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 TJ Maxx telling people which specific items and brands to avoid.
While many found her professional opinion to be spot on, others said they really liked some of the products she referenced in her video.
1. Retinol wipes
“A beautician’s nightmare,” Isabella writes in a text overlay of the video before showing off a pink package of Precision Beauty’s “Make-Up Removing Cleaning Wipes” that contain retinol.
She wonders what the ingredient is and writes, “Why does your makeup remover need retinol?”
SeoulCeuticals writes that retinol is a fantastic addition to one’s skin care routine as it “wins the title of top skin care expert,” further explaining that it is “a derivative of vitamin A” and “supremely powerful in anti-aging efforts.
However, the same company noted that the stuff isn’t all that effective when it comes to removing makeup from one’s face. The article even writes, “Let’s dive into this ocean of questions with the $64,000 question: Does retinol remove makeup? Well, folks, it’s about as good at it as a goldfish cycling the Tour de France. In other words, it’s, uh… checks notes…not really able to do that. Retinol is essentially a beauty miracle, but definitely not a makeup remover.”
2. Kylie Skin
Retinol in makeup wipes wasn’t the only beauty product Isabella addressed in her video. She went on to criticize Kylie Skin: “Straight no,” she wrote of the brand’s purifying toner.
One Redditor posted on the site’s r/KUWTK subpage to give his assessment of Kylie’s skin, stating that he felt the brand was being unfairly dragged online by “skinfluencers,” and writing that he liked the product. However, several people in the comments section disagreed.
Someone wrote: “I used Kylie Skin and I didn’t have any really bad acne, just a few bumps and that made me break out even more. I started using Dove soap and Cerave and it worked wonders for me.”
Many have weighed in on the controversy surrounding Kylie’s skincare line, with some claiming that the ingredients in the reality TV personality’s products weren’t exactly the highest quality or that they were too abrasive. This included an honest review from a dermatologist who seemingly had only one positive thing to say about a Kylie product: the “bottle was cute.”
3. Mario Badescu
As for Mario Badescu’s products, which were the next victim of Isabella’s video, the beautician’s criticism seemed even more blunt: “Skin care products are garbage,” she said.
In 2023, Green Business reported that a “class action lawsuit” had been filed against the brand for including steroids in its products “without disclosing it on the label,” adding that “steroids can be harmful to your skin if not prescribed by a doctor,” meaning customers were applying potentially harmful substances and had no idea they were doing so.
Another product Isabella is badmouthing is Conair’s True Glow microdermabrasion beauty tool.
“I’m sure whoever buys it is going to damage their skin barrier and hurt their face,” she said of the $9.99 TJ Maxx find before the video cut.
@elevenesthetician can’t wait for the hate comments on this #esthetician ♬ use this if you’re gay – alex ♱
Many users in the comments section seemed to agree with most of her sentiments. For example, one user wrote: “Retinol in makeup wipes is actually awesome,” one of them said.
While another joked: “There’s nothing like retinol applied directly to your lids when you remove your mascara.”
However, it seems that skin care really is in the… epidermis of the beholder, as several people commented that they enjoyed using Mario Badescu products and that they did wonders for their faces.
“I like the Mario Badescu stuff,” someone said.
Another replied: “The same really helped with my acne.”
“Nope, those Mario sprays really cleared my skin. I always HAVE to refill them,” said another.
Others found it odd that so many TJ Maxx skin care products have retinol on the ingredient list: “I swear there is retinol on every TJMaxx product, it’s unreal.”
But others cited specific ingredients in skincare products as the biggest problem with these items: “As consumers, we question this too!! Everything contains hyaluronic acid and niacinamide and for what!!!”
And there was someone else who disagreed with Isabella’s comment on Kylie Jenner’s branded cosmetics: “An unpopular opinion: The Kylie Skin Moisturizer is actually one of the best I’ve ever used.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Kylie Cosmetics, Mario Badescu, Conair, Precision Beauty, TJ Maxx, and Isabella via email for more information.
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Jack Alban
Jack Alban is a freelance journalist for the Daily Dot covering trending human interest/social media stories and real people’s reactions to them. He always tries to incorporate evidence-based studies, current events, and facts relevant to these stories to create your not-so-average viral post.
