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1-Minute Musing: 17 Skincare Products THAT ACTUALLY WORK

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1-Minute Musing: 17 Skincare Products THAT ACTUALLY WORK

A quick, couple-paragraph thought.

Jessica DeFino
Jul 6, 2022
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1-Minute Musing: 17 Skincare Products THAT ACTUALLY WORK

jessicadefino.substack.com

I click-baited you. I’m sorry. You will not find 17 skincare products that actually work in this email. But have you ever noticed that the words “THAT ACTUALLY WORK!” always appear in beauty headlines? And have you ever wondered why?

Coming from a beauty editor who has written plenty of similar headlines in the past — again, I’m sorry! — a hed like “6 Acne Serums That Actually Work” is enticing to readers and successful for publishers for one simple reason: It acknowledges the fact that most products do not work. As consumers, we already know this on a subconscious level, whether from experience or intuition or basic common sense — so when an article admits the truth up front, it seems trustworthy. And when that seemingly trustworthy article then leads us into a shopping experience, it bolsters our faith in the almighty bottle, which keeps us stuck in the consumer cycle... despite the fact that the headline flat-out TELLS US that money spent on skincare products is money (probably) wasted. Ah, the psychological web the beauty media weaves.

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1-Minute Musing: 17 Skincare Products THAT ACTUALLY WORK

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14 Comments
Mary-Katherine Fleming
Jul 6, 2022Liked by Jessica DeFino

☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️☠️ I fuckin hate this industry so hard.

I don’t want to dress 10 years younger.

I don’t want to look ten years younger.

I love my furry crotch.

Burn it all down.

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Lily
Jul 6, 2022Liked by Jessica DeFino

Omg Jessica, you tricked us! Am I the only one who was like "Wow, Jessica is endorsing some skincare products, I can't wait to see!!" It really goes to show, even though I think I'm pretty much immune to this stuff, I'm not ...

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