Philosophy sold to Carlyle Group

Once upon a time, I found Philosophy's products - like the Little Black Book and shower gels with cute recipes and yummy scents to be novel and fun. I'm now so over them - they discontinued their makeup palettes, focused on gimmicky skincare, weak perfumes, and mineral makeup (blech) and nowadays cute, yummy shower gels are a dime a dozen (not a dollar an ounce, as theirs are). They did pave the way for other beauty brands to make successful transitions from the traditional retail model (Sephora, Nordstrom, etc) to QVC, and I was both surprised and impressed with their success. This article from WWD shows that their acquisition by a private equity firm will allow them to continue on their path to global domination. This is probably great news to fans of Philosophy in the UK and other foreign countries, who are tuned in to American consumer culture but have a hard time purchasing certain brands in their home countries.

Molly Pryor
Women's Wear Daily
The Carlyle Group, a Washington private equity firm, will disclose today that it has inked an agreement to acquire Philosophy Inc., a prestige beauty company with a tell-it-like-it-is, feel-good bent.

The brand, which was founded in 1996 by Cris­tina Carlino, was purchased from a group of owners, including Carlino, its current chief executive officer. Under the terms of the deal, Carlino will take on the role of executive chairman and remain a significant equity owner in the company. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Market sources estimated, however, that the Carlyle Group paid more than $450 million for Philosophy.

The firm is searching for a new ceo and has attracted interest from "strong talent within the beauty industry," noted Sandra Horbach, managing director of the Carlyle Group and head of its Consumer & Retail team.

"This is an opportunity to back a brilliant visionary," said Horbach, referring to Carlino. "Philosophy is a 10-year-old business, unlike many niche brands in this sector, with a strong and loyal customer base" across multiple distribution channels. She added that while Philosophy's product portfolio leaned heavily on skin care, there was an opportunity to round out its beauty offerings and to add lifestyle categories.

Philosophy — which is sold in Sephora, Macy's, Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom — struck a partnership with QVC eight years ago, and is now the home shopping network's top beauty brand, edging out Bare Escentuals. According to industry sources, QVC accounted for 48 percent of Philosophy's net wholesale volume of $120 million to $150 million for 2006.

It launched an infomercial several years ago, and plans to resume that effort shortly, said Carlino. Now that it has linked arms with the Carlyle Group, Carlino said, "we are a stronger partner for QVC. We can do so much better together than apart." According to sources, the infomercial and Web site each generated 7 percent of total volume last year.

Michael George, QVC's ceo, said, "We've had a fabulous history with Philosophy," adding that he expected the deal to usher in global expansion and more product opportunities. Referring to international growth, George said, "When Philosophy is ready, QVC will be a flagship partner with the company." He acknowledged that QVC worked closely with the Carlyle Group and Philosophy to "ensure our goals were aligned and to make sure the integrity of the brand would not be tarnished." Neither QVC nor the Carlyle Group would comment as to whether the television network will have an equity stake in Philosophy.

Carlino — who has been running the day-to-day operations of Philosophy for the last decade — said a buyer was needed to manage the size and complexity of the business. With the hunt for a new ceo under way, Carlino said she would focus on brand development and product innovation. "I feel like I've been given a blank chalkboard and there's nothing I'm better with," she said. "Carlyle understood the business I had built," she said. "The firm understood me, the brand and the vision." She added that were plans to increase the brand's retail penetration on the ground, now that Philosophy has successfully entrenched itself in the electronic selling space. Philosophy has one company-owned store in Chandler, Ariz., near its headquarters. Carlino said that while branded stores might be important in the future, there are plans to increase distribution across department stores and specialty chains. The company has a small presence in the U.K. and Asia, so international remains an "untapped market," said Horbach. She noted, however, the current focus was on the U.S. Referring to the firm's consumer research, she said, "Customers would like to see this brand in more places."

New Scents for February!

Just in time for Valentine's Day, a handful of sweet scents for your sweetie or yourself. Limited Edition, so once this batch is gone, it's gone! Once you choose a scent, add to your shopping cart, and then enter your choice in the "notes to seller" box at checkout.

Click to browse and purchase the new scents ____________________________________________________________

Amaretto Tiramisu - Golden Ladyfingers, soaked in coffee with sweet notes of toasted almond, and topped with cream. A decadent, romantic treat!

