​Why you shouldn't believe in beauty rec's

Trust no one
(including me!).

I used to enjoy reading reviews online on skincare and make up products - until I started to ‘do my homework’ - reading up and researching on beauty products.

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You know what, reading reviews online and asking your friends for rec’s don’t count as ‘doing homework’. If I put this in the school context, these only count as ‘talking’ about the revision you’re going to do after school.

Here are 5 simple reasons why you shouldn’t believe in rec’s, including mine.

1. Do I know your skin type? Do I know how well you sleep or what food you eat?

Nope. Do KOLs know you? I’m afraid they don’t. Then why do you believe in their recommendations? Honestly, your skin conditions changes depending on your metabolism, diet, sleep, stress, etc. No one will be more capable of understanding your skin more than you do, so why would you ‘outsource’ this responsibility to someone else who don’t know you inside out?

2. Your skin changes every day.

Beauty recommendations are most often categorised into skin types. But we don’t belong to any particular skin type. Are there any official definitions of skintypes that all cosmetics company adhere to? No. Are there any minimal duration we must maintain a certain state of skin in order to call our skin 'xxx skintype'? No.

We can have oily skin one day, and dry skin on another. It depends on what goes into your body and what you put on your skin. I have dry skin on my cheeks but I get really oily if I put on an overly oily lotion. Do I have oily skin then? Bullshit.

3. Everyone is different.

What works for your friend might not work for you.

4. Almost no one will talk to you about the ingredients, unless you ask.

I'm not talking about those ‘celebrity ingredients’ that advertisers put on the packaging. I’m talking about the whole ingredient list. Sure, that 1% of xxx essential oil is great, but if it’s used in a shit ‘base’ that sensitising skin, then there’s everything goes downhill from there.

Remember - most of the time people talk about the good stuff, but hide the bad stuff. You might expect companies to be completely transparent, but they don’t have to be. It’s our right but also our responsibility to educate ourselves to select products with safe ingredients.

5. There is a certain level of business decisions behind each review.

Everyone has their own agenda, including me. I put up products that I use because I support brands that I like. I don’t write stuff for profit, but that doesn’t mean I am unbiased. I write about certain brands because they are the only brands I KNOW. It doesn't mean they are the best because I don't have perfect information. For others, they might do it for commission and profit. It is what it is in a commercial world.

Conclusion:

• Don’t waste time reading / watching skincare product reviews. (Make-up ones is another story, because probably only want to see how it looks on your skin and how to apply etc.)

• Go through the ingredient lists. Read up on ingredients, not products. Always pick products with fewer ingredients. It's easier to research individual ingredients. Plus, it doesn't take lengthy ingredient lists to make a product work.

• Do your homework, don’t be lazy. Be accountable of your own decisions and choice.

• Be sceptical of marketing claims, like 'anti-ageing', 'antioxidants', 'therapeutic effects', etc.

• You will never be sure what is in a product. Ingredient list tell you what is inside, but they don’t tell you how much. It makes a lot of difference. So the only way is to keep experimenting the products you choose.

And most importantly,

....Sleep well, exercise, eat well.

Nothing gives you more beautiful and glowy skin than a healthy body and mind.

(Photo by Joanna Kosinska on Unsplash  - further edited by me)