Customer Reviews

Don't Go to the Cosmetics Counter without Me: 5th Edition

5 star:		(70)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(24)

 

 

I am amazed at some of the reviews which demonstrate that some alleged readers didn't read the book very carefully at all. Paula clearly admits that the reviews in her book are her opinions. However, I've been reading her books for over a decade, and her opinions are based on solid, thorough, scientific research NOT funded by anyone other than herself. I don't know of another book that can make that claim. She mixes her opinions with facts that few others dare because she has nothing to lose in the process. When she tells the truth, we all benefit. Articles in women's magazines stand to lose an enormous amount of advertising revenue if any editorials threaten to blow Estee Lauder, Lancome, Clinique, Maybelline, or any cosmetics company that spends literally millions of dollars in ads off their solid gold pedestals. Paula also states quite clearly that if a certain regime or product works for the consumer, then the consumer should stick with it.

However, for the rest of us who need guidance in choosing what is best for our skin and make-up routines, this book is a godsend. She rates products on the ingredients they contain, their effect on the skin, and how well they work. She never claims that all products purchased in a drugstore are as good as those purchased at expensive prices in department stores. She freely acknowledges some poor products that are inexpensive do exist. And she also acknowledges that some poor products which are expensive also exist. In other words, the price of the cosmetic has nothing to do with its effectiveness, safety, or application.

What this book really does is give facts to help the consumer separate fact from fiction. One time when I was shopping for a toner, the cosmetics woman at the department store told me that the alcohol contained in her product was "cosmetic" alcohol - not the alcohol that would dry the skin. Sounded good to me....until I thought about it. Paula cuts through the sales talk to which too many of us have ignorantly submitted and taken as gospel.

The book breaks through the "natural" myth, as well. Of course, we all want as natural as products as possible. What the natural companies don't often tell us, however, is that besides all those wonderful-sounding names are some very basic (harmless) chemicals that actually perform the task of the product. I personally like Aveda's hair products, but it isn't the natural products that are cleaning my hair - it's the chemicals. Paula helps us differentiate between what chemicals are harmful and which ones are beneficial. It often has little to do with brand name. Some products in a certain line are highly rated, and some are not recommended.

The piece of advice that I garnered from the book, for which I shall forever be indebted, is the use of BHA (beta hydroxy acid) on my face. It has given my skin a brand-new look and made my skin healthier and better-looking than when I was a teenager back in the 1980s! I'd tried different ways of exfoliating but her recommendations of BHA for skin that is blemish prone and of the exact percentage (1% for me) was probably the best skin care advice I've ever received. I was nearly ready for a (completely unnecessary!) chemical peel costing an obscene amount of money and committing unknown damage to my skin when I learned about BHAs from Paula's book.

It's true that Paula does have a line of both cosmetics and make-up. However, for anyone who's read her books, she does not push them at all. She speaks generally about ingredients and about what to avoid and what to seek. Her products are simply listed with the other 200+ brands! I do admit that I love her products because I know I can count on them not to contain perfumes, dyes, and other extraneous items that are used to sell most cosmetics. As someone with extremely sensitive skin, her skin care products are magnificent.

I think the biggest boon to Paula's credibility is that she is not immune to changing her mind or advice, based on new research. She demonstrates a true ability to learn and grow with the rest of us. Too many "beauty" books contain a lot of fluff and little substance to really help the reader. This book contains a lot of raw facts and arms the reader with an arsenal of knowledge to help her (or him!) make the best choices she can for herself. Whether or not many people will admit it, a lot of cosmetics and skin care companies have been forced to revise their products in our favor due to the information contained in Paula's books. We owe her a lot.

I have a love/hate relationship with this book. Often when I'm looking into buying a certain product and I really want it, I am hoping Ms. Begoun has something good to say about it, but she often doesn't, lol. But all in all, I think if you're shopping for skin care and make-up, you MUST have this book. I don't always take her word for everything she states about a certain product, but it's nice to have her opinion before making such a expensive purchase.
I highly recommend you have this if you are shopping for cosmetics! Also check out her website, it's also very informative!
ps: I also agree with the last reviewer, I also like The Skin Type Solution, it's a great book on helping you discover your skin type and helps out find the right products for your skin.

Paula Begoun openly admits that she isn't a scientist, doctor, or someone with an impressive slew of letters after her name. She does, however have extensive experience from being a makeup artist since 1974, testing and comparing expensive and inexpensive products for ingredients. This alone makes her opinion worth reading. After all, there's no sense paying over twenty bucks for a tube of department store mascara when Maybelline Great Lash (for less than 6 bucks) not only does the trick, but works even better.

