I’ll admit it, I am a sucker for reviews. On everything. I want to know the ins and outs of each and every single thing I’m buying before I pull the trigger. Yes, it can be overwhelming, paralyzing at times, but in most situations it pays off. ESPECIALLY when it comes to beauty products. For one thing, because most non-drugstore products don’t come cheap. Also, the market is SO saturated, so you usually don’t know what you’re getting and if it even does what it claims it does.

With all that said, I research the sh*t out of every beauty product I purchase. I need to make sure I know what I’m putting on my face & hair, and that the product is worth the price. Call me crazy, but I check reviews across a few sites for different perspective.

Amazon

I check Amazon for reviews on most things, and more recently started checking for beauty product reviews too. They don’t have reviews on all things beauty, but when you do find the product you’re looking for the reviews listed are thorough and descriptive. People writing reviews on Amazon really put the effort in. I don’t know how they do it, but I’m glad they keep cranking. Amazon isn’t the first place I go for reviews, but more of a last gut check to make sure I’m not missing anything.

Beautypedia

This site is my holy grail. I don’t buy anything without checking Beautypedia. I could be in line at Sephora checking out, and looking up review for everything I’m buying on here. What’s special about it? They have a team of experts that evaluate each product in detail. Some things they check for: it actually does what it claims, it doesn’t contain any harmful ingredients, it’s worth the price, it’s packaged in a way that preserves the powerful ingredients it contains. It’s helped me pick up on red flags when shopping beauty. For example, did you know that any skincare product with a strong fragrance is bad news? That the best form of vitamin C for skin is ascorbic acid in high concentrations (15-20%) and low pH? If you take one thing out of this post…it’s to check out this site!

Dermstore

I came across Dermstore on the hunt for my all-time favorite serum, and realized that I had stumbled upon my next go-to site for reviews. There are a TON of reviews available for each product (my serum alone has over 600!), and I like that it tells you how many customers have purchased the product. Creepy, I know, but I like to know this kind of stuff! The reviews are not as informative as what you would find on Amazon, but it’s still nice to see the sheer # of reviews and the overall rating people are giving each product. You can sort by “top rated” products or “best sellers”, another nice-to-have feature.  PS – they offer 20% off your first purchase, just a heads up in case you’re on the hunt for a little somethin’ somethin’!

Sephora

Last but not least, Sephora! My favorite place to shop beauty. Sephora nails it in many categories, from their loyalty program to customer service to product offering. BUT, another less talked about thing they do well is encourage their customers to review the products they purchased. Yes, I’m talking about those annoying reminder emails they send you to fill out a review…aren’t you glad someone is filling them out?! I couldn’t be more grateful, because when shopping online at Sephora, that is the first thing I sort by in each category. I love that they feature details about the reviewer – age, skin or hair type, etc. The only thing to be mindful of is that most products get a positive overall rating, so be sure to read through the negative reviews (if they exist) & then check it up against one of the other sites I listed to be sure it’s legit!

PS – My latest beauty craze and tips on getting the dewy skin we all crave!