I've been a reader/follower of Paula Begoun's beauty advice since my BF and i lugged around one of her volumes of Don't Go To The Cosmetics Counter Without Me; this was approximately 10 years ago. If you're familiar, the little smiley faces next to one of your favorite products can make your heart skip a beat; thank goodness she likes something!! It becomes clear that her stringent, not easily won over opinions can be tough on the average beauty lover, there are many a thing that she calls out as ludicrous, false marketing and a big fat waste of money. Likely 75% of what you own in fact. Yet there are some major key lessons I've learned from Paula, aka the Cosmetics Cop, so without further ado, here goes. You've been forewarned that what you thought about beauty, and specifically looking in your beauty stash on a daily basis will further fill you with questions of delusion.
1. Jar packaging is the devil's design. As standard and customary it is to see a jar of night cream on a vanity, it's a beauty oxymoron. Everything that is claimed about that product (and usually those claims are impossible anyway) would be negated shortly after exposure to air and light. That designer eye and face cream with the gorgeous packaging? Nothing more than a topical moisturizer and even potentially damaging after those ingredients have oxidized. It's also a breeding ground for bacteria (who's really using a sterile applicator when they've got 10 to be out the door?!).
2. An ingredient's pH must be respected or the claims are impossible. Think that do-it-all product is a cure all? Likely, it's not even effective for it's purpose if the pH is not low or high enough, especially when it comes to exfoliation. Furthermore, key ingredients function best at different pH levels, so if a product has multiple claims, chances are it's just not possible!
3. Alcohol is damaging to skin and should never be used, no matter the skin type. Seeing how this is usually the second or third ingredient in most skincare products, including luxury ones, there goes half the market! That can be both good and bad when it comes to weeding out what works and what possibly can't. That includes products marketed for oily skin- over drying your skin will only cause more oil production, remember, so even for that tight feeling some love, it's a no-go. What's more, alcohol causes the breakdown of collagen in the skin, so even if you feel no immediate damage or discomfort it's working at a level that will effect you for years to come. This will negate 99% of toners out there, as well as moisturizers and treatment products.
4. Fragrance is futile. Fragrance like alcohol causes irritation, inflammation and collagen breakdown evident and invisible, now and future. It's pleasant and preferable when applying beauty products and perhaps adds to the ritual, but in the end unless it's from very specific natural sources, it's a major detriment.
5. SPF is the only proven anti-aging product. While technology continues to advance each and every day, it's usually keen marketing that does so more. Ads are photoshopped and claims can be made without any independent scientific research and just a little asterisk to let you know that only 20 women actually saw a 55% improvement in 3 weeks testing time. Wow, shiver me timbers. Truth is, there are well documented components to a healthy skin care routine; major players that skin needs to function at it's best and as far as anti-aging goes, yes there are components to making skin behave younger, but to truly prevent further damage, it's all about blocking the effects of UVA and UVB radiation. A miracle cure all to topically erase things, which are working well below the surface are usually laughable, especially when combined with the paltry evidence that is usually paid for by a lab owned by the mother company. Paula begs the question; if this is truly the latest and greatest, why do you still have 20 similar products in your line Lancome, Estee Lauder, Clarins, et al. (trust me that et al. is very long)? It's a little insulting to someone even remotely versed in beauty or with a shred of common sense to believe that LR 34897 uniquely owned and created by L'Oreal is the fountain of youth (not to mention all the beauty mergers that render said exclusivity void). Ask yourself this; how much turnover is there usually from one miracle product to the next, every 6 months? Every season? And each time the new product is better than the last; just test a sales associate at a beauty counter and even they will get tripped up and start to contradict themselves. It's impossibly over saturated. And last time I checked; we're not all glowing beauties; we're actually more paranoid about our looks then we were 3 years ago, so what gives?!
--------ok, here is where you've probably had that nagging sense; is this all a giant conspiracy? am i being played? are major luxury conglomerates playing on my insecurities of beauty, esteem and youth? you might be on to something...----------
6. Skin needs a consistent regime to see results (*varying according to symptoms and seasons). Trying a new it product every other week will never come close to bringing results other than the placebo effect. New products always change our lives until that optimism wears off. There is no such thing as a quick fix when it comes to skin, cells need to turnover, exfoliation and purging need to take place. And more highly likely, an internal change needs to too; sleep, hydration and diet are usually far overlooked when it comes to skin's appearance. Sample products have become the bane of my existence; who doesn't want to try something new? They're everywhere and I can't avoid them! But I constantly have to remind myself: FOCUS!! If there isn't a void in my regime, stop snooping! Less is sometimes way more. Your skin doesn't need constant introductions and your face really shouldn't be an experiment. If you don't have a specific, identified need for a particular product there is no use adding something just to see what happens or because other people who use it said it works for them. A basic order for day & night à la Paula looks like this (and it's helped me tremendously to tailor and weed out excessive products so there's no surplus):
DAY:
Cleanse>Tone>Exfoliate>Treatment>+MoisturizeSPF
NIGHT:
Cleanse>Tone>Exfoliate>Treatment>Moisturize
If it doesn't fit into one of these categories, and in this particular order, chances are it's frivolous, redundant and even excessive for your skin. Doubly exfoliating for example, can be harmful as can be leaving out the skin's demand for antioxidants and other cell beneficial ingredients that make your skin behave better and more youthful. Moisturizing with say a serum, before using your exfoliating product would be wasteful as well since whatever is in contact with your skin the closest will have the primary action.
7. Order is paramount. If present, fragrance and preservatives greatly effect the quantity and potency of ingredients listed below them. It's like a beauty brick wall. Additionally that key ingredient that's touted as the savior of the product? If it's at the end of the list, it's virtually not there at all.
These are just some of the tenets I've embraced thanks to Paula Begoun. There's actually a lot more; learning about ingredients and what's good and bad for all skin types, learning why skin behaves the way it does and what is and isn't possible to change are just a few more. It's not easy having your beauty fantasies killed, but then again once we can all accept that the $35 billion dollar beauty industry has it's own incentives and profits to gain, maybe we can make our own.
stage 2
Lippmann Lara's Theme (looks redder than real life here)
size comparison
