zzJulia's Full Review: Don't Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me: A Un...
How much money do you spend on makeup in a year? Do you ever wonder what the difference is between high end department store products and drugstore brand (aside from the price)? If so, this is a book that will open your eyes.
Paula is a crusader. Sometimes, she's a little too zealous for my taste, but I commend her mission to educate the beauty product consumer.
Lessons to the Reader:
1. Price is not related to effectiveness.
2. Each brand has something to offer.
3. Just because the product says "for eyes" does not mean that it can't be used on face and neck.
4. Sunscreen is super important, but not every product that says "SPF" uses the most effective blockers.
5. Nobody's skin is pink or peach or rose. (Hence, "rose beige" and "sun kissed peach" are not good foundation choices for anyone!)
6. "Natural" ingredients are not necessarily better for your skin. In fact, because they deteriorate faster, it requires the products to have more preservatives.
When I first reviewed this book, I reviewed the 4th edition, and you can scroll down below to see some snippets of content.
The 5th Edition of Don't Go To the Cosmetics Counter Without Me was published January 2001. By all accounts, I expect to see a 6th edition by the end of this year.
CONTENT
=========
Paula begins the book with a little intro of her background in the beauty industry. She was a freelance makeup artist in the 70's and took a job at a makeup counter to supplement her income.
I find that the introductory chapters of her book are very interesting, with topics discussing "Irritants" and "What Gets Rid of Wrinkles" and "What Makes a Good Moisturizer?"
The most helpful segments for me were with regards to sunscreens and since I live in California, I found the information regarding UVA blockers extremely helpful.
Though I've since lost my copy of the 4th edition, it's my impression that Paula's attitude toward Antioxidants has softened somewhat. Her stance on many "fads" in the beauty industry is very combative. She disdains many additives such as Vitamin C and polyphenols (grape seed extract) and the latest hot ingredient--copper. She admits in the 5th edition that the research on antioxidants is "extremely convincing," she cautions that more research needs to be done on the efficacy on using these unstable components in cosmetics.
Following these chapters, she reviews the products by brand, alphabetically. Over 30,000 products are covered in this volume and each one is ranked with a little smiley face, frowny face or neutral face. As you can imagine, she doesn't rank her own skincare line because she believes it's all formulated to her superior guidelines.
What I recall from the 4th Edition to the 5th Edition is that Clinique's Dramatically Different Lotion got downgraded from a smiley face to a neutral face. If anyone can confirm this, please email me since I can't find my 4th Edition. Also, a brand that she rated most highly H20+ is no longer covered in 5th Edition. I wish she would archive her old stuff on her website [cosmeticscop.com] if she must take content out to make room for new products.
This edition also has reviews of products for Men and Children. I found her comments on fragrance for children's products quite interesting. Admittedly, I don't have much sensitivity to fragrance and can even use products with peppermint or citrus (in moderation), which she rails against.
VALUE
================
Yes, this book was definitely worth purchasing. For one thing, I saved a lot of money buying brushes from Sonia Kashuk (Target brand!). Paula claims they are worth considering but are not as "soft and velvety" as more expensive brushes. I disagree, these brushes are made of real sable and every bit as luxurious of my Bobbi Brown, MAC and Paula Dorf brushes.
Furthermore, this book turned me onto a good skincare plan which I have shared with many women now. Paula has "levels" of attack for each type of acne prone skin. My glowing skin regimen is owed to many suggestions from Paula, as well as much trial and error on my part. Her book genuinely raised my awareness of skincare products and my own needs when it came to cleansing, toners, scrubs and moisturizers. 2 years of disastrous "adult acne" induced by stress came to end with help from Paula. For that, the mere $20 that I shelled out was totally worth it.
After all, I easily would fork over $20 for a cleanser from Lancome. Now I can see if it rates a smiley face before buying...if it doesn't, I can use my own judgment and good sense to assist in the decision making process.
..............................................
The review below is for those of you who may find an older copy of her book at the library or on ebay.
Fourth Edition
Content
This is the 4th edition of her book and it contains a very thorough listing of products that are reviewed. Unfortunately, the reviews themselves are very brief, with little happy faces or frowny faces to denote whether Ms. Begoun recommends them.
She opens the book with an explanation of her philosophy and approach to reviewing these products, then an alphabetical listing of brands. Each brand is described with a couple paragraphs from Ms. Begoun about her experiences at the counter and the product's marketing philosophy. Then, a listing of each product with a couple sentences of the contents of the product.
Her reach includes everything from Alpha Hydrox, Coty, Cover Girl, Clinique, Estee Lauder, L'oreal, Revlon, Lancome, Shisheido, M.A.C., philosophy, Kiehl's, DHC, Zhen. (Creme de la Mer is profiled under Estee Lauder, I think.)
Products that are so recent that they have escaped her reach: Bliss, Bloom, Lucky Chick, Fresh and Tony&Tina.
Excerpts from her website, appropriately named www.cosmeticscop.com:
Biore
"The gimmick everyone wants to know about is Pore Perfect Deep
Cleansing Strips ($5.99 for six nose strips). This product is supposed to
instantly clean pores. What does this miracle product contain? A lot of hair spray. The main ingredient is polyquaternium-37, a film-forming hair spray ingredient. It works little better than using regular tape over the nose. What has me most concerned about these so-called Cleansing Strips is that they are accompanied by a strong warning not to use them over any area other than the nose and not to use them over inflamed, swollen,
sunburned, or excessively dry skin. It also states that if the strip is too painful to remove, you should wet it and then carefully remove it. What a warning!"
My opinion
===============
This book is useful. I'm an aggro beauty consumer and I like to mix high end brands with drugstore stuff. (I'm partial to a $2.99 Bonne Bell lip gloss currently.) However, I feel like Ms. Begoun sometimes talks down to her readers. I have free will and an ability to evaluate if my skin likes a product. So when Ms. Begoun says, "and if you believe that, I have a bridge in NYC to sell you," I find it a little grating.
I also don't know that she's so qualified to rank skin care. Not to say that I doubt her research findings, but simply that, like any other science, there will be differing opinions and perhaps made by folks with more background than her.
So, if you purchase this book, don't feel compelled to throw away everything on your vanity and start from scratch. Simply use Ms. Begoun's guidance in reading labels and learning what ingredients may simply be "thickener" or actually serve a cosmetic purpose. I really felt better armed to understand sunscreen products after reading this book.
The Bias
================
Ms. Begoun is on the 4th edition of her book. She also has a newsletter that you can subscribe to, 6 editions for $25/yr. I think that's pretty steep. No doubt they will all be reappearing in the 5th edition of her book. She also has her own line of beauty products called Paula's Choice. Her beauty "enterprise" is not exactly impartial.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.