Who do you trust?

Direct mail piece from L'Occitane en Provence

This firm has a number of retail store and sells high quality, although rather expensive, toiletries. A few years ago I bought a Christmas gift for my wife at the shop and signed up for the mailing list.

In September I moved away from the coast to the much drier interior of British Columbia. As a result I am consuming great quanities of hand cream and my face is lapping up the moisturizer like never before.

So, is this Shea Butter hand cream any good? Can I take L'Occitane's word that this product is any good? I'd have to say yes, assuming that I put any faith in the opinions of Chatelaine and InStyle magazines. But the seal of approval from Chatelaine magazine does not carry much weight outside Canada, so I presume that L'Occitane must use different third-party recommendations in the other markets.

Makes perfect sense. If the consumer does not know the publication, why should they trust it?