Guides
Cosmetic product guides
How to read a label, compare products, and evaluate a review — written to support your decisions without pretending to offer individualised medical advice.
How to evaluate a skincare product review
Check who wrote it and who pays them, whether it distinguishes tested claims from published specifications, whether it says what it does not know, whether dates are attached to prices and formulas, whether ingredient research is being passed off as product evidence, and whether the limitations section contains anything real. A review that fails the last check is usually marketing.
Read the guide →GuideFormula review vs hands-on review
A Formula & Specification Review works from published information: ingredients, size, price, directions, warnings. A hands-on review works from documented use over a recorded period. The first can tell you what a product is; only the second can tell you what it is like to use. Every review on this site is currently a Formula & Specification Review, because no one here has documented testing of these products.
Read the guide →GuideHow to read a cosmetic INCI list
An INCI list orders ingredients by concentration down to 1%, after which order means nothing. Marketing names and INCI names are different systems — SNAP-8 is a trade name and will appear on a panel as something else. The most useful skill is recognising what a list does not tell you: exact percentages, molecular weights, and the composition of anything labelled "extract" or "fragrance".
Read the guide →GuideHow to compare peptide serums
Compare the attributes that are actually published and actually comparable: disclosed concentration, net contents, price per millilitre, fragrance status and whether a full ingredient list exists. Do not compare on peptide count, marketing language, or research about isolated ingredients — none of those distinguishes one finished product from another.
Read the guide →GuideSerum vs cream: how the formats differ
A serum is a lighter leave-on layer applied before moisturizer; a cream is the moisturizing step itself, usually containing more emollients. The difference is routine position and composition, not potency. If you already use a moisturizer, adding a serum extends your routine. If you do not, a cream is the more complete single purchase.
Read the guide →GuideHow to layer a serum and moisturizer
Serum first, moisturizer second. The reason is practical: the lighter, more water-based product goes on before the heavier one that helps hold it in place. Wait until the serum has absorbed — usually under a minute — rather than timing it precisely. Reversing the order is not harmful; it just makes the serum step less useful.
Read the guide →GuideVitamin C and copper peptide routine considerations
There is a widely repeated claim that copper peptides and vitamin C should never be combined. It is not as settled as its popularity suggests, and it cannot be resolved for any specific pair of products without knowing their full compositions and pH values — which Amplified Glow does not publish. If you want to avoid the question entirely, separate them by time of day. That works and costs nothing.
Read the guide →GuideShampoo and conditioner order
Shampoo first, conditioner second. Shampoo cleanses the scalp and lifts buildup; conditioner is applied to mid-lengths and ends afterwards and left for a couple of minutes before rinsing. The order matters because the two products do opposite things — cleansing removes, conditioning deposits — and doing them the other way round removes what you just deposited.
Read the guide →GuideFragrance-free vs scented products
Fragrance free means no fragrance ingredients were added. Unscented is a different claim and can include masking fragrance. A product that says nothing about fragrance has told you nothing — it is not a fragrance-free claim. If you need to avoid fragrance, you need a product that states it, and you often need allergen information that most brands do not publish.
Read the guide →GuideHow to patch test a new cosmetic product
Apply a small amount to a discreet area of skin — the inner forearm or behind the ear — once or twice a day for several days, and watch for redness, itching, burning or bumps. Stop immediately if any appear. Patch testing catches many contact reactions before they affect your whole face. It does not detect delayed reactions or predict whether a product will work.
Read the guide →GuideHow to interpret price per ounce
Price per unit is a fair comparison between products of the same format with the same job. It breaks down across formats, across formulas with different disclosed actives, and whenever you do not finish the container. The assumption underneath every per-unit calculation is that you use all of it — and for products people try and abandon, that assumption often fails.
Read the guide →GuideWhat “not disclosed” means in a product comparison
Not disclosed means the brand does not publish it. Not verified means a value may exist but we have not confirmed it. Brand disclosed means the brand states it and we are reporting that accurately without independently confirming it. None of these means zero, and none of them is filled with an estimate — a table with honest blanks is more useful than one with invented numbers.
Read the guide →GuideHow we verify customer feedback
Every review is read by a person before it goes live. We can remove spam, take out personal details, and fix a typo — but we can’t change your rating, edit your meaning, or turn a review down for being negative. Every review comes from a real customer, and a product shows a star rating only once enough real reviews exist.
Read the guide →