I’d like to share some thoughts on this one today because I’ve seen many people fly out and buy lots of new beauty items or the latest releases or the full collection “for the blog” and later feel burnt out or their wallet starts hurting, and they think of giving up. I’ve also been asked by people point blank how to get hold of PR people for free products so they didn’t have to buy them.
For the former, if you have a nice big budget and feel that the newest violet lipstick is something you’d wear everyday, then please don’t let anyone stop you! For the latter, I think they have a really skewed perception of blogging. You don’t start a blog for purposes of getting free stuff; you start a blog because you want to share your views and knowledge. Less common these days, but still, there’s hope.
Fact is, most of us who blog are just beauty buffs wanting to share our thoughts and views on products and on beauty in general, and not all of us have those sorts of deep pockets or PR connections. Quite often, I see blog sales happen with products that are brand new or barely touched and it does make me feel a little sad because the product doesn’t quite go to waste, if the new buyer wants it, but for the large depreciation which never covers your costs. It’s basically a waste of money on the part of the blogger. I’ve even heard of people putting up PR samples for sale – the biggest faux pas that can happen. Putting yourself on a no-buy only makes things worse sometimes. Its like going on a crash diet. You’ll bounce back worse.
You see, blogging about beauty or beauty blogging isn’t just about the latest, the newest and who can buy the most. Its about having a passion for beauty. Quite often, I warn new bloggers who ask, that you have to have a passion for your subject and you have to be a beauty buff to start with. You can’t set up a blog to blog about beauty and then start thinking of what stuff to buy to blog about, or then hope that if you have a blog, PR companies will send you lots of freebies. Yes, I’ve been asked this too.
No, there are no tips for what to buy to start a blog, you either have them or you don’t. Sometimes the PR thing happens in which case, good for you! But these days, the field is getting more crowded so lean times are ahead and fact is, we’re pretty much on our own.
So, what does a beauty blogger do? Does she go broke buying everything she sees so she has something to review? Does she buy a new lipstick every day or every week? Does she kiss ass with PR so she gets showered with freebies that she could never use up nor even like? Does she have to do massive shopping hauls and share them with her readers?
Well, no you don’t. Do it if it makes you happy and doesn’t send you to the poorhouse. Don’t, if it will or if you feel it places unnecessary pressure on you and your finances. Here are some ways to get started if you don’t already have a large beauty collection, or don’t want to fall into the trap of crass consumerism 🙂
1. Share your beauty buys with a friend
Unless your bank account is nice and fat, you won’t be able to buy everything out there. So why not share with a friend or a sibling or your Mom? If your friend has a blush or eyeshadow palette you like, ask if she’ll let you borrow it to trial. You can then blog about it as Tine has demonstrated here and you don’t have to spend a penny, but you share something new on your blog!
2. Samples add variety
For skincare and even some makeup like primer or foundation, don’t be afraid to ask at the counter for a sample. The worst thing that can happen is the SA says No. Otherwise, you get a sample to try, and you can share your thoughts about it and again, it doesn’t cost you anything. Sometimes, you can cut out or print out a voucher and redeem a sample. Don’t want to put a picture of a sample sachet on your blog? Grab a stock picture and use it. Nothing wrong with that at all! Ditto perfumes. Its so easy to work out if you’d like a perfume without buying it. Just ask for a little spritz at the counter and you’ll know 🙂 I hesitate to recommend that you buy samples from certain websites that sell them. Sure, its cheap but I am wary about their age (expiry dates are rarely printed on samples) and if they are original products. I’d just rather err on the side of caution and ask at the counter. Its free.
3. Beauty blogging isn’t only about product reviews
Herein lies the fallacy – that a beauty blog is about writing review after review of the newest and the latest. You know what? It bores me. It bores me to churn out review after review and I know it bores readers. So, mix it up.
Share a story. Went somewhere? Had tea with a friend? Share what you wore on your face or some snippets of your delicious tea. Did you lipstick mark your tea cup? Which was it?
