Ever since I first started working on the Don’t Go… books with Paula, we have had a fondness for doing our hands-on research in the beautiful city of Vancouver, British Columbia. Not only is this major city a relatively short drive from Seattle, but time and again it has proven to be a very friendly, helpful city for The Cosmetics Cop Team to work in.

By “work,” I mean we literally hit the streets, notes in hand, ready to visit drugstores, department stores, and specialty shops to personally look at dozens upon dozens of skin-care and makeup products. As you might imagine, this process requires lots of preparedness and concentration, not to mention a comfortable pair of walking shoes!

A co-worker and I recently did some research in Vancouver and it went beautifully! Not once were we asked to leave a store (yes that actually happens to us) or suspiciously questioned as to what we were doing, or even eyed with nervous apprehension. It seemed the salespeople simply viewed us as conscientious consumers with a rather intense curiosity about cosmetics—and that’s just fine with us!

What really struck me during this last trip was how different it can be doing such research in Vancouver vs. Seattle and environs. When we’re out doing our work in the U.S. we’re almost always on guard, ready to explain why we’re taking notes, why we need to see every shade of foundation (not just those the salesperson thinks will match our skin), and why we need the complete ingredient list rather than just the buzz-worthy ingredients the cosmetics industry loves to emphasize. We were careful in Vancouver, too, but found that for the most part, the salespeople weren’t all that concerned with what we were doing (and when they approached us they were always polite as opposed to the terse “What are you doing?” we normally get). 

I don’t know why this is, but we really appreciated just being able to go about doing our research without being questioned or treated like we’re up to no good. It’s amazing how often we’re either viewed as shoplifters or, more often, as employees from another store, there to check out the prices at a local competitor (I’ve been accused of this at Walgreens and Wal-Mart, and have had my notes scrutinized by management at Wal-Mart, not to mention questioned by security at Sephora stores) despite the fact the information we are gathering is mandated by the FDA to be available to the public.

The department stores can be the worst. Salespeople are often rude, they tend to hover, or they protect their products as if we were going to steal something. We gladly go through these experiences for you and have for years (even Paula has been thrown out of stores for writing down ingredients lists), because our goal is to do what it takes to get you the facts about the products you are buying. We truly want to help you spend your cosmetics dollars wisely, because wasting money is never pretty.

Of course, we’ve had lots of pleasant experience doing cosmetics research in the States. I can think of several salespeople who’ve been exceptionally helpful and who’ve willingly provided the information we need. These encounters are always appreciated. But I do need to send a great big “thank you” to the city of Vancouver for being such a great overall place for The Cosmetics Cop Team to do the work that so many consumers rely on to make informed decisions about what they buy. Until next time, Vancouver, THANK YOU!

I
’ve been researching the science of skin care and deciphering its complex facts for people all over the world for years. Wherever I go there is endless confusion about what skin needs and what skin-care products can and cannot do. As many of you know, this isn’t surprising given the never-ending lunatic claims the cosmetic industry comes up with.

Without question, skin care is complex, and cutting through the hype is still a challenge! This is why I love The Dr. Oz Show.

The show’s entire premise is to only present information that can be supported by research. Their producers are eager to know the facts. I’ve done the show four times this year, and am always flattered to be asked to come back. Despite the show’s no-hype format, there just isn’t time in my four-minute segment for me to explain even a fragment of what is needed to understand a particular skin-care issue.

After the airing of a recent Dr. Oz segment I was on (Did That? Try This! For Your Aging Skin!), a woman wrote to us wondering why I suggested serums weren’t necessary, given I have three serums as part of my Paula’s Choice line. Now I know I didn’t say serums were superfluous. It was clear to me she misunderstood my point.

On the show, I was trying to explain to a woman with oily skin why using five different moisturizers every night as part of her skin-care routine was a serious problem. This woman was assuming she needed a moisturizer, anti-wrinkle cream, serum, firming lotion, and a treatment gel of some kind. What I knew for sure is that she didn’t need to use a serum, lotion, cream, gel, and moisturizer all at the same time!

What got lost was my message that serums or any other texture of moisturizer/anti-wrinkle product, when well formulated, can be a brilliant way to take care of skin. The prerequisite: It must be formulated for your skin type and skin-care concerns.

