Befores and Afters

[Miss Grumpy]

I watched the Elemis launch because I really wanted to buy this. I decided for once to spend money on something other than my normal high street brands. But I won't be buying.

The reason is: the Before and After photos. Is there something wrong with my eyes, or is there virtually no difference between the two? The neck shot had one line that was slightly less, but that could be accounted for by holding the head a fraction of an inch higher while posing for the photo.

It reminded me that Befores and Afters for other skincare products have been equally unconvincing.

Do expensive skin care brands really work better than cheaper versions, and do I need to go to Supersavers?

 

[shopperholic]

I agree, I've seen many a skin care before and after on QVC were I'm squinting because I can't see a blind bit of difference.

 

[boffy]

thats because there is little difference. if your skin is in very poor condition and you use nothing not even nivea then you will get a result based on using any moisturiser. the only skincare imo that makes a difference is alpha h but most if not all glycolic based skincare will deliver good results.

 

[iloveshopping]

I tend to agree Boffy. I am 61 and have only started using skincare products in the last few years as my skin was so greasy for most of my life (even after having roaccutane treatment twice). I could not even put makeup on because it just slide off my face. So finally my Neck had started to get dry. I used a neck cream and the skin improved a lot.
I have been using Alpha H liquid gold and the large lumps under the skin on my cheeks are slowly reducing. I was using moisturisers recently but have almost completely stopped as I think they were not helping with the blackheads.

 

[Miss Grumpy]

I watched the Elemis launch because I really wanted to buy this. I decided for once to spend money on something other than my normal high street brands. But I won't be buying.

The reason is: the Before and After photos. Is there something wrong with my eyes, or is there virtually no difference between the two? The neck shot had one line that was slightly less, but that could be accounted for by holding the head a fraction of an inch higher while posing for the photo.

It reminded me that Befores and Afters for other skincare products have been equally unconvincing.

Do expensive skin care brands really work better than cheaper versions, and do I need to go to Supersavers?

I meant Specsavers obviously. This autocorrect thigummy (it has tried to write thin gummy) is difficult to deal with!

 

[OokeyKat]

I have started to lose faith in many of these QVC beauty brands :sad:. I have tried them all and with little difference made to my skin :thinking:. The only exception is probably Alpha H liquid gold, i do find the clarity of my skin improves when i use that. The before and afters are very limited too, sometimes none or just 1 or 2. Doing searches online for before & after trails are rare of many of these brands. The trials these do are generally only done on a handful of people so its easy to get a 70 or 80% improvement in skin elasticity etc based on such a low number of people. I keep hoping a brand will work :mysmilie_499: but alas i dont think they can do much other than keep your skin supple. I tend not to believe QVC reviews, if you can see a difference within a few days or a week then i think its all in the mind :mysmilie_13: :mysmilie_520::mysmilie_465: .... but i live in hope...........

 

[boffy]

I tend to agree Boffy. I am 61 and have only started using skincare products in the last few years as my skin was so greasy for most of my life (even after having roaccutane treatment twice). I could not even put makeup on because it just slide off my face. So finally my Neck had started to get dry. I used a neck cream and the skin improved a lot.
I have been using Alpha H liquid gold and the large lumps under the skin on my cheeks are slowly reducing. I was using moisturisers recently but have almost completely stopped as I think they were not helping with the blackheads.

my skin is oily to and the best cleanser is soap or a glycolic cleanser. these make a light application of a light moisturiser acceptable. you have to know what your skintype is or you will make your skin worse. oilier skin can be quite sensitive something some skincare brands ignore. alpha h is the exception

 

[nicnac]

When QVC first started I tried Aveda, Decleor and Elemis and if i'm honest the only product that actually made a visible difference to my skin was Decleors Phytopeel. Way back then i got it for £16 a tube!
Then companies started messing with the formulations and the prices went up and up.
In my 20s and early 30s i had oily skin, now (50 next year) my skin is starting to become dry and sensitive.
I get my skincare from Aldi (Lacura range) and i think the most expensive product from there, is my eye gel at £4. The only treat my skin gets is a large pot of Angels on Bare Skin from lush, brought in the sales. I credit my good skin to this cleanser as on the odd occassion i've run out my skin suffers!
Talking about before and after pics, what a load of old tosh! In pics where there is a major change, how come, after 4/6/8 weeks, the model can place herself in the exact same position and the lighting can fall with exactly the same shadows, just the wrinkles are gone, well is it just me being sceptical or is photoshop a wonderful thing?
If my hubby, mr joe bloggs photographic hobby fan, can recreate my wrinkles vanishing with photoshop and he ain't no expert .............. just saying!!

 

[Laura L'occitane Earle]

I've often noticed that the main difference in the before and afters is the lighting used. Skin, hair and clothing always look a bit more vibrant in the after. I also agree that at times there is a subtle difference in the pose - less smiling in the after makes for less crows feet!

 

[candycane]

I look quite young for my age anyway (as does my mum so maybe genes), but I think Decleor definitely does it for me. The oils are really good as are the balms. I have a horrible liney neck and décolletage and Decleor does make a huge difference. I've tried just about every beauty brand on QVC and sent most of them back but my top 3 are Decleor, Liz Earle and Judith Williams - her eye cream is amazing.