Have a beauty tip? Share how you apply foundation or apply cream blush… for example 🙂
Do a makeup look. Doesn’t cost anything 🙂
Have an opinion. Everyone and their aunty will be talking about the new collection from MAC. Think it sucks? Say so!
Have a beauty problem? Write about it and perhaps your readers can help you solve it. The blog post that gets me the most traffic till today is one I wrote almost at the beginning of my blog where I wondered about shampoo causing acne, and about how probiotics cause me to break out. These are things that don’t need money and can potentially help someone much more than a product review ever can.
There is so much more to the beauty world to discover. If you are stumped, do a “What’s in my makeup bag” or “What’s in my handbag” post. Its fun, quick and a refreshing change. I have noticed that people often blog about “Empties” – that’s a good idea too. Its always nice to know what works so well for someone that they empty the product.
4. Buy magazines that give out samples
These days, many women magazines have some beauty samples attached as a sweetener for you to buy it. They are sometimes quite generous with their samples and you can usually try anything from makeup to deluxe sized luxury skincare products. Buying a magazine is cheaper than buying the full size product, so you don’t go broke and yet have something new to share 🙂
5. Shop in your stash
I keep repeating this, but beauty blogging isn’t about everything that’s new and the latest. It feels that way but it truly isn’t. I’m quite sure that most people would already have a sizeable beauty stash before they even start thinking about starting a blog. Looking forward is great, but I like to look back sometimes.
It might surprise you but it is the common everyday items that people tend to overlook in favour of the next shiny collection. Do you have your favourite shower gel? Mine is (Eucerin PH5!) Do you feel embarrassed that its just a drugstore/pharmacy brand that everyone is using? I’m not! It might surprise you but one of the most popular searches that land on my blog come in for Olay Total Effects. Everyday brands and products tend to get overlooked by the majority so why not fill that niche?
6. Subscribe to a beauty box
Those who have sizeable beauty collections or sensitive skin won’t enjoy beauty box subscriptions too much. But when you are starting out and want to blog about new stuff, I think subscribing to a box or two is a good way to get new things to try at a small pricetag. If you have 5 items in the box, you have 5 product review posts. Review the service, and that gives you 6 posts! Enough for a week, or enough to tide you over up to 3 weeks 🙂
7. Have you used it before? Share your thoughts
Perhaps you’ve used a product before that’s finished or that you no longer have. This is most common among skincare or bath and body items. Well, why not share your thoughts anyway? No one said you only had to blog about something you are currently using. Here’s an example – my mammoth overview of all the cleansing oils I’ve ever tried.If you don’t have a photo, get a stock photo online from the brand’s website. Don’t steal another blogger’s photo whatever you do, but if you want to borrow it, ask and then give them the proper credit by linking to their blogpost.
8. Attend a beauty workshop
Many brands hold beauty workshops at various times throughout the year when entry is by way of purchase of a voucher, usually affordably priced, which you can then use to redeem products. Quite often, generous samples will be given out too during the workshop, so you not only get a full size product (review #1), you get a little bag of samples (review #2, 3, 4, 5) and the learning experience (review #6) How about that? Almost 3 weeks worth of posts from 1 event if you pace yourself right 😀
If you are a beauty blogger or want to start one, is this a valid concern of yours? Are you afraid of overspending for your blog or have you felt the pressure to?
I hope this will also help any new bloggers out there who want to start blogging but aren’t sure how to continue once you’ve finished talking about the products in your collection; and also those who are feeling the pressure to buy, buy buy! Remember, do it for the love of it, not because everyone else is doing it and be creative about the various topics and content. A product review blog is a dime a dozen, but a good beauty blog transcends that 🙂
Paris B
Simple Blogging Tips are some simple tips I have for fellow bloggers, based on my own experiences. I’m no ‘guru’ but I hope they will help you. You may read up on previous Simple Blogging Tips here or please feel free to ask your question in the comment box or in email.
Yar! Hear! Hear!
I’m very fortunate Tine lets me paw through her stash and run off with some goodies to play with for a couple of weeks before I return them. 😀 That way I get to truly test a product and make my mind up if I want to borrow it.
