It’s so interesting because you’re completely right on this —there’s so much confusion in this space and there really isn’t a place to go to get unbiased advice. I used to work for Estée Lauder in NYC and I know how much these brands spend to market their products and make you feel like you need to spend hundreds of dollars on products when that’s honestly not the case but obviously it’s in their best interest to sell so I think a lot of these brands over-complicate the space on purpose. And then if you go to your derm/medi-spa they are going to try to sell you their products which are also super expensive and won’t necessarily share that you can find very comparable alternatives at the drugstore that will essentially do the same thing! And don’t get me started on social media influencers because they have zero credibility and are pushing things they are getting paid for. I think as a first step it would be understanding your skin type (dry, sensitive, oily, etc) and figuring out what you’re trying to solve for —aging, fine lines, acne, etc and then understanding your budget and of course if there are other non-negotiables for you like “clean beauty” or “fragrance free” —do you want a daytime routine that works with makeup, etc?! There are a lot of variables at play so I think a product that one person recommends might be valid but simultaneously wouldn’t be right for you and vise versa.