"What sets Paula's products and work apart from any other, aside from quality and efficacy, is that she is the only cosmetic company in the world recommending other products besides her own, and showcases her recommendations in her books, web sites, Beauty Bulletins, television appearances, and newspaper interviews."

Dr. Leslie Bauman
Professor of Clinical Dermatology and
Chief of the Division of Cosmetic Dermatology
University of Miami

For more than 25 years, Paula Begoun has studied, analyzed, tested, and critiqued thousands of skin-care formulations and makeup products to help women around the world understand whether a product was worth the money or could live up to the claims on the label. Paula's exhaustive research and quest for high quality, reasonably priced products led her to develop her own premier product line of skin care and makeup products. Working with a team of cosmetic chemists utilizing her own formulations, Paula launched Paula's Choice in 1995.

Designed using state-of-the-art ingredients and formulary concepts, Paula's Choice skin care products DO NOT contain coloring agents, fragrance, or irritating ingredients that are extraneous or unnecessary.

Paula is dedicated to only using ingredients that have proven benefit for skin. As Paula says "Media-hyped, unproven ingredients may get attention but they don't always help skin."

Simple Steps for Beautiful Skin

Paula's distinctive philosophy about how to best take care of skin is outlined in the step-by-step process below:

Step 1 (AM & PM) – Cleanse
Use a Paula's Choice water-soluble cleanser to GENTLY remove make-up, oil, and dead skin cells from your face. Paula's Choice gentle cleansers prevent breakouts, reduce dryness and irritation and keep your skin looking healthy and radiant from the very start of your skin care regimen.

You can also use Paula's Choice Gentle Touch Make-up Remover to remove stubborn eye makeup, stay-put foundation, and waterproof mascara.

Step 2 (AM & PM) – Tone
Toners help remove last traces of makeup, soothe skin and lightly moisturize. All Paula's Choice toners deliver protective antioxidants, skin identical and cell-communicating ingredients which is rare for this category. These toners provide an extra dose of what skin needs to function optimally and look its best.

Step 3 (AM & PM) – Exfoliate ( Alpha Hydroxy Acid-AHA; and Beta Hydroxy Acids-BHA)
A gentle exfoliant makes a dramatic difference in the skin's appearance, feel, and function. Exfoliation removes built-up layers of skin that aren't shedding on their own due to sun damage, age, hormonal changes, chronic dry or oily skin, genetics or the use of poorly formulated skin care products. There is a great deal of research indicating that AHA and BHAs increase collagen production and smooth the surface of skin dramatically.

Paula's Choice offers multiple textures of Beta Hydroxy Acid for all skin types. Beta Hydroxy Acid exfoliates inside the pore to improve how the pore functions. Additionally, BHAs have anti-bacterial properties that attack blemish-causing bacteria so they are highly recommended for skin that is prone to blemishes or blackheads. Paula's Choice 8% Alpha Hydroxy Acid Gel uses glycolic acid and is best suited for normal to dry skin. It can take some experimentation to find the right exfoliant for your skin type.

Step 4 (AM & PM) – Treat (Antioxidant Serums)
Antioxidants defend your skin against the harmful effects of environmental free radicals which come from sun damage, pollution, and the very air we breathe and is essential for any product to help battle wrinkles. There is a tremendous amount of research that indicates that antioxidants are one of the best ways for making your skin look and act younger. Antioxidants can also help skin heal, create new collagen, produce healthier skin cells, and improve skin's resilience. All Paula's Choice antioxidant serums are formulated for use around the eyes as well as the face and neck.

Step 5 (AM) – Protect (Daytime Moisturizer with Sunscreen)
For daytime, the final step in your skin care routine should be applying a moisturizer that offers broad spectrum UVA protection of SPF 15 or higher (unless your foundation provides this same protection). Wearing sunscreen 365 days a year is the best way to protect your skin. All Paula's Choice daytime moisturizers are formulated to be used around the eye area as well as the face. A well formulated sunscreen used daily is the critical step in preventing wrinkles.

Step 5 (PM) – Nighttime Moisturizer
The only thing that differentiates a daytime moisturizer from a nighttime moisturizer is sunscreen. Skin needs the same beneficial state-of-the-art ingredients during the day as it does at night. All skin types need the same advanced ingredients to optimize healthy, normal cell, collagen, and immune defense production. What differs, depending on your skin type, is the texture of the product you choose. If you have normal to dry skin, a lotion or creamy lotion texture is best. If you have normal to oily skin, a gel or toner texture is ideal.

All Paula's Choice moisturizers are loaded with skin-essential ingredients such as antioxidants, cell-communicating and skin-identical ingredients and they come in a variety of consistencies-gels, lotions, creams, and gel-creams so you can find the one that books for your skin type and personal preferences. All of Paula's Choice moisturizers are formulated to be used around the eye area as well as the face so an additional eye cream is not necessary.

Step 6 (Optional) - Masks
For the occasional or daily splurge you can treat yourself to the benefits of using a mask. Whether you want an oil-absorbing, purifying mask for oily/combination skin (Skin Balancing Carbon Mask) or luxuriously rich treatment for normal to very dry skin (Skin Recovery Hydrating Treatment Mask), our unique options provide beautiful results and perfectly enhance your daily skin-care routine.

All Paula's Choice masks are gentle, fragrance-free and contain soothing anti-inflammatory agents to help reduce redness and irritation.