I think it upsets me a little when I hear of bloggers going into debt purchasing the latest and newest just for the blog. It’s no longer fun that way 🙁
Its when I read about people wanting to give up blogging because they don’t want to purchase all that’s new out there that gets to me. I think the point of blogging is lost when you lose the concept and purpose behind it i.e. to write what you think and start thinking of yourself as another Temptalia. Few of us can be an encyclopedia.
Yes. It is just really sad, especially when you like the blogger, and are already subscribed because of the writing and personality, and all of a sudden, poof, they decide that beauty spending is what makes beauty blogging not sustainable.
People wrap everything up into a consumer package (to which there is a lot of truth because I’m always always swayed by what another blogger likes, dammit! 😛 ) but yet there’s just so much more to it – personality, quality of writing, opinions…
Great post, Paris! I feel the same way towards overspending for the blog, so many times we feel the need to go out and buy a shiny new thing ‘for blogging research’ even though readers don’t enjoy the constant stream of reviews as much as other, more creative post ideas. Thanks for sharing your tips!
Hi Rocaille, thank you for weighing in. You’re absolutely right you know. We sometimes think we’re doing readers a favour buying up all that’s new to swatch or to research but the fact is that not everyone appreciates that or cares. Too much reviews is just too much of a good thing eh? 🙂
a very good tips there…..oh about the olay product is it good?I have one set at my home where I won it from a contest..I havent try yet as my last experience wit Olay are quite oily. So this perception still runs in my mind and also beacuse I have so many skin care stocking up from event I attended (not from my crazy shopping, I have learn to buy what I need)
Oh btw another idea I think is great for beauty blogging by not burning your wallet is to win the product you love from contest!!!! ***But sometime you may need some luck for this!! I first started with all product I purchased myself and some new launch product that I won from contest. Also sometime I do collect sample from magazine or via giveaway from the brand itself just like what you mentioned…
oh well happy beauty blogging everyone!
Haha yes, I like Olay Total Effects. I’ve gone through multiple bottles in my youth and over the years and its always seemed to work well for me as a fall back affordable moisturiser 🙂 Winning contests is a good idea too. There are so many out there, I suppose if one were to participate in all of them, the odds of winning something would be very high 🙂
this is a good post, Paris!
I think the thing about a real beauty enthusiast is that they wud always have tonnes of beauty products in their stash from years of beauty hunting for the best or the right products. I keep lotsa them and if they don’t work well then, I cud try them out another time when I think it would. and yes, samples aplenty from many PWPs 🙂
Thank you Juan and you have just hit the nail right on the head. A true enthusiast would have already stockpiled all those multiple moisturisers and creams and lotions because we would have been hunting for our holy grail anyway right? No need to look further than our own stashes when we need fodder because its already there. And that is the difference between someone who blogs because they want to and someone who blogs so they can get all those freebies. Bah 😛
great post!
I use eucerin ph5 body wash too for years! It’s really good. Sometimes it’s just the little things that you use everyday that you forget to talk about..
Hi Swee San, thank you! I’ve learned that only Eucerin PH5 doesn’t irritate my skin if you can believe that! Thank goodness its affordable haha 😀
good post…tq for sharing the info… 🙂
Glad you found it helpful Alyza 🙂
Great tips!
I started beauty blogging from cutting out coupons to redeem sample initially and when I do successfully redeemed it I will share it in the blog. Then I venture out to purchasing imported magazine that give out really good supplement. I’m not ashame to admit that because I was so into beauty that time but with lesser budget. When all the samples I redeemed manage to get me buying full size, slowly I started reviewing the products I bought 🙂
Hey Fiona, those are great tips for starting out. Few of us have the luxury of having tons of cash on hand to buy everything that’s new and shiny out there! Samples are always a great way to get started and even those trial packs that some brands sell. I think buying for the love of beauty is one thing. Buying just so you are seen to be buying, now that gets me 😛
Thanks for the tips. It would be very helpful for new bloggers and those who are thinking of starting a blog. I always had the perception that most beauty bloggers have the cash to splurge in order to maintain regular posts on their blogs. Although I still have that perception, I realised that having a variety of posts which does not only include new purchases or PR samples for review is the reason readers keep coming back to certain blogs 🙂
Haha I’m glad this has dispelled that perception, Victoria 😉 I don’t deny some people do operate on large beauty budgets but I wanted to make people think a little because there’s so much more useful things to put good money towards than just buying and buying… for the sake of buying 😉 But you know, you’re right. I am drawn more to a blog that tells a story and shares something than a blog that’s just about review after review. I don’t deny those are useful but after a while, it just loses its soul.
