Mac - Maleficent (May 15, 2014)

[Dolly Snow]

Is it terrible that I am afraid to ask for samples? When I was younger, the women at the counters made me feel like $hit for asking for them. Or would outright tell me no

No it is not terrible, I was the same! Then I said EFFF THAT! I got tired of people telling me I couldn't sample things but I could spend 50 bucks on the full size and they are going give me looks if I take it back because they didnt let me sample it first? No way, so I started asking lol

 

[lilinah]

Quote: Originally Posted by lilinah
For a moisturizer i recommend looking at http://beautypedia.com.
Product ratings are reviewed based on ingredients. They include everything from really cheap to really high end -- price is not a determining factor on whether it works. That way you can find a brand and a product that suits your needs and price range.

Moisturizers With SPF:
http://www.paulaschoice.com/beautypedia-skin-care-reviews/best-skin-care-products/Skin-Care/Moisturizers-With-Sunscreen

Moisturizers Without SPF:
http://www.paulaschoice.com/beautypedia-skin-care-reviews/best-skin-care-products/Skin-Care/Moisturizers-Without-Sunscreen



Just be aware that this site is a little biased and tends to rate PC products as the best of the best. If you are unsure about some of the ingredients, you can do a double-check with cosdna.com or ewc.org too.

And the site recommends many other products as best of the best as well. PC products (theirs) are not the only ones that get rated highly.

48 BEST Moisturizers without SPF, and 41 are not Paula's (over 85% not hers), and they range in price from $11.79 to $110.
50 BEST Moisturizers with SPF, and 44 are not Paula's (88% are not hers), and they range in price from $12.95 to $75.

And you can just search Moisturizers without SPF and Moisturizers with SPF to check out any you've been using or that other people recommend to see what beautypedia has to say and make your own decision.

For a long time there were no Paula's Choice products and everyone's products were rated as objectively as possible. So just 'cuz her products are there is no reason to skip the site. It sure isn't as if hers are the only products rated highly. I think they began making products for two reasons. Yeah, to make some money, sure, otherwise why be in business? But also to make relatively inexpensive quality skin care products available. With many expensive products we end up just paying for brand name, pretty packaging, and all too often fragrance which is irritating to facial skin, and all too many don't have enough ingredients that are really helpful.

I don't bother with their cosmetics reviews, though, except for foundations/tinted moisturizers/concealers/etc. and mascaras, because they seem to only like matte neutrals - and i like highly colorful and sometimes sparkly (as well as neutrals).

ecw.org is the Energy Center of Wisconsin. I think you meant http://ewg.org (Environmental Working Group), which has a very different outlook from beautypedia. They do not rate for the effectiveness of a product, but rather based on ingredient safety. They may rate a product highly that is not efficacious because is it safe. I use ewg to check out sunscreens and to familiarize myself with the safety of ingredients.

I don't know much about http://cosdna.com - i never heard of them until today. There's no "About Us" to know who they are, what their mission is, or who sponsors them. Some of their pages will say whether cosmetic ingredients are skin irritating, acne or comedogenic, and safe (there are ingredients in skin care and make up that are potential endocrine disruptors, for example). Some of their pages just say what the purpose of an ingredient is.

 

[lilinah]

Quote: Originally Posted by FashionDoll
My skin is the same and the only one I've had great success with is Dermalogica gentle cream exfoliant. It's expensive but it lasts a long time and I love it. You just apply, leave it for 10-15 mins then wash off. There's no nasty beads or scrubbing which aggrevates your skin more. And it really makes my skin look so much better and so smooth.


Some scientists are starting to be concerned about the little plastic beads in skin exfoliants, facial cleanser, body washes, and toothpastes because they are getting into lakes and oceans (they're in all the Great Lakes and 3 have serious problems with them) and causing problems. In Lake Erie scientists found the equivalent of over 1 million plastic particles per square mile! They're often quite colorful and attractive, and the size of fish eggs, so various aquatic creatures consume them and then starve. And some invasive species hitchhike in on plastics.

Fortunately some of the companies making these products have pledged to remove these micro-beads by 2015 in some cases, and 2017 in others. Sooner would really be better. And i hope they are replaced, if need be, with something biodegradable.

 

[vaisforluvrs]

And the site recommends many other products as best of the best as well. PC products (theirs) are not the only ones that get rated highly.

48 BEST Moisturizers without SPF, and 41 are not Paula's (over 85% not hers), and they range in price from $11.79 to $110.
50 BEST Moisturizers with SPF, and 44 are not Paula's (88% are not hers), and they range in price from $12.95 to $75.

And you can just search Moisturizers without SPF and Moisturizers with SPF to check out any you've been using or that other people recommend to see what beautypedia has to say and make your own decision.