I really wanted to help this woman narrow down the number of products she was using and to only use ones targeted for her skin type, regardless of the name on the label. That might include a serum, but it would completely depend on the product’s formulation and the other products she was using. How could I get that across in four minutes knowing that there were two other women I needed to help as well on the same segment?

There is much more that I would have added, but it’s not The Paula Begoun Show, it’s The Dr. Oz Show. Here’s what I would’ve said if given more time:

• Packaging is as important as the product! Jar packaging exposes the air-sensitive ingredients in a product to light and oxygen, which causes sensitive ingredients to deteriorate after opening. Plus, it isn’t sanitary to dip your finger into a skin-care product.
• There is no single ingredient more important than another. Vitamin C or some exotic plant from a remote part of the world isn’t going to reverse the aging process or get rid of your wrinkles. Applying a product that only contains vitamin C is like eating only oranges; it’s a healthy addition to your diet, but you can’t live off them! You need a variety of antioxidants and nutrients for optimum health. Skin, as our body’s largest organ, isn’t any different.
• Fighting wrinkles involves an AHA or BHA exfoliant, products that are loaded with antioxidants, ingredients that help skin produce normal cells, and skin-repairing ingredients. But most importantly, you need a sunscreen 365 days a year. The best anti-aging products on the market are useless when you aren’t protecting your skin from UV exposure.
• Fighting oily skin requires gentle, non-irritating products so you don’t stimulate more oil production.
• Someone with oily skin should only be using products with a gel, liquid, or extremely lightweight serum or lotion base.
• For oily skin, it helps to use a mattifying product during the day.
• Age is not a skin type! What works for oily or dry skin at 30 will work at 50 or 60. “Mature skin” is a marketing buzzword, nothing more.
• Ignore the claims! It is the rare skin-care product that doesn’t have misleading information on its label.

Skin care is complicated, and there is (and always will be) a lot of misinformation, half-truths, and blatant lies to sell women products that can’t live up to their promises. Explaining how to really keep skin younger and healthier longer, how to reduce acne, fight wrinkles, heal dry skin, and on and on is far beyond what can be stated in a few minutes on a talk show. Dr. Oz is doing his best, but there is just so much time in an hour to talk about your liver, kidney, heart, knees, and skin!

Last week, I took notice of this article featured in The New York Times’ Skin Deep section. In it, a profile of Dr. Perricone’s new “Super” line (due in late October in Sephora stores) revealed that the 25- to 30-year-old anti-wrinkle market is a sales juggernaut just waiting to take off. With products that have cutesy names and iPod-like packaging, the idea is to speak directly to young women who deeply fear the sudden onset of aging. “Thirty is not baby-faced,” Andrea Lavinthal, a beauty editor at realbeauty.com said, “I feel like I am on a landslide to 40.”

Wait—what?

This article—and Perricone’s marketing angle—had me incensed. This is straight-up fear-mongering at its most basic and transparent. When did 30 become old? Nobody should be afraid of their 30-year-old skin, or that they will suddenly get old “overnight,” a complaint that Dr. Perricone reported straight from his patients. His unprofessional polling technique notwithstanding, his warnings are nothing more than scare tactics disguised as marketing—people don’t wake up older out of the blue! The irony here is that a recent beauty survey I read indicated that most women feel they’re at their most beautiful in their 30s, but that survey doesn’t seem to have been taken into consideration by anyone’s marketing team.

Let’s get back to reality: The signs of aging accumulate over time, and the best thing that women of any age can do to avoid accelerated aging is to exfoliate regularly, never get a tan, apply sunscreen 365 days a year, and use products loaded with antioxidants and cell communicating ingredients (of which you’ll find many at PaulasChoice.com and Beautypedia.com). Speaking of sunscreen, it stands to reason given abundant research that the single most powerful anti-aging product anyone of any age could be using to prevent “aging” is a well formulated sunscreen. A quick call to Perricone’s customer service number confirmed that not one of the 13 new anti-aging products include sun protection. This glaring omission alone doesn’t bode well for this new “Super” line, but we’ll know for sure once The Cosmetics Cop Team reviews these products next month.

