What We Actually Test, and Why It Matters
This is not a shopping guide dressed up as journalism. It is a record of what happened when we tested things side by side, under the same conditions, and wrote down the results plainly.
About Us
Clear science for real skin
American Skin Research Institute is an independent publication that tests beauty and personal care products the way readers actually buy them. We purchase everything ourselves, at drugstore counters, at Sephora and Ulta Beauty, on Target and Amazon.com, and we do not accept free samples or paid placement. Nothing here is ranked because a brand asked us to rank it. Our comparisons are built for readers in the United States, where a $12.99 mascara from the drugstore might outperform something three times the price, and where the right foundation shade depends as much on undertone as on the fair-to-deep range printed on the label.
Articles
American Skin Research Institute
Foundation that holds up through a humid August commute. Lipstick that survives a coffee order. Mascara that does not migrate by 3 p.m. We look at color cosmetics the way you actually wear them, through a full day, not a studio photograph.