Paula's Choice • Beautypedia.com • Other

*TOP REVIEWER* lilinah on 5/16/2013 4:00:00 PM more reviews by lilinah

Age: 56 & Over   Skin: Dry, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Brown, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Hazel    

I have dry, somewhat sensitive, rosacea prone skin. When i hit 60 i thought maybe i should do more for my skin that just wash it and occasionally use sunscreen. I bought a lot of expensive products at sephora (that was fun). But i wanted to know what ingredients and products actually worked.

Then i discovered Paula's Beautypedia. I trust her skin care product reviews because, even though she has her own line of products, she does not hesitate to give high ratings to a wide range of other products, from inexpensive drug store brands to higher end (although it's amazing how many insanely expensive products are nuthin' special). And there definitely can be a certain amount of objectivity when it comes to analysing skin care ingredients - some are well known to be irritating or helpful - it isn't just a matter of personal preference. I can now opt for products with larger amounts of beneficial ingredients and avoid products that promise the moon and have few or no remarkable ingredients, or are actually irritating to the skin.

Paula doesn't slam natural ingredients. She just points out which ones have good research to indicate whether they are harmful or helpful to the skin. I was rather surprised to read scientific studies (she has links to them) showing that lavender is skin damaging. Paula also links to studies about the benefits of a number of natural ingredients in skin care products, such as tea and caffeine, just to pick two random examples.

However, i am less enamoured of the cosmetics reviews. I do look over those for foundations, since that item covers a lot of skin. But her personal taste intervenes in the reviews of product colors and finishes, something not based on the effect of their ingredients on the skin. This is especially true in relation to eye and lip makeup, and to a lesser extent cheek products. Paula prefers neutral colors and matte finishes and is highly critical of brightly colored eye makeup and shimmery finishes. Me, even at my age and with my crepey eyes, i look better with shimmery eye shadows - i tried neutral matte eyeshadows and looked like a recently exhumed mummy. And i LOVE bright colors on lips and eyes, when used judiciously, of course. So naturally i still come to makeupalley to check out cosmetics.

I think that makeup colors and finishes are more a matter of personal taste and thus subjective. Skin care ingredients really can be treated objectively, based on whether the ingredients actually do anything beneficial or are irritating. I'm still giving the Beautypedia a 5 rating because of the vast number of well thought out skin care reviews. Just "caveat" when reading the makeup reviews.

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mperez14 on 4/27/2013 12:23:00 PM more reviews by mperez14

Age: 19-24   Skin: Oily, Olive   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

I understand everybody has there own opinions, but she's completely biased. Everybody's face is different & half the products she said were "poor" worked really well for some people. Next.

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littleantlers85 on 4/18/2013 4:07:00 AM more reviews by littleantlers85

Age: 25-29   Skin: Normal, Fair   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Blue    

I think Beautypedia can be useful... to an extent. However, I don't trust everything that is said on that site. For example, it talks about how sodium hyaluronate (the salt equivalent of hyaluronic acid) is a good ingredient in skincare, but that hyaluronic acid is better. However, when you look at all the research, it shows that the hyaluronic acid molecule is too big to be absorbed into the skin, whereas sodium hyaluronate is a smaller molecule that can be absorbed. So... what's the point of rating hyaluronic acid as a better ingredient if it cannot be absorbed? This makes me skeptical as to the scientific basis of Beautypedia. I think it's far from infallible.

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*TOP REVIEWER* kiaboo1980 on 2/7/2013 7:35:00 PM more reviews by kiaboo1980

Age: 30-35   Skin: Acne-prone, Dark, Warm   Hair: Black, Kinky, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

I have to add my 2 cents here. I have used Paula's Choice and always referenced Beautypedia before I made a purchase. But now, I'm not so sure she's any more of an "expert" than anyone else who knows how to read. All she does is read the ingredient list and makes a judgement solely based on that. For instance, if something contains essential oil, even if it's diluted, she'll give it a poor review. She says it's a "potential" irritant. Well, so is BHA if it isn't diluted properly. I use essential oils all the time and know they are safe when properly diluted. Which brings me to this point. Paula has always been against products based on natural plant ingredients. Well, can somebody please tell me why she created a natural, plant based line of products? MmmHmm, right. She'll put down other companies for making natural products, but turn around and do the same thing.