A small, healthy debate ignited between some of the members of The Cosmetics Cop Team over these products and their marketing angle. Is Perricone speaking to a real fear that women in this age range have, or is it a fear that’s perpetuated by the industry itself, by continually exposing women to ever-younger (and ever-photo retouched) images of beauty? Are these products fueled by legitimate demand from women who want to stop wrinkles before they start, or is the beauty industry manufacturing a need, and expensive boutique products to conveniently swoop in and meet it?

I suspect that it’s a chicken-or-the-egg type of situation, and I’m skeptical if anyone can say for sure which came first. The relationship between 20-somethings and anti-aging appears somewhat symbiotic: young women have this fear and the industry fans the flame.

Readers, what do you think?

I’m tooting my own horn here, but cosmetic companies are finally recognizing what I’ve been saying for years: Research has made it abundantly clear that exfoliating is critical for improving your skin. Exfoliating makes skin look younger, unclogs pores, and reduces breakouts. The best way to exfoliate is with an alpha hydroxy acid product (AHA) containing glycolic or lactic acid or beta hydroxy acid (BHA) which is salicylic acid. As a result of the benefits, more and more AHA and BHA products are showing up everywhere.

As most of you know, acne-prone skin and sun-damaged skin produce abnormal cells that build up on the skin’s surface because they don’t shed as they should. That thickened outer layer creates a rough, dull appearance and keeps beneficial skin-care ingredients from absorbing for maximum benefit. When skin gets help exfoliating on a daily basis, practically overnight skin becomes smoother, it produces more collagen, skin tone improves, clogged pores practically go away, and breakouts are significantly reduced.

While scrubs have been the mainstay for exfoliation over the years, they are a poor choice. Even gentle scrubs end up disrupting the skin’s outer barrier, which hurts the skin’s ability to fight environmental damage and breaks down collagen.

Okay, another brag: So even though AHAs and BHA have been around for more than 50 years in mostly dermatologic formulations, my Paula’s Choice product line is one of the few exceptions; I have the only cosmetic line in the world with 9 BHA and 5 AHA products in various textures and concentrations.

Many lines, including big brands such as Avon, Olay, and Mary Kay, launched AHA and BHA products in the early ’90s, but they were discontinued shortly after. Part of the reason for that is because the word acid is just scary. It’s hard to explain to a woman why an acid is as good for skin as green tea or vitamin C. And while AHAs and BHA really make skin look younger, they also make skin more vulnerable to sun damage just as a child’s would be. This fact makes a sunscreen mandatory, and lots of product lines didn’t offer one as part of the skin-care routines they sold (and many still don’t).

Ironically, when you really make skin younger it has the same problem that a kid’s skin does.

Another reason cosmetics companies stayed away from creating AHA and BHA products is that they are hard to work with in a formulation. For efficacy, AHAs and BHA require a pH of 3 to 4 and a lot of anti-irritants to maximize results, making stability an issue.

I also feel strongly that BHA has been an unsung hero of which other companies are only now beginning to take note. Salicylic acid has astounding properties. It not only is an effective exfoliant but it also has some antibacterial benefit, and because it is related to aspirin (aspirin is acetyl salicylic acid) it also has significant anti-irritant properties. This makes BHA a blessing for someone with acne or rosacea.

Now that AHAs and BHA are showing up in skin-care products again, the question becomes, can companies come up with effective formulations and adapt their other products to give women the best results possible? Of course, we will let you know as we add reviews to Beautypedia.com.

In 2004 Dove launched their “Campaign for Real Beauty.” Their mission? “Make more women feel beautiful every day by widening stereotypical views of beauty.” With a series of edgy commercials and print advertisements starring regular women, not supermodels, Dove claims to have rejected the unrealistic standards of beauty created by mass media.

For those that missed the print ads, the “non-model” types are shown smiling and confident in their white underwear, refusing to hide their pretty good, cellulite-free, size 12 to 14 bodies; perfect skin; and white smiles. Whose idea of “regular” is this?

The message behind the “Campaign for Real Beauty” is important—I am not denying this. The influence that advertising has on our perceptions of beauty and what constitutes the ideal physical standard can be demeaning for many and destructive for some. But is Dove really helping matters? I don’t think so.

From my perspective, Dove is merely profiting from the illusion of enhancing the self-esteem of women while simultaneously reinforcing the message (and myth) of firming cream to eliminate cellulite as a necessary part of a healthy body image.

