Jenn Hallowes · Copy Portfolio

I know how customers hear product claims. I've spent 20,000 hours listening to them.

I write copy a shopper gets in three seconds and a claims reviewer approves the first time. Warm on the front of the box. Airtight on the back. Both matter. Ask anyone who's had to reprint.

live on proofpositiveskincare.com · written by me

Copy I wrote. Published, working, real.

homepage hero

Skincare runs on hope. Yours doesn't have to.

You have a goal for your skin. Someone sells you a bottle. If it doesn't work, it goes in a drawer and you re-enter the cycle of trial and error, fueled by your credit card and your quietly mustered hope. sigh.

Get my WTH Should I Use? Plan · $97 →

benefit bullets

Want an exit ramp?

  • Your shelf sorted: keep or skip, and what's missing
  • Your goals in the order your skin can reach them
  • Your plan in 5 days. If it isn't clearly made for your skin, all $97 back.

section head

Every product claim starts in a petri dish. Your skin doesn't live in one.

Product claims aren't lies. Ingredients don't fail. Context does.

reviews header

Bottles finished. Not abandoned.

From the empty bottle gang.

faq

Will you make me buy new products?

No. The plan starts with what you already own.

names i've made

Names, lines and a little play.

Hope LESS. Know More.
Ingredients don't fail. Context does.
Welcome to hope-less skin care.
The WTH Should I Use? Plan The Label Decoder™ Skin State Decoder™ Skinformation Report™

email sign-offs · a new one every send

"Still mad at a toner from 2014,"

People open just to see how it ends.

taglines · spec

The easiest part of your night routine.

Go to bed fancy. Wake up fanciful.

ta-da!

shade names · spec · an invented satin collection called "Sleep In"

 
Snooze Buttonlilac
 
Second Cupmocha
 
Cold Side of the Pillowicy blue
 
Five More Minutesblush
 
Unbotheredsage
 
Sunday Sheetscream

spec · invented product, not a real brand

A label that reads in three seconds.

spec sample

Soft Reset Overnight Hair Mask

Go to bed with it. Wake up to softer hair.

· Leaves hair silky and shiny by morning*

· Smooths the look of frizz overnight

· Rinses out light, for soft, bouncy hair

How to use
1. Work a little through damp or dry lengths.
2. Sleep in it, or leave on for 10 minutes.
3. Rinse well and style as usual.

*Hold for substantiation: consumer perception test before print.

↑ reads in three seconds appearance, not function * "by morning" is a timed promise. Flag it for proof. three steps, verbs first. 11 p.m. friendly.

the claims desk

Risky → ready to print.

The rewrites I'd bring to your final proof.

Promotes hair growth→Helps reduce breakage from brushing*Growth claims make a product a drug. Breakage is about how hair holds up. Back it with a combing test.
Treats dandruff→Leaves scalp feeling clean and refreshedDandruff control is an OTC drug claim that needs a monograph active and a Drug Facts panel.
Heals split ends→Smooths the look of split ends"Heals" describes a body function. "The look of" keeps it cosmetic.
Clean formula→Made without sulfates or silicones"Clean" has no legal definition. Name what's left out, and make sure it's true.
Hypoallergenic→Formulated without fragranceNo federal standard defines "hypoallergenic." Say the specific thing you can prove.
Clinically proven→In a 4-week test, X of Y users said hair felt stronger*Say what was measured, on how many people, for how long. The proof has to match the claim.

Illustrative examples. Final claims always depend on the brand's substantiation file and legal review. *Hold for substantiation.

how i think about brands

There are no villains. Just a missing explanation.

I'm not a brand's competitor. I'm its advocate.

I spent two years mapping where skincare loses a customer's trust. A brand's claims can be accurate and its science sound, and a customer still walks away, because no one explained the gap between the lab and their real life. That gap is where people quit a product weeks before it would have worked. Closing it is what I write.

Accurate claimsEvery word holds up in review, the first time.
Plain languageClinical information a customer actually understands.
Finished bottlesCopy that keeps people in the plan long enough to see results.

spec · invented brand, not a real company

The email that keeps someone in the middle.

Week 2 of a new prescription skincare formula, when skin gets busier before it gets better.

Subject: Week 2, and your skin looks… busier? Here's why.
Preview: It's a common part of starting your formula. Here's what to expect.

Your skin isn't rejecting your formula. It's getting used to it.

You're about two weeks in. If your skin looks a little drier, flakier or bumpier than when you started, we want you to hear this from us first: that's common, and it doesn't mean your formula isn't working.

Weeks 1–4Adjusting. Dryness, flaking or a few new breakouts can show up.Weeks 4–8Settling. Irritation usually eases.Weeks 8–12Showing up. When many people start to see the change they signed up for.

Irritation that isn't easing, or just not sure? Message your provider. Adjusting your formula is part of the plan, not a setback.

The hardest part of skincare is the middle. Stay with it. We are.

Message my provider →

Timelines are typical, not guaranteed. Everyone's skin responds differently.

arrives before the cancel button does "common," not "normal." Honest, not a promise. "many people," not "you will." Clears review. no villains: the formula isn't failing and neither are you one button, and it goes to the provider

the proof behind the proofing

The Label Decoder. Regulation, made readable.

A client guide I wrote and sourced line by line: ingredient order and the 1% line (21 CFR 701.3), Drug Facts, INCI names, fragrance-allergen disclosure (EU 2023/1545, MoCRA) and FTC claim guidance.

13pages
25cited sources
US + EUlabeling rules
10 minto read any label
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read a free chapter · 8 min

Your Skin Is Not a Petri Dish · how customers hear a claim, and what it actually describes

Chapter 5 of my book, Why Didn't It Work? Inside the Hope Economy of Skincare.

also written · two self-published books + a trade byline

Age Is Irrelevant (2022), my first book · Why Didn't It Work? Inside the Hope Economy of Skincare (November 2026, ten chapters free online) · "3 Questions to Ask Before Recommending Skincare," American Spa, September 2026

Jenn