Her products are not the creme de la creme. Believe me, I drank the Paula's Choice kool-aid and used her products for nearly a year. I didn't get any results. I tried sample packets of her cleansers and they all irritated my skin. I decided not to buy the full size. I bought the full sized BHA, Skin Balancing and Resist Toners, Resist Weekly Resurfacing Treatment, and resist serum. I bought 3 or 4 bottles throughout the year. The BHA liquid was okay, but didn't give me the ultra smooth skin I was looking for. I use Mandelic Acid now and it works much better. The Skin Balancing and Resist toners irritated my skin. The Weekly Resurfacing Treatment is really nice. I like it. The serums didn't irritate my skin, but I didn't get any results from them. I went through 4 tubes of the Resist serum with no results. I tried sample packets of the moisture mask, and it's irritating. I tried samples of her retinol serum and it was gross. It was like putting baby oil on my face. Moral of the story is, if you decide to buy her products, get samples first. You might be disappointed. As much trash as she talks about other companies, you'd think her products would be superior but they aren't.

She doesn't test her finished products in a lab. She'll use research of various ingredients that do work, like vitamin c for example, but it's not her actual product that's being tested. There's no way of knowing if the vehicle in which the ingredients are suspended will work. Yes, her serums are full of antioxidants, but did they work for me? No. Something about the way her serums are made, make them ineffective. I've always gotten that "glowy" skin from antioxidant serums such as SkinMedica, SkinCeuticals, and Jan Marini. These companies test their finished product in the lab and have results to prove their products' effectiveness. They have controlled studies using real people, with real skin issues. Their products may not have 50 different antioxidants in them, but at least they work. Paula's choice doesn't.

Bottom line: take her reviews with a HUGE grain of salt. She is totally biased and not any more of an expert than you are. Don't stop using a product you like just because she says so.

18 out of 22 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

Ispania on 1/7/2013 6:56:00 PM more reviews by Ispania

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Fair   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

I try to use beautipedia every time I need to buy makeup or skin care. Some of her choises did not work for me as ,for example, some of Neutrogena skin care. However I do rely on her site when it comes to ingredients, amount of antioxidant and other skin beneficial staff and UVA protection.
When it comes to the feeling of the skin or skin reaction I prefer to choose myself, because as, i said earlier, some of her choises are really not for my skin, despite the best ingredients they contain.

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clairerenee on 1/7/2013 3:52:00 PM more reviews by clairerenee

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination, Fair, Warm   Hair: Brunette, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Hazel    

I have been using the beautypedia website for as long as it has been around and prior to that I bought Paula's books and subscribed to her beauty bulletin. I have found her to be a trusted source of information especially regarding skin care. To be sure, there are times that I disagree with her, particularly on makeup (her mascara picks suck!). Makeup is a pretty subjective area and at the end of the day it's a personal choice. I do like that I can check her site to ensure that a foundation or tinted moisturizer boasting certain SPF actually has uva and uvb covered! I have used some of her products. Love her exfolients, esp BHA. The blushes and eyeshadows she used to carry were amazing. The lipstick she still carres is pretty good. So the site is another tool but certainly not the only one I use in choosing skin care and make up.

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*TOP REVIEWER* Sweryn on 1/4/2013 4:31:00 AM more reviews by Sweryn

Age: 25-29   Skin: Sensitive, Fair-Medium, Neutral   Hair: Brunette, Curly   Eyes: Brown    

I think Paula should get credit for being one of the first people to tell the lies of the beauty industry, some of which I have suspected for years. For example: most products consist only of a blend of silicones, water and tons of fragrance, and they have no beneficial ingredients whatsoever. Companies wanna make you believe their products have extraordinary ingredients, but the fact is that most brands only add 2 or 3 beneficial ingredients at the end of the formula, that is, after the fragrances and the preservatives. In other words, the amount is so tiny they mostly are not gonna have any impact on your skin. And still they ask you an arm and a leg for each product! Another lie is that some companies claim to have a patented "miracle" ingredient that is gonna change your life for better. Truth is, there is no miracle ingredient, and if the cream works is mostly because of the formula as a whole.