Kumquat - Sparkling, vivacious, and unexpected! The kumquat is a citrus fruit that possesses a sweet yet tangy nature. Plus, it's just a lot of fun to say. Kumquat!

Strawberry Jam - Close your eyes, and you won't believe your nose. Smells just like the real thing!

Blackberry - The singular perfection of blackberries, ripened to perfection in the sun. So sweet and real, you can hear the bees buzzing through the thickets.

Topaz - A sexy blend of rich pipe tobacco and sparkling yuzu (Japanese grapefruit). Created by an ingenious and stylish Modern Atelier customer/fanatic!

Bon Vivant - Pipe Tobacco and Bourbon Vanilla.
As Rufus Wainwright says, "Cigarettes and chocolate milk
These are just a couple of my cravings...
Everything it seems I like is a little bit stronger
A little bit thicker, a little bit harmful for me..."
Dangerous, maybe, but what leading man wouldn't be right at home with a glass of bourbon and a nice pipe full of sweet tobacco?

Applemint - Crisp, juicy Granny Smith apple spiked with pure, organic spearmint essential oil. Sweet and sassy!

Little Black Dress - White Carnation and blood orange are the perfect foil for the heart notes, comprised of sandalwood, black rose, smoky wood, and a kiss of patchouli. The top notes give a hint of toasted vanilla bean and whiffs of vetiver, amber, and the tiniest touch of Egyptian musk for a smoky, sexy finish. Did I mention it's sexy?

Lavender - relaxing, herbal, and clean. The perfect scent for covering up all those carnal sins you will surely be accumulating.

New, cute stuff from....Avon?!

I had suspected for sometime that Delux Beauty was on its way out, seeing it disappear from Sephora and department stores, and my suspicions were recently confirmed. However, Mrs. McDreamy herself, Jillian Fink Dempsey, is wasting no time, as I just found this collection of cute, old-Hollywood shades. Delux makeup may be a thing of the past, but these pretty, natural colors are the wave of the future.

The pressed powder/blush compacts appear to be an attempt at a MAC skinfinish type of thing, but they also remind me of Vincent Longo's eyeshadow compacts.



















The eyeshadows are also a kind of 'back to nature' vibe, but the rust/orangey tones of the Sandy Corals quad might be a tough sell for some skintones. I think they'd look really lovely on someone with a darker skintone, though.


















The polishes and lip colors look right on for Avon's target demographic, and would lend a polished, professional yet feminine vibe to any look. Sheer Coral Crush sounds particularly up my alley, and Avon's prices are pretty tough to beat (almost all their color cosmetics are well priced and go on sale frequently.

All in all I would say this is a safe, but quality collection and while not being particularly fashion forward, these shades are wearable and attractive. I'd say it straddles a line between flower-power and 60's, Jacqueline Kennedy-esque polished glam, and that's a good thing.

Fragrance Companies lying about Phthalates?

Nailpolish and perfume are two of my favorite things, and I've heard a lot of discussion about phthalates. In Europe, the chemical Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is banned, and here in America, both DEHP and diethyl phthalate (DEP) have been voluntarily removed by cosmetics companies from many products.

Or so we thought.

I found this article by Consumer Reports, detailing a test they did of seven popular perfumes including : Celine Dion Parfums Eau de Toilette Spray by Coty, Clinique Happy Perfume Spray, Elizabeth Taylor White Diamonds Eau de Parfum, Estée Lauder Beautiful Eau de Parfum Spray, and Liz Claiborne Curve Eau de Toilette Spray. Each of these companies says that they reformulated their fragrances to eliminate phthalates. But Consumer Reports seems to have unearthed a strange and highly suspect contradiction.

· All the fragrances we tested contained at least these two phthalates: Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), which is banned in cosmetics in Europe, and diethyl phthalate (DEP), which is not banned and was present in much larger amounts. Our findings seem counter to a fragrance-industry survey that reported DEHP use is down to zero.

· Two products-Aubrey Organics Jade Spice Eau de Parfum and Aveda Love Pure-Fume Essence-went into the test group because the companies say they don't contain any phthalates. But we found DEP, DEHP, and diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP) in the Aubrey Organics product. Aveda's perfume contained DEP and DEHP.

