Four skincare experts who changed their minds
Skincare tends to get covered as a fixed list of expert-approved picks, but the experts themselves quietly update. Because The Guru Index keeps every take a reviewer gives over time, each one dated and linked to the video, you can watch someone recommend a product warmly one year and walk it back the next, in their own words. That is the honest part: the experts worth trusting are often the ones who change their minds when the evidence or the market moves. Here are four clean examples.
- Four credentialed reviewers went on the record recommending a product, then later reversed on it, and each flip is backed by two dated quotes from their own videos.
- The reasons differ: an ingredient that became so common a dedicated serum turned redundant, side effects that outweighed the payoff, a formula that oxidised, and cheaper dupes catching up.
- None of these are settled verdicts. Each product still sits in Mixed territory on the wider panel, so what changed is one prominent voice, not the whole room.
Hyram · 15 reviewers, 70% said yes
Dr. Sam Ellis · 8 reviewers, 61% said yes
No BS Beauty · 10 reviewers, 64% said yes
HotandFlashy · 8 reviewers, 77% said yesHyram on The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5
In 2023 Hyram pointed people toward this serum as a bargain, calling it "a relatively similar ingredient list but without the irritants and for like a tenth of the price." By 2026 that had flipped to a plain no. "One ingredient focused serums like the Ordinary hyaluronic acid serum are no longer worth your money," he said, adding that "the skincare industry has evolved so much" and that hyaluronic acid now sits in nearly every formula, "rendering products like this not necessarily useless, but definitely not necessary."
His reason is not a fault in the bottle but a change in the market. A dedicated hyaluronic acid serum made sense when the ingredient was rare. Now that it turns up in almost every moisturizer and essence on the shelf, a standalone version just doubles up on something the rest of a routine already delivers. The serum holds a Guru Score of 70% across 15 reviewers, so the wider panel is split too, not sold.
Dr. Sam Ellis on Latisse
In late 2024 the dermatologist was a fan. "I love Latisse, it's actually really powerful when used in the right places," she said. By early 2026 she had put prostaglandin lash serums on her "products I would never let my family use" list. "If you are using a lash growth serum with prostaglandin analogues for a cosmetic purpose, the risks far far outweigh the benefits," she said, pointing to increased vascularity, colour changes to the eye, and hyperpigmentation around the eyes.
Her shift is about those side effects around the eyes outweighing the cosmetic payoff for most people. A dermatologist cooling on a prescription product she once loved is worth noticing. Latisse sits at a Guru Score of 61% across 8 reviewers.
No BS Beauty on Drunk Elephant Protini Polypeptide Cream
In April 2024 this was close to a holy grail. "I love it, it's probably out of all these one I've repurchased the most," she said. By mid 2025 she had walked away. "This one's not relevant anymore," she said. "There's really nice dupes and alternatives that you don't need to spend that much for."
The cream began foaming and pilling on her skin, it is not a cheap moisturizer, and cheaper alternatives caught up. A former repurchase-it-most favourite she simply stopped buying. Protini holds a Guru Score of 64% across 10 reviewers.
HotandFlashy on Prequel Lucent-C Brightening Vitamin C Serum
In February 2024 the review was hopeful. The formula "also contains niacinamide so you're definitely going to get a brightening of your skin with this," she said. By August the verdict had turned. "The prequel one turned brown really really fast so I was a little disappointed in that," she reported, adding that "once your serum is brown it's really no good and you shouldn't use it."
The vitamin C oxidised fast, which is the classic failure mode for ascorbic acid serums. A promising first impression that real-world use walked back. The serum still holds a Guru Score of 77% across 8 reviewers, the highest of the four.
So what should you take from this?
Not that these four products are bad. Each still lands in Mixed territory on the wider panel, and in three of the four cases the reviewer's reason was about context rather than a flaw: an ingredient that got common, side effects that matter more for some people than others, dupes catching up. The odd one out, the oxidising vitamin C, is a real formulation knock.
The wider point is about how to read an expert. A reviewer who quietly updates when the evidence or the market moves is showing you their working, not flip-flopping. When you see the same name recommend something and then walk it back, that is usually a reason to trust them more, not less.