Feb. 27--Have you been shopping for skin-care products lately?
Well, prepare to take notes -- and then some. Especially in the booming anti-aging category.
Several weeks ago, I spoke with "Cosmetics Cop" Paula Begoun, who researches pretty much every product that hits store shelves, including those sold in doctors' offices as "cosmeceuticals."
She says one of the biggest complaints women (and men) have is that they spend too much money on products that don't live up to their claims.
"There are over 30,000 anti-wrinkle products being sold on the market today," she says. "Women want to find something that works and not waste money."
Olay, which has expanded its skin-care collection to include numerous lines (Regenerist, Definity, Total Effects), commissioned a survey by Kelton Research on women's shopping habits.
Check out the findings:
--More than 71 percent of women say they have blown money on products that weren't suitable for them.
--The average woman has spent as long as 19 minutes perusing aisles in stores, trying to figure out what to buy. (More than 42 percent would rather deal with an auto-repair job.)
After seeing these results, Olay launched www.olayforyou.com in January to help women (specifically its customers) figure out which Olay skin-care regimen works best for them.
Topics include discoloration (age spots, blotches), fine lines, pore problems and oily vs. dry skin.
So what are other major companies doing?
L'Oreal, which earned a "Best Of ..." nod from Allure magazine in October for its Skin Genesis line, recently launched three Skin Genesis nighttime products.
And at Estee Lauder, the lab techs waited 50 years to re-create Lauder's original Re-Nutriv Creme, which sold for $110 in 1957 (when most moisturizers were $10). The new Re- Nutriv Ultimate Youth Creme is reformulated with no fewer than 23 patents pending on its ingredients. At $250, you'll want to do your research.
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