Paula's Choice Beautypedia.com

Beautypedia is no longer a trustworthy source for cosmetic reviews ever since Paula started selling her own products.

If you go through the reviews, you'll see a lot of people getting frustrated and angry at the biased reviews of competing products. I have never seen so many reviewers protesting their distate for a site like Beautypedia.

Even if the competing company has a lot of studies on their products, well known and respected in their line of business, Beautypedia still slams them.

Be aware that the studies Beautypedia used as basis to critize other companies are NOT always correct and accurate. As a consumer, they're giving me the impression that they are manipulating the reviews to put the products in Paula's Choice in good light and cast doubts on competing products.

Beautypedia is far from perfect but it's overall an excellent resource. There are so many options in skincare. A newbie might assume the pricier the better: Brands like Murad, Perricone MD, Dr Dennis Gross with their flashy marketing and trusted names. Or the most elegant formulations from Estee Lauder or La Mer. Or even La Prairie with its diamond and caviar creams. This is the only resource that calls out the BS.
Beautypedia uses science to tell you that you don't need to buy any of those high end brands. Yes, they push Paula's Choice, but they also support many drug store products (particularly Cerave) and give an overall recommendation to the Ordinary - both cheaper than PC.
Because of Beautypedia, I learned it's better to spend $15 on a drugstore moisturizer with ceramides than some $200 exotic flower cream hand made by monks in a monastery.

I am disappointed with Paula's Choice and Beautypedia. Remember that both are under the umbrella of the Paula's Choice company and Beautypedia can definitely be used a marketing tool for however they want to manipulate the reviews to their advantage.

Beautypedia used to be reliable but that was a long time ago. With the company losing out to better products, I just wasn't surprised by how low Paula's Choice has stooped down to this level.

I have visited a lot of shameless company's websites that promotes their products that cites studies to support their claim but when you go check those studies, they have nothing to do with what they're promoting. Beautypedia now does the same thing when reviewing competing products that they bash.

Many people may be shocked to learn this but not everything that Paula's Choice or Beautypedia cites as supporting studies are reliable. Many are either done on petri-dish, sponsored by the manufacturer (not gold standard studies) or are just referring to other forms not related to the active.

The funny thing is that many of Paula's Choice products like peptides have no solid scientific studies and many dermatologists (unlike the researchers at Paula's Choice) have actually said to skip this. But they praise and write the promo on peptides and put them in a wonderful light.

Read their review on Centella Asiatica (a very popular Korean active) and they would say that this is actually good with science to support it but would say that it is not the best ingredient out there unlike peptides. But peptides have no reliable studies.

You see, they own two websites and some people do read their reviews and some people who don't do their research might actually believe them. Please don't follow someone who is motivated to keep themselves in the market. Look elsewhere for reviews that are not biased.

Remember, there's no regulation out there monitoring reviews. ANYONE could just create a website and say what they want. Do your own research.

I enjoyed Beautypedia for years while it was run by Paula. Didn’t always agree, but the site was tremendous with brands, info and reviews. When she stepped down, beautypedia in my opinion basically went away. Reviews are done maybe once a month- hardly ever, the app I have from them is not the most user friendly and none of the brands I would like to see are ever done. I’ve emailed them many times and never receive a response. I see reviews from josie Maran, clarins and no7 from products have been long discontinued. Very disappointing what’s become of it. Was once a great source of info I really looked forward to it.

I'm a really big fan of Paula &shave readevery single book she's written! Her beautypedia website is a continuation of her book " don't go to the cosmetics counter without me " ! & I always look up reviews from her site ! I think she's a most valuable source of skincare information! She really breaks down the ingredients & tells you the truth about what's helpful &harmful! Though I still use certain products she doesn't recommend like bar soap & alcohol toners from Clinique Bc they work on me! But there was this one time I actually ordered a bha liquid exfoliant liquid from her & I was so disappointed with it Bc it felt so oily & heavy & greasy on my face! So Paula not always 100 percent correct even though she the expert!

Beautypedia is a great resource for information. Having said that it is always best to look at multiple sources. There are many ingredients that experts can't agree on, or studies show different results. This means that you have to reasarch both sides & make your own decision. Personally I hate that & wish it was easier but what can you do. Even though I don't agree with every review on beautypedia I am happy to have it as one source of information. Also keep in mind that Paula no longer does reviews for beautipedia. Suposedly the reviews are still using the same criteria established by Paula.

I give this site 5 stars because The Beauty Brains (actual cosmetic chemists for the leading cosmetic company in the United States) agrees with a lot of the stuff that Paula Begoun says, sites a lot of the same studies, explains a lot of the same studies, etc. Cosdna.net is not accurate, is operated by Chinese based cosmetic companies and also allows for users to upload any information they want. Because Cosdna has no way to verify that the ingredients in the product are accurate, a lot of the information is not usable or verifiable. Beautypedia, The Beauty Brains website and podcast, Chemist Corner and Futurederm - The Science of Beauty are probably the best resources to go to. And remember, just because you don't have a reaction to a product doesn't mean its not bad. Like Paula says, you don't see sun damage until later in life and the same goes for a bad product. I don't rely on anything doctors or dermatologists say (about beauty products) because like The Beauty Brains tells us, doctors are not Cosmetic Chemists. They're not trained to know how cosmetics and skin interact. They treat skin DISORDERS, burns, psoriasis, etc. It's completely different.

