How we decide the verdict

Most comparators win when you buy more. We don't. That's why we can say something no one else will credibly say: "don't buy it". Here's exactly how we decide — because trust is earned by showing the criteria.

The verdict

Each product gets a verdict based on its formula, not its marketing:

• 🟢 Worth buying — contains evidence-backed actives at a relevant position in the INCI list.
• 🔴 Skip it — a category that should carry an active (serum, essence, exfoliant…) but has none with evidence at a useful concentration.
• No verdict — when we don't have a reliable ingredient list, we don't judge.

How we classify evidence

We don't use EWG or the comedogenic index: both are scientifically discredited. We classify each active by the quality of available evidence, always citing the source:

• Strong evidence — multiple human clinical trials or regulatory recognition.
• Emerging evidence — at least one human clinical study, with limited replication.
• Unproven — only in-vitro, animal or traditional-use data. We don't say it doesn't work; we say the evidence isn't there yet.

The "1% line"

An INCI list orders ingredients by concentration only down to ~1%; below that, order is free. We detect where that line falls by the markers that usually sit near it. An active above it counts; one buried at the end is probably there for the claim.

Real cost to your door

The "best price" is incomplete. For non-EU shops, we compute price + shipping + VAT and customs against the €150 threshold. A price without that context is noise.

Evidence classifications are reviewed periodically: evidence changes, and the verdict with it.