How to Actually Find the Best Beauty Products for Your Skin

Another day, another skincare routine. But really, with quarantine and staying home more, perfecting your skincare routine is more pressing than ever. The problem is, there’s just so much noise in the beauty and skincare space, and it’s very overwhelming to look for the right products for you. It’s no secret brands are constantly launching new products, or that influencers use and promote a ton of products. The key is being able to sift through all of the new releases and pretty images on social media and find what will actually work on your skin. Skincare is so incredibly personal, I always tell people to take my recommendations with a grain of salt.

My holy grail products might not be the same as yours, and that’s totally ok!! We all have such different skin, so I always tell friends and followers to be a little skeptical and do some research before committing to new skincare products or regimens. So, does this mean I think you should never listen to influencer recommendations or what you read online? Absolutely not – I think there’s a lot of truth and important information being shared across social media and online! Here’s how to find the products you should use.

How to Actually Find the Best Beauty Products for Your Skin

+ Look for influencers that share your skin type

Influencers fall along a wide spectrum – some are known for creating insanely beautiful content that brands will repurpose in their own marketing, while others are authentic about their experiences and are reliable for honest reviews. Whatever your reason for following someone, when it comes to skincare in particular, it helps to find someone who has a similar skin type as you. This might sound obvious, but if your biggest skin concern is acne, you probably won’t want to follow a step by step regimen for someone with dry skin.

With makeup, you can go more off skin tone and product consistency than finding someone with your exact skin type (although for products like foundation, your skin type and finish preference will impact which products you prefer). If you follow influencers, look for swatches and more detailed reviews of products rather than a single image or flat lay.

+ Be wary of reviews

There are so many reviews at beauty sites now, it’s easy to be swayed by items that have a ton of 5-star reviews on Sephora. However, in my own personal experience, I’ve found that some of my favorite products have either very few reviews online or lower than expected, while some of the most hyped about products I’ve fallen for haven’t worked for my skin AT ALL. Again, skincare is highly personal so you want to try products out for yourself rather than basing all of your decisions off of short reviews. Another thing to keep in mind is brands will sometimes incentivize influencers or customers to post reviews on sites like Sephora, so there may be a slight bias towards positive reviews.

+ Look for certain ingredients

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve also tried to be smarter about what I’m buying. I try to get more bang for my buck from my skincare, which is why I now look more at active ingredients and the concentrated amount in skincare vs. just pretty packaging or good branding. Keep in mind a lot of beauty and skincare is marketing, so you want to cut through the noise and look for active ingredients such as vitamin C, retinol, hyaluronic acid, etc.

+ Don’t judge a product by its price point

This is so important! A lot of us confuse quality with price, and that just couldn’t be further from the truth. Some of my favorite products are under $20 – I love brands like Glossier and The Ordinary. On the higher end, I love Drunk Elephant and Joanna Vargas and will continue to invest in their products. There are also some very expensive brands that get a lot of hype on social media that just didn’t work for me.

+ Ask questions

Don’t be afraid to DM someone on Instagram and ask them for their honest experience with a product or how their skin behaves normally.

+ Get professional advice

If you’re having major skin issues or just have a lot of questions, I always suggest heading to the pros. A dermatologist will be able to answer your skincare questions in-depth and recommend the products and treatments that will help you achieve the results you want. For more serious problems and concerns, they can also prescribe stronger products with a higher concentrate of active ingredients that you can’t get over the counter to target specific skin issues.

+ Trial & error

The best way to get to know your skin is to invest time and energy into it. It takes a long time to realize what works best for your skin type – and that comes through doing more research and trying more products – but it is so worth it! There’s no better confidence booster than feeling comfortable in your own skin, and I highly encourage everyone to take their own journey to get there. Thankfully stores like Sephora have amazing return policies that encourage their customers to try new products to make sure they find ones they love.