Personally, Beautypedia has been a life saver for my ultra sensitive skin. And I have to say, while I don’t like every PC product I’ve tried (I don’t expect to like every product in any skincare line) every Paula’s Choice moisturizer I’ve purchased has given me stellar results and never causes irritation or breakouts. Like, never, and that’s a miracle for me.

There has been some misunderstanding and serious lack of logic from people writing negative reviews. I am going to respond to these absurdic comments and head on to describing my personal experience:
1. Her reviews became biased since she runs her own skincare now:
Well, it does have some logic in it, however you need to understand that the principles she used for reviewing the product has been described in her books long before she runned her skincare. Also, she is the only person who runs her skincare line and recommend using other products from other skincare brands. She recommends different products and you can choose the best one for you by simply trying out best rated. Also, what if she decided to run her own company because she knows she can help people struggling with skin concerns. How about she just wants to help others
2. Companies who have great reviews on this website paid her to get good rating.
If you know Estee Lauder group includes Clinique, Bobbi Brown, Smashbox and so forth. Well, why then most of Bobbi Brown skin care products are rated awfully while many Clinique ones are good rated? Would not it be better for Estee Lauder to pay her to get good reviews on all products made by their companies?
3. I tried her products and they did not work for me, im allergic to some components of her products and so forth.
Excuse me, just because they did not work for you does not mean they are useless. If you are allergic to nuts will you be eating them everytime you read an article stating that nuts are healthy? NO. Well, why the fock would you use her products if you are allergic to their components omg dont be so focking stupid
4. Products rated poorly worked well for me.
If you did not have any issues on your skin and you bought a cream and it is ok for you, why would you recommend it to others. Nothing changed. Your skin was good it is still good now. Maybe this is the reason the product rated poorly. Or you had some issues, and the product rated poorly helped. If you got rid off the problem go to this website write your own review, tell people that they might consider it.

Why do i like this website? Well i was having some concerns with my skin. And 'amazing' and 'popular' bobbi brown products did not help me at all, only made it worse. I had combination skin, terribly oily forehead, super dry cheeks and constantly oily t-zone. Plus i hadgreat amount of bumps and redness on my cheeks. So altogether not really impressive. And i was trying and buying many different products. And one evening i got tired of all this pointless endless search. I decided to google in order to find a website where dermatologists would review their products. I found beautypedia but unfortunately i could not buy products best rated there because of their location. Except for one, Clinique. I purchased highly recommended by Beautypedia Clinique stuff and my skin turned into a fantasy within a week. From now one i am only purchasing products rated by Beautypedia with at least 3 stars. This website, her tips, her explanation on why some ingredients are problematic helped me out so much. She is perhaps the only person who is really trying to help people all around the world. She brought so much research. She basically collected all well known facts about skin care and brought it to people. Even if you do not like this website go and try collecting all these articles by yourself. Go and help others fighting with bumps acne and other concerns. And then you can judge. Before that keep your mouths shut

Paula Begoun no longer writes for Beautypedia. There is a staff that writes "expert" reviews, but it's unclear as to what makes them experts. They aren't cosmetics chemists, manufacturers, dermatologists, estheticians, or nurses. They ARE marketers for Paula's Choice cosmetics. Paula Begoun sold her private Paula's Choice company to Bertram Capital a few years ago. At that time Marketing got Beautypedia, and Paula became the "face" of the brand. The products have risen a great deal in price since then, but they are more widely sold. Paula Begoun is one of the most brilliant cosmetics marketers of the 20th and 21st century. Her powerful inverse marketing has caused legions of fans, who have absolutely no idea what they're talking about, to quote Paula's "reviews" as if they are White Papers. Paula Begoun is a marketing genius: first advancing her beauty "bibles", then her privately owned brands for private label cosmetics. By contrasting her label with ubiquitous brands like Murad and Perricone, people believed her less expensive products were better because they contained ingredients Paula praised in her reviews. I love the fact that Paula Begoun taught women how to research ingredients, how to look out for what might be personally harmful, and not to believe expensive means great.

Beautypedia has begun allowing users to write reviews, which may be an attempt to get people to use the site again.(Which, in turn, directs them to Paula's Choice, of course.) Many, many of the reviewers disagree with the "expert" reviews, which proves the entirely subjective nature of cosmetics usage, regardless of whether or not evil cosmetics fiends package face creams in jars, or put drops of lavender oil in their concoctions.

Beautypedia's references should be taken with a grain of salt; they often cite in vitro tests, tests on cell cultures (not skin), tests done from product consumption not use on skin, etc.

However, if you have any skin diseases, disorders, sensitivities, allergies...this is definitely the place to go before you buy something that may hurt you. It's easy for people like me, with resistant, genetically strong skin, to think some of the reviews are ridiculous. Without having experienced the constant worry of skin damage and/or irritation, I can say something like "I love Noxzema", and "witch hazel is one of my favorite skin care ingredients." Many people could damage their skin if they think my reviews apply to everyone, so Beautypedia a safe resource for those with sensitive skin.

Like the previous reviewer, I am a huge fan of Cosdna.com! :-)