Paula has covered everything (and I mean everything) from blackheads to spider veins, the ever growing market for wrinkle reducing cream (Paula's take: there's no such thing) and every cosmetic company from A-Z (over 100 in all, including Target's Sonia Kashuk and BeneFit, one of my faves). Beware, though- Paula poo-poos moisturizing; in fact, she claims it's the biggest travesty committed by the cosmetics/skin care conglomerate. She doesn't think much about most company's products (accept her own, of course), especially those sold through 5S skincare, Adrien Arpel (is she still around??), Almay skin care products, and doesn't seem too impressed with Clinique's line of skincare products. Paula is also anti-shiny eyeshadow under any/all circumstances. So as you can see, some of this is her opinion (she hawks her own line of products an awful lot), but most of it gives you useful information to compare products before buying. Definitly a book you'll want to check out before shelling big bucks out at the Estee Lauder counter (BTW, did you know EL owns Clinque and Origins?) There's also a helpful appendix in the back to define all those strange sounding ingredients listed on the labels of over 30,000 products. If nothing else, read the "Best Prodcuts Summary" (located in the back, of course), which breaks products down by best cleansers (for each skin type), makeup removers, toners, exfolients, suncreens, facial masks, self tanners (hallelujah!), concealers, powders, eyeshadows, brow shapers, etc. You name it, it's here.

I have been reading Paula's books for years, and have been a industry pro in hair/make-up/skin care for over 15 years. She is on the money. After working with huge companies for years. The parent company is in for one thing...MONEY people! There are fabulous products in many high end and lower end ranges. It's all about prestige, packaging, frangrance, not always quaility. Even if they do use the best ingredients out there, does it even it do what it claims? Not likely.

I like her keep it simply attitude. As for "not being an expert" This is laughable. Let's see....your average estetician has less then a high school education, trained at or with a major cosmetics company ( spoon fed all the info based on the products the company wants to sell or a low rent trade school) Paula has spent years, researching with hunderd of doctors, manufacturers, and actual experts to write her books. I don't know, but if there where PHD's in this, she would have three by now.

Since I left the sales/education part of my industry, I focus on giving my clients the TRUTH about what is out there. I ask them, ( ask yourself too) Has ther ever been a product you have tried that actually 100% did exactly what it promised it would do? Is your hair, skin, body totally changed for the better with long lasting results? Are your split ends mended? Your wrinkles smaller? The celulite gone? Dark cirlces erased? Fuller thicker hair with bounce, shine and no frizz? Doubtful.

She debunks that you need to spend hundreds on crap. Unless you like to waste your money. She gives honest reviews based on trials, and scientific research with independant labs. You make the choice in the end.

I have been fascinated by and researched cosmetics for years (I haunt Sephora), so I was eager to sit down with this and leaf through it. Unfortunately, I was disappointed to the point of being irate, so have waited for a while before writing in the heat of the moment.

My primary objection is with Ms. Begoun's strong bias against products based on natural ingredients. If one was to believe her, then botanical by-products and extracts are the bane of all skin care, and every one to be considered as dangerous as poison ivy. Taking it a step further, she poo-poos one CEO's assertion as to the danger of petrochemicals (so prevalent in cheaper cosmetics especially), wondering sarcastically if this person does not drive a car, fly a plane, live in a heated home etc. The obvious argument here of course being that one hopefully does not apply toxins like petroleum, gasoline, etc. to their skin on a daily basis, where it is absorbed directly into the system. Remember why "patch" medications work. It is naive to assume that our body is not on some level absorbing/consuming what we put on our skin.

Her prejudice also comes through in which studies she chooses to play up (to her convenience), and which are dismissed as though they were conducted in someone's kitchen sink. Either her research is thoroughly lacking, or she only researched tests and studies that support her premise of what's safe and of good quality, and what's not.

Despite the well-known concerns of sodium lauryl and laureth sulfates, published by a number of independent groups, she insists these are nothing objectionable. Even if the suspected carcinogenic traits are never proven, it's doubtful that anything that has raised such a question (or even furor) is safe period, cancer-causing or not. Bear in mind, SLS concerns have been noted for decades; this is not a fad, hyped by some company in an effort to elevate their own products. She has a cynical, even snide attitude, for any company with a holistic approach. No, actually she's snide about at least some products in almost every skin care line out there.

Predictably, the only skincare line which meets her approval with its every product is...her own. I put the book back on the shelf with the distinct impression that I had stumbled upon a 1000+ page advertisement. Advertisements of course are not to be confused with reference materials, which one figures would be more objective.