Sure, I don't always agree with her views on some products, but I have to admit I have learnt a lot from her. Thanks to Beautypedia, now I avoid harsh products that contain alcohol or menthol, or that are overly fragranced, so I don't irritate my skin. I also learnt that you don't need a night cream or an eye cream, since eye creams formulas are basically the same as face creams, but the industry is not gonna tell you that, of course. And thanks to her, I could confirm one of the things I have always suspected: most high end brands are not better than drugstore brands. There's some exceptions, of course, but if you take into account that some drugstore brands own some high-end brands, you start to understand how the industry works. For example, L'oréal owns Lancome, therefore some of their formulas are practically the same... but Lancome is aimed at people with more purchasing power. And those people are practically getting the same as if they bought something from L'oréal. They just don't know and they think they are getting something "better" than a drugstore product. If only they knew...


One of the things I don't like about Beautypedia is that she never comments on how potentially comedogenic a product is based on its ingredients. I usually have to figure out myself (thanks cosdna!) so I don't end up buying products that are gonna break me out. I know she had to battle with acne, so it would be nice if she commented which ingredients are mostly gonna clog your pores if you are acne-prone. That's why I took off a lippie.


Overall, Beautypedia is a page I like to reach when I want to read the review of a particular skincare product. Usually she gives me a general idea of how that product is gonna work, but I don't decide if I'm gonna buy a product just based on her review. I like reading reviews on MUA to see how the product worked for other people and see if it is safe for my skin type and everything. And I don't trust a lot her makeup reviews since I think makeup is a bit more personal and that you can't judge makeup based on ingredients: in fact, you have to wear a product to see its overall performance.


And finally, I don't really mind she has her own line. And of course she gives her products a high rating and a Paula's Pick... it would be fool if she didn't promote her own line! Business is business after all. But she doesn't hesitate to praise and recommend other products if she feels they're great. So that's why I respect her.

5 out of 7 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

NativeNewyorker on 1/1/2013 3:24:00 PM more reviews by NativeNewyorker

Age: 56 & Over   Skin: Dry, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Red, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Green    

I wanted to weigh in on reviewing Paula's website. I found out about it from this site. I thought it would be good to check out her reviews about skincare and makeup products. I must say that I was quite surprised to see some of my favorite skincare products receive very poor reviews. She basically trashes whole skincare lines, like Lancome, La Mer, Chanel and too many others.


I do have concerns about bias since she is also promoting her own product line. I think it's naive to think that she can be totally objective. Of course she is going to rate her products very highly. I am not saying that she can't do it, however I am saying that it gives me reason to question her overall objectivity. I will say that she does a good job of pointing out potentially harmful products in skincare that can cause allergic reactions. I have dry, sensitive skin with mild rosacea and have had more than my share of bad reactions. In that regard, she is providing a valuable service. I must say that I was shocked to realize that Lancome's Genifique line contains a large amount of alcohol. I have used the serum and eye cream in the past. I never got a reaction, but when I found about about the alcohol content I decided not to buy these products anymore.


Fragrance is another source of concern for me. Sometimes I can tolerate a certain amount in a product. I check out the ingredient list to see which ones come first. I have learned that the ingredients are listed in descending order according to which are contained in the largest number. I do think she debunks some of the myths that cosmetic companies use to sell their products. But I also believe that the consumer is smart enough to see through many of these claims. The bottom line is that if a product gives results and makes your skin look and feel better with no adverse reactions, that is what is important.


I make the ultimate decision as to what I will buy and what works for me. Suffice to say that I strongly disagree with her reviews on many skincare lines. With makeup I find her reviews somewhat more reasonable. When all is said and done, she is one source. I can read her reviews and then check out this site and other sources, youtube videos and comments on other sites. Then I can hopefully make an informed decision. I think it's good to have this kind of site, but I don't take her comments as gospel. It's good to get more opinions and then rely on your own good judgment as to the reliability and performance of products.

11 out of 14 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

funnyblossom on 1/1/2013 2:42:00 PM more reviews by funnyblossom

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

I discovered Beautypedia about 5 years ago. I use it weekly, taking into account that whoever reviews anything does so with a bias - that is life.. I am grateful that someone has taken the time to develop a free knowledge base that, if used with common sense, helps intruct, educate and empower consumers. My skin is better today than it ever was because I make informed choices and I have Beauytpedia to thank for that.

