Bringing financial auditing rigor to beauty product analysis
Started in a spreadsheet, grew into an obsession, became what you’re reading now. We apply the same skepticism and analytical frameworks used in corporate due diligence to luxury skincare marketing claims.
This started because I got tired of throwing money at products that promised miracles and delivered moisturizer. After spending $340 on a “revolutionary” peptide serum that turned out to be 92% water and silicones, I did what any reasonable person would do: I built a spreadsheet.
That first spreadsheet tracked cost per milliliter, active ingredient percentages, and whether the clinical studies brands cited actually supported their claims. Spoiler: they often didn’t. Within three months, I had forty-seven products analyzed, twelve returned, and a growing suspicion that the luxury beauty industry operated on vibes more than chemistry.
The Beauty Audit officially launched in January 2023. We’re three people now—a cosmetic chemist (who prefers to stay behind the scenes), a data analyst with way too much patience for ingredient databases, and me, the one writing this. We still buy everything ourselves, still return the underperformers, and still maintain what friends call an “unhealthy” obsession with pH testing strips.
Our methodology borrowed from pharmaceutical QC protocols, financial auditing frameworks, and old-fashioned consumer advocacy. If a brand claims their ingredient is “clinically proven,” we find the study. If they say “revolutionary,” we calculate whether it’s actually different from existing formulations. If they charge $280, we explain what you’re paying for—and what you’re not.
What we do every day
Test luxury beauty products with clinical rigor, calculate real cost-per-use value, and publish transparent analyses that help people make informed purchasing decisions. We translate marketing speak into measurable claims, compare formulations to cheaper alternatives, and call out when emperor’s new clothes pricing doesn’t deliver emperor’s new clothes results. Updated every three weeks as products reformulate and new options launch.
What we want to change
Create a beauty industry where ingredient transparency is the baseline, not the exception. Where brands compete on formulation quality instead of marketing budgets. Where consumers have access to the same analytical tools that would be standard in any other regulated industry. We want “clinically proven” to mean something verifiable, and we want people to stop overpaying for elegant packaging surrounding unremarkable chemistry.
What guides our work
These aren’t corporate buzzwords—they’re the principles that keep us from becoming another affiliate mill
Financial Independence
We purchase every product with our own money or return PR samples unopened. No brand partnerships, no sponsored content, no “gifted” reviews. If we can’t afford to test it honestly, we don’t test it at all.
Data Over Narrative
Every claim gets traced back to clinical studies or lab results. We cite specific concentrations, pH levels, stability data. If a brand’s marketing tells a great story but the formula doesn’t support it, we say so.
Price Transparency
We calculate cost per application, cost per gram of active ingredients, and compare luxury products to drugstore alternatives with similar formulations. Sometimes expensive is worth it. Often it’s not. We show the math.
Comfortable Dissent
If everyone loves a product and we find it mediocre, we publish the mediocre review. We’re not in the business of validating popular opinion or generating easy clicks. Sometimes our conclusions make us unpopular. That’s fine.
Living Documentation
Products reformulate, brands change ownership, new research emerges. We revisit reviews quarterly and update them when circumstances change. A recommendation from last year might not be valid today—we track that.
Nuanced Honesty
Nothing is entirely good or entirely bad. We identify who a product works for, where it falls short, and what trade-offs you’re making. Overpriced but effective? We’ll say that. Affordable but irritating? That too.
How we test and evaluate
Borrowed from pharmaceutical QC protocols and financial due diligence. Probably excessive. Definitely thorough.
Product Acquisition & Documentation
We purchase products at full retail price from authorized retailers. Each purchase is documented with receipt, batch number, and manufacturing date. Products are photographed, weighed, and ingredient lists are transcribed for database comparison. PR samples get returned with a polite note explaining our policy.
Ingredient Analysis & Verification
Our cosmetic chemist breaks down each formula by ingredient concentration, active delivery systems, and known interaction effects. We cross-reference brand claims against published clinical studies—if they cite research, we read the actual paper, not just the abstract. pH testing for acid products, stability assessment for sensitive actives.
Long-Term Performance Testing
Products get used for minimum eight weeks (twelve for anti-aging claims). We track texture changes, packaging degradation, and whether the formula remains stable after opening. Retinols get tested in clear containers to check oxidation. Vitamin C serums get evaluated for color changes. We document when products stop working as advertised.
Comparative Value Analysis
We calculate cost per application, cost per gram of key actives, and identify chemically similar alternatives at different price points. If a $280 treatment has $23 worth of ingredients, we note that. If a $45 serum delivers the same concentration of actives as a $190 one, that goes in the review. Sometimes luxury pricing is justified by better stability or delivery. Sometimes it’s not.
Ready to stop overpaying for marketing?
Join the readers who’ve saved thousands by making informed decisions instead of following influencer hype. No fluff, no affiliate pressure—just honest analysis of what’s actually in those expensive jars.