I’ve only just started blogging about beauty — it’s a creative outlet for me. I’m also trying to reduce my stash! Kind of went crazy a few years ago and bought a lot of stuff that I’m attempting to use up because my financial situation has changed and I can no longer just splash out on a new moisturiser or lipstick. I agree about the reviews thing too — there are soooo many blogs out there already, how about bringing something new and fun to the table?! For me, I’m not a beauty expert or anything remotely close, it’s really just about sharing my thoughts and playing with makeup. You don’t need to constantly be buying new products. I think blogging as a way to get PR samples is really sad, and quite frankly, disgustingly consumerist.
Welcome to the beauty blogging world Teresa and erm… good luck with reducing the stash! Its actually a great idea blogging about what you like or dislike because it can also help you decide if you really want to keep it or not. Also, if you see a pretty new lipstick out in the new XX collection, you could always look into your own stash and see if there’s something similar! I think these sorts of posts are very helpful too. It never has to be exactly the same, but quite often, being able to find a similar look for less is very helpful. Not many of us can afford to go crazy over every new collection! As for blogging to get PR samples, the sad truth is that its so prevalent these days, its almost embarrassing 🙁
Ahaha speaking of reducing the stash — guess who bought a new YSL nail polish and cleanser yesterday? (I justified with using a rewards AND a gift voucher…)
HAHA! Its ok, if its rewards points and a gift voucher, its not counted right? 😉
Some people start blogging in order to get freebies. There’s one (quite popular) who is into blogging because she wants freebies. Some just blog because everyone else is doing it. Hence, low quality posts with lousy reviews.
Hey Angelina, more often than not, I get the feeling that’s what many newer bloggers hope for – freebies. Its really embarrassing sometimes and does really spoil it. Not many passionate ones out there any more are there? 🙁
Reading this makes me glad that I’m not a beauty blogger – I’ve always wondered how you beauty blogger ladies get fodder. I have other money sucking interests, and I don’t need to add this to the mix.
I have amassed a TON of samples that I mostly use for travel, but never bother to “review” them. Did you know there are stylist subscription services out in the US? I would consider that instead of beauty box subscriptions. But that’s just me. I rarely buy magazines anymore, unless it’s TimeOut KL (haha) because there’s not a lot of re-read value for me.
I suppose a lot of blogging has to do with personal interest so there’s a niche for us all 😉 I haven’t come across the Stylist subscription boxes but I looked them up and they are most certainly interesting! I can’t say I’m sold on the idea since style and fashion is a tricky thing for me, but I can imagine it’ll be a great way to build up a new look and definitely more interesting than a beauty box.
Spot on, Peebs, spot on. I’ve seen bloggers buy a lot of makeup, swatch once, use a couple of times, blog about them and then sell them off on their blog at a fraction of the cost. Yes it’s good for us who wants to buy them cheaply from blog sales but I find it an incredible waste of money to buy an entire collection of makeup just to blog about it. There’s passion and there’s waste. As much as I love blogging about beauty, I draw the line at that. I cannot sustain that lifestyle financially plus it’s also a wasteful habit. Sure I can give them away to family and friends but a line has to be drawn somewhere.
I blogged about this topic once and I agree with you on all points. Beauty blogging doesn’t need to be about the latest products and it becomes so expensive to have to keep up. There are so many ways to create stories without having to spend a lot of money. If beauty blogging is purely about product reviews, then I can’t do it. I seldom follow blogs that only do product reviews (with the exception of Temptalia, who does extensive reviews on collections) because truth be told, if it’s only about product reviews, it’s boring as arse. It’s boring to read (unless you’re witty with words) and sure as heck boring to write. It’s more fun to add in anecdotes, inspired looks, beauty how-tos, funny things that happen at beauty counters (here’s a great blog idea: “overhead at beauty counters”. How funny would that be?) and so on. Mix it up with other topics as well, there’s nothing wrong with that.