· Estée Lauder says that DEP is the only phthalate used in any of its products, but we found DEHP along with DEP in Estée Lauder Beautiful and its Clinique Happy. (The company also owns Aveda.) A Liz Claiborne representative told us that none of its products contains DEHP, but we found that chemical-plus DEP-in Liz Claiborne Curve.

· We tested Christian Dior Poison Eau de Toilette Spray because in 2002, tests by the Environmental Working Group, Health Care Without Harm, and Women's Voices for the Earth found that it had four types of phthalates, more than any of the other 16 fragrances tested. The 2002 study found DEP, DEHP, dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and benzyl butlyl phthalate (BBP) but our tests showed only DEP and DEHP.

· We bought Happy, Poison, and Beautiful in both the U.S. and Europe, and found the E.U.-banned phthalate DEHP in all the samples.

· No fragrances mentioned phthalates on their labels. But by law, they can list the word "fragrance" without citing any of its components, including phthalates.

So, why are companies being so dishonest? On the one hand, phthalates haven't been directly shown to cause harm in the levels they are used at in cosmetics. On the other hand, if they're so harmless, why did the industry agree to get rid of them? And after all that, why did they lie and just keep on using them anyway? Even companies like Aveda and Aubrey Organics. The phthalates are included in the formulas to make nailpolish more flexible and to help fragrances linger on the skin. The nail polish thing, I get - I've encountered a lot of crappy polish formulas, and if DBP helps them stay looking better, longer, it makes sense to include them. But you know what makes perfumes linger on the skin? A higher percentage of oil. I'm guessing that fragrance companies have figured out that phthalates are much cheaper than their oil compounds, and by using them, they can make weaker fragrances that have slightly better performance. But, as anyone who's visited a department store fragrance counter in the past 30 years knows, many fragrances are pretty wimpy and don't last on the skin anyway! I'm left wondering about all of the above questions, and whether or not I should be more angry about this than I already am. How do you feel?

A sad day...

This weekend, during the lovely weather, I went walking through Carytown to discover that City Shoes no longer housed Ava Lu beauty boutique. This is sad for several reasons - the brands offered were available practically nowhere else, and especially not with such wonderful service. Second, I had been referring customers there as a good place to try out Modern Atelier perfumes in person. Now, interested parties will have to go to the Library of Virginia gift shop, or the 17th Street Farmer's market on selected weekends starting in April to check it out in person. But never fear - my etsy store remains open 24 hours a day, and if you check out the feedback you'll soon realize that there are a lot (over 300!) of very satisfied, scented customers out there. And Ava Lu remains online as well, at avalubeauty.com to satisfy your beauty buying urges.

Great article about Etsy in the NYT!

As I was reading this article, which I first thought was merely an op-ed piece on how neurotic our relationships can be re: gift giving, I kept thinking how the author could have found the perfect gift on etsy - thank goodness, she did, and wrote a very nice piece detailing just a few of the great gifts there are to be found. Granted, most of the gift-buying I do on etsy is for myself, but the idea is the same. The only way this could have been a better article is if it featured, say, a certain indie perfumer.

Rooting Around Grandma’s Basement in Cyberspace

By MICHELLE SLATALLA

SOME years I receive nothing.

The holiday season passes peacefully. I dismantle the tree. And the only nagging social obligation I feel guilty about is not managing to mail out a family greeting card. So I sweep up the pine needles and tell myself everyone will be thrilled to receive the annual photo of my children on Valentine’s Day.

This year was different.

One day last month I found a festively wrapped bottle of wine on the porch. (Thanks, Dawn and Bill.)

It was the start of a trend. The unexpected gift tipped the scales of heaven in my direction. The next day a friend delivered a plate of homemade cookies. (Thanks, Lisa). Another dropped off a holiday wreath to hang on the door. (Thanks, Stephanie.) By the end of December I was the delighted recipient of a sleighful of iced sugar cookies, bottles of Champagne and tiny Christmas tree ornaments (the one shaped like a bird was a regift, but still adorable).

This sort of situation creates a crisis in January.

I call it the response gift syndrome. I know that someday — maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon — I will have to reciprocate. The best way to thank my friends for a gift is with a gift in return.

But what? The last thing I want them to know is that it’s a response gift because I don’t want them to think I’m keeping score (although I am). I don’t want them to think that I think they won’t like me unless I show my gratitude with a gift (although that is my secret fear).

