keeping your skin glowing and hair lustrous can cost thousands of dollars, and for many of us, “holy

grail” beauty products are the result of a lengthy (and costly) quest filled with hope, patience, and
disappointment. Every year, hundreds of products claim to be the newest, cutting-edge, and most
effective for everything from acne to wrinkles and everything in between. We constantly look for the
magic lotion or potion that will make us look like that porcelain-skinned fifteen-year-old Estonian
model.

Since the cosmetic manufacturers are not ready to help us—more likely, they will fill our already
confused heads with new fantastic claims—your best bet to protect your skin is to seek out pure and
safe skin care products.

When choosing beauty products, the ingredients list should be your number-one reference point.
According to new United States and Canadian legislation, product labels must list all the ingredients
regardless of their quantity. Often, cosmetic manufacturers will separately list the concentration of the
active ingredient, such as “2 percent lactic acid.” If you are savvy enough, you will easily spot
ingredients you should keep away from. However, sometimes even if you stumble onto a relatively
safe and properly formulated product, there’s always something that can go wrong, and the search
continues. Still, there are certain ways to minimize the money and time wasted.

Twelve Lessons in Smart Beauty Shopping

Choosing a new beauty product is an exciting, rewarding process. Many of us, including me, buy a
new lipstick or moisturizer as a reward. How many times have you bought a lip-gloss to treat yourself
for a weeklong abstinence from some of life’s guilty pleasures (such as ice cream, booze, bickering
with in-laws, online gaming, eBay hunting, or too much impulse shopping)? I cannot count how many
pretty rose lippies I have collected this way. Each one is like a badge of honor, and I cherish them.

Yet all this excitement and pleasure of finding another age-delaying magic potion can get slashed
by the disappointment caused by yet another shattered hope. The shimmery rose lipstick may leave
lips dry; the flowery-smelling, green tea–loaded lotion ignites a constellation of pimples right in the
middle of a cheek; the sexy, powdery scent of a “most wanted” fragrance will send you (and a few
dozen passengers in a subway train) sneezing and wiping away tears. You lost money since you
cannot find the receipt to return the irksome stuff. Besides, who has the time and courage to face the
sleek cunning of a salesperson who hates to lose her commission?

The truth is, beauty doesn’t come in a bottle, and even if it does, choosing what’s right for you is
not easy. But there are ways to take perfectly good care of your skin. In this chapter, you will find
twelve lessons that will help you become a Smart Green Beauty Expert, the good judge of ingredients
and aficionado of textures who won’t ever get waylaid with false claims or ineffective “snake oil”
products; who won’t “lemming” the latest celebrity must-have; and who will spend money wisely and
remain cool under the heavy artillery of salespeople. More importantly, when you’re a Smart Green
Beauty Expert, your priorities will be sorted out, which will allow you to treat the avalanche of
beauty information with healthy skepticism.

Lesson 1: Scan Ingredients Lists with Graceful Ease

The best way to shop for skin care products is to become ingredient-wise. You have to stop being