For a long time there were no Paula's Choice products and everyone's products were rated as objectively as possible. So just 'cuz her products are there is no reason to skip the site. It sure isn't as if hers are the only products rated highly. I think they began making products for two reasons. Yeah, to make some money, sure, otherwise why be in business? But also to make relatively inexpensive quality skin care products available. With many expensive products we end up just paying for brand name, pretty packaging, and all too often fragrance which is irritating to facial skin, and all too many don't have enough ingredients that are really helpful.

I don't bother with their cosmetics reviews, though, except for foundations/tinted moisturizers/concealers/etc. and mascaras, because they seem to only like matte neutrals - and i like highly colorful and sometimes sparkly (as well as neutrals).

ecw.org is the Energy Center of Wisconsin. I think you meant http://ewg.org (Environmental Working Group), which has a very different outlook from beautypedia. They do not rate for the effectiveness of a product, but rather based on ingredient safety. They may rate a product highly that is not efficacious because is it safe. I use ewg to check out sunscreens and to familiarize myself with the safety of ingredients.

I don't know much about http://cosdna.com - i never heard of them until today. There's no "About Us" to know who they are, what their mission is, or who sponsors them. Some of their pages will say whether cosmetic ingredients are skin irritating, acne or comedogenic, and safe (there are ingredients in skin care and make up that are potential endocrine disruptors, for example). Some of their pages just say what the purpose of an ingredient is.

I definitely was not saying that other products were not rated as best, however, it appears that all PC products are rated as best. There are some potentially irritating ingredients in her Rosacea products which gave me pause to think of a more balanced approach when making a final decision as to whether or not something might work for me. That's why I look at EWG (if you look at my post, I immediately edited my mistake) and Cosdna (actually found it through this board) to decipher what is actually in the products too. It's just my personal view that I don't 100% trust beautypedia but if you do, that's up to you.

 

[pinkswoon]

Love paulas choice products have used for 10 years

 

[Whitneyallison]

Absolutely! Take advantage of samples! The new skin tone-matching technological-whiz gizmo was a TOTAL FAILURE for me. Instead i took home and tested dozens of product samples for 2 years before i found a foundation that had the finish, coverage, color, and tone that work.

It was a failure for me too. I was sent home with MUFE mat velvet plus in about two shades too dark on my face. I haven't found anything. Thought I was loving the bareminerals bare skin which after trying I would recommend. But I've worn it for 3 days and it oxidized and pretty much was melting off my face- even with the proper prep.

 

[martiangurll]

I was originally told that I was NW. I think they looked at the redness that I carried in my cheeks and just assumed that must mean I'm NW. The next time I was told NC. In actuality, I probably fall more into the neutral category. In Nars Sheer Glow, I mix Mont Blanc (pink undertone) with Gobi (yellow undertone) to get my match.

I'm neutral, between 15 & 20. I was thinking of getting NARS Sheer Glow, but haven't settled on the color. Was Deauville ("Light with neutral balance of pink and yellow undertones") too dark for you? It was too dark for me. I haven't tested Siberia ("Light with neutral balance of pink and yellow undertones") yet. Was it too light?

PBI: I usually run about NW17 or so and Deauville is best match for me. Siberia only works in Winter for me when I've gone weeks with no sun and I'm closer to NC15. HTH

 

[MandyVanHook]

I'm neutral, between 15 & 20. I was thinking of getting NARS Sheer Glow, but haven't settled on the color. Was Deauville ("Light with neutral balance of pink and yellow undertones") too dark for you? It was too dark for me. I haven't tested Siberia ("Light with neutral balance of pink and yellow undertones") yet. Was it too light?

Yes, Deauville was too dark on me. It looked decent in Sephora but as soon as I stepped out, I could tell it looked awful and streaky around my neck. In the middle of summer it might work. Siberia was too light but I could probably use it in winter. I used Mont Blanc on its own for a while and it worked pretty well, but it was a little too pink and didn't help with my redness. Then I got Gobi (which is very yellow) to mix with Mont Blanc and it gives me pretty much the perfect shade.

 

[Uptownbackinit]

No it is not terrible, I was the same! Then I said EFFF THAT! I got tired of people telling me I couldn't sample things but I could spend 50 bucks on the full size and they are going give me looks if I take it back because they didnt let me sample it first? No way, so I started asking lol
I still get afraid to ask. They always act like it puts them out. Sometimes I just wish I can make my own samples.

It was a failure for me too. I was sent home with MUFE mat velvet plus in about two shades too dark on my face. I haven't found anything. Thought I was loving the bareminerals bare skin which after trying I would recommend. But I've worn it for 3 days and it oxidized and pretty much was melting off my face- even with the proper prep.

I Hate that device thingy. I've tried it 3 times. First time everything was to dark, Second everything was to yellow, and third everything was to light.

