Ran across a great book, “Don’t Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me,” which essentially a Consumer Reports-guide to skin-care and cosmetic products. Definitely can save you money—there’s a lot of hype and over-priced products.
The bad news—I discovered the Aveda rosemary mint products that smell really nice also contain lots of stuff that irritate the skin, which may be why I’ve been having some break-out problems.
The good news—the author, Paula Begoun, generally likes MAC products, although she thinks many of the Full Coverage shades don’t match well (I’ve noticed mine seems a little peachy) and are a bit heavy. She really like the Illuminare foundation that some others have mentioned. No word on ColorTration unfortunately.
The even better news—many of the product reviews are available for free on her website, which also offers a line of skin and cosmetics that Begoun create herself out of frustration with existing products. (Yes, there is a bit of conflict of interest to her reviews, which Begoun is upfront about and in her book she doesn’t rate her own products for that reason.) Haven’t tried any of the Paula’s Choice stuff yet, but some of her skin care product look interesting.