Most important, I don’t want to become locked in a terrible cycle. I envision an escalating round of gift-giving, starting innocently enough with that box of mail-order pears but potentially leading to buying Porsches and diamond necklaces for the neighbors, instead of saving all our money to pay for college tuition.

And I really want my children to go to college.

The solution is a stealth response gift. This is one that seems thoughtful but in an offhand way, a casual sort of token that says, “I like you and gave you this for no reason, certainly not because you gave me something.”

The solution does not come from the mall. It is a handmade one-of-a-kind thing, perhaps with a crafty tinge to it.

In the old days I used to wander the stalls at weekend fairs. But now such objects are available at a growing number of Internet sites that operate like online crafts shows. At sites like Cutxpaste.com, dozens of do-it-yourselfers sell handmade wares, ranging from letterpress notepads ($8 each, from DeLuce Design) to crocheted pompom hats ($42 each, from Purldrop.com).

At Handmadecatalog.com a painted beehive birdhouse made from a gourd is $21.95. And at Artsefest.com shoppers can click on “Shop by Crafter” to link directly to more than 500 sites that sell merchandise like handmade journals bound with a ribbon made of tree bark ($35 to $65, depending on size).

But the site with the widest selection, about 300,000 items, is Etsy.com, which describes itself as a “a place to buy & sell all things handmade.”

“We know a lot of people who sell things on our site sell at crafts fairs, too,” said Rob Kalin, a founder of the site. “We’re trying to serve a class of artisans who are making things in quantities not large enough to stock a store, but maybe enough to take out a booth at a crafts fair.”

Etsy.com is a mishmash of merchandise, organized in categories like knitting, housewares, furniture and toys. If it evokes your grandma’s basement, that’s no accident.

“When I was a kid, one compensation for visiting my grandmother in Buffalo after an eight-hour trip was that I got to root around in her basement,” Mr. Kalin said.

Navigating the site, which Mr. Kalin created with two college friends in 2005, is like going on a weird treasure hunt. It is hard to predict what you will stumble across: curiosities like a pair of clay earrings in the shape of salmon roe sushi ($8, from Stitcherx) or a velvet pillow decorated with an anatomy-book illustration of a skull ($35, from Crows Cloth).

There’s a handcrafted feel to the site’s design, thanks in part to its search features. On the home page, for example, shoppers can click on “Time Machine” to view a swirling display of the most recently listed wares for sale. Or you can click on “Colors” to unleash a rainbow flurry of colored bubbles. A click on one of them links to items of the same hue.

While these features are amusing, I prefer a more old-fashioned and efficient approach to shopping. Last week I conducted a keyword search on the site for a tea towel —who doesn’t need a nice new one? — and came up with a number of choices that qualify as useful response gifts.

A flour-sack tea towel embroidered with an apple ($5, from Heatherhalesdesigns) would please anyone with a vintage kitchen. A set of two white-on-white hemstitched towels (which you can order with a monogram, $20, from Trndesigns) would fit any décor.

The only drawback to shopping on Etsy.com is that it’s as time-consuming as digging through all those boxes in the basement. To find the perfect response gift you have to root through a lot of idiosyncratic stuff — like a pink quilted purse that looks like a brain (“It’s a must to complete any zombie or mad scientist type ensemble,” $65, from Bakingwithmedusa) — before you stumble across something you think you want.

I bought a set of four beaded wineglass tags with painted charms shaped like flip-flops. They were a one-a-one-of-a-kind set, but you’re not missing anything — they arrived in a little fabric bag that smelled so heavily of cigarettes that I can’t give them to anyone.

But luckily I also bought 10 adorable envelopes that were handmade from atlas pages (with note cards, $2.25, from time2cre8). So at least I have the proper stationery to attach to response gifts.

Smug about making progress in the response-gift department, I rewarded myself with a trip to the grocery store. On the way out the door, I tripped over a New Year’s gift addressed to me. (Thanks, Amy.)

Detox your skin by simplifying your routine

I recently went almost a week with not a stitch of makeup (and fortunately, very few mirrors) and just St. Ives Apricot Scrub (actually, R.'s Apricot Scrub) and my trusty Paula's Choice 2% Beta Hydroxy Acid lotion. And naturally, my skin looks just fine, at least as good or better than when I've got my toners and eye cream close at hand.

