You’re ruining your face if you let any of these popular beauty products touch your skin. That seems to be the message behind Isabella’s (@elevenesthetician) viral TikTok where she walks through a T.J. Maxx and tells people which specific items and brands to avoid.
While many thought she was right on the money with her professional opinions, others said that they quite enjoyed using some of the products she referred to in her video.
1. Retinol wipes
“An estheticians nightmare,” Isabella writes in a text overlay of the video before showing a pink package of “Make-Up Removing Cleaning Wipes” by Precision Beauty that contain Retinol.
She questions the ingredient, writing, “Like why does ur makeup remover need retinol?”
SeoulCeuticals writes that retinol is a fantastic inclusion as part of one’s skincare routine, as it “wins the valedictorian title in the skincare class,” while going on to explain that it’s “a derivative of Vitamin A,” and “reigns supreme in anti-aging efforts.
However, the same company remarked that the stuff is not really effective when it comes to removing makeup from one’s face. In fact, the article writes, “Let’s cannonball into this ocean of inquiries with the $64,000 question: Does retinol remove makeup? Well, folks, it’s about as capable of that as a goldfish biking the Tour de France. In other words, it’s, um… checks notes… not very capable of that. Retinol, in essence, is a beauty prodigy but certainly no makeup remover.”
2. KylieSkin
Retinol in makeup wipes wasn’t the only beauty product Isabella tackled in her video. She went on to slam Kylie Skin: “Immediate no,” she wrote of the brand’s clarifying toner.
One Redditor posted to the site’s r/KUWTK sub to give their assessment of Kylie skin and stated that they thought the brand was being unjustly dragged online by “skinfluencers”, writing that they enjoyed the product. But several people in the comments section disagreed.
One wrote, “I used kylie skin and i didn’t have super bad acne just quite a few bumps and it made me break out worst i started using dove soap and cerave and that worked miracles for me.”
Many have dug into the controversy of Kylie’s skincare line, with some alleging that the ingredients put into the reality TV personality’s wares weren’t exactly of the highest quality or that they were too abrasive. This included an honest assessment by a dermatologist who seemingly only had one positive thing to say about a Kylie product: The “bottle was cute.”
3. Mario Badescu
As for Mario Badescu products, which was the next casualty of Isabella’s video, the esthetician’s criticism seemed even more blunt: “Trash skincare,” she said.
In 2023, Green Matters reported that a “class action lawsuit” was filed against the brand for including steroids in its products “without disclosing this on the label” adding that “steroids can be harmful to your skin when not prescribed by a doctor,” which means customers were applying potentially harmful substances and they had no idea they were doing it.
4. Microdermabrasion tool
Another product Isabella maligns is Conair’s true glow microdermabrasion beauty tool.
“I just know whoever is purchasing will destroy their skin barrier and bruise their face,” she said of the $9.99 TJ Maxx find before the video cuts out.
@elevenesthetician cant wait for the hate comments on this one #esthetician ♬ use this if youre gay – alex ♱
Many users in the comments section seemed to agree with most of her sentiments, with one user writing, “Retinol in makeup wipes is actually wild,” one said.
While another quipped, “Nothing like retinol right on the eyelids when u take off ur mascara.”
However, it seems that skincare really is in the…epidermis of the beholder, as several folks remarked that they enjoyed using Mario Badescu products and that they worked wonders for their face.
“I love the Mario badescu stuff,” one said.
Another replied, “Same tbh really helped with my acne.”
“Nahh those Mario sprays definitely cleared my skin I HAVE to always restock,” another said.
Others thought that it was strange there were so many skincare products at T.J. Maxx that include retinol in its list of ingredients: “I swear every product at tjmaxx has retinol slapped on it it’s unreal.”
But others called out specific ingredients in skincare products as the main problem with these items: “As a consumer we question this too!! Everything has hyaluronic acid and niacinamide and for what!!!?”
And there was someone else who disagreed with Isabella’s commentary on Kylie Jenner’s branded cosmetics: “Unpopular opinion the kylie skin moisturizer is actually one of the best i’ve used.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Kylie Cosmetics, Mario Badescu, Conair, Precision Beauty, T.J. Maxx, and Isabella via email for further information.
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