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*TOP REVIEWER* scopingforyou on 1/1/2013 2:02:00 PM more reviews by scopingforyou

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Brown, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Blue    

The idea, in theory, is a great one. The problem is when you sell a product, I don't know how unbiased your reviews of others' products can be. When I went to look up some items there, I specifically chose about 10 MUA top picks. These were highly rated (and by many reviewers). Most of them I had chosen to use were also tried and loved by me too. They get bad reviews by her, stating how they wouldn't work because of this reason or that reason. There are some great things I've learned from visiting her site, though, and against my will,, I'm falling in love with some of her products. :-O

9 out of 12 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

blueroses2525 on 1/1/2013 12:49:00 PM more reviews by blueroses2525

Age: 30-35   Skin: Normal, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Coarse   Eyes: Green    

PB is an intriguing figure. In the beauty world, she's something of an anachronism, a holdover from the olden days where people had to pay for "expert" reviews of products because opinions were not easily accessible. Nowadays, in the internet age, product reviews are linked to products on virtually every beauty shopping site, YouTube abounds with video reviews and tutorials, and anyone with a powder brush and an internet connection can start up a beauty blog, making paid reviews an obsolete business model. PB has changed with the times, at long last -- Beautypedia went from being paid subscription only to free-but-a-username-and-password-are-required to being open and accessible to all.

Historically, many of her reviews, particularly of makeup products, have suffered from her personal style bias. In PB's opinion, the right makeup look consists of matte eyeshadow, "neutral" foundation (with no peach undertones), automatic eyeliner, and non-shimmery blush. Any products that deviated from this were automatically (and often unfairly) downgraded. Since then, she has moderated her approach and now simply points out that certain products, such as MUFE's Aqua Cream shadows, tend towards the bold and dramatic, rather than knocking off points for not being her preferred type of color. While her style bias still comes through in the tone of many of her reviews, it's refreshing to see that she has refocused on reviewing the products for what they are rather than how they fit into her preferred style matrix.

She does have some worthwhile insights into the dubiousness of many products' claims of being "natural," and of the questionable value of the exalted "botanicals" touted as miracle panaceas in some skincare products (such as Cindy Crawford's "melon extract," which probably isn't harmful but doesn't have any demonstrable benefits, either).

What I find myself reading most often are her meta-reviews of certain brands. Although some of them are in need of updating, she still provides some very insightful big-picture analyses of brands, including the overall value for the money as well as the product quality.

In all, PB is one of several sources that I consult when researching a product purchase. I certainly don't rely on her opinions alone, but she does have some value to add to the equation with certain products.

8 out of 10 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* Walko on 11/6/2012 8:13:00 AM more reviews by Walko

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination, Medium   Hair: Other   Eyes: Brown    

I think if you're going to listen to one women's opinion, there's going to be a lot of hit and misses. I bought the book of Paula's a while back, now I just read her reviews on beautypedia online..A lot of her advice is helpful, and I feel I have benefitted. For example, I now avoid products full of denatured alcohol and fragrances, as I genuinelly beleive they are irritants and serve no purpose in skin care whatsoever.However when it comes to her views on exfoliating I totally disagree with her. Paula advises to exfoliate twice a day using a chemical exfoliator.This to me is a nonsense. Exfoliate by all means but twice a day? That will do more harm than good.I've bought products she's recommended and found them excellent. On the other hand, I've wasted money on her recommendations.She has strange views on colour matches, often pointing out this is too yellow, or pink , or peach. For whom?? We are all different.One thing I do agree with her 100%, is sunscreen must be worn 365 days a year, and her sunscreens are excellent.Her line is one of the few that has PURE mineral sunscreens and this is a godsend for me as I can't tolerate chemical sunscreen around eyes. To sum it up I do admire Paula and her work and will continue to seek her advice, I just won't agree with it all.
And I've got to say Paula's antioxidant serums are second too none, absolutely excellent.Also something else I've learnt from Paula, expensive isn't always best , that is oh soooo true.Yes there's a lot of cheap rubbish out there, but worse still , there's a lot of expensive rubbish. It's the formulation that counts NOT the price.

5 out of 8 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

yluseu on 11/6/2012 7:07:00 AM more reviews by yluseu

Age: 19-24   Skin: Very Dry, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Hazel    

I do have a background in beauty, and the teachings that I received matched Paula's quite closely, so I used to trust her opinion a lot. However, now I don't even look at her advice when purchasing product, because I'm an advocate of natural (or rather, plant derived and least processed) ingredients, and it appears she is strongly against any plant extract and aroma essential oils. Also, I happened to have dry skin and she seems to have oily skin. I had to bring up the subject of her personal skin type, because a lot of reviews are geared towards oily skin. She rates poorly any product that is greasy - which can be helpful for dry skin. Any product can be greasy, but it's a matter of moisturizing deeply and being greasy, or being greasy without moisturizing. Having oily skin, I don't think she can tell the difference between the two.