“There’s passion and there’s waste” Spot on Tine! This is actually the reason I dislike blog sales. It encourages people to buy and then sell if it doesn’t suit them or they dont’ want to use it anymore or that they just get tired of it and want something new. Then you go read their review and they’re like “OMG This is my HG concealer!” Then why is it in a blog sale?! Grr… But yes, I think people have truly forgotten what beauty blogging is all about. Everyone wants to be the next Temptalia but the truth is, not everyone can afford to be an encyclopedia. Plus, its boring. I truthfully don’t read Temptalia but I do check out her swatches when I want to do research and I think that’s a difference between a blog and a research portal 😛
Great tips, Paris! I think those beauty box subscriptions would be really useful for new beauty bloggers. For me, I actually started my blog not doing reviews – was still on beauty, just how tos, tips, beauty news and commentary etc – and then by the time I slowly branched out into reviews, I did have some PR people contacting me which definitely helped in the beginning since I was a broke college student when I started my blog! :p
x Renee
Hey Renee, I think beauty is such a wide subject that people have forgotten how wide it is and think its just about products! How tos and commentary is much more interesting. That said, not many people have ideas either on what to write about which might explain the neverending focus on product reviews haha!
great post:) very useful for new bloggers 🙂 thanks!
Glad you found it useful Poorva 🙂
Beauty blogging isn’t much of a burden to me because I’m one of those people who’d rather let chips flow where it may. I want to be original and just do things at my own pace when I want it. I want to be true to my posts and make sure that when I write a post, I write it with passion. Because that’s what blogging is all about. Pushing yourself to write something so you’ll get more readers will only push your readers away, not pull them closer.
Excellent point made, Hani about not pushing readers away. Its about cherishing the readers you have and bringing them closer 🙂 I think you have a healthy attitude towards blogging and that will stand you in good stead.
Good article !
Ah I have seen & heard so much of this. And seen people selling their press samples, BAD ! Well I think attended beauty workshop is really helpful, not only we get to learn , we get some samples(sometimes full size) for a small price we pay! Any now with all these beauty box around, it’s so easy to get beauty samples to blog without needing to walk into the counter to ask (especially if you are shy).
Also swapping products between friends for review is really a great idea!
Thanks Jess 🙂 People who sell press samples really get my goat. That’s the worst thing anyone can do and I think its really really low to sink to that. Swapping products between friends and family is a great way to build up a stash of posts and no one has to go broke!
lovely tips!! even i get the same questions but since my blog is more about natural remedies than makeup so i get saved on the makeup stuff. i would have nothing to answer if someone asks me about it 😀 i also try to keep the posts on different themes for the weekdays and going for some lighter stuff on the weekends these days.
Mixing it up is great fun isn’t it Swati? Its also fun for me as the writer, because I don’t have to get so weighed down by the same things over and over. After a while, there’s only so much you can say about a lipstick or a cream 😛
Hi Paris, thanks for sharing. Well, I’m very new into this beauty blogging world. I just started to adore the use of make up to enhance my looks and beautifying myself after 25 years! Otherwise, I’m just a plain Jane with a lion’s mane who sits at home watching make up tutorials and busy googling the internet for some great buy. Oh…I simply adore samples too. Beauty box are great cuz we get to try samples before indulging into the real full size product.
Hi Nadia, good luck with your blogging journey! No one is ever “just a plain Jane” we all have our strengths and beauty and that’s what makes us unique and special! But makeup is fun isn’t it? hehe… I got into it late in life too. Never wore a lick of powder till I started working 😛
Great post! There are quite a few ways these days to try different products without breaking the bank, such as magazine and subscription boxes, as you have pointed out. Although the latter can be quite risky. I subscribed to one thinking about all the lovely products I would discover and share with my readers, and all I got was samples of skincare products that weren’t suitable for my skin type! Hopefully, other bloggers will have better luck.
