Paula's Choice · ASIN B00949CTQQ · Beauty & Personal Care › Skin Care › Face › Polishes & Scrubs › Polishes · Snapshot 2026-11-01
One reading of the listing, the tracked price record and two ingredient databases, assembled on 2026-11-01. Every figure below is transcribed or derived from those reads; percentages are marked as derivations.
Contents
- Product information
- Rating and buyer voice
- Ingredients
- Price
- Formula notes and routine fit
- Method, provenance and confidence
1. Product information
Paula's Choice SKIN PERFECTING 2% BHA Liquid Leave-On Exfoliant is listed by Paula's Choice at $37.00, and it carries a 4.5 average across 117,396 ratings. The pack is 118 ml and ships from Amazon, sold by Paula's Choice Skincare.
What the listing claims
- GENTLE NON-ABRASIVE LEAVE-ON EXFOLIANT: With 2% BHA (Beta hydroxy acid), to unclog & diminish enlarged pores, exfoliate dead skin cells, smooth wrinkles, and brighten and even out skin tone. Combats redness, wrinkles, aging, enlarged pores, and blackheads.
- Dramatically improves skin's texture for radiant youthful even-toned skin. Beta hydroxy acid (BHA, also known as salicylic acid) mimics the natural exfoliation process of younger skin by helping it shed extra layers while unclogging and clearing pores.
- HYDRATE, BRIGHTEN & SMOOTH FINE LINES: Our unique, non-abrasive, leave-on exfoliant is gentle enough for daily use on all skin types. Exfoliates dead skin cells while clearing pores for a more even tone, plus it visibly reduces fine lines & wrinkles.
- Paula's Choice facial exfoliants are gentler on delicate skin of the face & neck than an abrasive face scrub, which can cause micro-tears. A BHA leave-on exfoliator delivers hydration & can exfoliate directly inside the pore & improve how the pore works.
- Paula's Choice Skincare makes products that work. No fragrance, no parabens, no fluff. Just effective, science-backed formulas that target any concern from wrinkles to breakouts.
Specification table
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Brand | Paula's Choice |
| Item Form | Drop |
| Skin Type | All |
| Product Benefits | Noticeably unclogs & clears pore congestion, combats blemishes, improves clarity, and smooths rough, bumpy texture. See more |
| Active Ingredients | Salicylic Acid |
| Item Volume | 118 ml |
| Number of Items | 1 |
| Item Weight | 4 ounces |
| Unit Count | 4 Fluid Ounces |
| Size | 4 Fl Oz |
| Product Dimensions | 1.57 x 1.57 x 5.51 inches; 4 ounces |
| Item model number | 22010 |
| Manufacturer | Paulas Choice |
| ASIN | B00949CTQQ |
| Best Sellers Rank | #83 in Beauty & Personal Care; #1 in Facial Polishes |
| Availability | In Stock |
| Delivery context | New York 10001 |
Product images
Listing gallery, three images per row. All frames below are the seller’s own product imagery.
 Source: Amazon |
 Source: Amazon |
 Source: Amazon |
Further product photos
Additional frames from the same listing gallery, shown without interpretation.
 Source: Amazon |
 Source: Amazon |
 Source: Amazon |
 Source: Amazon |
 Source: Amazon |
 Source: Amazon |
2. Rating and buyer voice
The listing shows 4.5 out of 5 from 117,396 ratings. 75% of them are five-star and 3% one-star, so the headline number rests on a top-weighted spread with a small negative tail rather than on an even split.
| Band | Share | Read |
|---|---|---|
| 5 star | 75% | core of the base |
| 4 star | 13% | supporting |
| 3 star | 7% | marginal |
| 2 star | 2% | residual |
| 1 star | 3% | marginal |
What buyers say, in the listing’s own summary
Customers find the exfoliant effective and appreciate its ability to reduce pores and improve skin texture, making it look brighter and even-toned. The product receives mixed feedback about its moisturizing properties, with some saying it's good for dry skin while others find it too drying, and about its value for money, with some considering it worth the buy while others say it's not worth the price. Customers disagree on the fragrance, with some noting it has little to no scent while others find it unpleasant. Skin sensitivity reactions are also mixed, with some experiencing no irritation while others report burning sensations.
Aspect breakdown
| Aspect | Mentions | Positive | Negative | Positive share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| effectiveness | 6114 | 4990 | 1124 | 82% |
| pore reduction | 3273 | 2665 | 608 | 81% |
| moisturizing | 1548 | 1047 | 501 | 68% |
| value for money | 1420 | 785 | 635 | 55% |
| skin feel | 1051 | 940 | 111 | 89% |
| skin appearance | 1029 | 919 | 110 | 89% |
| skin sensitivity | 914 | 453 | 461 | 50% |
| fragrance | 604 | 225 | 379 | 37% |
The strongest theme is skin feel at 89% positive across 1051 mentions; the weakest is fragrance at 37% across 604. Anything in the mid range is a split topic rather than a complaint, and the aspect counts are mentions rather than unique buyers.
3. Ingredients
Two independent databases were merged into one index of 9 rows: 8 came from the COSDNA entry and 8 from the Skinsort entry, with duplicates folded together by ingredient name. Where the two disagree on coverage rather than on values, both readings are kept side by side in the table.
Safety profile at a glance
| Band | Rows | Share of index |
|---|---|---|
| Low concern | 8 | 89% |
| Unrated | 1 | 11% |
Comedogenic and irritant signals
0 ingredient(s) carry a published acne rating of 3 or more, 1 carry a measured 0, and 7 have no published acne value at all. 0 row(s) carry a non-zero irritant value.
