Like everything else in the competitive free market world, beauty products are subject to false advertising claims. While it might be comforting to think that your blush is making you happy (this is a real product claim, by the way), you probably know in your heart of hearts that not all the claims you see on your makeup and other beauty products are true. If you’re not sure exactly how to spot these lies, however, keep reading to learn how to spot false advertising claims in beauty products.

1. Use Common Sense

We would all love to believe that the body wash we use is going to magically make us shed ten pounds. However, we also all (or most of us, anyway) are aware that this is not actually going to happen.

One of the easiest ways to spot a false advertising claim in a beauty product is to use your own common sense. Don’t get swept up in the fairytale of the advertisement. If the claim seems too good to be true, it most-likely is.

2. Look Into Labels

“Oh, wow! This foundation is all-natural! It must be great for the environment!” You might think during a shopping trip to your favorite beauty store. Unfortunately, there are many ways for big beauty brands to finagle labels into working to their advantage.

Basically, labels like “all-natural” and “cruelty-free” don’t always mean what you think they mean. Make sure to look into the meaning of a label and the standards a product has to meet before it can be labeled as such before putting too much value on the label itself.

3. Pay Attention to Imagery

Beauty brands will often try to distract you with tempting imagery to encourage you to buy their product. When you’re looking at an advertisement in a magazine or website or watching on on TV, try to look past the images you see of celebrities or beautiful women using the product. Instead, focus on the facts of the product itself and see if they stand on their own away from the appealing imagery.

4. Keep Track of Competitors

If several popular makeup brands on the market are offering “extra smooth” eyeliner, you should watch out. Competing beauty brands tend to try to match or outdo each other by offering products with similar claims, especially if the claims correlate with current beauty trends. Chances are, these claims don’t actually have anything to back them up.

5. Understand Empty Promises

Empty promises are basically any claim that a brand makes about their product that they don’t immediately back up. An example of an empty promises in relation to beauty products is an “extra volumizing” label on the packaging of a tube of mascara.

If the packaging doesn’t also include evidence for exactly why the product is so volumizing, then you shouldn’t pay any attention to the claim.

6. Monitor Prices

Before you buy a new beauty product that offers a slightly hard-to-believe claim, ask yourself if a similar product without that claim would cost about the same amount. If the answer is that the similar product would cost less, it’s likely not worth buying the product with the too-good-to-be-true claim.

7. Know What to Do

Okay, so you’ve caught a beauty brand in the act of false advertising! You’re probably feeling angry. What can you do about it? The best and easiest thing you can do is write a review of the product. Mention the false claim and the evidence you have regarding its falseness. Warning other potential buyers about the brand’s deceit can help you blow off steam and help others, too.

Sometimes, it’s easy to tell when a brand is lying about the benefits of their product. Other times, the deceit is not so easy to catch. Before you go on your next beauty binge, use this post to remind yourself how to spot false advertising claims in beauty products and stop yourself before you waste your hard-earned money on something that won’t do what it says it will.