RSSSites To Know : Makeup Alley
October 2, 2008
Many of you are probably familiar with this huge resource. AGT’s Sites To Know list wouldn’t be complete without a mention of it.
If I’m buying any skin care or makeup product, there are 2 places I check first. They are Beautypedia at Paula’s Choice (PC) and Makeup Alley (MUA).
For skin care, Beautypedia gets 99% of the weight – see the article 4 Wrong Ways To Choose Skin Cream And 1 Way That Works. The composition takes precedence over almost any other factor and consumers cannot know, or evaluate, this information. Do you know you can get Beautypedia for 2 days for free?
For makeup, the 2 sites are weighted more evenly. Beautypedia is still ahead because Paula’s and Bryan’s reviews are just so dang good. The Search function is so well thought-out that it is a pleasure to use. Every color in the line being examined is evaluated, which make these reviews quite unique. You’re getting not only ingredient lists, but application, durability, and color selection on this site.
Makeup application is particular though. Everyone has different preferences. The consumer is much more able to appraise the product’s performance than with skin creams. The strength of MUA is the voice of so many end users.
Reviews range from 1 line to 1 page or more. These are regular women of all ages, not beauty editors who will drop $30 for a concealer. Everyone at MUA agrees that it B-L-O-W-S when you buy $30 mascara and hate it.
The products are rated on performance by the consumers that use them… the power of the internet, right? By all of us, for all of us. You can learn from a woman in Sweden or find a fellow Thierry Mugler Angel lover in Tokyo tonight, and chat with them for 4 hours for free. Awestruck just thinking about it.
MUA is also a great resource for application techniques, color selection tips (especially if buying products online), with many reviews about the specific colors themselves.
You’ll learn to scan both sites in seconds.
At PC, I select the product category I’m interested in, then Customize Search. There, I select only the reasonably priced Paula’s Picks, which show me the best of the best at a price point I am willing to get with.
At MUA, I start in Preferences along the left side margin, and choose “Show full list” rather than “ Auto Suggest”. That way, I can scan down all the brands without missing any. Back in the main page under Product Reviews, choose a category, and look down the brands and click on those of interest. When the list comes up, I look at the % in the Buy Again column. If it’s over 75%, I’ll take a closer look. When scanning the reviews for each product, I often select only reviews by women over 40 since they’re more representative of what I’m looking for and what my own opinion is likely to be.
Like Beautypedia, MUA is about a lot more than makeup. Hair products can be found here, as can nail polish, self-tanner, candles, men’s products, and body care . Even toothpaste is here – with raves about Crest Whitening Plus Scope and many of the natural (non-animal-tested ) products.
This is one of my favorite ways of finding a new fragrance : just as I described above, I go through the company list and find those with rave reviews. It goes on my Test List. So I clicked on Prada and found Infusion D’Iris.
You do need to register at both sites. PC will cost a little money but it’s big time worth it because you’ll get info you can’t find anywhere else and you will save a bundle. MUA is a free, fast, easy registration.
You will add to your list of U&P’s (user names and passwords) for both sites. Mine is 5 pages long, and this is for my convenience. I’d eat my hard drive (both of them!) if I ever lost that document. Listen, Apple, what better use for a webcam than retinal scan technology?
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