Quote: Originally Posted by MandyVanHook


Yes, Deauville was too dark on me. It looked decent in Sephora but as soon as I stepped out, I could tell it looked awful and streaky around my neck. In the middle of summer it might work. Siberia was too light but I could probably use it in winter. I used Mont Blanc on its own for a while and it worked pretty well, but it was a little too pink and didn't help with my redness. Then I got Gobi (which is very yellow) to mix with Mont Blanc and it gives me pretty much the perfect shade.

Mandy Pandy! I tried mixing both Mont Blanc and Gobi together. They are like almost the perfect color.
And agree the first time I ever used Nars Sheer I bought Deauville and it was too dark as well.

 

[Dolly Snow]

I still get afraid to ask. They always act like it puts them out. Sometimes I just wish I can make my own samples. I Hate that device thingy. I've tried it 3 times. First time everything was to dark, Second everything was to yellow, and third everything was to light. Mandy Pandy! I tried mixing both Mont Blanc and Gobi together. They are like almost the perfect color.  And agree the first time I ever used Nars Sheer I bought Deauville and it was too dark as well.

It's prob bad of me but sometimes I make my own samples lol

 

[erine1881]

It's prob bad of me but sometimes I make my own samples lol

Hey. Sephora has their sample cups out in the open. If they didn't want people to be all handsy, they should put em away! :haha:

 

[Uptownbackinit]

It's prob bad of me but sometimes I make my own samples lol

Oh I get so tempted to just bring my own cups and make them.
I can give myself more than one use, I don't have to deal with uppity ass attitudes.
Really should just make my own.

 

[Dolly Snow]

Hey. Sephora has their sample cups out in the open. If they didn't want people to be all handsy, they should put em away! :haha:

Exactly! I only do it when the employees give me tude and then I'm all Hell no I am getting my samples! :haha:

 

[Dolly Snow]

Oh I get so tempted to just bring my own cups and make them.  I can give myself more than one use, I don't have to deal with uppity ass attitudes. Really should just make my own.

They usually have their own cups out lol. I use them and get samples! Don't be scared girl! An employee saw me doing it once and asked what I was doing! I told her your employees wouldn't give me a sample so I am making my own!

 

[Uptownbackinit]

I use them and get samples! Don't be scared girl! An employee saw me doing it once and asked what I was doing! I told her your employees wouldn't give me a sample so I am making my own!

Really? In the sephora's here they keep all the cups hidden in the bottom restock drawers so no one can get them unless they dig through the drawers.

 

[Dolly Snow]

Really? In the sephora's here they keep all the cups hidden in the bottom restock drawers so no one can get them unless they dig through the drawers.

Bring your own lol make sure they are sanitized though. My sephora keeps them by the makeup mirror thingy in the center lol

 

[MandyVanHook]

I still get afraid to ask. They always act like it puts them out. Sometimes I just wish I can make my own samples. I Hate that device thingy. I've tried it 3 times. First time everything was to dark, Second everything was to yellow, and third everything was to light. Mandy Pandy! I tried mixing both Mont Blanc and Gobi together. They are like almost the perfect color.  And agree the first time I ever used Nars Sheer I bought Deauville and it was too dark as well.

Yay! I love that combo. I really wish they would come out with a shade like that, but until then, I don't mind mixing.

 

[Uptownbackinit]

Yay! I love that combo. I really wish they would come out with a shade like that, but until then, I don't mind mixing.

I still hate mixing. Lol.

 

[MandyVanHook]

I still hate mixing. Lol.

Haha, I understand. It's certainly not ideal!

 

[Dominique33]

Some scientists are starting to be concerned about the little plastic beads in skin exfoliants, [COLOR=111111]facial cleanser, body washes, and toothpastes[/COLOR] because they are getting into lakes and oceans (they're in all the Great Lakes and 3 have serious problems with them) and causing problems. In Lake Erie scientists found the equivalent of [COLOR=111111]over 1 million plastic particles per square mile! [/COLOR]They're often quite colorful and attractive, and the size of fish eggs, so various aquatic creatures consume them and then starve. And some invasive species hitchhike in on plastics. Fortunately [COLOR=111111]some of the companies making these products have pledged to remove these micro-beads by 2015[/COLOR][COLOR=111111] [/COLOR][COLOR=111111]in some cases, and 2017[/COLOR][COLOR=111111] in others. Sooner would really be better. And i hope they are replaced, if need be, with something biodegradable.[/COLOR]

I fully agree. We did have 100% bio plastic here ( made out of apple and other veggies ) but logically it was not waterproof and water résistant at all. But some plastic bottles do contain 20% or more organic plastic, recycling is compulsory and if you don ´ t recycle you are liable to get a fine, but it is still theory I fear. Some makeup brands go Vegan like Boho, Couleur Caramel for example with recycled and very light packagings, plastic bags were banned at supermarkets a few years ago.