Don't Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me

Rating:
Summary: A MUST READ!!!
Review: Stop spending hundreds of dollars on worhtless items that only sell you an image. Learn what's in your products and what makes it work and what doesn't. Don't listen to anyone who says this book is only about ingredients. It's very important to know what you are buying. Why bi money for a product that boasts about a certain ingredient only to find out that it is at the bottom of the list near the preservatives. The farther down the list an ingredient is, the less there is of it. Please don't skip this book, you will literally save hundreds of dollars and stop falling for the latest ad campaign.

Rating:
Summary: Didn't work for me
Review: When I first heard about this book I was really excited. I'd heard that some less expensive products were just as good as the expensive ones. So I read this book. (Thankfully I just checked it out from the library.) I tried some of the suggested less expensive products. But, I'm going back to Estee Lauder. The cheaper products resulted in break outs and skin that felt dry. Like lots of people , I got really excited when I was told that for less money I could get something just as good. But cosmetics are just like anything else--you get what you pay for.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty Useless
Review: I had been very excited about buying this book, but time after time I found it so useless and in fact wrong on so many things that I finally gave it away. I really wanted to like it, but it seems that Ms. Begoun and my opinions just never jibed. Almost every product I love and have been using for years, she trashes. And I have tried many of the products she loves, and not once have I been satisfied. On a more specific level, here are my gripes:


1) She is stuck in 1992 matte neutral makeup. She is totally disdainfully of anything even remotely "shiny" as she refers to it. Wake up Paula, dewy slightly shimmery sheerly colorful fresh and glowing makeup is what's in in the 21st century - and looks great on most everyone. Her photo says it all - totally outdated cakey mattey makeup.

2) Her descriptions are useless: "This works as well as most" What does that mean?

3) She hates fragrance - what's wrong with a little fragrance as long as it doesn't irritate?

4) She will say "This product has good anti-oxidants and water biding agents" - but doesn't tell you what those are so you know what to look for. I guess you are just supposed to take her word for it.

5) Her cosmetics dictionary is incomplete - lots of ingredients I see on labels are simply not there.

6) She is always critical of other people's prices, and in some cases I agree there are certain lines that are priced astronomically (cle de peu, la prairie) probably for no good reason. But women pay department store prices for service and packaging (yes packaging) and the ability to try things. I know there are lots of good drugstore products out there, and if you have acess to testers maybe its worth it. But when I buy them and the colors don't work (and they never seem to) I've just wasted money.

6) As agreed with some other readers, she really has no credentials that actually matter and the overall tone of the book is too personally anecdotal and self-serving.

6) And finally, and mostly YOU DO NOT GET TO CALL YOURSELF THE COSMETICS COP AND THEN PEDDLE YOUR OWN LINE!!!!!!. I went to her website, www.cosmeticscop.com, hoping to find information, and found that it was mostly a sales site for her cosmetics. When I bought this book I had no idea she had a cosmetics line. I am pretty offended that this woman doesn't pay for advertising, she actually charges people for it because the book is ultimately is advertisement for her makeup. And while I'm sure she has some good products, I find it hard to believe that everything in her line is "perfect" as she professes. If Clinique and Estee Lauder and Lancome don't produce all perfect producers, why would she?


So, take the $27 dollars you would spend on the book and buy an "overpriced" (Paul's words, not mine-- I think Chanel is worth every penny!) Chanel lipstick. I think you will get much more pleasure!





Rating:
Summary: I am a cosmetic dermatologist
Review: This book is well written and accurate. I am a big fan of Paulas! This book is a must have for skin care enthusiasts! See her web sire www.cosmeticscop.com for even more up to date information!