Paula breaks down the book into alpha order by brand name. Within each brand name section, she breaks it down further by product type, like cleanser, eyeliner, moisturizer, etc. Each item gets a brief written description and a short review. There is also a grading system which includes a smiley face (good product), a straight face (neutral product), and a sad face (bad product). Paula ups the ante and chooses some products that she really likes and not only gives them a smiley face, but also a check mark. These are "Paula's Picks". The listing of products is extremely comprehensive, but even so, the make-up industry is constantly churning out new items. So even though the book is relatively new, there are things that you won't find listed. (Like the Make-Up Forever HD Microfinish powder that I just bought and plan to return - it's not in there.)
I agreed with Paula about some of her positive reviews, like MAC and Trish McEvoy lipsticks (both are fantastic), Bobbi Brown face powder, MAC eyeshadows, and MAC brushes. However, I disagreed with her about some of her less than stellar reviews, like Cetaphil for Oily Skin facewash and Neutrogena for oily skin moisturizer. She thought they weren't all that great, but they have both continued to work well for me over the years.
Paula does say at the beginning that these are just her opinions and people are welcome to make their own decisions. That makes sense. But one thing I did find a bit suspect was that she has her own line - Paula's Choice - and all the items in the line got a smiley face and a check mark, and thus were deemed "Paula's Picks". Now, I haven't tried any Paula's Choice products, so I guess they could be super. But I would hedge a bet that she might be slightly biased.
Paula also has a website called Beautypedia, if you want the most current beauty reviews. It is a pay website if you want full access. But you can see many features for free if you poke around on her Paula's Choice site, like her reviews of some items from all these lines (I could read these for hours!) and also the Best/Worst Items of the month.
At the end of the day, I really enjoyed reading the reviews in the book. So when Paula's next edition of her book is published, I will certainly add it to my list of holds at the library. Because it's always fun to read positive reviews from someone in the industry about products that I already love and use!
2 comments:
I'm curious how Trish McEvoy rated in her book??
She rated the Trish Glaze lipsticks really well - I think they were a Paula's pick! She liked the whole Trish line pretty well, but I can't remember specifics about the other products. I think she liked Trish's eyeshadows quite a lot, too. You should check out the book from the library. It's run to flip through!
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