard to deny that the film hasn’t only had a marked impact at the box office, but on the cosmetics industry as well. Now, and I’ll say this up front, I’m definitely not a Twihard (though we do have a few in the office, and I have one tweenage member of Team Jacob at home), but I’ve read the books, seen both films, and can most definitely see the appeal and its natural progression toward influencing beauty trends. Between its target demographic of makeup-loving teenage girls, its stars gracing every possible magazine cover, and the fact that Edward, Bella, and co-stars are all just so unbelievably attractive (at least as measured by the average teen girl’s “scream-o-meter”), it makes sense that the beauty world is taking cues from Twilight.

First of all (and this is great news for skin), we can all thank vampire chic for making pale cool again. Fashion magazines and beauty blogs across the globe are reporting that tanning and bronzer sales have seen a huge drop-off, seemingly replaced with sales of ivory and rose powders, particularly Bare Escentual’s illuminating Mineral Veil, all of which have skyrocketed 200% in the past month. No doubt it’s in an effort to capture Bella’s wan complexion (courtesy of Washington’s lack of sunlight from tall trees and overcast skies) and the Cullen lady vamps’ luminous translucent skin (courtesy of their immortal, bloodless, inhuman state). We can only hope that in everyone’s effort to look pale that the sunscreen gets slathered on as well!

Not surprisingly, a Twilight-themed line of cosmetics called Twilight Beauty is now available at Nordstrom, and even though Beautypedia doesn’t review limited edition makeup lines (nor have we had any subscriber request to review the line—not that we expected to), professional curiosity brought me out to Nordstrom to see for myself what this Twilight Beauty was all about, and I have to admit that what I found more than surprised me.

Designed by the team behind mid-range makeup brand DuWop, Twilight Beauty is actually not novelty junk. Sure, the testers looked like they’d been handled by every teenager in the state (and they probably had), but the products themselves were better than I expected. Consisting of two sub-brands—Luna Twilight and Volturi Twilight—the products aim to provide lots of shimmer in body sprays, illuminators and cream-to-powder mousse blushes, all with swirls of pearlescent shine (even the mascaras all had metallic sheen to them!). The effect is overtly glowy and shiny, but if that’s the look you’re going for, product-wise you could do a lot worse. To my surprise, I was slightly enamored with the lip glosses; the texture was lovely; the color opaque, and the finish was perfectly glossy, but not high-shine. (Word of warning: avoid the awful Lip Venom stain: it’s a stinging cinnamon lip plumper made to look like a vial of blood that can end up making lips chapped and dry).

To me, the most impressive products were the palettes. In fact, I’m a little embarrassed to admit it, but I might have bought the Rosalie palette had it not been sold out (the salesperson told me that she couldn’t believe the amount of stock they’ve gone through: “Piles and piles,” she said.). They’re all smartly-packaged in slim plastic cases, with two eye shadows, two lip glosses and a creamy blush. The powder shadows were butter-smooth, intensely pigmented and the shades (apart from the ghastly Alice) were distinctive and gorgeous. The thing that really appealed to me about the products was that even though, yes, they’re blatantly cashing in on the Twilight phenomenon, everything seemed age-appropriate for their demographic, and the quality was hard to deny.

While I can’t imagine a grown woman wanting to wear any of these products on a regular basis, the line really reflected the frivolous freedom of being a teenager without any of the obnoxious pandering (I’m looking at you Too-Faced!). I left the counter feeling more than a little nostalgic for my own teenagehood, which is very much how I felt when I read the books and saw the movies—a fact which makes me think that, for better or worse, DuWop did an excellent job of capturing the spirit of Twilight.

F rom the time I was a teen I have found it hard to believe the marketing claims that cosmetics companies make about their products. With all the outlandish claims about making your pores disappear, wrinkles vanish, blemishes be gone, lift this, plump that, it’s difficult to discern fact from fiction. So my solution before I began working for Paula was to take the easy route and not believe any of it. That doesn’t mean I never purchased any of these products- I still did, but did I truly think they would live up to their claims? Not really. Still I had to try.

And try I did! Of course there were times that I was pleasantly surprised by a great cosmetic product that lived up to its claims or was at least well formulated no matter what the claim. But most of the time, I was left with an empty wallet and heart filled with disappointment because of another blasé mascara, foundation, lipstick, or acne treatment.

Eventually I decided to quit playing cosmetic Russian roulette and actually put some effort into finding good products ahead of time. I know for many women like myself, it’s easy to think that we don’t have time for the research process or it is altogether overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be that way. If you arm yourself with the right tools and lay down a little ground work in the beginning you can save yourself tons of time, heart ache, and money.