I'm still too wimpy to use body lotion on my face, but I agree that there's just too many products out there (are feet really that different from hands, elbows, or knees? Is the stomach so different from the decolletage or the neck? I wrote just a few weeks ago about the relative ineffectiveness of wrinkle creams, so give your wallet a break and sub in some Olay or Neutrogena for your Creme de la Mer and La Prairie.

And the bit about the washcloth? Hilarious AND genius. I prefer a scrubby glove, but the idea is the same. Once in a while I succumb to buying a facial scrub, but realize that there's really no difference in using a gel cleanser and the glove vs. the scrub. Using the scrub + the scrubby glove or washcloth is almost overkill.

So- bottom line, save your money for a dermatologist visit or a prescription with tested, effective ingredients. And enjoy that extra 5 minutes in the morning!

Skin Deep
The Cosmetics Restriction Diet
By NATASHA SINGER

DR. FRAN E. COOK-BOLDEN, a dermatologist in Manhattan, is an advocate of skin-care minimalism. When a patient recently arrived for an appointment toting 20 different products she was using regularly — including an eye cream, a vitamin C cream, a wrinkle serum, a pigmentation cream, a mask, a peel, a scrub and “some sort of special oxygen detoxifying cream” — Dr. Cook-Bolden said she confiscated all but three.

“It gave me a headache just to look at all of those products,” Dr. Cook-Bolden said. “Just two products, a gentle cleanser and a good sunscreen, are enough daily skin care for most people, and you can buy those at a drugstore or a grocery store.”

Dr. Cook-Bolden is part of a back-to-basics movement among dermatologists. At a time when beauty companies are introducing an increasing number of products marketed for specific body parts —including necks, creases around the mouth and eyelids — or for apocryphal maladies like visible pores or cellulite, these doctors are putting their patients on cosmetics restriction diets.

They are prescribing simplified skin-care routines requiring at most three steps: soap; sunscreen every day, no matter the weather or the season; and, if necessary, a product tailored to specific skin needs, whether a cream for pimples or pigmented spots, or a vitamin-enriched moisturizer for aging skin. Each product, they say, can be bought at drugstores for $30 or less.

Among those doctors who have become experts at uncluttering their patients’ vanity tables and medicine cabinets is Dr. Sarah Boyce Sawyer, an assistant professor of dermatology at the School of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

“My New Year’s beauty resolution for patients is: cut down on skin-care products and cut your skin-care budget,” Dr. Sawyer said. “Cut down on those $100 potions.”

For some doctors, simplifying skin-care routines is a way to make patients follow a regimen or a means to soothe irritated skin. But some dermatologists are also suggesting patients use fewer, less expensive products because they believe there is little scientific research to justify buying an armload of pricey cosmetics, Dr. Sawyer said.

“We have good medical evidence on prescription products,” she said. “But the science is fuzzy with a lot of cosmetics.”

Unlike drugs, cosmetics are not required to prove their efficacy.

Prescription medications like Accutane for acne and over-the-counter drugs such as sunscreen ingredients must undergo rigorous clinical testing before they gain approval from the Food and Drug Administration. But cosmetics are not subject to the agency’s scrutiny before they go on sale. The F.D.A. defines cosmetics as topical products that do not alter the structure or function of the skin.

Dr. William P. Coleman III, the vice president of the American Academy of Dermatology, said consumers should view moisturizers and wrinkle creams as no more than superficial treatments.

“You have to think of cosmetics as decorative and hygienic, not as things that are going to change your skin,” said Dr. Coleman, who is a clinical professor of dermatology at Tulane University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans. “A $200 cream may have better perfume or packaging, but as far as it moisturizing your skin better than a $10 cream, it probably won’t.”

According to F.D.A. regulations, beauty manufacturers are responsible for the safety of their cosmetics and for their own marketing claims. Although many beauty companies perform studies on their products, they are not required to conduct clinical trials on the level of medical research or to make their proprietary research available to the public.

Dr. Mary Ellen Brademas, a clinical assistant professor of dermatology at New York University Medical Center, said the paucity of rigorous published science on cosmetics makes it difficult to determine how well creams work, whether they cost $10, $100 or $1,000.

“People are spending $450 on a jar of cream just because it is made out of something exotic like salmon eggs or cocoons,” Dr. Brademas said. “But the cheapest products work just as well as the more expensive ones.”

