Don't Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me, 7th Edition
by Bryan Barron, Paula Begoun
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Book Summary Information
Author: Bryan Barron, Paula BegounEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-12-28
ISBN: 1877988324
Number of pages: 1184
Publisher: Beginning Press
Book Reviews of Don't Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me, 7th Edition
Book Review: An Entertaining Train Wreck
Summary: 1 Stars
I read this book because I wanted to see for myself, and I am now regretting the fact that I always have to look. :-P From what I've gathered, she was a self-taught makeup artist who lost a position at a cosmetics counter because she either couldn't or wouldn't do her job: selling. I'm not sure how this makes her more qualified to recommend products than dermatologists hocking their own, but she is doing it nevertheless-- So, on with the review:
If I reviewed every product listed on Amazon like she does in this book, the other members would be on a campaign to get me banned for trolling. I can't emphasize enough how useless rating a product on ingredients alone is. Different fillers, quantities, packaging and preparation can and do have different effects on how any product performs, including makeup and skincare. But because her rules are more important than the outcome, she relies almost exclusively on ingredient lists. If she tried something it was likely on the back of her hand, not in the way it was intended. So much for complaining about cosmetic companies' testing when she can't even be bothered to do decent testing of her own.
Even if she wasn't peddling her own stuff, it's just too much information for one person or even a small group of people to tackle. One person, one skin type, one ethnicity, performing one test one time (if that) is just not enough to get an accurate picture of what a product will or won't do. Her incessant complaints about shimmer & color make most of the makeup reviews useless since this is so subjective. I applaud her enthusiasm for sunscreen, but her criticism for products that don't contain it seems like overkill and is rather arbitrary in some cases. She completely ignores the importance of a small amount of sun for vitamin D synthesis in skin. If you're going to wear a lead suit every time you go outdoors like she advises, you ought to at least ask your doctor about a vitamin D supplement.
She says we should look for a moisturizer that has antioxidants, cell-communicating ingredients and so forth, but does not provide even basic lists. Ingredients that she does name are buried in a sea of text. The review for Urban Decay Primer Potion states that you can get the same effect from a good, silicone-based concealer, but she doesn't name any. She goes on to waste the space complaining about shimmer, sometimes finding it in products that I can't find any shimmer in at all. She would have been better off including a symbol indicating "this product contains shimmer," and using the extra space to elaborate on performance. Instead we get a condescending attitude toward anyone who likes shimmer, and that attitude extends to anyone who disagrees with her. She provides a list of "irritants," but it seems to be based on her own biased opinions against essential oils, etc. Her biggest irritant is irritation, and apparently everything except petroleum by-products and her own questionable line irritate her. Many of the reviews themselves only consist of a couple of sentences-- hardly enough information to help someone evaluate a product.
Any brand that's halfway decent almost always gets the dollar symbol indicating that the product is outrageously expensive. Even if it doesn't have a dollar sign, she sometimes still wastes review space criticizing the price. I happen to agree that a lot of stuff out there is a rip-off, but this is more overkill. Listing the price and amount of product you get would be more than enough for me to decide on my own. Her general view seems almost communist-- everyone should use cheap skincare, everyone should wear the same matte neutral makeup colors, and she acts like she is there to protect us from the big bad corporations. (Maybe she should run for President.) It's a great business strategy-- make everyone think you're a consumer advocate and expert in the field, trash the competition and then introduce your own products.
The format is as obsolete as her early 90s views on matte, neutral makeup, blue eye shadow, shimmer, natural ingredients, essential oils and fragrance. A database like this should be in an online, searchable format that is continuously updated and expanded as new products and cosmetic advances are made. I think this is what she is doing with her new site, but I don't recommend THAT either. Bad information is bad no matter how well-presented it is.
Bad stuff aside, it's actually an entertaining read in the same way that infomercials and reality shows are fun. There's some scathing, witty commentary, someone claiming to be on your side, and a lot of shameless self-promotion. The disclaimer in the front says it all-- it's a train wreck of dumb ideas, bad advice and unflinching arrogance. I laughed out loud at a lot of it because it was just so absurd. Don't kid yourself about this being a beauty bible or even mediocre reference material. Go to an online cosmetics community to get good product reviews. Buy this book for the laughs and keep it on your comedy shelf, because that's where it belongs.
Summary of Don't Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me, 7th Edition
This well-organized, authoritative book helps women find products that make them look great without spending a fortune. From drugstores and home shopping to department stores and catalogs, Paula Begoun reviews all the major cosmetic and skin-care lines, product by product, with more than 30,000 total. Regardless of cost, there are good and bad products in almost every line, and with the turn of a page, readers can get concise reviews and fast answers. A user-friendly rating system makes it easy to find items worth trying.
Women spend an extraordinary amount of money on cosmetics--$45 billion a year in the U.S. alone. Now in its fourth edition, Don't Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me strikes fear in cosmetics-counter consultants everywhere. First off, Begoun has deconstructed ingredient lists. Ever wonder what methylparaben, propylparaben, and butylparaben are doing in your mascara? And what is diazolidinyl urea? All four are potential irritants, and the latter is a preservative that can release formaldehyde, a class A carcinogen. Buyer beware.
Begoun also lists which companies are cruelty-free and which continue to conduct animal testing. The majority of the book--and that's nearly 800 pages--is devoted to reviews of thousands of cosmetics, from cleansers, foundations, alpha-hydroxy acids, and moisturizers to lip liners, eye shadows, and concealers, all of which Begoun has personally tested. (There are no hair care products listed, as that warrants another book entirely: Don't Go Shopping for Hair Care Products Without Me.)
She's perfectly frank and tells it like it is. (On Revlon's ColorStay Makeup: "goes far beyond the claim of 'It won't come off on him.' It won't come off when you want it to.") You'll learn how to tell when you're being boondoggled by a salesperson, what's overpriced and overhyped, as well as what's overlooked. More than 200 brands are included, along with a helpful summary at the end that lists the best products for each cosmetic category. It should be noted that not only is Begoun a fine consumer advocate, she's also a self-esteem advocate: she mentions time and again that even the best cosmetics won't necessarily improve your life, and that's a point well taken.
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