If Dove’s intention is to protest the unattainable beauty standard seen in most beauty product ads, their authenticity is lacking. Simply replacing this standard with their only slightly more attainable version of beauty and then selling products to perfect it is not a solution. Dove’s campaign aims to illustrate “real” beauty, but how does it feel to the woman or girl that does not feel represented by their new standard?  What message is Dove sending to the person who doesn’t even measure up to their artificial norm?

What about the men? It’s no secret that Unilever, Dove’s parent company, also owns Axe, the popular men’s body-care line. In a way, Axe has their own version of the “Campaign for Real Beauty.” Axe markets to young men with the message that it is perfectly normal to expect two things from women: they’ll become insatiable sex maniacs upon smelling Axe Body Spray, and they should look as if they haven’t eaten in weeks.

And don’t get me started on Unilever’s ads for skin lightening products in India called Fair and Lovely.

If Unilever’s efforts were authentic, it begs the question of why they’re not using their limitless global influence to change the way advertising depicts beauty for all their products. Why attempt to fix the problem with Dove’s “Campaign” while simultaneously sending a contradictory message with their other brands?

Bottom line: Dove’s efforts are almost worse than those of the Axe brand, as they have managed to succeed in launching a campaign that manipulates the insecurities of women (Love yourself, but don’t forget the firming cream!) under the guise of female empowerment.

So, let’s hear it from you: How do you feel about the authenticity of Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty and the ads Dove’s parent company runs for their Axe brand or Fair and Lovely?

The headline for this blog isn’t mine; I borrowed it from the October issue of Women’s Health magazine. The crux of the article was examining whether or not women over age 40 can be slim and still maintain a youthful face. Can women be skinny (well, preferably maintain a healthy weight without looking emaciated) and avoid telltale signs of aging? The answer may surprise you!

According to dermatologist Dr. Leslie Baumann (and Paula, who has been saying this for years), the “old face young body contradiction” is a problem for looking younger.  Women are eating healthier and exercising more, which of course leads to a loss of body fat. But when a woman over 40 has low body fat she starts seeing loss of facial volume. Why? Because with less facial fat, facial skin has less support and the wrinkles become more apparent. It’s one of those cruel ironies of getting older—women (and men, too) lose the ability to keep the fat where it does us the most good (in our face) and have trouble losing fat where it bothers us the most (our hips, thighs, and rear end).

You’ll recognize the signs of fat (volume) loss as it happens: eyes begin to look sunken and the skin beneath them forms pooches that don’t go away, smile lines become like vertical signposts, and cheeks lose their cherubic fullness. Couple these fat-related changes with sun damage, menopause, gravity, and other factors and you have the perfect storm for giving skin a deflated, sagging look.

Even more telling is when you compare the faces of women between the ages of 40 and 50 who are overweight to those who aren’t. Chubby women have younger-looking faces (meaning less wrinkles and sagging) than women who are at normal or underweight. It’s true!

Here are the most intriguing facts I learned from the article:

• Fat is incredibly important for the face, at least if you want to look younger.
• The fat beneath the skin (known as subcutaneous fat) was once thought to consist as one mass. New research has shown that the face actually has 21 “fat compartments”—and each of them ages at a different pace!
• How a person’s face ages is in large part related to how these fat compartments change over time—and women who stay too thin can have fat compartments that “sag like day-old party balloons,” even if the rest of their body is in top shape.

What’s the solution? Well, how do you feel about eating more food?

• If you want to maintain a healthy amount of facial fat to keep your face looking younger, longer, then you must maintain a 15% level of body fat—that’s if you have a naturally fuller or round face.
• Women with narrow, angular faces need—get this—at least 20–25% body fat to keep a youthful face after age 40.
• Still yo-yo dieting? Do whatever it takes to stop, because large increases in weight loss followed by weight gain and more loss only exacerbates what can happen to our facial fat as we age.
• Women with a history of yo-yo dieting can begin to see signs of facial sagging in their early 30s!

What it comes down to is this: if you’re willing to carry an extra ten pounds of body weight (meaning you’ll be slightly overweight) your face will look younger and you won’t look unhealthy. And, it doesn’t mean you have to gain weight via junk food. Quite the contrary: Eating a healthy diet that’s rich in antioxidants and essential fatty acids (think fish oil and you’re already on your way to looking younger) plays a pivotal role in how your skin ages. That doesn’t sound like such a bad trade-off to me—but what do you think? Would you rather be perceived as thin or as being younger than your actual age? And if you choose staying thin, are you willing to go for dermal fillers when your face begins showing telltale signs of fat loss?

