I am quite interested to know what you think about this concept of there being “The Best” beauty product. The reason I ask is because I often see search queries coming into my blog with some queries like these:-
- What is the best skincare in Malaysia?
- What is the best moisturiser?
- Which is the best foundation?
- The best foundation brand?
The thing is this – they would never find “the best” of anything on my blog because I don’t believe there is “The Best” anything, much less skincare or beauty products! What say you then? 🙂
I have had people ask me in person too about the best skincare or makeup I’ve used and when I think back, I can never find one. To me, “The Best” signifies that it is the best product for everyone regardless of skin type and truth be told, that is as elusive as the Holy Grail or a discontinued MAC eyeshadow.
We can only know what’s best for our own skin and if that includes products that make others recoil in horror, then so be it. Use it. No one product out there suits everyone and this is something we should all bear in mind when doing our personal research.
“The Best” only exists for us and should not be a benchmark for judging if a product is good, or if it will work for you. Ultimately the test lies in actually testing it out yourself.
That said, barring my first attempt back in the beginning of the blog when I tried to find the best products of the year, I personally prefer to rate products as “favourites”. This way, I can have a lot of favourites without having to choose just one, and I never have to feel bad about never finding the “Holy Grail” product 😀
So what say you? Do you believe there is “The Best” product or brand out there? If you do have one please share ‘cos we’d love to know what it is!
Paris B
Nah…”the best” is soooo overrated. Doesn’t exist in my beauty dictionary at all. What I used to think is “the best” will quickly be replace by something new I try 3 months down the road. So, it’ll never stick. 😛
Every time some one ask me “what is the best XXX?”, I’d simply explain to them the different type if products/brands and say that I could only recommend some but can’t guarantee that it’d 100% work on them. “The best” is such a relative thing that it definitely differs from person to person.
I’m actually puzzled that people still believe in there being the best one size fits all item. Even with food, we all have different taste preferences and most people have come to accept that, but somehow, we still get people asking us “What’s the best foundation?” Erm… I don’t even know what’s my personal best! LOL!
I use the term “current favorite” often. I don’t believe in “HG” products really, either. There are just SO many products out there and I am ALWAYS falling in love with new things and discovering new items and brands that sure, I could call something my “HG”–but it would only remain my “HG” until I found something I like more or that works for me better, which is inevitable with my beauty addiction 😛
I wonder who came up with the Holy Grail tag. There is a lot of truth in it, but as you have said, what’s HG today will be out tomorrow. What suits my oily skin now may not suit my dry skin later. Doesn’t help that we beauty mavens love trying out all sorts of products anyway eh? 😉
I agree with you about that word choice. I have ‘favorites’ and ‘the best for me/the best I’ve found’ and even some products I call ‘HG for me’ but even if I think something is magical, doesn’t mean it’s going to work for everyone. One thing that will never be the best in my mind is mascara, it’s so different for everyone.
Oh yes, mascara and foundation are I think the 2 hardest items to suit everyone. I guess that maybe the people searching for the best need a jump off point but I hope they then go on to find what really is the best for them and not just what someone else said was the best 😛
Oh! I agree that there are no ‘the best’ skincare or cosmetics in the market. There might be ‘the best’ for certain types of skin condition, but that doesn’t mean it will be suitable to everyone with the same skin condition. One must reconsider about the local weather as well. What works well on our skin in Malaysia, might not be suitable if we travel to the dry and cold weather in the foreign country. What’s ‘the best’ in UK or US or Japan or Korea, doesn’t necessarily be ‘the best’ here in Malaysia. Sometimes, I felt like they over marketed the phrase ‘the best’ or ‘sold every X second in XXX country’ and another one ‘best selling product of the year’. But I have to say, I am guilty of buying products with those kind of marketing phrase. I am always curious are they really that great?
I do have ‘the best’ for my current skin condition and my ‘the best’ do not coin all those over marketing phrase. hah! But soon enough I’m sure it will change and I’ll pick up another ‘the best’ product.
If there is ‘the best’ for everything, there will be one skincare/cosmetic company with one product for each function.
ooohh I get bugged by the “X sold every second in X country” too! They have a different climate and sometimes ingredients don’t suit everyone. I buy into the hype too and then I’m disappointed because my expectations are way up there and the product doesn’t meet my expectations!
totally agree. We expect the product to be so good and in the end, we are better off with the one we have been using for months. But that is the thing about skin care and cosmetics. We will always try and test as many skin care/cosmetics as we can get our hands on. It will never stop. Some new skin care and cosmetics launched or introduced, we got curious, excited and fell for the heavenly publicity then try it and once again, disappointed – it is a never ending circle. lol
Well, everybody has a different opinion. And time changes a lot of things.
So even if there is a ‘best’ product out there, not everybody will feel the same nor will they have the same thought after a few years. Give some product time!
Time sure does! A product that didn’t work well for me before works now, while others that worked before don’t! 😉
The best is in the eyes of the beholder/user I think. In this generation where everyone has relatively short attention span, the best products/brands get toppled qucikly all the time with tons of new/improved products come out everyday. I don’t really believe in the best product/brand, just believe is the best value I can get with the money I’m willing to spend….
LOL you hit the nail on the head with the short attention span of people today. Its what we repurchase,I think, that really matters not what we love on first try right? 😉
That is the people mentality, everyone wanted the best. But they do not understand it can only be the best only if it works on them and not everyone. I would say its my favourite because I can have many favourites and when we refer the Best it is only one product because already Best right?
Maybe its because everyone wants what others are having without realising that it may not suit them 🙂 All the marketing hype isn’t helping either 😛
Since all of us are unique individuals, it’s important to purchase products based on own skin condition instead of relying on ‘the best’ tag. There are also other factors such as climate and lifestyle which contributes to product effectiveness.
No one will repurchase a product claimed to be the best if it doesn’t work for them. I will usually check the ingredient list and product reviews to minimize expensive disappointments. If a number of users experienced bad skin reactions, I will strike the item off my list despite the many raving reviews on the item.
I think words like “Current favourites” and “Recommended for” are much more convincing as it sounds like a friendly advice than a boast.
I would prefer that bloggers or reviewers use the words “favourite” or “recommended” too. Lets leave the “best” ratings to the brands – they after all have an interest to push the product, the rest of us don’t (well not unless we are getting a commission… 😛 )
Well, I guess there is such a thing as the best product, but only to a certain extent. And the best product changes according to several factors, such as climate, physical activity and skin type. For example, what’s best for one person may not be the best for another, but this doesn’t mean that that product is not the holy grail for the former.
Also, best products don’t necessarily translate to the best brands. Brands can have best sellers, or just certain items in their range that work the most efficiently and give the best results, but not everything belonging to them is ultra awesome.
😉
xoxo,
Roxanne
I think many people forget that climate plays a very big part in determining if a product may work for someone. Many of our imported skincare are formulated for cool or dry climates sometimes and that may just be too much for us here in the tropics 🙂
I share your opinion – there is not “best” only “best for person X”/”favourite”.
I’d recommend Gabrini, Golden Rose and Flormar polishes, and their makeup lines as really good for me/my favourites.
If someone hops to Serbia: make sure to try our Aura and Don Juan lines and different smaller cosmetic companies – they deliver without hitting your wallet.