Besides, there are so many other things you can blog about. I find blogs that only review products quite boring really. It’s more fun when they mix it up and share tips, FOTDs etc.
Ooh I remember your disaster with the beauty box subscription Gio! That sucks though but as you have said, there’s so much else to talk about and I like how you teach people a little something in your blog each time by breaking down the ingredients. That’s something not many people think of nor have the knowledge to do so thank you for that! 😀
I feel so inspired that I think I should just blog about your post! Too much to say.
First and foremost, I must admit that I am lucky because I have never worried about busting the bank to support my beauty blogging. I splurge, but I don’t starve.
Second, perhaps it is because of the first point, that I can never understand the urge to blog to get samples. And I certainly find that very sad. Might as well not blog to start with.
Third, despite all that, I must also admit that I had fallen into the trap of thinking that I must buy full collections before I can post. I had also fallen prey to buying the latest advertised lipstick, just to post about it. But I am proud to say that I have grown out of these. And I have learnt that the value of the blogger lies in her opinion, views, and perspectives. I realize from comments that there is value in describing why I chose not to buy or only buy partially a collection. People also like listening to why I procrastinate so long to get something. I sound more real, simply because the normal non-beauty buff has a normal enough life, that includes deliberating and procrastinating over the latest lipstick. 80% of the world do not pounce on every new thing, and do not hoard beauty products. (Haha, I do believe we belong to the 20%.)
Forth, I can’t agree more with you over the Olay Total Effects. Remember I mentioned people searching milk and Bangkok and find me? When it comes to beauty, my biggest searches are actually Rosewater Toner that costs $5 in SG, and Maybelline lipsticks because I compare six at one go, And Maybelline Jelly Glow blush!
Nobody ever search NARS and Guerlain, and come to me. Though I have not bad stash of these posts.
It helps me learn that I really don’t need much to blog. That I can just be myself, the girl who likes cute and pretty things, best is cheap, to blog. Seriously, I use a tiny jelly blush because it is cute, I like Rosewater because it is pink. I buy MAybelline colour sensational because it has shiny and transparent plastic cover. Lol.
Last but not least, I agree on your biggest point that beauty blogging is not just about reviews. I myself get sick writing reviews after reviews. So I reckon readers will get sick too. When I get tired of myself, I start slotting in one or two different post, like my recent tea-brewing and shoe-cleaning.
The part that irks me to the max is actually when I see my blog full of high-end products. I have come quite a long way from the me 6 years ago, and much has changed. But I never forget where I started out from, and why I blog, and the commitment to keep a beautiful life affordable. At times like this, I will do exactly what u mentioned – shop my stash. I will inevitably find things I use daily that is cheap and good, and close to my roots. I feel so happy when I can tag my post as affordable!
Awesome comment, Jyoan! 😀 Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts which I totally agree with of course.
I learned not too long ago that some people would go and buy up lots of products from one particular brand hoping to get noticed so they will get freebies. Can you imagine how low they will sink just to get a freebie? As you have said, might as well not blog. Truth to tell, the bulk of my searches come in not for a product review, although that happens, but for other posts. For product reviews, I’ve learned through trial and error that unless you are among the big names with a huge following its just impossible to go up against the big international blogs. So I’d much rather carve out my own niche and make things a little more fun. Life is so full of variety, we don’t have to pigeonhole ourselves at all! 🙂 Its good to know you know where you’re coming from with your blog and that you’re staying true to it. Few people are anymore 🙂
Haha! True. There is no logic at all in spending tonnes of money to get one freebie. Might as well go buy that freebie you want. Michelle Phan can get Lancôme to notice her because she is already spending that much money on their products in the first place, and she really has the talent and foresight to do the Lady Gaga. Many fail to realize that she did not depend on just spending alone to get the sponsorship.
Exactly my point. Then again, for some, maybe they just hope to be noticed by the PR or something. I’ve seen people throw hissy fits because they weren’t recognised. Oh my. Not pretty >.<