I'm 28 years old and still dealing with oily, sensitive, acne-prone skin. Whoever said this would end in your teens was wrong wrong wrong! For the longest time, I tried everything to get my skin under control. From drugstore products (Neutrogena, Garnier, Ponds, Cetaphil, Clean & Clear, Yes to Tomatoes, nip + fab, st. Ives, Trader Joe's, L'oreal), to higher-end beauty department store lines (Shiseido, Clinique), prescription clindamycin and stievamycin, birth control and household remedies (baking soda scrubs, toothpaste on pimples). Nothing really worked for my skin.
When I moved back and forth between a humid temperate city and an extremely dry winter one for grad school, my skin went bananas and decided to break out in painful cystic bumps all over my cheeks. While on a 3 month break home to complete my thesis, my procrastination led me to discover beautypedia, a website that reviews the ingredients list of various products and determines whether they are worth their while, and whether research supports the product's claims. While I love makeupalley for seeing what other people think of different products, beautypedia provides a somewhat more concrete and objective measure. Now I use both review systems to see if products are worth trying. In addition to the review systems, I also looked over the "expert advice" articles and learned so much about why my skin was reacting the way that it had in the past.
While exploring beautypedia, it inevitably led me to Paula's Choice products. Although I was quite skeptical at first, I scoured the internet for more information and reviews on the products and decided to give them a try. I can honestly say that these products were a game changer for me. Although I'm not easily suckered into sales pitches (I'm the worst Mary Kay guest, because I always walk away without having made a single purchase), the reviews I read actually seemed to have some merit. My skin felt a lot healthier and even my mom, who was always nagging me to see her doctor friend about my acne, pointed out that my skin was finally good and my best friend, who wears the same makeup foundation as me, asked if I had switched to something else because my skin looked so clear. While many have criticized Paula Begoun for being overly pushy in selling her products, I've noticed a shift in the past year that has lightened up on the aggressive sales pitches and heavy handed criticism on beautypedia. Thank goodness for that.
So, as I enter the world of beauty reviews, I'll simply share with you what has worked for me, what I've liked, what I found "meh", and what I've found to be downright atrocious. Don't forget to always take everything with a grain of salt. Not everything works the same way for everyone.