I have worked in the cosmetics industry for 12 years, and represent many brands. Ms. Begoun's biggest problem is that she only had about 2 weeks of experience before she was fired, and she seems to think that was enough experience to be considered an "expert" in the field. She tends to review products on ingredient lists alone, sometimes mistaking what the different ingredients are actually for. She has made herself a lovely career writing books about how not to get ripped off at the cosmetics counter, but I will tell you all you ever need to know: find yourself a cosmetician that you trust, and who has a lot of experience (preferably one that does not represent one single brand, but many), ask her what you want to know. Period. If that is not an option for you, use Ms. Begoun's books as a reference, and take everything she says with a grain of salt. I could spend hours pointing out all of her mistakes in the books, and arguing over her credibility, but I trust that as with any printed material, you know that just because it's in print does not mean it is 100 percent accurate.

Along with many years of experience, I am a national Cosmetic Outstanding Service Award winner in Canada, and I have seen Ms. Begoun's books come and go over the years, and I only wish that I had thought of it first... the woman makes millions off an area that she IS NOT an expert in.

Let me save you some time: Paula has something negative to say about every product on the market except for her own. I find that a lot of her information is suspect and some is just plain incorrect.

In my opinion, she has no place critiquing other products while she is trying the schlep her own.

If you are interested in the ingredients in products, buy Milady's skin care and cosmetic ingredients dictionary. It is educational, easy to understand, and impartial. It will be a better use of your money.

As others have mentioned, the section on ingredients is the most useful portion of this book.

Her reviews, otoh, are completely biased. Paula likes matte finishes and "natural" colors, and she lets you know it. I bought the book on the recommendation of an acquaintance, and at first glance, the heft of this book seemed impressive: over 1000 pages and she gives a nice overview of each brand, which is interesting as well as educational.

Two things irritated me:

1) Inconsistency-- some other reviewer had noted this before; how in the intro section, she advocated "always put on sunscreen last" as part of your daily skincare routine, while in other portions, she recommends putting on sunscreen underneath foundation. Okay, this didn't resonate with me at first, until I actually got the book and found the inconsistency on page 337. Hello, blatant contradiction. Now, this wouldn't bother me quite as much, except...

2) This book purports to be "scientific" (i.e. backed up by research) and therefore objective. As far as I can tell, Paula's certainly done her homework on the ingredients listed, no question, but as far as her reviews go, it seems like she takes a few basic sound principles (like, alcohol is drying) and just runs with it, using them to justify her favorites and pan her nonfavs...

For example, she pans the whole Shiseido line, and claims that antioxidants (like arbutin) found in their skincare line either don't work or are present in too minute quantities to work... Okay, Shiseido is the largest cosmetics company in Japan and has a fantastic research and development team of scientists... am I supposed to trust Paula's opinions on arbutin ? If you read through her reviews on the line, I think you will get more of the sense that basically, she simply dislikes Shiseido's advertising and image.

That's not the only reason I found her book unscientific. Given the format of the book and this (holier-than-thou) tone of objectivity she uses, I expected that products which consistently received low marks would get poor reviews from her... wrong. Okay, if 100 users consistently pan a product for its gloppy consistency, etc... I would expect a tome of this kind to reflect that viewpoint-- I mean, what exactly is the point, otherwise?

Bottomline:

What this book really is, is one educated woman's opinion of a bunch of products. if you share Paula's tastes and you are interested in matte, creamy makeup in "natural"-looking colors, then go get this book. You will probably find her recommendations useful and her reviews are definitely a good way to find new products to try out. However, don't expect this book to be the "beauty encyclopedia" of products that it purports to be... nor is her research all that relevant when it comes to actual product reviews... they are colored too much by her biases.

Actually, I think a more "scientific" way to go about it, is via consensus... if 100 people consistently offer up raves on one product, isn't it likely that you will like it as well? I would rather pick out new products that way rather than trust the judgement of one woman (who gives high marks to Estee Lauder's goopy lip glosses while panning Shiseido's eyeshadows ??)... that makes a lot more sense to me. And for that, thankfully I've found:

http://www.makeupalley.com

Reviews from your peers on most of the beauty products available out there. And, since it's ongoing, it won't ever become out of date... unlike Paula's tome.

If you are expecting the type of information you got in Ms Begoun's first book, you want get it in this one.

For instance, I used the BEST BUYS list in the first book extensively and found it to be reliable. This edition has thirty or so items in each category with no mention of the best prices. Also, in her first book I often disagreed with Ms. Begoun on products I have personally used as did many of the blind test groups. There are no test groups in this edition just facts, formulas and ingredients.

I also found her own product line in the book a little too self promoting.

Unless you are in need of a list of ingredients in cosmetics I can't see any point in this book as a reference.

Fairly comprehensive review of a broad range of products with a healthy dose of wit and sarcasm which makes an entertaining read. Although not all products are covered you can join Paul's website for a fee which will give you access to almost every product out there.
Some Canadian products are not reviewed or limited but the book is still useful.