How much research do you do prior to purchasing?

In beauty, not much, since I tend to purchase new products sight unseen and don’t read reviews ahead of time so I can form my own opinion! In other areas of my life, I definitely do a fair amount of research for anything more expensive.

— Christine

16 Comments

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DVa Avatar

For the most part I do research.
I’ve put things in my cart and then gone in search of reviews. If they are not favourable I won’t check out. That happens quite a bit.
Often I want something that hasn’t yet been widely reviewed, so I will, rarely, take a chance, especially if it’s from a brand I know well/trust.
I like to see swatches and products on the face, shades can be very deceiving in advertising and quality is often hard to tell without swatching and some wear testing.
If I’m not 100% committed I’ll wait until more information comes out, I’ve never missed out on something I’ve really wanted waiting for more reviews to appear.
There are not a lot of new releases or things I need, so it’s pretty easy to pass on most makeup right now.

Celeste Cirinna Avatar

I come here to see what you have to say. 😃 And when I haven’t, I’ve been burned. Thank you for doing the reviews!

Jo Avatar

I agree! Before I found this site, I didn’t actually know what to even look for when it came to performance and quality. The only bad thing is that Christine doesn’t review a lot of the brands I can afford! Lol. Or, there are palettes that are widely touted by influencers and in reviews as being super amazing, (like the BH Cosmetics travel series collection), and I’m just dying to see what Christine thinks! I can’t even imagine how time consuming it is to swatch, photograph, and do wear tests for all the products she already does, though!

I love every facet of this site, but one absolutely amazing and unique “service” Temptalia offers readers is the ability to not only read valuable, unbiased information to made thoughtful decisions, but to also visualize what they already have similar to the next new, shiny thing. What a blessing it is to possibly avoid spending money impulsively on something one doesn’t need, and have the chance to also avoid buyers’ remorse. That sounds more superficial than I intend it—many people are struggling financially right now. But not only that, I know I can’t be alone in having depression and sometimes buying things like makeup can give a temporary endorphin surge. I find that when I can look up the dupes I have in my vanity for something I feel like I “need,” I get the same kind of satisfaction seeing that I already have many or all of the colors, as I would buying it. That is actually why I’d make a humble plea to get some of the popular BH Cosmetics palettes in the database, and possibly swatched (not necessarily reviewed). I’m totally willing to type everything into submit a product! Haha. Even if Christine doesn’t have time to identify what colors might be dupes for more expensive brands, other people might contribute dupe ideas using those colors. Also, I imagine that many makeup lovers get subscription boxes, and the brands, palettes, and stuff included in the boxes are widely owned, (or being sold for cheap on sites like mercari, so available to everyone), so having those colors in the database would be awesome. I don’t have any subscriptions to beauty boxes, but I was able to get my daughter some palettes from brands I could never afford otherwise, like Viseart, for $2-$15. I noticed brands like Violet Voss, Ciate, IBY, Ace Cosmetics, Hipdot, Nomad Cosmetics aren’t on here. I figured Lime Crime was because the original brand creator was controversial, but she’s gone, I think? I wasn’t sure if the other brands just aren’t any good, or there’s controversy involving them!

I’m sorry if I sound like I’m putting massive pressure on Christine to do more, because I absolutely think that Christine already does MORE and then some. It’s more that this is such an amazing site and resource for research, I would like Christine to clone herself and get her clones to get all those thing on the site. :). Just kidding! But in all seriousness, Temptalia is so special, and unique, and helpful, and I’m grateful for how much I’ve already learned from the site. I’m just so glad that it exists.

Or in other words, what I agree with Celeste! Lol.

C.Blossom Avatar

Normally, I do a ton of research. Plus testing more expensive things in person, if I’m near a store. I start here at T for most things. For foundations, I do the most research and testing, since everything’s too yellow (even most “cools”) and my skin is very dry. For eyeshadows, I do the least. Lipsticks and the rest are somewhere in between.

kjh Avatar

Totally relate! Fenty SA: ‘I think you ought to try one on the cool side. These both look yellow.’ kjh: There ARE the cool side. I live there too with everything looking too yellow. And that would be part of my answer about CT, too. You need to have a visual to understand the difference between too warm and too yellow.

Ana Maria Avatar

I am in a point in my life when I mainly repurchase the same things, so no research is needed.

But each time I buy something new I do tons of research (not just beauty and cosmetics, this includes electronics, household items, cleaning products, food).
I research the ingredients, I research formulas, I research swatches and reviews on multiple platforms… I’m a researcher at heart and somewhat even in my professional life. 😅

Rachel R. Avatar

Usually quite a bit, unless it’s something like an inexpensive DS lipstick . I read/watch several reviews from reviewers I trust. I look up swatches if they’re available. I buy a lot of indie, so I may ask members of the Facebook beauty group I’m in if anyone is familiar with the product or brand. I google the company to see if they have poor business practices, etc.

Genevieve Avatar

How much research I do before purchasing a beauty product depends on the product. If it is lipstick or eyeshadow – my research starts and ends right here on this blog – with a great rating from you Christine.

If it is skincare, it’s about the brands I have used previously and they have worked well on me. For a new brand I am trying, I tend to look it up to see what the reviews are saying and judge whether or not it would suit or work for me.

kjh Avatar

I used to research up the wazoo, because I react. A lot. Now that I have a better grasp on ingredients, it’s easier to scan for the culprits. It’s nice to be at the point where I can rule/in or rule/out products without a week on Cosdna, Incidecoder, and EWG. Color cosmetics, not so much. But I did see a chemical sunscreen listed on an Asian mascara once! If I goof on anything color or performance, that’s on me. Research in that sphere is often hit or miss, if it’s not reviewed here.

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