Paula's choice beautypedia - my new bible

[Bodicea]

Have to share this with everyone. Love this site. Whenever I am toying with blowing my hard earned cash on some miracles cream or make-up I will be checking this in future. Surprising what earns a low star rating and what gets a good one.
And I think the science and reasoning behind it is pretty sound.
Has out me off a few of my go to brands. I haver actually tried any of her stuff mind.

I'm in two minds about Paula Begoun. I read her first book about 20 years ago.
I've tried quite a few of her products, some are good, but some are crap and I hate the way the Beautypedia site has changed and she now heavily promotes her own stuff on there. Her reviews used to be balanced, but not so any longer.

Have to admit I would take her reviews of her own stuff with a pinch of salt.

I refer to her, as well. She doesn't run down her competition and she seems to have good products with her own stuff, as it's made to conform to her own standards (she has been writing this stuff far longer than she's had products.) She's good for pointing out that there are irritating ingredients or that supposedly key ingredients are not there in sufficient quantity to do anything. She'll test the pH of a product and point out where it's not correct to achieve what it claims to do.

So, yeah - I like her a lot.

I find what she says about the packaging interesting - no point in expensive ingredients if they degrade in rubbish packaging.

Thanks to Paula (and double cleansing) I now spend a lot less on products and have much better skin.

Yes, I agree. I always check with her on products. It's why I use most of the products I do (mainly Olay Regenerist).

I was surprised about Olay. Always been a bit of a brand snob and associated it with my mum. But have bought some Olay regenerist serum based on her review.

That's what I like about her: she is able to cut through the branding and understand what the product actually does. I suppose I could do that, too, if I wanted to make a full-time job of reading studies and learning how the ingredients work. She never indulges in woo and while I think she may be a bit of a spoil sport when it comes to things like shimmery blue eyeshadow, I definitely appreciate her help with products.

If it weren't for her I'd be left with trial and error and would have wasted a lot of money. I could still be sensitive to any particular product but reasonably-priced Olay works for me and I haven't felt the need to look further.

I love her reviews, I really don't go buy stuff without at least cross checking her reviews first. I don't always pick her products but her line for oily/breakout skin is great for me, and I think she's pretty fair about other companies (apart from being slightly harsh on perfumed products).

Thanks to her I can now see through the X00 pound serums for what they really are.

Got rid of my spots and saved a fortune on products thanks to this website. Yes, she always rates her own products as excellent but they've done wonders for me and she doesn't make crappy claims and based everything in proper science.

Have found her skincare to be brilliant, makeup not.

Totally agree re: serums. WTF is a serum anyway - there are so many on the market and they all do totally different things. You should be thinking about what you need and then picking the right product accordingly.

I agree that the website is great. I also really like the youtube channel where they talk about different products.
One thing to be aware of however is that formulations between the US and Europe often differ. For example the main active ingredient in La roche posay Effaclar duo in the US is benzoyl peroxide whereas here it is Salicylic acid, so always check what formulation exactly she is reviewing.