Many people struggle with and really hate having large pores. So do we! There are some facts about pore size you need to know so you can see a noticeable difference—and you also need to know what’s not possible.

For the most part pore size is genetically determined, and when that’s the case, there isn’t much you can do to change that condition. But what about when pores become larger from factors not dependent on genetics? Now THAT’s where the right skin-care products can change things for the better.

Here’s what can happen to make pores larger: When a pore of any size has its follicle lining filled with excess dirt, excess oil (it’s actually wax inside the pore but “oily” on the surface), and dead skin cells, the pore swells and, you guessed it, looks more apparent. Even worse is the wax on the surface of the pore can oxidize, which causes it to turn black and, voila, you get a blackhead. These are the main reasons why women with oily skin often complain of having large pores (the excess oil is causing their pores to enlarge beyond their genetically determined size).

The solution? If your pores have become enlarged due to trapped debris and excess oil production, you need to take steps to remove the debris and restore a normal flow of oil from the pore lining on to the surface. A well formulated BHA product (active ingredient: salicylic acid) is a brilliant way to do that. The salicylic acid penetrates the pore lining, dislodging what’s trapped inside and causing your pores to enlarge. Once the trapped contents are free and with ongoing use of a BHA product to keep obstructions to a minimum, your pores will go back to their regular size. All together now: Woo hoo!

What else can you do? Well, it may surprise you to learn that certain products with cell-communicating ingredients (think retinol and niacinamide) can also help to reduce the appearance of enlarged pores. No, they won’t make your natural pore size shrink to that of a baby’s, but cell-communicating ingredients can “talk” to other cells and convince them to maintain a normal pore lining. This can also help you see a reduction in pore size!

Many Paula’s Choice customers have commented that our Skin Balancing Toner is a helpful addition to their skin-care routine due to its ability to help minimize the appearance of pores. When used with a well formulated BHA exfoliant and water-soluble cleanser as part of a comprehensive skin-care routine, you don’t have to live with enlarged pores, and that’s great news! Of course there are other products we recommend on Beautypedia.com but the customer reviews for this toner are too good to not share!

For stubborn clogged pores and blackheads it can help to physically remove the plug. You can do this yourself if you’re careful and don’t overdo it or you can have an esthetician do this for you. Paula wrote about how to do this here.

Lastly, do keep in mind that pore size and how your pores are perceived by others is never as horrible as you may think. First, other than your esthetician, it’s doubtful anyone is examining your pores with the same intensity that you are (well, except for Paula who uses a 10X magnifying mirror but up close and in person you’d never think that Paula has large pores).

Second, everyone has pores and without a great skin-care routine, everyone will experience some degree of pore clogging. Even those with naturally small pores and dry skin may find their skin has small, white bumps due to a buildup of dead skin cells in the pore lining. For someone with dry skin and clogged pores, once again a well formulated BHA product (preferably in a lotion base) is a brilliant option.

Now that you know the truth about pore size, you can take steps to make sure your pores stay clean and free of the debris that causes them to become enlarged. Go ahead—let the truth set your clogged pores free!

Paula’s Choice is thrilled to welcome Paula’s Choice Thailand as the official Distributor for our products in Thailand.

From the beginning my goal has been to help women find products that will give them the skin they’ve always wanted. Over the years, I have watched my passion of providing brilliant skin care products for every concern grow from being just distributed in the United States, into Paula’s Choice products being distributed in 42 countries around the world. Adding Thailand to the Paula’s Choice family is a dream come true!

Visit the official Paula’s Choice Thailand website here!

Warmest regards,

Paula Begoun

From True Blood to Twilight, one thing is crystal clear: Pale skin is in. Faster than you can say “fake & bake” ladies are trading in self-tanner and super-sparkly bronzers for SPF 50 and porcelain powders. Frankly, I can’t think of a single beauty trend that could be better news for skin. It’s about time, don’t you think?