A study of wrinkle creams published last month by Consumer Reports concluded that there was no correlation between price and effectiveness. The study, which tested nine brands of wrinkle creams over 12 weeks, also concluded that none of the products reduced the depth of wrinkles by more than 10 percent, an amount “barely visible to the naked eye.”

The Consumer Reports study found, for example, that a three-step regimen of Olay Regenerist products costing $57 was slightly more effective at reducing the appearance of wrinkles than a $135 tube of StriVectin-SD or a $335 combination of two La Prairie Cellular lotions.

“I am seduced by fancy packaging as much as the next person,” Dr. Brademas said. “But I have a theory that all these skin-care things come out of the same vat in New Jersey.”

John Bailey, the executive vice president for science of the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association, an industry trade group in Washington, said that skin care varies widely in price because of amounts spent on research and development of ingredients and product formulas, and the cost of manufacturing and packaging.

But, he said, it is difficult to measure performance differences among products.

“Cosmetics don’t have the same quantitative analysis as drugs, so you don’t have a set gauge you can use to determine perceived and actual benefits,” said Dr. Bailey, who has a Ph.D. in chemistry. “Ultimately, consumers will have to try products out and find what works best for them.”

THE back-to-basics skin-care regimen is based on practicality rather than marketing claims. It does not rely on exotic ingredients grown on far-flung islands hand-picked by natives only under a full moon.

Dr. Diane C. Madfes, a clinical instructor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, said that basic skin care requires washing one’s face to remove dirt, sweat and bacteria, and using sunscreen to impede sun damage. People who worry about wrinkles, pimples, dry spots or pores may want to add one or two treatment products, she said.

Dr. Cook-Bolden, who has been a paid consultant for several mass-market cosmetics brands, suggested a mild liquid cleanser for the face. Instead of using toners, which may strip skin, or gritty exfoliation beads and microdermabrasion systems, which may irritate skin, she recommended using a washcloth to slough off dead skin cells.

“If you have dry, sensitive skin, you just pat the washcloth on your face gently in a circular motion,” she said. “If you don’t have irritated skin, you can put more speed and pressure on the washcloth.”

Dermatologists disagree whether a moisturizer is then needed. Dr. Brademas said it is superfluous.

“Moisturizer is optional unless you are in the Arctic,” said Dr. Brademas, who favors Vaseline petroleum jelly for dry hands, feet, knees and elbows. “I’m not sure moisturizers do very much except for creating a smooth surface so that makeup can go on without drag.”

Dr. Cook-Bolden took a more agnostic position.

“If you need a moisturizer, moisturize,” she said. “If you want less moisture, use a lotion. If you want more, use a cream. And if you have acne-prone skin, use a gel or a spray.”

Although the dermatologists interviewed for this article disagreed about moisturizer, they agreed on one point: the importance of sun protection, including hats, avoidance of midday sun and the use of an effective sunscreen. They recommended that consumers look for formulas that include ingredients — like zinc oxide, titanium dioxide or Mexoryl SX — that impede damage from the sun’s longer wavelength UVA rays, a protective effect that is not indicated by a product’s SPF rating.

Beyond soap and sunscreen, Dr. Madfes said that one or two additional products might be added to personalize a skin-care routine.

“People who see wrinkles around their eyes are going to reach for an eye cream,” Dr. Madfes said. “Someone who looks in the mirror and sees large pores may want to use a cleanser with salicylic acid, which can reduce clogged pores.”

She is also a proponent of night creams that combine retinol, a form of vitamin A that may help speed up the turnover of skin cells, and antioxidants such as vitamin C, vitamin E or lycopene that may help thwart environmental damage to the skin. People with skin conditions like severe acne or people interested in topical anti-wrinkle drugs should consult their doctors about prescription medications, she said.

On an expedition last week to a CVS Pharmacy at Columbus Circle with a reporter, Dr. Madfes examined the product labels on skin-care items from a variety of mass-market brands and recommended a few basic products, including Cetaphil cleanser and La Roche-Posay Anthelios SX sunscreen.

“Higher end, more expensive products may look better in the box and feel better on your face, but they don’t necessarily work better than less expensive products as long as you look for ingredients that are known for efficacy,” Dr. Madfes said.

But she did see one benefit to splurging.

“The thing is, when someone buys a $200 cream, they are going to use that cream,” Dr. Madfes said. “So, in the end, their skin may benefit.”