Claim matrix
The consumer-verdict layer: which of the standard formulation claims the indexed formula satisfies, and which it fails.
| Claim | Verdict | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Alcohol-free | YES | database tag |
| EU-allergen-free | YES | database tag |
| Fragrance-free | YES | database tag |
| Oil-free | YES | database tag |
| Paraben-free | YES | database tag |
| Silicone-free | YES | database tag |
| Sulfate-free | YES | database tag |
| Cruelty-free | YES | database tag |
| Pore-clogger-free | YES | database tag |
| Reef-safe | YES | database tag |
| Vegan | YES | database tag |
| Fungal-acne-safe | NO | database tag |
11 of 12 claims read positive. A negative claim is a formulation property, not a defect: vegan and fragrance-free pull in opposite directions for a formula built on animal-derived filtrate.
Functions represented
Merged ingredient index
Every row that either database lists, in formula order where a position is known. The COSDNA columns are its own measured ratings; the Skinsort columns are that database’s published figures where it states one.
| # | Ingredient | Function | Safety | Acne | Irritant | Comedogenic (other db) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Methylpropanediol | Solvent | 1 | - | - | - |
| 2 | Salicylic Acid | Exfoliator, Whitening | 1 | - | - | - |
| 3 | Aqua | Solvent | 1 | - | - | - |
| 4 | Butylene Glycol | Solvent, Fragrance, Viscosity Control, Skin conditioning, Moisturizer | 1 | 1 | 0 | - |
| 5 | Polysorbate 20 | Surfactant, Emulsifier | 1 | 0 | 0 | - |
| 6 | Camellia Oleifera Leaf Extract | Skin conditioning, Astringent | 1 | - | - | - |
| 7 | Sodium Hydroxide | pH Adjusters | 1 | - | - | - |
| 8 | Tetrasodium EDTA | Chelating | 2 | - | - | - |
| 9 | Water | Skin Conditioning | - | - | - | - |
4. Price
The listing trades at $37.00. The tracked record for this ASIN starts 2013-09-14 and covers Amazon, 3rd Party New.
| Channel | Lowest ever | Highest ever | Current | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon | $25.08 (2021-12-18) | $40.95 (2022-03-18) | - | $31.43 |
| 3rd Party New | $16.01 (2014-09-30) | $75.99 (2022-01-11) | $37.00 (2026-09-08) | $32.25 |
| 3rd Party Used | - | - | - | - |
Where the current price sits
| Measure | Reading |
|---|---|
| Tracked band (3rd Party New) | $16.01 → $75.99 |
| Position inside the band | 35% of the way from the low to the high |
| Band width | $59.98 (375% of the low) |
| Current vs low | +131.1% |
| Current vs average | +14.7% |
| Subscribe & save | $33.30 (10% off the current price) |
| Unit price as shown | $9.25 per fluid ounce |
The current reading sits above the channel average, so the listing is trading rich against its own history. A channel can hold history without a current seller, which is why some rows show a range and a dash in the current column.
Volume caveat: the tracked averages weight every observation equally and cannot show how long the listing sat at any point in the band, because the record publishes five values per channel rather than a series.
5. Formula notes and routine fit
The listing’s own usage guidance, condensed without additions:
- Paula's Choice facial exfoliants are gentler on delicate skin of the face & neck than an abrasive face scrub, which can cause micro-tears. A BHA leave-on exfoliator delivers hydration & can exfoliate directly inside the pore & improve how the pore works.
- Paula's Choice Skincare makes products that work. No fragrance, no parabens, no fluff. Just effective, science-backed formulas that target any concern from wrinkles to breakouts.
Reading the formula as a whole: the largest functional groups are Solvent (3), Skin conditioning (2), Exfoliator (1), Whitening (1). 8 of 9 rows fall in the low-concern band and 0 sit above it. That is a texture-and-barrier formula rather than an acid- or retinoid-led one, so the risk it carries is occlusion and individual sensitivity, not predictable irritation from a strong active.
Claims the formula does not meet: Fungal-acne-safe. For anyone screening for fungal-acne triggers or vegan status, those two flags are the decisive ones; for a buyer simply looking for a fragrance-free eye product, the positive tags cover that requirement.
6. Method, provenance and confidence
Four reads feed this report: the Amazon US listing (specification block, bullets, gallery, rating histogram and review-summary widgets), a price-tracking record for the same ASIN, and two ingredient databases. The listing and the price record were read on the same day with a US delivery address, so prices are native USD and no currency conversion appears anywhere in this document.
| Element | Confidence | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Title, brand, specification table | High | transcribed from the listing |
| Rating and histogram | High | 117,396 ratings, published shares rounded to whole percent |
| Buyer-voice aspects | Medium | aggregate widget output; mentions, not unique buyers |
| Ingredient index | Medium to high | 8 rows from one database, 8 from another, merged by name |
| Price history | Medium | all-time summary values; current readings carry their own observation dates |
What this report does not claim
- No dermatological conclusion. Ingredient ratings describe ingredients, not this finished formula on a given person.
- No period-specific price statistic. The tracked summary is all-time and cannot be relabelled as a 30-day or 6-month figure.
- No causality between an ingredient and a review complaint. The two are reported side by side, not linked.
- No inference about how a price moved between two dated observations, because only the extremes and the average are published.