Paula's Choice - The Cosmetics Cop

As a bit of a beauty junkie, before I buy new skincare or makeup products, I like to look at product reviews and ratings on  Paula's Choice.  If you’ve ever wondered if the chemicals and ingredients in your beauty products are actually good for your face, you should check out Paula's Choice. They evaluate the ingredients in products and if those ingredients have a scientific basis for the marketing claims on the product. There can be a lot of hype around products, and it can be difficult to separate the hype from reality. The site helps to evaluate whether it is worth is to spend on these products.

The company was started by Paula Begoun, who wrote the book Don't Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without me. She's been on quite a few TV shows, like Oprah and The View. She is recognized as consumer advocate, and stresses the importance of scientific studies to back-up marketing claims about ingredients. 

However, the site does have another motive. While the section of the site I use is called Beautypedia, there is a retail store as well, where users can purchase Paula’s line of products. I try to keep that in mind when I’m reading reviews of products, that they might not entirely be from an independent, non-biased point of view. For the most part though, if the review states that a specific ingredient is really harmful for your face, I believe it and don’t purchase the product. While consumer reviews are helpful, I use those in combination with the review on Paula's Choice about whether I should buy a product, because the reviews on Paula's Choice use research to analyze the ingredients in products, and help determine if the product will actually work.

From a marketing perspective, it is interesting that the site evaluates whether marketing claims on products have truth to them, but also, Paula's Choice uses their reputation as the “cosmetics cop” to promote their own products. There seems to be a trend with consumers becoming more interested in the ingredients of products they use or eat. This site helps to increase consumer awareness on ingredients in beauty products, and I find it to be a very useful tool when deciding between what products to buy.