Customer Reviews

Beauty, The New Basics

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the most complete, fun, practical and informational book about beauty that I have ever read.
If the author's knowledgeable-without-being-patronizing and pleasant tone doesn't make your reading fun. If the great illustrations and paper quality doesn't make you fall in love with this book. If the easy-to-use index and cross-referencing doesn't make you come back to it for endless checkups and casual browsing. Then the information contained in the book, the author's use of personal experiences to illustrate particular points and the vast amount of practical advice for you to try out will.
The book is divided in three sections that cover: The Face, The Hair and The Body. The Face includes information on the basics of cleaning and caring for your skin, the benefits of facials, advice on aging-skin and techniques for choosing and applying makeup. The Hair section deals with the basics of hair care, coloring and styling (from cuts that fit the shape of your face and body to styling solutions for perfect hairstyles). In the Body the author explains the many rewards of bathing and the care of hands and feet, and gives you the inside scoop on spas.
Every section tells you everything you need to know to create and customize your own beauty regimen for each part of your body. Includes special advice for different types of skin and skin tones, different hair colors and textures, eye shapes and colors, body types and beauty techniques (from cleansing gel to surgery). The accurate and up-to-date product recommendations let you easily find tried-and-tested products and worthy splurges without having to go through innumerable tryouts, and her explanations on product ingredients allows you to make a preliminary elimination of harsh or unfavorable new products.
Interesting fun treats are the timelines in beauty development at the end of each section, where a lot of interesting and curious tidbits about beauty abound.
The only problem the book has is the soft cover binding. At around 400 pages of heavy graphic paper and after a few months of browsing and night table reading, the covers are somewhat worn at the corners and the side is a bit creased.
Buy this book if you want to start enjoying the benefits that the knowledge of the basics of beauty can offer, and want to have fun at the same time. Get it in hardcover if you can afford the price.
--Reviewed by M. E. Volmar

Rona Berg has done a credible job with this large volume of work detailing beauty treatments for your body, face, hair, etc. She also tries to do something that most beauty experts won't attempt and that is to give you actual brand names of products that you can go out and buy. I also found the layout to be very good. It's easy on the eyes and you can quickly find what you are interested in learning about. Those are all pluses.

A minus is if you are a woman of color. She tries... she really does to address some of the specifics of women of color but it's woefully lacking especially about hair. I have Asian friends that have lots of issues that weren't addressed as well as African American friends that could not follow the advise given in this book because it would either damage their hair or just plain couldn't be done. I am not sure how Rona should have addressed such broad topics but maybe disclaimers would help. She does however give nice tips for what she does include that might be viewed as traditionally African American such as braids. Her info is right on but there's so little of it and at least 4 or 5 more pages would be needed to tell enough to someone that was trying to find enough not to do something foolish.

It can be used as a nice reference book but understand you may have to do further research on some topics because they just aren't covered in enough detail. All in all I am not sorry I bought the book it's worth the money.

For those of us who do not read "magazines like Teen, Seventeen, YM " this book is absolutely fantastic. It is comprehensive, easy to read, includes great tips on all aspects of beauty and even gives some insider info what beauty products should you spend money on and which ones are a waiste of $$$. I loved her common sense advise on investing in your own manicure kit and taking it to your manicurist and how to choose a spa. Great historical information on the beauty industry overall and candid info on individual beauty lines (Aveda, Stilla etc.) This book is fun to read, is loaded with great tips and advise Buy it, you will not be disappointed.

One reviewer suggested that it was a fault of the book that you could pick up any issue of "Cosmo, Glamour, or even YM" and find similar information to what's in this book. Maybe that's true, but how many issues would you have to go through? And how much product-hawking on the part of the beauty editor would you have to sift through first? (I, for one, cancelled my subscription to the beauty magazine Allure because I was tired of the way they seemed to push primarily expensive products, ones that could easily be purchased only in NYC boutiques, or the favorites of this year's "it" girl.)

This is a no-nonsense guide by a down-to-earth, sensible woman who simply has an interest in beauty. I trust her research and advice more than I do that of most of the shallow, celebrity-loving beauty editors out there. Beauty doesn't have to be silly and expensive.

A beautifully written and illustrated book, full of tips and advice on how to save money and use what you have. Unlike a lot of other beauty books, which seem to stress "what you MUST buy and "Please spend as much money as possible on beauty products," it offers reasonable and budget-aware advice. There are whole chapters devoted to things like care for your skin, lips, eyebrows, etc. What's also refreshing is the straightfowardness of the beauty tips. Everything is crisp, clear, illustrated and easy to understand.

I am over 30 and just starting to use makeup. I found that magazines did not have enough practical tips for me and I wanted to get better informed about product ingredients, cosmetic companies and to find basic "how to" tips. This book is perfect. It gives you the "how to" AND it also gives you the "why". I found it so informative that I have been returning to it each day, for a week. I compare it to "The Joy of Cooking" because you can return to it again and again for different topics, techniques and references. Berg's writing is direct, and practical, and it is beautifully illustrated, with tips for many skin types, hair types, ages, etc. The author also gives great recommendations for products, in a wide range of prices. The historical timelines are also really fun.

I am a beauty junky, and own almost every beauty book. This one is one of my favorites. I return to it often. It has in-depth information on just about every beauty topic you can think of. It isn't a lot of silliness or pictures with no information.

I also like a Web site called BeautyRiot.com. They have all the same kinds of stuff, but it's updated all the time, which is something you can't get with a book no matter how good it is.

This is a wonderful book, but much of the information is now out-dated. In the past 5 years, many new ingredients and products have entered the market. Berg's more general information holds true, but much of this book contains specific ingredients and products that no longer hold true. Eagerly and hopefully anticipating a second edition!

This book is a solid release, with good and practical information. Almost everything is covered and covered well. A favorite of mine are the secions that tell you great products for your skin and hair. The information is all very good and is well written, a quick and fun read. I have referred back to it on many occasions.

The problem with this beauty book lies within its title. "THe new BASICS" This book is just what it says it is, the basics. If you have been a avid fashion and beauty mag. reader for years, you already know everything in this book. However, if you are looking for how to get great skin and how to put on blush, this is the book for you. Clear, well written and informative- but still just the basics.

I agree with chicagojess' comment that the book doesn't really address beauty issues faced by women of color. Berg does include photos and some models of color, which I applaud, but as an Asian-American woman, I felt that the issues brought up for Asian-Americans were very generalized, as if everyone of a certain race would have the same coloring/hair texture, etc, etc. The one makeover that featured an Asian woman had her with stick-straight jet black hair and powder blue eyeshadow--not very useful for everyday wear. It would be nice if there were a special chapter dealing with women of color.

But all in all, I really enjoyed reading this book. The layout is wonderful, the book is stuffed with good information, and it's easy and fun to read. It's great that Berg tries to cover all age groups as well. I would love to see her publish a beauty book that just deals with young women in their 20s -- of all faces and colors.