1. Look at ingredients - fancy packaging and celebs don't mean a thing to me if the ingredients are not there. The active ingredient (for example, retinol) should be listed near the top, not the bottom.
The closer to the top an ingredient is listed, the more of it. If it's near the bottom, there isn't much of it in the product.
2. Reviews - products that are loved have numerous great reviews. People love to talk about what they love. Products that don't meet expectations, generally don't have great reviews.
Stay away from too many amazon reviews. Go out and research other sites and see what is working for people on a cross-section of sites. If you can only find a product listed on a few sites, find out why. Products like Sculplla are not sold on amazon so they don't have those type of reviews, however you should be able to find reviews and results photos on Instagram and just doing a Google search. (By the way, people LOVE their Sculplla!)
3. If products without things like parabens are important to you (like me), then I make sure I look for this when trying new products.
Did you know that in S. Korea, it's illegal to test products on animals? The K-beauty products that come from that country (true, legitimate products) are never going to be tested on animal. Good the know!
4. Photos - I like photos! Before and afters are important. Although I try to do as many as I can, it's always good to find as many as you can and see for yourself if a product really works.
Caveat: Sometimes they can be deceiving. For example, if a subject is chosen for this and they have almost NEVER used any skincare, then even just using a basic moisturizer will show good results.
Try to find people who are a bit skincare fanatical - if they can show results, you know the product is good! (That's why I like to do before/afters on myself - many years of good skincare and if I can still get results with a product/tool, I know it's good!)
