Many beauty products' claims are only skin deep

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With almost 8,000 new products touting numerous claims introduced each year, shopping for beauty isn't always pretty.

"The way you look is very personal, and many women hold up very high, impossible standards for their beauty products," says Linda Wells, editor in chief of Allure magazine and author of Allure: Confessions of a Beauty Editor (Bulfinch, $24.99). "I'm willing to try new things and see what works. And if it doesn't, I don't go back and buy it. That's pretty encouraging to companies -- women are willing to pay, but they want to see results."

In her 15-plus-year career researching the beauty industry, Wells has seen an "enormous" improvement in the science and technology put into developing products that work.

However, not everything inside the glossy packaging is created equally. Wells explains what's worth it and what's not:

*Lip plumpers. Sorry, ladies, but coating your lips with "plumping" mega-gloss isn't going to give you an Angelina-esque pout. "These products contain ingredients that make your lips sting and tingle, such as cinnamon, menthol, even hot peppers," Wells says. "While it feels like it's having an effect, your lips may be holding water, but it's not changing the size."

*Cellulite creams. "This is one of the products that women put so much hope in. The results are really minor. A lot of the products contain caffeine and seaweed that reduce the water in the skin and make it look slightly firmer. I think that anybody would be disappointed if they expect the cellulite to go away."

*Beauty vitamins. Beauty in a bottle? "I was really skeptical at first, but there are scientific studies that prove that a number of supplements can make a difference," Wells says. For instance, "the omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil can help with under-eye puffiness." Try a premixed pack or individual vitamins, such as niacin for acne or fish oil.

*Microdermabrasion. Though the at-home kits won't replicate the oxidizing vacuum treatment you'd get from a professional treatment, they serve as an effective "high-quality scrub," Wells says.

*Anti-aging antioxidants. Mounting evidence suggests that anti-oxidants protect the skin against some sun damage and pollution and might even help in the prevention of skin cancer. Wells predicts an even brighter future in this category: "There's a real rave to improving antioxidants. I think across the board anti-aging is where research money is being spent."

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