CC

 

[Peppermint Patti]

my skin is oily to and the best cleanser is soap or a glycolic cleanser. these make a light application of a light moisturiser acceptable. you have to know what your skintype is or you will make your skin worse. oilier skin can be quite sensitive something some skincare brands ignore. alpha h is the exception

Liz Earle light moisturiser is OK for my oily skin, I get mine with my Boots points as price has gone up a lot.

 

[maymorganlondon]

I think one of the trickiest things with beauty is that every brand will try to sell you their entire regime, not just one specific product... it's their job, after all.

In reality, though, to get your best beauty regime that addresses any concerns you have to your own satisfaction, you really need to experiment across a number of brands and ranges to get your own best set of products. That can be an expensive and time-consuming business, unfortunately.

The brands I personally find consistently effective across several products in their ranges are Clarins, Decleor, Alpha-H, Murad and Elemis: but I have been trying different products for decades, asking questions, experimenting with different combinations, and changing as I get older and the way my skin behaves alters. There are products in those ranges that I don't rate, and others I won't be without.

I've learned that, consistently, my skin loves oils and balms. Used in appropriate quantities they never make me greasy or spotty.
I've learned that my skin likes lighter textures in eye products and moisturisers.
My skin likes rich cleansers - balms and creamy cleansers... and that for me toners are a necessity.
I've learned not to be scared of exfoliation, or glycolics - they make my skin more refined and give me a glow that is youthful (and I need that help these days).

I'm no trained beauty expert so I don't necessarily know exactly why some products have a wow effect and others don't. What I have learned is that in most cases the effects you experience are entirely subjective, and you can tell by how your skin feels both by letting it just "be" and by touching it - it's not necessarily discernable to the naked eye.

Occasionally you might get comments from people, but they won't be coming up to you and saying to you "wow, your neck looks much less saggy today" at least not in my world! They're more likely to comment on your skin in a more general way, if they say anything at all.

There are so many tricks in relation to before and after shots... I would actually say that some of the best before and after shots used on QVC are the Prai ones, particularly for Ageless Throat - the pose, expression and lighting looks the same.

 

[candycane]

I tried the Prai throat product MML - didn't do anything for me. Best one is Decleor (way too expensive), JW diamond neck cream (always out of stock) and actually M&S do a very credible product that's only about £12.

CC

 

[Crinkly]

Ah, befores and afters...

For cosmetics, they are going to select people who haven't been using anything, then get them to use consistently.
Anything would be effective in this case.

And for makeup and hair, the QVC before and afters irritate me intensely. The models are photographed in different lighting, with different expressions (before = sad, after = happy), with unbrushed, untidy, manky hair. Then along come the afters with good lighting, happy smiles, with face and hair primped and preened by an army of minions.

Utterly absurd.

The Pyrio (sp?) model photos with the Caffeine thinning hair treatment are the worst i have seen.
They should have taken standard photos before she used the product the first time.
Then every presentation taken another photo (under exactly the same conditions) showing the exact extent of the regrowth.

So what do they actually do?
They take a before photo the morning of the presentation, then wash her hair, and photo again.

The only thing that these photos show is that she has washed her hair!

 

[caretodiffer]

I do not believe any of QVC's or many other adverts. For make up before and after, the models all look so shiny and sad with lighting to make them look their worst. Hair products adverts make models' hair brushed flat and greasy before and I think to myself, come on, no one will have hair in that condition, even a comb through will improve it 95%.
Hair conditioners and brushes an driers adverts, they roughen up the models's hair, even to the extend of back combing the hair to look frizzy and unruly in the before pictures...the messing up is so obvious:taphead: Those of creams and wrinkle reducing or what they call anti ageing products, we can see the models crinkling their eyes that little much, or "shortening" their necks that little, just to make it worse in the before pictures....we can all do these before and after pictures....it makes me mad that they think we are so stupid :mysmilie_455:
We are what our genes are. Our facial wrinkles are made worse, by smoking, frowning , squinting (not wearing glasses when we should) and not cleaning our faces. Any moisturiser will plump up skin, but some will make the skin drier or oily. If there were things that actually were anti-ageing, they will be bought in lorry full by us and there won't be all these hundreds of brands on the selves and each of them bringing out " better" and "improved" ones out every so often.

 

[Craftalot]

I meant Specsavers obviously. This autocorrect thigummy (it has tried to write thin gummy) is difficult to deal with!

I was writing to a friend recently and it autocorrected her name, 'Heather', to 'Heavier'. Worse still, she is rather overweight. Can you imagine!

 

[Miss Grumpy]

Does anyone remember the Before and After of DF's eye (area) after one session of the CACI machine? It looked as if a crane had hoisted her eyebrow up in the air, removing about 20 years in seconds. In fact, if it had hoisted the rest of her as effectively she would be six feet tall and a size 8.

Someone mentioned the other day that it was odd to pay £300 for a QVC item. It was the photo, I tell you, for once I believed it.