Don't buy cosmetics without consulting her!

‘Beauty Bible’ is a much-bandied-about and much-abused phrase, so much so that we could easily forget all the good things that it could actually mean…

Now I’m not a very religious gal but I do like the idea of ‘beauty gospel’ – a definitive account of what’s hot and what’s not in beauty products.  Paula Begoun’s Don’t Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me is a catalogue of just about every brand worth knowing and a review of their products.  Matthew, Mark, Luke and… Paula?

Ms Begoun’s credentials are pretty impressive:  friend of Oprah, cosmetics writer and owner of her own line of beauty products and self-appointed Cosmetics Cop.  All products reviewed by Paula and her team have a short critique a hyper-sophisticated smiley face grading system – happy = good, frowning = bad.  These buys don’t mince their words, especially when revealing that a product that costs near to one hundred pounds will make you break out almost certainly.

Don’t Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me is an accessible mixture of science  and Cosmo-speak.  I was really impressed with how bold and useful the advice in the book is, running through the key ingredients, pointing out irritants and beauty product jargon that only serves to confuse the consumer.  Use this dictionary to look up products that you already have (just for interest) and as a go-to before you buy that £50 moisturiser (chances are you probably won’t buy it after all…)

If you’re struggling to read a thousand pages of product description cover-to-cover, flip to the back for ‘The Best Product Summary’.  Fairly self-explanatory, this section breaks down all your key products and tells you what’s good, from the cheaper pharmacy options to high end and exclusive.

Personally, I read a lot of beauty blogs and women’s magazines and I sure as hell buy a lot of make-up.  I speak to staff in department stores and I read adverts:  I am familiar with collagen and salicylic acid and antioxidants and ‘skin identical ingredients’ and a whole host of beauty babble, but do I actually know what these things do to my skin?  Not a clue!  There is an explanation of key ingredients and what they mean (this is expanded further on www.beautypedia.com, Paula’s hugely popular website.)

This book feels something like if your Mum was a beauty expert and was telling you which questions to ask the lady behind the beauty counter:  hey, Paula’s on your side.  The prices are all in dollars and the book is unmistakably from the other side of the Atlantic but you won’t be complaining after five minutes with this ‘bible’.  If only we read this at school!  We could have saved ourselves a whole lot of effort. Without giving too much away, some choice quotes from Paula:

M.A.C – “Lipsticks are a standout attraction of the line”

Clinique – “’Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion’ is… a basic, mundane, out-of-date, yellow-colored moisturizer”

Rimmel – “Natural Bronzer…has a beautifully smooth texture and application”

Dermalogica – “Who’s formulating these products and marketing them so disingenuously?”  Enough said!

Don’t Go to the Cosmetics Counter without Me by Paula Begoun is available online here.

Paula’s invaluable advice on skincare