I agree that synthetic fragrances are bad. I have also suffered from heavily fragranced products and I do avoid synthetic fragrances, but I use various aroma essential oils on a daily basis with wonderful results. Some of the products she rated poorly or claimed "full of irritants" happened to work wonderfully for my extremely sensitive and dry skin.

I also think that it is contradictory that she is critiqueing others' products when she has her own product line. There's nothing wrong with having her own product line, but she promotes her own over others by giving lower rates to others products and better ones to her own.

After reading a lot of her reviews, I feel like her focus of choosing product is fragrance free, acid as active ingredient, sunscreen and matte looking makeup. Nothing helpful especially if you have dry skin.

I'd have to acknowledge though, that there were some good points to her reviews, because it helps consumers cut through the illusions and aids them in realizing how overpriced some products can be.

Personally, I have a different guideline that I have set up for myself when choosing product, and I wouldn't refer to her opinion when looking for one.

13 out of 19 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* heather on 10/10/2012 7:59:00 AM more reviews by heather

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Brunette, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Hazel    

I use beautypedia.com and makeupalley.com faithfully as sources of information about beauty products I'm interested in purchasing. Makeupalley is my primary source of consumer opinion and beautypedia is my primary source of research and comparison data, though I also use skindeep, cosdna, totalbeauty, and other resources. I don't agree with all of Paula's reviews, though I generally find them to be pretty accurate, especially regarding skincare. I appreciate her approach, and I particularly like the listing of ingredients and explanation of the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of each product's "star" ingredients. Yes, she reviews her own line and rates her own products as "Paula's Picks." I have no issue with this because I've tried many of her products and have found them to be well-formulated and effective. In some cases, they are unique within their price range, and I like having the information on these and other products available in one easily-searchable place. The thing that bothers me about beautypedia is that whole lines disappear from there with no explanation. I'm sure Nuxe and Arcona were once listed, because I remember reading her opinions of some of their products. Now they are gone. Sometimes her reviews are a bit self-righteous and strident, and I don't care for her personality. For the most part, though, I read beautypedia for the facts about what ingredients and formulations can and cannot do, and have found the information very useful in helping me avoid costly mistakes and ineffective formulations. I just wish more lines and products were covered.

5 out of 7 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

beautifulmind on 10/2/2012 2:26:00 PM more reviews by beautifulmind

Age: 36-43   Skin: Dry, Fair   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Blue    

I think this is an excellent website for finding out which products are likely to irritate your skin or are highly overrated or overpriced. It should be used as a reference guide for ingredients in cosmetics and how skin may respond to these ingredients. Beautypedia especially is interested in antioxidants to improve skin and harsh ingredients like unneeded fragrance that can actually irritate or harm skin. However, I don't always agree with the reviews of products as to how they work on my face. I do like cosmetic websites that ask for age, type of skin, etc. so that I can make comparisons.

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*TOP REVIEWER* seaswan on 9/24/2012 10:11:00 PM more reviews by seaswan

Age: Unknown   Skin: Dry, Fair-Medium, Neutral   Hair: Other, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

While some have reviewed PB's "paula's choice" line under this category. I'll stick to reviewing her website Beauytpedia.

I've been using Beautypedia, ( Paid and free), as a tool for looking for specific make up and skin care products. example: If you want to find a foundation for oily skin, that is fragrance free, without sunscreen, and not tested on animals for under 20 dollars. You can quickly find find that out! Then take your choices and check them out here at MUA. You'll end up saving time and money.
Paula Begoun started a personal mission to try to stop cosmetic and skin care companies from screwing over consumers, which is admirable. It's true that her passion could be overbearing, and yes she eventually added her own products and gives them all the highest rating, but that's business and this is a free country.
I've found her ratings of make up and skin care to be for the most part, accurate, but I'm the judge if I like something or not.
Beauytpedia just lets me know if that $60 moisturizer I've been eyeing at Sephora may have an ingredient that may leave me with a red ugly rash on my face...nothing wrong with that!