 Here’s how I did it:

Step One: Brush Up on the Latest Research
Find out what ingredients and treatments really work. For instance, I used to think that antioxidants applied topically to the skin were little more than another marketing gimmick. Boy how wrong was I? Paula’s The Original Beauty Bible is a great one-stop shop to read up on the latest and greatest and with the internet at your fingertips the resources are endless. (Just make sure you’re getting them from a reliable source.) If you really want to get in depth information you can also subscribe to a peer reviewed cosmetic journal.

Step Two: Get Familiar with Your Skin
It seems pretty self explanatory, but take a moment to identify whether your skin is normal, oily, dry, combination, acne-prone, sensitive, etc. From there you can make an educated decision on factors best suited for your skin like what textures work best on your skin, how emollient a product should be, and what ingredients will target your skin type concerns. For example, I have oily, blemish prone skin and prefer liquid and gel textures when it comes to my skin care. With foundations I look for something light weight with a matte finish, and I avoid cream blushes and shadows as they tend to not work well with my skin.

Step Three: Make a Game Plan
If you have a particular product in mind, why not look into what Paula’s team has to say about it. Beautypedia.com and Don’t Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me, 8th Edition are an unparalleled resources as they offer an extensive database of candid and objective cosmetic reviews, as well as alerts on overpriced items. This step can help you save yourself from throwing money down the drain on ineffective, poorly formulated products.

Step Four: Play with Samples
If you are shopping in a department store with testers, try before you buy.* This is the best way to see how a particular shade looks on your skin and how it feels. Pay attention to how long it takes for the product to set, how intense the color is, how well it blends, if it flakes or smudges, the list goes on and on. It never hurts to ask if the salesperson can provide an individual sample in which case you can safely take it home and try it out. The same applies if you are shopping online. Look for samples on the company’s website or contact customer service to see if they can offer a complimentary trial product.

 *For hygiene purposes, do not apply the product on the actual areas you will be using it (eyelids, lips, face). Instead test it on the back of your hand, and when possible wipe the top layer of the product with a clean tissue before applying. Never user a tester product over broken or infected skin. Use a hand sanitizer when finished.

Now you’re on the road to becoming a savvy cosmetic consumer. Happy shopping!

If you’re a fan of Paula’s books and Web sites, you’re well aware that she’s a big proponent of using skin-care products that contain antioxidants. Research has shown time and again that topically applied antioxidants have multiple benefits for skin, particularly in the presence of sunlight. What I didn’t fully realize was how critical antioxidants are as we age. Here’s what I learned from a recent article published in the peer-reviewed journal Cosmetic Dermatology:

• Skin exposure to UV radiation can completely exhaust the skin’s natural supply of antioxidants. With continued unprotected sun exposure, UV rays can act like a kid in a candy store, indiscriminately “helping themselves” to your skin’s support structure. It’s as though your skin’s soldiers (its natural supply of defenses against oxidative damage) have laid down their arms, allowing the enemy to win the war. The result? With continued unprotected sun exposure, skin’s oxidative defense system becomes incapable of fully regenerating itself. What’s worse, the little that does get regenerated is consistently weakened and less capable of defending skin from damage.
• Topically-applied antioxidants not only prevent damage from reactive oxygen species (or ROS, rouge molecules generated by free radical damage) but they also help prevent the conversion of normally harmless or helpful substances in skin into pro-oxidants. Imagine that: going without sufficient antioxidant protection and ignoring sun protection means innocent substances in skin begin acting like criminals, looting your skin of what it needs to look youthful and resist damage.
• This last point I already knew but it bears repeating: there is no single best antioxidant. In fact, shopping for skin-care products centered around one antioxidant (like vitamins C or E) means you won’t be giving your skin its best chance of recovering from the various types of damage caused by oxidation and sunlight. There are thousands of antioxidants available, and among those that have the most research, one thing has become clear: different antioxidants have different strengths and weaknesses. For example, although vitamin C is involved in collagen synthesis, it isn’t fat soluble. That means it needs help to penetrate the lipids (fats) naturally present in skin if it is to reach its target and do the most good. Some antioxidants are all-around free radical scavengers while others work better to regenerate substances in skin that work to defend it from oxidative damage and inflammation. The bottom line is that taking a cocktail approach to using antioxidant topically is best. Variety is the spice of antioxidants!

I am continually fascinated by new research concerning how antioxidants impact our skin and overall health. Learning about how and why they work and how they should be formulated for maximum efficacy is one of the most exciting parts of my job. Best of all is the feedback we get from customers who’ve used our antioxidant-rich serums and moisturizers. The changes they see in their skin are exactly how well-formulated products loaded with antioxidants are supposed to work. Couple this with daily sun protection, a healthy diet, and smart lifestyle choices and you’re well on your way toward keeping skin’s defense systems ready to handle the reality of living in an oxygen-rich world.