I do a lot of media interviews, newspapers, radio, TV talk shows, that kind of thing. I’ve been doing these for years. I love the attention it gives my books. Of late I’ve been getting a lot of requests for talking about recession-proof makeup. I don’t mind because in essence it’s what I always talk about: not wasting money on skin care and makeup. Just because you have a job or don’t need to worry about money, in any economy, doesn’t mean you should buy products that don’t work or are poorly packaged so they can’t work. There is nothing beautiful about wasting money.

One producer I’ve worked with for years called me awhile ago to shoot a series of pieces on this topic. She wanted to know how to do “beauty” cheaper without sacrificing anything. Of course I would never recommend anything else. The hitch was she wanted me to only recommend products under ten dollars. I thought that’s fairly easy, but when I suggested two products that cost $12 for 10 ounces that were brilliantly formulated and didn’t sacrifice one penny of performance, she said it wouldn’t fit into the piece because it didn’t cost under $10 or less.

I said you’ve got to be kidding, both these products price out per ounce to be less then any of the other products that had a $10 price tag. One of the hand creams was $8.99 for 4 ounces, another was $4 for 0.5 ounces. When you do the math, how does that make sense? She held firm, her executive producer had the title for the series and wouldn’t budge.

I almost felt like canceling. It seemed so stupid and blatantly cheated the viewer from getting the best information. When I calmed down I decided to do it anyway. They would just get someone else for the series, probably from Sephora or Saks or a fashion magazine who were either paid to represent the products they recommended or had no idea what they were recommending. At least I could recommend products that would exceed expectations. I did the shoot, biting my tongue the whole time.

I am not one to think of fashion magazines as a secular version of a Bible, laden with must-haves for the season. In or out, I mean really, who cares? On the other hand, I’m critical. Not just of cosmetic products, but I always notice how a person is put together. One of my favorite sections of any magazine in the world is one found in Glamour. I don’t read this magazine for their articles on orgasms and the nitty-gritty details of how to get there, but for their often-hilarious their Do’s and Don’t section. You know, the section at the back of the magazine with pictures showing what clothing looks bad on a woman and what looks good.

Skirts and T-shirts that are so short or skimpy skin is popping out all over, and often rolls of skin hanging out.

High heels that are little more then stilts with the wearers barely able to stand up more or less walk.

And then they show the women who look put together. Clothing that matches, blouses and pants that fit, and accessories that don’t look out of place. Stuff like that. I love it.

While the clothing analysis is always great, what I wish they would include are makeup critiques. I would like to see that. I always wonder why women leave the house with their makeup looking as if they applied it without looking in the mirror even once. Don’t women notice that their mascara and liner is smeared all over the place, their eyebrows are etched on like a stripe of grease or a press-on decal resembling anything but brow hair, their foundation is so thick and mottled they look like they spackled on their makeup, or that their lipstick is so greasy it has traveled deep into the lines around their mouth. And then there’s the one we’ve all seen before: the dark lip line around the lips with a lighter color painted inside the line. Does anyone (including men) think that lip look is remotely attractive? Apparently, yes—I still see this today, in cities large and small.

Okay, I know I’m critical and perhaps my thinking a bit schizophrenic: on one hand I know none of this matters in the scheme of things, but I really do notice, and given how much time most of us spend getting dressed day in and day out, shouldn’t we be vested in getting it done right? Actually, I’d settle for presentable if “right” is too hard to achieve on some mornings!

I was up late writing, trying to finish the last section on the new edition of The Beauty Bible. Every now and then I take breaks from writing and flip through channels on the TV. It was 2 a.m. and I stopped on one channel that had a woman dressed like she was getting ready to pose for Playboy or Hustler magazine. She was selling a male enhancement product. I could barely believe it. I was transfixed.

I thought only women liked being lied to about skin care products building up collagen and getting rid of wrinkles. But men believing that these types of products would make their private parts grow? I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

This perky spokeswoman, with balloon-like fake breasts, deep revealing cleavage, a waaayyyy too short skirt, and long tousled hair was explaining how the testimonials from men who use this male enhancement product she was hawking had amazing results.

In a breathless voice she said one grateful man said he had gained an inch. Of course my immediate reaction was give me a break…no one believes this crap. Could some men not discern that if this product could grow their privates an inch, then if they kept taking it, their privates would keep growing? That first inch would become 5 inches and then 10 or 15? They’d eventually need help carrying it around!

The final thing she said that just floored me: “We will send you a week free trial, would we do this if we thought it didn’t work?” Now there’s a claim. Pose a question without stating the fact. I could see where some men would exclaim wow, then it must really work, as opposed to thinking it’s just marketing nonsense. Of course they would send out something free to get me to order and they never said it really worked anyway. Plus it wasn’t “free” you needed to pay for shipping and order the next month’s worth!

Men and women like being promised miracles and can’t tell when they are repeatedly being lied to. It seems that the only difference between men and women is the area where they get taken advantage of. Women are figuratively smacked in the face and chest with false promises, while men get hit below the belt!

Did you ever wish you could meet Paula up close and personal, get her take on skincare myths in the cosmetics industry, purchase a signed copy of her best-selling book, “Don’t Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me,” and get free samples of her newest products? Exciting News! Paula will be giving a free presentation on Skincare Mythbusting.

Date: Monday, February 16, 2009
Time: 7:30-9:00pm
Location: Warwick’s Bookstore
Street: 7812 Girard Avenue
City/Town: La Jolla, CA

About Paula: Paula Begoun is a nationally-recognized consumer expert on the cosmetics industry and the best-selling author of “Don’t Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me, 7th Edition.” Paula covers research-based reviews of thousands of skin care products and state-of-the-art ingredients.  Her goal is to cut through the hype and identify the best (and worst) products available in every price category to give everyone the chance to achieve beautiful, healthy skin. Paula’s work has resulted in thousands of interviews including repeat appearances on CNN, as well as programs such as Oprah, The Today Show, 20/20, Dateline NBC, The View, and Primetime.

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