How I Chose My Skin Care Regimen

I've long been known to my friends as a bit of a "beauty guru." Long before Sephora had a presence in virtually all major (and most minor) cities, I was a Sephora addict, trying hundreds of products of all shapes, sizes, scents, and prices.

Over the last couple of years, my enthusiasm for skin care and makeup had waned. I settled into a  comfortable regimen of products that I liked, and as my business grew, I didn't have as much time to devote to fun stuff like product testing. Then, last fall, I decided I wanted to update my routine, and turned to Burt's Bees for help. I transformed my entire beauty care over to Burt's Bees, skin care and hair care, without doing much research...and within a couple of months, I was miserable. 

Now, let me say upfront that I like Burt's Bees as a company. I like what they stand for and I like their story. But their products did not work for me. My skin was dry, my hair was dry, and I couldn't figure out why.

That's when I started researching and rediscovered Paula Begoun and Beautipedia. Paula's the author of a great book called, Don't Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me, and has meticulously researched most of the ingredients in skin care products so she can analyze the true efficacy of each product. After the success of her book, Paula developed her own skin care line, Paula's Choice, which is...well, it's okay, in my opinion, and launched Beautipedia, which is a membership site where you can access many of her reviews.

After using Beautipedia, I discovered why my skin and hair were so dry - Burt's Bees products have a lot of drying ingredients! I dug a little further and read through reviews and eventually, came up with a skin care regimen that included products from Neutrogena, Olay, and Kiss My Face, and have been using that ever since. 

As a self-confessed cosmetics snob, I'm actually shocked to say that I love these drugstore products and they're working miracles for me in ways that expensive brands like Creme de la Mer, Boscia, and Kinerase never did. 

So, if you're unsatisfied with your beauty regimen and you need real help choosing new stuff, I highly recommend Paula's book and  Beautipedia as the best places to start. You can't honestly rely on Sephora salespeople or the makeup counter people at the department store- all they can do is repeat the marketing rhetoric they've learned in their "training" by various skin care lines. But Paula (via her book and web site) understands the ingredients and knows what they really do, so you can compare the promises the skin care lines come up with for marketing purposes alongside the truth and see what might work best for you. Best of luck!