Long associated with gothic eccentricity or poor health, not since Jean Harlow and Marilyn Monroe has pale looked so glamorous. The vampires of True Blood (while they may be technically undead) are virile, vivacious, and simply stunning to look at. Evan Rachel Wood’s character, the vintage-chic vampire Queen Sophie-Anne of Louisiana, has the Internet lit up with makeup bloggers seeking to emulate her look—best described as equal parts ‘40s pin-up girl and Marie Antoinette.  

I also think the annoying, haggard-looking young ladies from MTV’s Jersey Shore are also to thank for this trend towards paler skin. While I’m sure that Snooki is a perfectly lovely person (public antics notwithstanding), her ever-tanned complexion resembles an over-cooked sweet potato—and she’s all of 22! If there were ever a cautionary tale about the accelerated aging effect of tanning, Snooki’s face is it.  

Whether you choose to embrace your own natural fair complexion or if you opt to enhance the paleness of your skin with makeup, here are a few tricks to keep your skin looking beautifully pale, rather than sickly pallid:

• Switch from black mascara to a brown/black shade—it’s a professional trick that makes pale skin look natural instead of stark.
• Stick with peach, coral, or apricot blush which are universally flattering to nearly any undertone, and will keep your blush from looking clownish. Soft application on the apple of your cheeks is enough to give skin a healthy glow. We list today’s best blushes on Beautypedia.com.
• Paler skin can be tricky to match with foundation. Consider using a tinted moisturizer instead, which can be sheered out and blended to match lighter skin tones more easily. Use a concealer on areas that need extra coverage. M.A.C. offers beautiful shades for pale skin.

Some of my favorite pale-skinned celebrities are Cate Blanchett, Zooey Deschanel and Daniel Radcliffe. Which celebrities have you swooning over their fair skin?

I don’t know what’s going on with my skin and hair lately, but I am blaming the weather!  Seattle has had an unusual summer; the truly hot, “yes, it’s definitely summer” days were few and far between, and lately we’ve been in full-on fall chill mode. Just this week the rain began, the temperature dropped and stayed down, and the clouds rolled in. Even the trees around our office are shedding their green leaves and showing early signs of changing color.

Although my skin and hair typically aren’t noticeably affected by local weather changes, this year is a completely different story. My face is super oily in the t-zone and uncomfortably dry on the cheeks. Shaving is starting to hurt. And my hair? Despite using the same tried-and-true products, it suddenly has a mind of its own. It’s like I have a rebellious teen living on my scalp, and he’s not listening to my pleas to stop acting so crazy and start making sense.

Here’s the kicker: I am at a bit of a loss as to what to do! Despite all I have learned and continue to learn about cosmetic product formulations, these surprising changes have really thrown me for a loop. Do I switch hair-care products? Blow-dry less often? Get a haircut? And for my skin, its extreme combination state means I need two completely different sets of products—not cool for someone who’s on the low side of being high maintenance! I’m tempted to just hide out until things balance out, but I know that’s not realistic (though I could catch up on a lot of movies I’ve been meaning to watch).

Never one to back down from a challenge, what I’m going to attempt to improve matters is the following:

• Get a haircut (somehow that always makes a positive difference) or learn to love hats.
• Switch to a conditioning shampoo and start using Paula’s Choice Smooth Finish Conditioner daily (I can be lazy about conditioner).
• Use fewer styling products (because adding more certainly isn’t helping matters).
• Keep using my Paula’s Choice Skin Balancing products in my oily areas, and add the Skin Balancing Carbon Mask to my routine (that excess oil needs to be off my nose, thank you very much).
• Begin using select Paula’s Choice Moisture Boost products to combat the dryness, especially after shaving. The Moisture Boost Hydrating Treatment Cream is my go-to favorite for stubborn dry patches.
• Exfoliate more often. I typically only do this two or three time per week (at night), and my skin is telling me loud and clear that more often will be better. My go-to exfoliants? I have two favorites: Paula’s Choice 1% BHA Lotion and our CLEAR Targeted Acne Relief Exfoliating Toner. Alternating between them should help improve my skin issues all over—I hope!
• Lastly, I’m going to check the relative humidity in my home. It may be lower than I think, and if so, it’s time to pull out the humidifier!

What about you? What do you do when your skin or hair freaks out for no apparent reason, save for the weather? I’d love to hear what has worked and what hasn’t!