DON’T GO TO THE COSMETICS COUNTER WITHOUT ME, 7TH ed : IN STORES NOW

January 14, 2008

No more lies

Are you tired of buying jars of face cream, tired of the feeling of hope as you hand over your cash that some really noticeable change will take place, only to admit 3 months later that nothing happened, or maybe you didn’t even finish it all?

OK, maybe it smelled nice and felt good going on, but do you really look any different than if you’d used olive oil or a drugstore brand on sale? Quite honestly, you also feel ticked off that the company made all these promises about the magic of blueberry extract. Ugh.

You are sick of being lied to by corporations. Have you not lived long enough to have earned more respect than that??

No more millionaire models

Back to the store, to try again. Hmm, you saw an ad in a magazine for a new cream by some big company…but nevermind, you’ve bought your last fancy cream modeled by an airbrushed 17yr old, that costs a fortune just to pay the 17yr old’s 5 million dollar contract. She already has 5 million, she doesn’t need anymore.

No more secret recipes

Well, you need cream. A friend told you about a cream made by monks in Bavaria, what about that? Maybe there’s some special secret ingredient. Your friend has pretty nice skin. The cream is $200 for the jar.

OMG, that will feed your family for a week. But, what if there’s that special ingredient??? The formula has been passed down for centuries!! That would sure be worth it. You might look amazing.

When in doubt, go to the mall

What to do? It’s your day off tomorrow, you’ll go to the mall and take one last look around before you decide.

So, you’re in Sears, but how in the world do you choose here? 10 counters, each with 40 products. It’s hopeless. You can’t buy anything else because you may have to spend $200 on face cream.

When things get bad, drink a $6 coffee

Go to Chapters and have a coffee. Treat yourself to a flavored large with whipped cream because you’re kind of stressed and at least it’s only $6.

You’re sitting there, enjoying the coffee, not thinking about the fact that you are drinking a $6 cup of coffee, because it is flavored with whipped cream and you really loaded it with cinnamon and cocoa powder and you keep topping it up with cream.

You know life gives you answers when you are ready for them, so you feel pretty calm, just wondering what form the answer will take and hoping it arrives soon.

When you need an answer, ask a woman

At the table next to you, a woman just sat down with her $6 coffee ; her coffee looks like it’s all whipped cream. She looks pretty normal; she seems to be about your age. She is holding a book called Don’t Go To The Cosmetics Counter Without Me. Dayam, that sounds right on. Is that book in this store somewhere?

-“Where??”,you ask her. She points.

$Don\'t Go To The Cosmetics Counter Without Me, 7th ed, by Paula Begoun and Bryan Barron$

As soon as you open it, your heart beats a little faster. Every makeup and skin care line, every product they make, all reviewed by …who ? ?Must be this woman pictured on the cover. She looks normal, like someone you could know and talk to. She must be Paula.

The reviews look good. Really good, actually. Honest. No BS, straight-up talk. Hey, some products have a smile face and a check mark both, that stuff must be extra good. Would anyone notice if you took a few notes?

Look up your old favorites – you’re in for a surprise

Let’s look up something specific – how about that last jar of stuff ? Oh, my. I paid what?, for this? The world’s most boring moisturizer, and they soaked me $80. How about the Bavarian stuff? OK, won’t be buying that either.

There’s that mascara you really liked, and Paula likes it too; she thought it got a little smudged at the end of the day which you didn’t notice, but otherwise you agree with what she wrote.

You have to buy this book. You finish your coffee, and collect your things to head to the checkout, feeling armed and empowered.

In stores January 08

The woman at the next table notices you leaving.

-“You can’t buy the book today”, she says.

-“Why not? It’s a great book. I might buy one for every woman I know.”

Now, the woman’s eyes get wide and sparkly and she smiles.

- “ It is a great book, indeed. You own that and your money is only ever spent on superstar products from now on. But I just bought the last copy”. Wow. This woman is excited.

-“I kind of need a product now.”

- “ What you do is this : go to Chapters online and order the newest edition. It’s only $23 !! Come on already, this book will save you that much money in the first week. While you’re online, go to this website and take a look around.”

The woman writes some words on a piece of paper and hands it to me. “It’s a website for women who care where they spend their skin care dollars and want to put the best products on their face. Search some of the articles on your skin type or a skin issue you’ve heard about. You’ll find loads of great stuff.”

You unfold the paper and read the words written on it.

We all know what website the woman wrote down, right?

(Note: I see that Chapters still has “Not yet released. Pre-order today!” posted on their site for the newest edition. I ordered online on January 1/08 and the book arrived a week later. It may not be on the store shelves yet, but the store can very likely order for you.)

Posted by Christine Scaman | Filed Under Makeup, Skin Care

Comments

2 Responses to “DON’T GO TO THE COSMETICS COUNTER WITHOUT ME, 7TH ed : IN STORES NOW”

Kundan Kapadia on October 14th, 2008 11:24 pm

Can you please advise if you have done some research on ASAP Product which is Australian Company.

Look forward to receiving you comments.
Christine Scaman on October 15th, 2008 6:29 pm

Hello, Kundan,

That company is new to me. I took a look online. It looks very interesting and somewhat expensive. I couldn’t find any reviews, even at MakeupAlley.
Sorry, I wish I could help.