I learned about Paula Begoun (aka, "The Cosmetic Cop") years ago after getting her book "Don't Go To The Cosmetic Counter Without Me" from the library. She provides information that is hard to find elsewhere, like what ingredients are in skin care products, what they do, and product reviews based on those ingredients.
Over the years I have learned that the companies that own the drugstore lines (L'Oreal, Almay, etc.) also own the more expensive department store brands (Lancome, Estee Lauder, etc.) AND many of the less expensive products are the SAME formulas as the more expensive products. So much in the skin care business seems to be just marketing to try and get us to fall for the more expensive items.
Along these lines, I received her latest "Beauty Bulletin" in my email where she again looks at a new, more expensive product, Olay's Pro X, and finds that Olay's less expensive brands would work the same and that the Pro X marketing is misleading. This is what caught my eye that I wanted to share:
"So while we gave Olay’s Pro-X new group of skin care products a very good rating, our conclusion was that Pro-X isn’t better formulated than Olay’s Regenerist or Definity products. Rather, Pro-X is just more expensive and designed to look more clinical or medical. What I want consumers to understand is how the world of cosmetic studies in marketing campaigns works. “Our studies show” is a major attention-getting technique used in cosmetic advertising and press releases. Studies are great and vital to understanding how skin works and what helps skin work better, but not all studies are created equal."
You can read the full article here.
This was interesting to me because I had found myself wanting to try the Pro X line based on the ads I had seen. They really know how to appeal to women and tap into our desire to look the best we can.
AND they had released a couple of good coupons a few weeks ago! I had tried to find a deal I could justify, but even with a rebate and a coupon, it was still more expensive than products I've gotten in the past. I couldn't justify it then, and now I'm glad I didn't. It's not that it would've been bad, just that it wouldn't have been smart.
Sometimes the frugal route is also the smartest.
If you're interested in educating yourself on skin care, products, and ingredients, you might like to subscribe to Paula's Beauty Bulletin. It comes once a week and often contains articles that are quite eye-opening. One a few months ago was about beauty products labeled "organic." Did you know there are no rules governing the use of the term organic in these types of products? I didn't and again was glad for the information.
If you do decide to visit her site or subscribe, you should know that she does have her own product line and there will be ads for this in the bulletin and on her site. I have used some in the past, and while they were good products I have found it easier and cheaper just to buy similar items at the store. Also, she has added in the last year a paid subscription site called "Beautypedia" that I haven't been to (it needs to be FREE for me!), but the Beauty Bulletin is still free. She also has many articles that educate about skin care, makeup, and hair under the "Learn" button on her site, CosmeticCop.com.
I have enjoyed having a place to go over the years to be informed of these types of products, and I hope you will find some help in being frugal AND smart in your skin care routine!
Jami
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