8 out of 9 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

MissMelanieM on 7/6/2012 7:34:00 AM more reviews by MissMelanieM

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Brown, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

Paula has been bashing other beauty product lines under the guise of being a "consumer advocate" for years. She's not an expert at anything, she's simply someone that has done a little research and passed judgment on perfectly good products. She sensationalizes. I loathed her very first book. Imagine my surprise when she came out with a product line! Way to go Paula in setting your consumer up and then profiting off of it. Brilliant strategy. Everything else not so brilliant.

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dawnzartandlife on 7/6/2012 12:46:00 AM more reviews by dawnzartandlife

Age: 44-55   Skin: Sensitive, Fair, Cool   Hair: Brunette, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

I swear by Paula Begoun's products and think they have done more for my skin, than most money I have wasted on other skincare products. I have used her entire skincare line protocol for over 5 years with great love and success.I think you need to remember that her opinion is a GUIDE for recommendations not that her opinion is the only one to listen to. Listen to yourself, if you like it and can afford it..more power to you. I do think it deserves to be said that more average consumers need to read her books and read the reviews about the products you use though. I think her view on open jar containers, following a regimen of cleanse, tone, moisturize, and protect, and that you don't need a separate night cream or eye cream are worth every bit of hype she gives them. Those simple rules of basic skincare are fact based and fundamentally sound. Her own line of makeup is not my favorite, but like I said earlier, follow your own intuition. Who else spends millions on rating other people's products, and yet has their own lines as well. {No one else.} You owe it to yourself if you are reading this, to go to beautypedia to check it out. Your skin will thank you later.

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*TOP REVIEWER* lizzea on 7/5/2012 10:28:00 PM more reviews by lizzea

Age: 25-29   Skin: Acne-prone, Tan   Hair: Black   Eyes: Brown    

Paula started off as a consumer advocate, but now with the growth of her own products, the line of independence on her behalf, is starting to blur. Of course she's going to review her products favourably or point you to one of her own as an alternative to a product she doesn't review well, but I've just taken that as the cost of providing an excellent and FREE service to savvy shoppers.

I discovered her reviews via her original books and was shocked to learn the level of deceit and plain out lying that happens when marketing beauty and makeup products and how blatantly companies get away with making such absurd claims! Even my most skeptical and logical friends, often with science backgrounds, have a hard time not buying into the hype simply because it's so seductive and surely 'the product says it does this so it must do this'. Sigh. So for that reason I am SO HAPPY beautypedia exists.

The site isn't perfect nor is the app, and she does recommend her own line of products a lot, but come on, it's a small price to pay for a FREE service that has saved me probably THOUSANDS of dollars on unnecesary beauty buys over the years. There are a few gaps in the site in so far as providing reviews for *every* brand of skincare/makeup but they're often quite niche brands and I think the variety of content is very extensive and robust overall.

I hate that people are saying her reviews are 'psuedo science' - if you read a review, you'll notice she always provides links and references to scientific journals/publications SCIENTIFICALLY PROVING statements where she needs to. Since when do other companies do this? I have yet to find one that backs up their research definitively and with as much thoroughness as beautypedia/paula's choice when making claims or giving information.

The only downsides for me are the fact that a few brands are missing and sometimes I find her reviews a little scathing, but given the amount of deceit companies will go to in order to basically steal our money through thinly disguised LIES, she has every right to be as scathing as she wants! In the end, she remains a consumer advocate and I applaud her for giving people such important and thorough information so we can go off and make an informed decision about our beauty buys.

7 out of 8 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

cjMadamFresa on 7/5/2012 8:04:00 PM more reviews by cjMadamFresa

Age: 25-29   Skin: Acne-prone, Medium, Neutral   Hair: Black, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

when i first discovered this iPhone app i was so excited! then suddenly horrified! i became so paranoid about all of my products and trashed a few that i really liked! now when i go to the store i get really nervous about buying something if i don't check the app first. yesterday i went to buy a toner but i couldn't get a signal and i wanted to double check the app (even though i had already decided what to buy after researching it first) so because i didn't have a signal for the app i left the store. now i don't have a toner. i think that made me realize that i was too dependent on the pseudo-scientific explanations she provided. that and the fact that i read the product reviews on her website concerning the dissatisfaction of her customers. wow! i really needed that kick in the face! literally in the face! i think i know what my skin needs, and i will check with the app from time to time but i find that MUA helps me so much more! thank you all at MUA who take the time to write reviews and guide those of us who need it!

8 out of 11 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No